I am so scared

ink_central

Dear Kath,


*** Section removed by MSE Andrea. Please keep mentions of your own company to the Referrers' board unless directly asked a customer service-related question***

So that's my introduction over with, now I want to see if I can add my help to your forum.

My small business now does have a total debt running in excess of £10,000. But I am a very fortunate man, because I have sales coming in which pays things off, and although at this stage we are not making a huge profit; turnover, yields and cashflow would indicate the business may be worth in excess of £1million by the time I am 30.

So I will argue that I am someone on a much higher income who wants to help you.

I have decided to choose one thread of "Debt" and offer some advice, as my way of saying thank you to this site for running my recent promotion. (FREE EPSON/CANON INKJET CARTRIDGE WORTH UP TO £30 (JUST PAY £1 P&P CLOSED 10/06/05).

Since I myself was the subject of an administration order at the age of 24 (I am now 28), with respect to a previous business which closed with debts of £20,000, and now it's looking like things will be successful, I feel I would not be fulfilling my duty as a wannabe tycoon with I hope high morals, if I did not give you some free consultation.



* Take those benefits. I would not be prepared to offer any further advice to you if it turns out that you continued to refuse to apply for them after all the above messages were pleading with you to take them.

* Some, but not all benefit claims can be back-dated. I was personally in the amazingly lucky position a couple of years ago to have gone to the Post Office with various Giros that had accrued and were due to me, and incredibly to have been handed over the counter, well over £1,500, IN CASH. I remember word-for-word what the Post Office clerk said:-

"We've got the money, Peter. If you want it, it's yours."

I then combined £1,300 of this with a further £2,500 that had been sent to me in other Benefits in the form of a cheque, and set up my business - I am working late at the office right now.

If I had not taken that action, it's highly likely that I wouldn't have been sat here now with a business arguably worth now over half a million quid. (Although I apologise Kath the actual liquid resources of the business are insufficient for us to send you any sponsorship just at the minute).

* Unless you're debts are of the magnitude where they are so massive that you would NEVER CONCEIVABLE be able to repay them, I would say AVOID BANKRUPTCY. Furthermore AVOID ADMINISTRATION ORDER (2-year mini-bankrupty for debts of less than £20,000). Things are much better than the days of the Debtor's Prison, and in most cases Bankrupts are treated sympathetically (except devious Bankrupts such as Company Directors who go bust only to buy back their business at a fraction of the price).

* TALK TO YOUR CREDITORS. If your spirits are low, or indeed if you are too embarassed to talk to your creditors - possibly even you suspect your voice may be too shaky as you talk to someone who you owe £5 grand to - consider sending them a polite letter, even an email or fax will surfice. EVEN if it's just to say:-

"I'm sorry I owe you this money. I still can't pay off any of it right now, but I'm going to go away for 3 weeks to seek advice, and look at the best way forward. I promise to contact you in 3 weeks with the picture".

If, after the hypothetically offered 3 weeks, the future is still looking bleak, you will have tried, and incidentally in such a situation, you would still be well advised to send a letter saying "Sorry I tried. Right now I still can't pay you, but want you to know I am most certainly in a 'Can't Pay' situation as opposed to a 'Won't Pay'.


* NEGOTIATE A REDUCED PAYMENT PLAN WITH YOUR CREDITORS. Kath, if someone owed me £2,000, they hadn't paid, and I had been informed that genuinely they were in "deep water", I would much rather they sent me a offer - under the circumstances - to pay 50% of the debt off (over an extended period), and write off 50%, rather than they attempt to pay 100%, fail, and end up paying nothing off.

* THE MORE COMMUNICATION you give to your creditors, the better your credit rating will be. I can tell you that I (today) owe a not insignificant sum to The Daily Mail newspaper - and some of it is over 2 months overdue, however the Head of Credit Control for Associated Newspapers Ltd. DOESN'T MIND A BIT, in my case, because she says that I, unlike a lot of their other Display Advertising clients, have been in touch with her to keep her in the picture. It hasn't been that she's had to get hold of ME all the time. So I am in the unique position of being overdue on my Daily Mail account whilst at the same time maintaining an Excellent Credit Rating with them (which will be maintained when I pay that bill off at the end of this month).

