28k Unsecured debt, £15k windfall

Richard1212

I think redlady is to be congratulated on her detailed financial data provided above. It will help her to receive real and informed advice on this forum----and from far more capable than me. I hope there is a big response after forumites have had time to take in all the data supplied.

I do not agree that the DMP approach is inevitable before a long hard look at other possibilities, including the "hard slog" route offered as the alternative by enthusiasticsaver.

 I note ensaver's question about your HP and a car----and I think it needs to be addressed. Redlady shows assets as NOT including a car, but her outgoings clearly show that she uses one. The whole question of a car needs to be looked at, especially if the HP payments relate to it. How much do you still owe? By law ( Consumer Credit Act 1995) you can end any HP agreement by returning the "goods" at any time. The whole question of you having  a car at all is a huge thing to raise with you, or with anyone in this age of "everybody has a car", but you are in a dire position and the car is the first thing to think carefully about. There are still people who do not own cars and lead a "normal" life---there IS life without a car. Currently, you are spending £225 pcm on the car + I suspect some or all of the £465 HP. Make those figures go away and, even with public transport costs, you are looking at  huge savings in desperate times for you. I am sorry to raise the car aspect but you really need to think hard in the position you are in.

Another cruel suggestion is---how important is your pet ? ( £23 + food) ?

And do you need 2 phones----£50 could go away without the mobile. As with a car, many people still use a home phone without need for mobile.

Finally, I can't figure out what the £ £91 for "other insurance" relates to; perhaps I'm being thick but your data sheet already covers house insurance, contents insurance, pet insurance, life insurance and car insurance------what else is there to insure ? £91 pcm  is a big deal in  your unfortunate position.

The above covers the draconian cuts ( amounting , if all could be implemented, to up to as much as £850 pcm )  that you should really need to be considering if you want to come out of this without recourse to DMP or catastrophe. If you can grit your teeth about some or all of the above cuts, you will be heading for a good place----and you won't be encumbered by the DMP constraints which will affect you adversely for the next 6 years.

Failing all the above, and trying to avoid DMP, I feel that enthusiasticsaver's "hard slog" option is as close to my own suggestion as can be.

I am sorry and even guilty for talking about your life and finances as though they were merely figures on paper , without any thought of emotion  and your quality of life. But I am only trying to help as I see the possibilities that might make life a "good place" for you in the next few years------after which you can ease back on the awful austerity I am asking you to think about above. You have my very best wishes for you and your child and I ask other members of this forum to respond to you in large numbers so that you have a great many choices. You'll come through this !

[Deleted User]

Is the carers’ allowance included in the ‘net income after tax’ in the SOA as it does not appear under benefits?

Rob5342

Richard1212 said:

And do you need 2 phones----£50 could go away without the mobile. As with a car, many people still use a home phone without need for mobile.

A mobile will be half the price of a home phone for phone calls. Presumably the £50 is because of the cost of a phone which she will be tied in to anyway, but once that's paid off she could switch to somewhere like Lebara for £4 a month or so.

redlady

Richard1212 said:

I think redlady is to be congratulated on her detailed financial data provided above. It will help her to receive real and informed advice on this forum----and from far more capable than me. I hope there is a big response after forumites have had time to take in all the data supplied.

I do not agree that the DMP approach is inevitable before a long hard look at other possibilities, including the "hard slog" route offered as the alternative by enthusiasticsaver.

 I note ensaver's question about your HP and a car----and I think it needs to be addressed. Redlady shows assets as NOT including a car, but her outgoings clearly show that she uses one. The whole question of a car needs to be looked at, especially if the HP payments relate to it. How much do you still owe? By law ( Consumer Credit Act 1995) you can end any HP agreement by returning the "goods" at any time. The whole question of you having  a car at all is a huge thing to raise with you, or with anyone in this age of "everybody has a car", but you are in a dire position and the car is the first thing to think carefully about. There are still people who do not own cars and lead a "normal" life---there IS life without a car. Currently, you are spending £225 pcm on the car + I suspect some or all of the £465 HP. Make those figures go away and, even with public transport costs, you are looking at  huge savings in desperate times for you. I am sorry to raise the car aspect but you really need to think hard in the position you are in.

Another cruel suggestion is---how important is your pet ? ( £23 + food) ?

And do you need 2 phones----£50 could go away without the mobile. As with a car, many people still use a home phone without need for mobile.

