Advice wanted about arreers

circyn

Hi all

I'm kinda embarrased posting here. A few years ago I was in an abusive relationship with someone who ran up huge debts in my name. I could have taken some measures to transfer the debts or something before breaking up with this guy, in fact I was trying to gradually do that (I managed to get two credit cards in his name and was working on the rest) but one night things got really ugly and I snapped and chucked him out.

So I was stuck with a ton of debts that he'd 'made' me take out.

I had a good job at the time so decided to suck it up and pay them, but then health problems made me leave that job. I decided to try study, but health provented that too.

I went back into the world of work, but have since lost that job and am now claiming jobseekers allowance, although I have an offer of a part time job, as does my new, more caring partner.

I'm going to research the thresholds for benefits etc, to see if it's worth taking this job and studying part time. My health is improving and I can cope with 16 hours work and 10 hours study, although full time work is still very draining.

Unfortunately I've had little help from doctors and can't actually claim sickness - jobseekers and finding a job that I can cope with seems to be the best option, especially as I am recovering now.

Anyway, enough rambling. I have HUGE debts, partly from this past relationship, and partly when I was ill.

I have

2700 pounds rent arreers (Court order coming up for this I've agreed a repayment plan with them)


1000 council tax

420 with one bank

250 with another

8000 loan (was actually less than this but I'm counting in the interest since it's defaulted)

5000 loan (same again)

1500 credit card

1000 credit card

400 credit card

100 owed to british gas

I'm not sure what to do now.

I've put in claims for benefit, the jobseekers has gone through, the hosing + council tax is still pending, and once they've gone through I'll sort out repayment plans for the council tax. The housing I'm communicating with regularly to make sure things work out there for the hearing.

As for the rest of it, what would you do? Pay off the smallest things first to get them off my back, or make arrangements with all of them over time?

I've read that the CAB can take over handling your case for things like this - how do you ask them to do this? I sure could use a hand negotiating here - for months I've been ringing and talking to the people I owe but they always demand amounts I simply can't pay, even after I've sent them a statement of means...... (I'm talking about them wanting more than my weekly income here.)

My outgoings other than for the rent and stuff are next to none, so if I could agree repayments for these now defaulted debts I would love to. I want to make amends for the time in that relationship and the time when I was too ill to do anything about all this.

I don't socialise much, I don't buy anything special or expensive, don't have a car, don't drink, don't smoke, my mobile is PAYG and I can go several months on 10 pounds credit. The only thing I want to keep is my broadband connection because that serves me well for my study, downloading development kits, and running a web site hosted on my machine.

Can anyone offer any advice about this? Or advice on my entitlement to benefit (it's a joint claim) if my partner and I took a job working 12 hours a week paying 6.50 an hour? What if we increased that to 16 hours? (Oh, and does overtime affect benefit or is it just the contracted hours that matter?)

I'll sign of jobseekers, but as much as I hate having to claim benefit the housing + council tax will really help me out of this hole.

I hope the start of this didn't sound like excuses, I'm just trying to figure out for myself how I got into this mess so that I can accept it and then work my way out!

Reaper

No need to feel embarrased, the whole point of this board is to help people like yourself.

I feel debt advice is not my strongest area, but I'll start the ball rolling.

A good place to start is Martin's article on "Where to start with problem debts?". Click here to read it. It includes who to go to for debt advice. I strongly recommend you contact them, any one of them will do. People like CAB will help you prioritise debt and contact the creditors on your behalf. That is often more effective than you contacting them as it shows you are making a serious effort to deal with it. The service is free and the only requirement is that you are serious about tackling it - which I feel you certainly are.

Don't be afraid of claiming benefits. They are there for people who are going through a bad patch such as yourself. It's galling that some abuse them while those that really need them do feel too ashamed to claim.

I'm glad you had the strength to end an abusive relationship, and I have no doubt you will overcome this debt too. I will leave more specific advice to others, but I will stress again you should talk to your local Citizens Advice (or one of the other free charities listed), and claim the benefits you are entitled to.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

Debt_Free_Chick

Good advice from Reaper.

It's absolutely vital that you contact everyone to whom you owe money. Dealing with one or two won't help, I'm afraid. Firstly, they all want their money. And then some will think you're "trying it on".

Do the budget, then send them all the same letter. Enclose your budget ... as this will show them that you can't pay. Offer a token payment e.g. £1 per month. Only offer what you can afford.

Some of the lenders will ignore your letter and just keep demanding repayment of the full the amount. You must reply, restating what you said in your original letter.

This can go on for months, however. Most lenders are pretty poor at dealing with people who have genuine debt problems - especially those that simply cannot pay, as they do not have the money!

CAB will take on this dealing with the lenders on your behalf. As will this charity, that also has a lot of useful information on its website

https://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

My gut feeling is that you don't want/need to have to deal with the lenders, which is a very draining experience. So put your budget together, get all the latest statements for all your debts and visit your local CAB or call the National Debtline.

Good luck - on all fronts