Potentially losing my job - advice needed!

theguvnor

Sorry in advance for the long post.

I'm currently off work sick as I have a condition with my eye, I'm not able to drive. Part of my job is travelling around going to different sites hence the reason I'm off. I'm concerned that if my eye does not get better then I'm going to lose my job. I get 6 months full pay but then statuary sick pay. After that they will go down the capability for the role and get rid of me.

I know this is all hypothetical but it's playing on my mind. I have a debt of around 36k currently and payments are just under £700 a month

If I lose my job I've no idea what benefits I'll be entitled to so I'm worried that I may not be able to pay my debt.

I know step change is an option to help but want to get things right in my head before I need to contact them. A DRO is not an option as I have my own home (mortgage) I'd like to stay clear of an IVA if possible as I don't want it to effect my home. Would a  DMP be an option? How low are they likely to accept payments?

I know it's a lot of ifs and buts but any advice is welcome!

Grumpelstiltskin

OK as you say a lot of its and buts.

One thing to do now is to go through all your outgoings with a fine toothcomb and see where you can cut back/ do without/ get things cheaper.

Next don't use credit any more.

At the moment don't think about Stepchange, one of the wrong things people do is panic and rush into a DMP far too quickly without going through for instance the default process.

Things move slowly in the debt  recovery process even if you get to the stage where  you can't afford to pay any unsecured debts it can take many months before anything starts to happen

Brie

There's stepchange, NationalDebtline, Christians against Poverty, Community Money Advice so lots of options when you're ready to talk to someone.  There's also Citizen's Advice who are the best for discussing benefits - but that's a long way ahead currently so don't panic just yet.  But if you don't want a peek at what might be available have a look at entitleto.co.uk and put in all the details except income - that should tell you better what benefits for which you may qualify. 

And if you are on benefits I doubt any debt adviser would suggest you go on an IVA.  And DMPs will be based on what income you have after paying the essentials - like mortgage and council tax.  If there's no money left over, then that's it.  Or maybe the budget can be squeezed into you making £1 a month to each creditor.  If that offer comes for a debt adviser it's very unlikely that it will be refused.

Meanwhile - might I suggest you look at the top stickies on this forum for the SOA (statement of accounts).  If you fill that out and post it back here someone will be along to help you form your budget into something more manageble.  You'll need to do something similar when you go to a debt advisor so a bit of practice won't hurt.  And there may be some surprising ways to cut your bills now and put you in a better position for later.

And as an aside - don't forget that your employer can't simply put you on capability and dismiss you.  They are obliged to help you find a way back to full employment where possible - perhaps by changing your hours, the amount of travel that is essential, helping you apply to Access to Work (helps provide getting to and from work at least as well as other things) .  Maybe with a willing manager your job can be changed to a single office base or more work from home etc.  Give me a shout if you want to know more about this stuff - I did used to work in this line a few years back and might be able to point you to something more specific if needed.  

sourcrates

You shouldn`t lose any sleep over unsecured, non essential debts, if you don`t have the money to pay them, they don`t get paid, in most cases it really is that simple.

Any debt repayment plan relies on an income, be it employment or benefits, the same applies to court claims, judgements are set, on the whole, according to your disposable income, so it you don`t have any, the court may set a zero payment, or a very small amount.

So worrying about paying non essential debts is pretty pointless, as the recovery options for creditors if you don`t have the money are quite limited.

Best not to speculate too much on what might be, and wait and see what actually happens.

born_again

Do not think about any sort of debt consolidation loan which could convert unsecured loans into secured ones.

EssexHebridean

…and definitely don’t consider adding debt to your mortgage, either!