Help needed with debt

Brained

Hello folks I’m looking some advice regarding my debt which is crippling me. Bit of background.

Me. I am a 45yo who has got into a lot of debt after suffering a brain haemorrhage and 7 strokes ( 5 tia and 2 vasospasm strokes). Also diagnosed with ARVC a few years back which is terminal unless a heart transplant can’t be done, although we are talking years. I was self employed before the brain injury and I’m now on benefits. Pip, esa and home benefit. Live on my own but still close with ex partner and see my kids every day. Currently waiting on phsycholgy referral from the brain injury unit as my mental health is trashed and I spen more time wishing I was dead than wanting to live. 

Debt. I have found it hard to get this information and some of it may be wrong as I could not find all the interest rates as I just can’t keep on top of things as my brain is mush.

Amazon new day limit £3900 owe £4027 apr 29.12
barclay card limit £750 owe £742 apr 29.9
aqua card limit £4000 owe £4066 apr 31.2
mbna card limit £1000 owe £989 apr 27.9
fluid card limit £2000 owe £2073 apr 44.9
Very catalogue owe £750 interest £188
klarna credit owe £949 interest free 
First direct account overdraft £100 owe £110
bedroom tax £100 pm owe £300

how did this happen, I don’t know as my memory is rubbish along with my physical and mental health, so will try and piece it together as best as I can. 
After the brain haemorrhage I couldn’t work as much so had applied for credit, then the tias put me out of work permanently and I eventually applied for benefits. I did seem to be managing but my impulsive buying which is a side effect of brain injury got the better of me, example bought £130 pair of football boots while left leg was still paralysed. I did have less debt at one stage but owed £1000 on an overdraft and managed to get it all sorted and switched bank and set a small overdraft limit.
But slowly applied for some more credit to live off and never refused credit increases although most were applied without me asking, although I could have said no. Ficous circle begins.

I moved home a year ago and that’s when the debt spiralled out of control, especially having the wet room installed as I struggle with getting in and out of bath. The move also resulted in me getting hit with the bedroom tax of £100pm even though I told them I needed the extra room for someone to stay when my kids came to stay. I am not a risk to them, I have had a brain injury and am a risk to everyone. Please don’t judge me. The move also resulted in my benefits being messed up and relying on credit more.

im now behind in a few credit cards and also my rent as more is going out than coming in and that just means as soon as a payment is made I’m using that card again to live off and the interest is bad. This was the first week I could not afford a loaf of bread, I did not go hungry as I had some food in the house, but for two weeks I did not have one pound to my name which is why I need help as it scared me. What also concerns me is I panicked and applied for another cc (fluid) and was surprised when they give 2k limit which was quickly used on the house refurb, and also bought a laptop (very) as I convinced myself I was going to write a book (another physochis episode) so give it to my daughter as she had recently started big school and needed one. Also my phone contact was up and to save money took out a cheap sim only deal, then a few months later the phone broke and in my wisdom took out a new one (Klarna) buy now pay later and thought that taking it out over a year would get it paid off quicker and give me a better chance of sorting my self out. Wrong.

I really struggle with paper work etc and can’t keep on top of all this, it’s really messing up an already very messed up head. I have been reading the forum for a while and trying to get this sorted out, so went to stepchange and done an soa but it was always less than what I had wrote out myself and by a good few hundred, so that put me into meltdown trying to work it out, but couldn’t. Continued anyway and they recommended a payment suspension? Or something like that or a possible alternative a dro. I’m not clued up on either but they wanted me to send them copies of stuff. Folks I can’t even think straight most times let alone work computers, I wouldn’t know how to do it, I could possibly type it out on here as wouldn’t be able to copy and paste or anything like that. And I don’t really want to talk on a phone as I can be quite verbal and tend to say hurtful things without realising (that was the part of them brain damaged, emotions and empathy. I know I will have to sooner or later mind but it scares me tbh.

I have struggled with some of the terminology on here when trying to decide what to do and am not sure if I should stop payments, but if I don’t do it now, there will be no food this time as I’ve borrowed all I can of family so I’m in trouble this time.
sorry for such a long post but I’m scared as I no I’ve also took out credit when I knew things where getting bad and I think I’ve read on here that doing that would impact any ways of sorting this out. Any advice welcome 

enthusiasticsaver

I think you have to default on the payments and ask for breathing space in the interim while deciding your next steps.  That will at least stop the interest from accruing and hopefully if you are not having to make debt repayments you should have enough to cover essentials like rent, utilities and food. Stepchange can help you with that if you do not feel able to deal with that. I would not worry about when you took credit out. You are obviously not in a position to repay it at the moment and if you are unable to work in the long term then they will probably sell the debt on. 