Finally, I can't figure out what the £ £91 for "other insurance" relates to; perhaps I'm being thick but your data sheet already covers house insurance, contents insurance, pet insurance, life insurance and car insurance------what else is there to insure ? £91 pcm  is a big deal in  your unfortunate position.

The above covers the draconian cuts ( amounting , if all could be implemented, to up to as much as £850 pcm )  that you should really need to be considering if you want to come out of this without recourse to DMP or catastrophe. If you can grit your teeth about some or all of the above cuts, you will be heading for a good place----and you won't be encumbered by the DMP constraints which will affect you adversely for the next 6 years.

Failing all the above, and trying to avoid DMP, I feel that enthusiasticsaver's "hard slog" option is as close to my own suggestion as can be.

I am sorry and even guilty for talking about your life and finances as though they were merely figures on paper , without any thought of emotion  and your quality of life. But I am only trying to help as I see the possibilities that might make life a "good place" for you in the next few years------after which you can ease back on the awful austerity I am asking you to think about above. You have my very best wishes for you and your child and I ask other members of this forum to respond to you in large numbers so that you have a great many choices. You'll come through this !

Thank you for such a detailed reply and for showing such understanding.

Yes the HP is for the car and all £465 plus the additional costs you mentioned goes to this.  Remaining balance is the £23k odd in the SOA.  I didn’t list this as an asset as it’s PCP not HP so technically I don’t own the car it’s leased? Not sure if this matters!  I needed a vehicle big enough for my sons wheelchair (which he does not require all the time but we do need it frequently) and something reliable but perhaps it’s time to look for something cheaper not on HP.  My sons condition makes a car an essential part of our day as he suffers multiple seizures and having to try and access poor public transport in the small city we live in would have a huge impact on my caring role.  Not to mention the impact on him from him having seizures in public.  His behaviour can be extremely challenging too and triggered by very insignificant things.  He receives enhanced rate PIP but I feel unable and uncomfortable turning the mobility element into a car for us as a family as this is his money and my ex partner kindly reminds me that if I ever try to “live off our son” he will inform the office of public guardian.  There is a prospect due to how challenging things have become that my son may move into residential care and in which case I could gain employment but this is not in the foreseeable future as they don’t have specialist resources in this neck of the woods.  This prospect also contributes to my hesitation around a Motability vehicle as it would then have to be returned or it would go with him and I’m not sure I trust that this would be financially viable for him as the care home could likely transport him in a communal vehicle.

Mobile phones - this payment is for myself and my younger son.  Whilst I am not a fan of social media, I genuinely can’t be without one as I often need to call for support/police whilst out with my son and if I’ve been delayed I need to keep in touch with my younger son to let him know where we are and what to do.

The pet costs are my youngest sons cat - £23 for pet health club to cover vaccinations and insurance.  This is his pet and whilst I cover the cost it feels like he already has to cope with a lot within our house due to my eldest and he deserves a bit of comfort and company of his own.  She is an indoor cat though so perhaps it might be sensible to cancel the pet health club and stop any vaccinations 🤔

I do think I need to address the car costs and find a way to lower these but to still have a vehicle.

£91 is for health insurance for myself and 2 the two boys.  It is something I’ve paid for many years since with my ex partner and I’ve always felt I’d regret cancelling it if we needed it.  Especially as we’ve found NHS services have failed my eldest on numerous occasions and we’ve been able to access some really critical medical investigations for him that we’d never of been able to without it.  Again maybe I need to reconsider this, I just find that daunting.

I need to take some responsibility for the position I find myself in and consider what cut backs can be made in order to try and turn things around.


I really do appreciate peoples advice so thank you for all your contributions so far x

redlady

Carers allowance is included in my calculations for overall income yep 😊

Floss

redlady said:

 

Yes the HP is for the car and all £465 plus the additional costs you mentioned goes to this.  Remaining balance is the £23k odd in the SOA.  I didn’t list this as an asset as it’s PCP not HP so technically I don’t own the car it’s leased? Not sure if this matters!  I needed a vehicle big enough for my sons wheelchair (which he does not require all the time but we do need it frequently) and something reliable but perhaps it’s time to look for something cheaper not on HP.  My sons condition makes a car an essential part of our day as he suffers multiple seizures and having to try and access poor public transport in the small city we live in would have a huge impact on my caring role.  Not to mention the impact on him from him having seizures in public.  His behaviour can be extremely challenging too and triggered by very insignificant things.  He receives enhanced rate PIP but I feel unable and uncomfortable turning the mobility element into a car for us as a family as this is his money and my ex partner kindly reminds me that if I ever try to “live off our son” he will inform the office of public guardian.  

