I want to be able to eat & sleep at night!

bzelizzy1

Hi guys,

Please can anyone offer me some advice on what I should do. I owe money on my overdraft (£2500), money on a flexi-loan (£4000), money on my credit card for the first time ever I've gone over my c/c limit (£10,500 incl interest). I'm now concerned about the affect this will have on my up to now good credit rating. I'm in the process of attempting to claim back my bank charges. I have calculated a total amount of £2770.56 which does not incl interest. Also can I claim back my savings that the bank transferred from my high interest savings account to my current account to pay off accrued debts due to their charges without any notification to myself either verbally or in writing for my authorisation for this to be done? When I challenged this they said they had every right to do it. Is this the case because it don't seem right to me? I have calculated a total amount of £8275.69 which does not incl interest.

I've got bills that need to be paid this week - priority outgoings Mortgage, Utilities, Car payment ( I need my car to get to work because there is no public transport to get me there), I've got a month's grace on my council tax but the council have told me that this will be going up too soon.

I've stopped using my c/c, not able to use my debit card to draw out money so not able to buy food or pay for my prescriptions.

I took Martin's advice & this week applied for another c/c to transfer my c/c balance to to stem the flow of high interest I was paying on my main c/c. I now am having a nervous wait to see if this has been successful. Also got a further meeting with bank on Tues 6th to further review my circumstances. I've gone over every single outgoing my defecit each month is £430. Bills not frivolities. There is nothing more I can do. I'm expecting the bank to say they can't help me but I'm hoping I might be pleasantly surprised.......I wish!
So you see I'm at my wits end with it all and constantly feeling sick.

I'd value any pearls of wisdom from you guys who've already gone through it as I don't want to be in situation where my debt becomes so unmanageable altogether.

Waiting to hear from you.

bzelizzy

Penny2myName

Hi and welcome,
I think most will ask you to stick a SOA up, so they can see anyway to try and ease your situation, there is a sticky at top of forum which tells you how to. Also I would suggest calling one of the free debt advice charity's, CCCS and payplan I believe are the normal two people will suggest. Sorry I cant be of more help, but sure others will be here soon to advise.

theunknownstuntman

Hi there Bzelizzy,

First of all big hugs to you (although I have man flu so be glad its virtual hugs and my germs are well away from you!) As Penny has said, get your Statement of Affairs (SOA) up on here and the great and the good will help you see where you can save money. (They did with me and were a great help)
It's a big scary step you've taken, and the SOA is the other big scary step, BUT you're amongst friends on here, and we're with you, ok?
Chin up and stay strong.

Stunty

marksandsparksgal

Heya!

Welcome to the fold, as soon as you do your SOA I'm sure there will be people along to give you a hand.

With regards to the movement of your savings by the bank, sadly they are entitled to do it (written in the small print), which is why the general advice round here is to get a completely separate (often basic with an electron card or suchlike) bank account with a separate bank to get your wages paid into, that way you can arrange repayments that suit you.

Anyway, well done on starting to sort it all out!

xXx

marksandsparksgal

Oh I would also say, the bank's answer will probably be a loan ... DON'T DO IT!!!

It'll probably be secured, and it's the last thing you need. Have a look through this site, once you've done the SOA you'll have lots of ideas. If needs be, also call one of the debt charities, i.e. CCCS or PayPlan, they're amazing at helping people out. xXx

CCCS_Alan

Hi Bzelizzy1

Welcome onboard. Your in the right place for advice and support.
Looking at your situation you firstly need to move away from your current bank account to basic account to make your money safe. Use the following link Basic Bank Accounts, and in the Basic bank accounts section click on publications it will provide you with a list of accounts and what benefits the account offers.
Be sure that the account has no connection to any of your existing creditors though, and don’t give your creditors your new details for DD as they control how much they take so you could end up short for your priorities. Pay them either by a SO or over the counter with a payment slip so you are in control.
Move your wage to be paid from into this account and set up your priority payments from here such as mortgage, utilities, council tax, insurance etc. Cancel all movement on your old account money going in and going out and leave dormant.
Is your vehicle definitely HP/conditional sale agreement? If it’s just a normal loan, they have no right to take your vehicle if you miss payments or offer a lower amount to them so your car would be safe.
This is only some basic advice though. On your overall situation you need to get some impartial advice. Lots of people signatures hold information on where to get advice.
You can also try our online advice facility called Debt Remedy where you can complete a financial statement and be provided with advice on the best way to deal with your situation.

Hope you find this information helpful

CCCS_Alan

bzelizzy1

Hi Penny2myName,
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post and give me some tips that I shall bear in mind.

bzelizzy

bzelizzy1

Hi Stunty,

Firstly hope you're feeling better now. Thanks for reply. How do I go about setting out my SOA? I feel as if I'm entering unchartered waters. Not sure what to do next.

bzelizzy

bzelizzy1

Hi marksandsparksgal,

How right you are in regard to suggestion of a loan. That's exactly what was put to me when I spoke to them re my account. I'd even told them beforehand that I was having problems at the moment but that I was intending to address the problem & not bury my head in the sand. Their response slapped on high interest payment plus late payment fee even though I'd explained the situation. Really helpful don't you know!

bzelizzy

Penny2myName

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280 this shows you a rough idea for your SOA

theunknownstuntman

bzelizzy1 wrote: »

Hi Stunty,

Firstly hope you're feeling better now. Thanks for reply. How do I go about setting out my SOA? I feel as if I'm entering unchartered waters. Not sure what to do next.

bzelizzy

Right ho, this link......
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

is to SouthernScousers very helpful thread for new posters. Have a good read, he's very funny and very wise. Your SoA will look like this..

Income: (List EVERYTHING)
e.g Wages £1000 monthly
Benefits £200 monthly

Outgoings: (Again list EVERYTHING no matter how small)

e.g Rent: £500 p/m
Credit cards (include balances, minimun payments and aprs)
Food: £200 p/m

put everything in here, mobile phones, every coffee you drink in work and pay for, every meal, sky tv internet, haircuts, presents everything.

The clever folk will come along and say cut this out, cut back on this, switch to this. There are some incredibly clever monwey savers on here and they will help.
And thanks, my germs are at a minimun today!!!