Andyjflet

Morning, I cant imagine what you are going through when all you probably want is a clearer mind and to be able to sleep peacefully.
I'm sure you can wok through this again with Stepchange if you explain your situation, I have also found a company called Headway who seem to be able to help people sort finances, PIP, etc etc when Brain Injured. Please drop them an email.

https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/practical-issues/welfare-benefits/

EssexHebridean

Ahh heck, what an awful situation you've found yourself in. I'm going to agree with enthusiasticsaver here and say in the first instance, stop paying. In most situations we'd say to then write to each of your creditors explaining the situation and letting them know that you will be entering into a DMP - a Debt Management Plan - but in your case I think the better bet will be for you to work directly with stepchange on that bit, if they are able to run with things from the start. Also ask them whether they are able to make clear to each creditor that you will not speak on the telephone, and that all discussion must be in writing. That solves both the issue of you being uncomfortable speaking on the phone, AND the risk that your poor memory might mean you struggle to retain information. 

Andy's link to Headway may also be very useful for you. It may be worth speaking with them about whether you should have received financial help for things like installing the wet room, grab handles etc., too.

There might be a possibility here that there is another solution for you - hopefully someone who knows a little more about things like Debt Relief Orders will be along shortly as I'm not certain of the criteria for that - one question which I believe is relevant though, apologies if I've missed the information but do you own your home, or rent it? 

Above all, and I know this is easier said than done, try not to stress too much - it sounds flippant, but genuinely, it IS only money, and I'm pretty sure that stress isn't helping your medical situation either. 

tallyhoh

a debt relief order might be suitable for you. please take proper advice though.  Getting a Debt Relief Order - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Platespinner123

Hey,

First of all, I'm really sorry for what you've gone through. You've done the right thing by starting to get help.

Your priority here is having enough money to eat and heat your home, not paying your creditors. So yes, let the accounts default if that's the choice. The worst thing that can happen with the types of debts you've mentioned is they eventually get a County Court Judgement. If that happens you can show the court what you can afford to pay, even if that's as little as £1 a month per debt. And the court can say "That's all you need to pay".

It sounds like you'd really benefit from having someone to help you through all of this - do you have a support worker or a family member who could work with you? There are some advice agencies that can provide 'casework', but Stepchange isn't one of them as far as I know - your local Citizens Advice might be able to help though.

You mentioned you weren't clued up on a payment suspension or a DRO. Long story short:

• a payment suspension would mean your creditors agree not to ask you to make payments for a period of time, but you'd still owe the debts and need to work out a way of dealing with them eventually
• a DRO is a formal solution that writes your debts off after a year. There are strict qualifying criteria (maximum level of debt, maximum income after essentials, maximum value of assets) and it costs £90, although you might be able to find a charity to pay that fee

Given your health conditions, your creditors might also be willing to consider voluntarily writing off the debts altogether.

To answer EssexHebridean's question about a Debt Relief Order (DRO), my concern in this situation would be that DROs only deal with debts that are listed in the application. So if you're not sure of exactly which debts you have, a DRO is unlikely to be right for you - if you miss any off, or under-count the amount you owe, those non-included debts will still exist.

As far as taking out credit when you know things are going badly goes - that can mean you're subject to restrictions for longer if you get a DRO or go bankrupt, but they won't stop you getting the DRO/bankruptcy altogether. Others on this forum will have a better idea than me if that might apply to your situation.

Best of luck, and feel free to keep posting on here if you have any questions

MissFlossy222

Platespinner123 said:

Hey,

First of all, I'm really sorry for what you've gone through. You've done the right thing by starting to get help.

Your priority here is having enough money to eat and heat your home, not paying your creditors. So yes, let the accounts default if that's the choice. The worst thing that can happen with the types of debts you've mentioned is they eventually get a County Court Judgement. If that happens you can show the court what you can afford to pay, even if that's as little as £1 a month per debt. And the court can say "That's all you need to pay".

It sounds like you'd really benefit from having someone to help you through all of this - do you have a support worker or a family member who could work with you? There are some advice agencies that can provide 'casework', but Stepchange isn't one of them as far as I know - your local Citizens Advice might be able to help though.

You mentioned you weren't clued up on a payment suspension or a DRO. Long story short:

• a payment suspension would mean your creditors agree not to ask you to make payments for a period of time, but you'd still owe the debts and need to work out a way of dealing with them eventually
• a DRO is a formal solution that writes your debts off after a year. There are strict qualifying criteria (maximum level of debt, maximum income after essentials, maximum value of assets) and it costs £90, although you might be able to find a charity to pay that fee

Given your health conditions, your creditors might also be willing to consider voluntarily writing off the debts altogether.

