outgoings and earnings

lostcause82

my travel costs are always quite high anyway as with not driving I often have to get taxis if i miss the bus home as the places where you have to wait for buses aren't the safest place on a night!

lostcause82

Can you put an allowance for household goods? Last month I had to buy a new vacuum cleaner and I desperately need new bedroom furniture like a wardrobe and drawers as mine have broken. This was actually what I wanted to put the emergency cover down for.

abigail9

Sorry but I can not believe that mine was the only OR living in the real world when it came to my I&E. You will have the opportunity to discuss what they 'allow' on your expenditure, and if you are not happy then you have every right to speak to someone more senior and also decline to sign the agreement until they do discuss your concerns.
Dont forget you have paid your fees and the OR is there for you not just the creditors.

Abigail

savagevixen

Are you renting a property? I f so I would probably be inclined to put
Household repairs/replacement/upkeep £45
And perhaps up the travel esp if there are anti-social hours involved and limited services
Travel costs £230-£240
they may ask why it is high and you can explain. At the end of the day £25-£30 per week each is not extreme. Maybe you need to take the bus to the opticians, and doctor, to visit an elderly relative etc. When we gave the case for the cars, they wanted every tiny little detail (my kids hospital appts etc) so it can all help if you are queried.

savagevixen

abigail9 wrote: »

Sorry but I can not believe that mine was the only OR living in the real world when it came to my I&E. You will have the opportunity to discuss what they 'allow' on your expenditure, and if you are not happy then you have every right to speak to someone more senior and also decline to sign the agreement until they do discuss your concerns.
Dont forget you have paid your fees and the OR is there for you not just the creditors.

Abigail

It is not necessarily whether your OR is the only one who lives in the real world!!!:rotfl:It has a lot more to do with who and where deals with your case. We went to our local court, but the OR was 60 miles away. we therefore had a very brief phonecall at the courts, followed by a more indepth call several weeks later-but this was not with an OR but with a minion asigned to deal with that case. It then had to be ok'd by someone else and we had several phonecalls out of the blue about various things. It may not be text book and exactly as it should be, and they do not all feel inclined to chat you through whether you have input every detail correctly. Some just dissallow things without discussion, some things are allowed in the phonecall and then when it is reviewed they are disallowed and the first you know of it is a letter, not a friendly chat from someone in the 'real' world.
Please don't paint it as all lovely and chatty. Some OR's are very unpleasant and some are very nice. Mine was extremely bored, but quite approachable.

And whilst you can ask to speak to someone more senior, I would be inclined not to upset my OR. Yes they are there for you as well as the creditors, but they have a hard job. Some of the people we owed money to were really unpleasant to the girl who dealt with us and it can't be easy.

lostcause82

I am renting the property yes but it is unfurnished hence the questions about furniture. I think then I will change 'emergency' to 'household repairs / replacement' as you have suggested. If I get a taxi back from work or if I work a sunday it is £14 per time. Our bus passes cost £71 each per month for unlimited travel. If we do out shopping we get a taxi back which is £3 per time. So if I put per month 5 taxi journeys at £14, 4 at £3 for our weekly shop and 2 bus passes this comes in at £224. Does that sound feasible? It's actually about right but I didn't want to sound like I was taking the mick.

lostcause82

I have double checked my contact lenses and these are £25 I've no idea what I was thinking of when I put £33.

savagevixen

lostcause82 wrote: »

I am renting the property yes but it is unfurnished hence the questions about furniture. I think then I will change 'emergency' to 'household repairs / replacement' as you have suggested. If I get a taxi back from work or if I work a sunday it is £14 per time. Our bus passes cost £71 each per month for unlimited travel. If we do out shopping we get a taxi back which is £3 per time. So if I put per month 5 taxi journeys at £14, 4 at £3 for our weekly shop and 2 bus passes this comes in at £224. Does that sound feasible? It's actually about right but I didn't want to sound like I was taking the mick.

Put exactly what it is, and allow for the odd emergency, you have explained it perfectly and I can't see who could argue it. That is exactly what you should do with your I&E.

savagevixen

lostcause82 wrote: »

I have double checked my contact lenses and these are £25 I've no idea what I was thinking of when I put £33.

What about the tests and check-ups required? That is probably where the extra £8 comes in, and you partner will require an annual eye test.

abigail9

I am not looking to hijack lostcause82's thread, and I am certainly not trying to paint bankruptcy through rose tinted glasses. I have lived and breathed it for 8 months.
My point is no one should be afraid to query anything if they are not sure or not satisfied with the response they get, I have had cause to question a few things. Common sense to me. recent example was someones childbenefit and child tax credit being calculated in their income. My advice was to challange it, they did and both credits were removed from their income for the I&E calculation
Good luck lostcause82