Personally, I think you need the advice of a specialist benefits adviser as to the motability car and have a look at this:

https://www.motability.co.uk/how-it-works/

Does your ex-partner pay any maintenance for his children, while holding that threat of reporting you over you? Does he take any caring role for your son?

redlady

Floss said:

redlady said:

 

Yes the HP is for the car and all £465 plus the additional costs you mentioned goes to this.  Remaining balance is the £23k odd in the SOA.  I didn’t list this as an asset as it’s PCP not HP so technically I don’t own the car it’s leased? Not sure if this matters!  I needed a vehicle big enough for my sons wheelchair (which he does not require all the time but we do need it frequently) and something reliable but perhaps it’s time to look for something cheaper not on HP.  My sons condition makes a car an essential part of our day as he suffers multiple seizures and having to try and access poor public transport in the small city we live in would have a huge impact on my caring role.  Not to mention the impact on him from him having seizures in public.  His behaviour can be extremely challenging too and triggered by very insignificant things.  He receives enhanced rate PIP but I feel unable and uncomfortable turning the mobility element into a car for us as a family as this is his money and my ex partner kindly reminds me that if I ever try to “live off our son” he will inform the office of public guardian.  

Personally, I think you need the advice of a specialist benefits adviser as to the motability car and have a look at this:

https://www.motability.co.uk/how-it-works/

Does your ex-partner pay any maintenance for his children, while holding that threat of reporting you over you? Does he take any caring role for your son?

Thank you, I’ll look into this link!

My ex partner doesn’t pay any maintenance and the Child Maintenance department made a spectacular error when I finally managed to achieve them recovering maintenance from his wages. They allowed arrears of nearly £4K to mount before actioning a recovery from wages and then when put into place an “admin error” meant they ordered a deduction of £0.00 - fantastic!  Never bothered to fix the error for nearly 2 years despite me taking it to the Independent Case Examiner.. and so now there’s around £6K of arrears which my ex has managed to avoid by negotiating with his workplace to refuse enforced deductions - at one point CM were ready to take court action on his employer for failing to enforce deductions and during this time it somehow allowed him to change his financial state enough that he has entered a trust deed and so he pays nothing despite having had more than enough means previously.  Massive house which he lives in alone, nice car, lavish trips away with his new girlfriend.  I’m not sure how he pulled that move off but it’s worked as ongoing maintenance is now not enforceable for my eldest as he’s 18 and the arrears just sit in my portal on the child maintenance website doing nothing!

He has no input for either of my boys and the only way he can communicate with me is via e-mail as he’s not allowed near my address.  So he uses that means to send vile threats and judgment on my abilities as a parent whilst taking no part in any of the parental role himself.  I’m well rid but that’s going off on a tangent, sorry! 

Floss

Thanks - that explains a lot!

I do think you need to consider a motability car though, and to discuss this with a benefits adviser re the impact of that against the £456 pcp payment on your family.

RAS

Are you in Scotland?

enthusiasticsaver

I am glad you have had some very empathetic replies and no doubt your sons health issues impact massively. The point I was making about the HP for the car is that it takes out a large chunk of disposable income from an already limited budget. If you are paying so much towards running a car that you cannot afford to live changes are best made sooner rather than later. I would explore a cheaper option whether motability or buying a used car even if it means using some of the £15k gift. 

Take your time. Missing a payment is not the end of the world given you may have to miss others and in your current situation lenders won’t lend to you as most don’t take benefits into account when assessing income. So don’t worry about trashing your credit record if you think a DMP is the way to go. That then means frozen interest and affordable monthly payments. I think that is a no brainer but understand not everyone likes to go in that direction. If you don’t see your income situation as improving in the next 6 years though it will be a struggle even with just 2 cards. 

My plan would be to reduce the car costs by trading in asap and use some the gift to buy a used car which meets your needs or a motability vehicle. Take advice on that.

I would default on the cards until interest frozen then work out how much you can afford to pay monthly. Contact stepchange. Or you could look into a DRO as @fatbelly and @EssexHebridean suggested. 

Focus on getting a workable budget and emergency savings. No more credit cards.