To answer EssexHebridean's question about a Debt Relief Order (DRO), my concern in this situation would be that DROs only deal with debts that are listed in the application. So if you're not sure of exactly which debts you have, a DRO is unlikely to be right for you - if you miss any off, or under-count the amount you owe, those non-included debts will still exist.

As far as taking out credit when you know things are going badly goes - that can mean you're subject to restrictions for longer if you get a DRO or go bankrupt, but they won't stop you getting the DRO/bankruptcy altogether. Others on this forum will have a better idea than me if that might apply to your situation.

Best of luck, and feel free to keep posting on here if you have any questions

I've been a DRO intermediary. We would get copies of the main credit reports to make sure we recorded all the debts but if course its not foolproof. Debts to DWP or HMRC don't appear on any credit report.

Brained, I'd definitely recommend speaking to StepChange or Citizens Advice. Explain about the brain injury and how it affects makes you seem aggressive and they'll be very supportive. 
Is there anyone else who can speak on your behalf? That way, if you call one of the charities (maybe on loud speaker) and give them your consent, they could explain things if you're having trouble expressing yourself.

capuchin

Doing things alone is scary and often dangerous as you can easily be overwhelmed and then bad things can happen.

First things first. I know it’s a really scary step to take, but I feel like the first thing that could help is a referral via your local councils crisis team. I’m not sure how it works in all areas, but in mine my family could contact them with concerns on my behalf and they acted really quickly. You can also do this yourself if you are willing and able (I wasn’t in a place of such good self awareness)

 They can assign you a social worker via the community mental health team if there is evidence you need one. They can do things like contact people like HMRC to explain/cancel fines, get somebody to help you a few hours a week with finance matters or washing, and I think they can also do things like help you apply for welfare benefits etc. I don’t know an awful lot about housing benefit but I suspect you could get bedroom tax exemption. 

Others above have better debt specific advice than me, but the overall take is: don’t be overly concerned by it. They can’t do anything drastic. 

Brained

Appreciate the replies folks and will post later as I ain’t got the energy at the minute.

Brained

Back again. Thanks for the replies and I will try to reply individually.
enthusiasticsaver. I have just cancelled DD, it felt good knowing that I won’t be panicking about whether I have any money left to live off. I did contact stepchange but they want me to send them information which I wouldn’t know how to. Also my outgoings were bigger than what I could put into their soa template which I found hard to use.

andyjflet. I was in contact with headway and tbh it’s not for me, they were constantly trying to get me do stuff I didn’t want to do and the phone calls were becoming to much when you did not go, we are mostly just numbers in a book to keep the funding coming in.
they will be good for some.

essexhebridean. I’ve stopped dd so is my next move to write to them explaining that I have got myself into financial problems and need time to try and sort it out. I will be making clear that I’ve had a brain injury and I’m in a mental health crisis and will only communicate through letters.

ps I rent my home from a housing association.

tallyhoh. I have been advised by SC that a payment suspension would be a suitable option and a DRO would be an alternative option. But again I can’t do copy and paste and stuff, can’t work computers. Just surf on my iPad and phone really.

platespinner. I will have some money to live off once I get something sorted with the debt.
don’t know if default is the right choice, I’m basically just going by what I read on other post on this forum.
had a social worker but because I promised her I would not kill my self she quickly disappeared even though it’s a daily battle to live tbh and not just because of debt but because I’ve lost everything. Life was good befor the brain injury.
I could get a support worker by going through one of the charities, but would rather not tbh and family can help out when I need it.
Health conditions, well they can’t chase a dead man lol
with the problems with new credit and a dro, well I’m not worried about that as I’m 45 and have maybe 10 years left if I’m lucky, or I get the heart transplant and maybe get longer so won’t be needing any credit I believe.

missflossy. The above is my only debts. Would prefer to do it myself and I think that if I just make them aware that I’ve had a brain injury and that if I get someone to speak on my behalf then it should be ok.

capuchin. The brain injury unit I attend are superb and always there when you need them even with all the waiting lists and what not they have been great. I’ve literally got a hot line to my consultant lol and fair play to him he always calls back.

offt that was harder and longer than I thought. But thanks for the kind words folks.

nearly forgot what I need to know. So is this right order.
1 cancel DD. Done
2. write to companies asking for time to get advice help with my debt. Do next.
3. Phone step change as I can ask how to get the info to them in a way that I can. Do after
4. Wait on advice given then act on it.
have I missed anything. 

Thanks.

enthusiasticsaver

Sounds like you have made a good start.  I think I would open a new clean bank account (basic, no overdraft with a bank you do not owe money to.  That way the FD overdraft can be included in the DMP or DRO if  that is the route you take.  Sort out all your income to go to the new account and all essential bills which is really rent, utilities and food.  Try and start putting some money away for emergencies as you will not have access to credit.