SOA and can i do this by myself?

Clouds88

Having said that I’ve just done some quick maths and based on your rent and income it’s coming out at about £197 a month UC so might be a worth looking into, that’s more than double the quoted tax credits, but is based on a month to month income, if you regularly earn more than stated above then it will go down. Hope this helps

Live_more_work_less

I put all the relevant details into a benefits calculator and £21 tax credit was what I could claim.

I was self employed but no longer have that business. Never going to be self employed again so that's not a problem.

My daughter is 12, eats like an adult and drinks about a bath full of milk a week! we have 2 cats to feed and the £500 includes all toiletries, make up and household cleaning products. Will the OR say this is too much?

I will keep on this forum through the whole process and appreciate the time everyone takes to help me out of this mess.

Had a family walk along the beech today and felt for the first time in years the debt weight starting to fall of my shoulders :-)

broaps

Hi there, don't worry about £500 for food and toiletries, and you could maybe get away with a bit more. We put down £457 for 2 oaps and the OR didn't mention it at all. You need to be a bit generous on your soa so that you keep some flexibilty in your budget. Your every day shop could cost less but there may be times when you need to spend more - Christmas, birthdays etc, so build in some slack and perhaps you can keep some money on one side for those special occasions. If you make your budget too tight an unexpected bill can cause problems. Good luck.

Annie35

Just to add another voice that I'm not sure you're doing your benefit check correctly as there are no new claims for tax credits, it's essentially defunct for new claims.

Try https://www.entitledto.co.uk & it will tell you about universal credit & also council tax support. If when you fill in the forms & last year you were earning more the results will be low but universal is based on last months income so do apply to get a real decision.

Live_more_work_less

Hi did this and you were right, UC says I can have 200 a month! So do I claim this and pay it to a IPA? Will the OR make me claim the UC?

Seems crazy the government will GIVE me £2400 a year for doing nothing!

Clouds88

Well maybe hold off until discharged then if your outgoings aren’t leaving you in a deficit without it, unless they mention it in the interview?

The government give you it because your wages are very low to support you and your child, if you had a full time job and earnt more you wouldn’t get it.

Live_more_work_less

Yeah but still crazy. From SOA we have enough money for food, rent, all bills, clothes, holidays, car, entertainment and they still want to give us more!

Clouds88

But you’ve obviously been spending more than that because you’ve got into debt in the first place so hopefully it’ll keep you out of debt in the future good luck with it all anyway.

vixg66

BoGoF wrote: »

Would receipt of tax credits qualify your child for free school meals.

As a general note £500 seems high for groceries for 2 adults and 1 child. We are a family of 4 and spend about £400

I wouldn't worry too much about the groceries bill either. I have been allowed £300 pm for one person as I'm vegan - plus I have been allowed £3 per day for lunch at work (as there is nowhere to sit and eat lunch away from our desks where I work)

Live_more_work_less

So applied online for bankruptcy last week, (submitted it friday), took me a few sessions to fill in all the details. i liked they way you could save the application and go back another day. i would recommend that anyone planning to go bankrupt starts the application now, you don't have to pay anything and it will give you more time to check or change anything. The online application easy to do and not as scary as i thought.

So checked back today (monday) and there is a bankruptcy order letter there saying approved. Silly question is am i now bankrupt? seemed vary quick!

Is the process now wait for OR to contact me and discuss SOA?

Any companies i have debts with can't chase me for money they have to go through OR? is this right?

Cheers