**** COMPARE YOUR SITUATION WITH THAT OF TESCO STORES LTD(CHESHUNT) WHO IT WAS WIDELY PUBLICIZED IN SOME NEWSPAPERS ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO HAD FAILED TO SETTLE A SET OF £500,000 INVOICES
DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE ACCOUNT WAS NEARLY 4 MONTHS OVERDUE, AND THERE WAS NO DISPUTE WHATSOEVER. JUST OUT OF INTEREST FURTHERMORE, WHEN I WORKED AT TESCO EXACTLY 10 YEARS AGO, I HAD TO DO 2 JOBS ONE FULL-TIME IN THE DAY, AND ONE 4 HOURS DURING THE NIGHT AT THE STORE. I WOULD REGULARLY DO OVER-TIME, AND (LIKE ALL THE OTHER STAFF) WOULD REGULARLY FIND THAT MY PAYPACKET WAS ABOUT 10 HOURS SHORT OF OVERTIME. YOU WOULD THEN COMPLAIN TO THE LINE MANAGER, AND HE WOULD CORRECT IT FOR YOU - ONLY ON THE OCCASIONS THAT YOU NOTICED. IT STANK. IAN MCLAURIN (RECENTLY KNIGHTED AFTER RETIREMENT) WAS THE CHAIRMAN, AND I'M PLEASED TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE PUT IT ON A SITE WHICH HAS SOME QUARTER OF MILLION REGULAR FANS (MARTIN'S TIPS EMAIL) ****


* Above all, yes you will get down a bit, but don't get seriously depressed about this. Money IS an important aspect to life, but it certainly isn't the most important. And ensure that you DO MAINTAIN spending just that £10 here and there on yourself. No creditor would object to that. A bailiff (Don't let Bailiffs become involved - that's my only worry - if they do then please 'phone me personally immediately, I will not give them any money, but I Will enable them to leave your premises for you) - a Bailiff would never have the right to take your last £10, since funds for survival is a basic human right.


* I Re-iterate CLAIM EVERYTHING that the tax system has set up for you to be ENTITLED to. You were a Higher Rate taxpayer on your close to £50k previous annual income, think how much Tax you have paid in to the Government, which is sitting in Gordon Brown's account, this money has been ear-marked BACK for YOU should such circumstances arise, they have, so take it - take the back-claim and then continue your claim until you're sorted out. I can emphathise that you are ashamed to phone the Debt Helpline, whilst they help lots of people and they're noble in what they do, perhaps don't phone them in your particular case. But Please, Go to the Citazens Advice Bureau, most of their staff (some volunteers) are BRILLIANT, and they will get to go home feeling happy that they have helped someone that day.


Finally, you are short of money, but the UK Government is ROLLING IN IT, JUST ABSOLUTELY ROLLING IN IT. Did you know that when you combine all World Government's current expenditure on DEFENCE the combined total is in excess of $ 1 trillion. The Governments of the World spend that PER YEAR in DEFENDING THEMSELVES FROM EACH OTHER. [Source The Independent Newspaper - Today - Thursday 9th June].

I am going to blow my own trumpet here a little bit at this point - apologies but in the best interests of the world - I am the original spark or the catalyst of today's Headline in the Independent, which was "A Trillion-dollar question for the G8... Why does the World Spend This Much on Arms? ($1TRILLION [per year]), and only this much on aid? ($79 billion per year). That leader today was in response to a letter I sent to the Editor-in-Chief of that particular newspaper where I wrote to Mr. Simon Kelner on the 18th of April 2005:-

" Your recent leader was good, re. food thrown away. Of course a massive topic close to my heart is the $1,000 billion global bill for defence, and on the flip side what just 25% of this figure could do for the 3rd world. "



Above all Kath, don't forget, all us money-savers, we all love you (although I do mean that in the Christian form of the word!). So don't be scared, I hope this letter has helped you feel calmer, and get on with the rest of your life with a sense of optimism returning.



Best wishes, Peter (ink_central).

ceegee

Here's to you, Mr Dew! What an inspirational read that was! :T :beer:

roger56

(I do not receive any child maintance from my ex husband).

Presumably your divorce settlement took into account the fact you had a good job.
Most Court orders allow for variations and I would expect now your circumstances have changed you could apply for a variation to receive maintenance for the children.
Regardless of the circumstances, IMHO any father has a responsibility to financially support the child and should be made to do so!

A budget is absolutely vital, as previous posters have stated. Start cutting un-necessary outgoings now, don't hold off. Listing income and outgoings will definately help you get your situation clear and help getting it under control, and the sooner the better.
The problem may feel upsetting, but it has to be faced. We're here to help with ideas and details if you wish.

Good Luck

Edinburghlass_2

ceegee wrote:

Here's to you, Mr Dew! What an inspirational read that was! :T :beer:

Or a very clever piece of marketing and shouldn't be on this board.

inmypocketnottheirs

Don't be scared - that's the first thing. Secondly, I know that when you feel as if you are drowning in a sea of debt, it is difficult to face things. It is hard to pick up a phone and speak to a creditor, and I know that when you are used to being well paid for a worhtwhile job it can seem demeaning to ask for help. But please remember - there is no shame or stigma attached to your situation. Its how you feel about the situation that is causing you grief. Please don't be disheartened or feel dispairing. You can get out of this rut - and there are means of doing so.

Any benefits your are entitled to, either on your behalf of your mothers, you have paid and contributed to. You are not freeloading, you just have to take what is there to help you. Please dont be ashamed.

Hope this gives you some enlightenment.

With best regards.

jen_jen_2

1.claim the benefits they are a right not a priviledge, you should start to look at DLA/AA for your mum

2."they are on a lower wage", if you broke your leg you'd go to a nurse or a doctor wouldnt you? they earn less than £44 K. Just because the skills of debt and welfare rights advisors arent financially recognised doesnt mean they are not professionals or dont know the answers.

3. only you can resolve these issues by taking a deep breath and writing it down (preferably here) so you can take a look at it objectively.

4. the longer you leave it hoping it will go away the more you will regret not doing something sooner when it is resolved and you are less stressed and able to concentrate on work etc etc.

Glad

ceegee wrote:

Here's to you, Mr Dew! What an inspirational read that was! :T :beer:

well all I can say is :spam::spam::spam:

ink_central

Edinburghlass wrote:

Or a very clever piece of marketing and shouldn't be on this board.

Thank you very much ceegee for your enthusiam. Once again Kath, good luck to you! Edinburgh lass, I would just say that my post was written with 100% genuine intent, as everything I do is, sometimes recently I get the impression that lots of people assume that there really is no such thing as a free lunch, that EVERYTHING must have its ulterior selfish purpose. I will admit that all humans are selfish sometimes, but the post was my genuine (Christian) attempt at helping Kath. Certainly in the course of my admittedly long but I would hope comprehensive post I have included notes about my business, but this is more to provide background to how I am able to offer such advice. I wrote it very late last night, I've just edited today some minor spelling errors & minor material errors.

*** Removed by MSE Andrea***

No, I wouldn't dream of trying to sell a single inkjet cartridge out of my post above, in fact I'd much rather send Kath £100 of free ink & free soothing "stress-busting!!" classical CDs, (if she wants it she only has to drop me a line - we have the stock). Nonetheless just looking at my post, I have to admit my introductory bit was a bit on the long-winded side, sorry about that.

So look I did that to help Kath out, that's the only primary motivation whatsoever. No hard feelings I hope.

doodle_bug

I'm on a pitiful salary, just over £20,000 and not anywhere near being a high flyer but I can afford the odd holiday and I know the difference between can, can not and cannot, different world isn't it, get a grip!

ink_central

I'm sorry I may be in the wrong here, but I simply will not take any more criticism for what I am doing.

During Christmas 2004, my business lost £5,000 in giving away free inkjet cartridges to mse subscribers, and about £1,000 of the losses were BAD DEBTS ascribed to Money Saving Expert subscribers in subsequent follow-up sales (so hardened were they to money-saving, that they preferred not to pay my bill).

Therefore, with immediate effect, all outstanding inkjet cartridge requests will be cancelled & refunded with an explanatory polite letter and a £1 postal order refund. We will still send them the complimentary free music CD.

Many people will still get their inkjet cartridge (packed during last night's nightshift) but I'm sorry I am not prepared to send out the final lot.

Meanwhile, Kath will be sent a credit note to the value of £250 in her personal email before close of business Monday afternoon.

Really sorry, but that's business.