HELP - please???!

GNF

I am in such a muddle and don't know what to do. Am new to this site and forum and have read some of the threads/posts which are all helpful and give good advice. Please bear with me while I try and give a "brief" version of the story so far!! :rolleyes:

Have debts of £28,500. I work full time, am single and live in housing assoc accommodation. I decided, in January, to try and sort out this debt finally rather than continually consolidating and using credit to pay credit as I have done for the last god-knows years.

I went to CAB for a "chat", contacted a debt free advice line that charged a feww (didn’t realise that at the time!!) so did nothing with them and also read up on what CCCS could do/offer, spoke initially to someone over the phone there who suggested maybe DMP was the best way and dithered over the best solution. Decided to go down the local CAB route and after filling in the financial statement, and waiting for an appointment, went and saw them and they advised a DMP (although bankruptcy could be a final option if needs be). Now here were are four months later and things are finally beginning to move – or so I thought!

Unfortunately when CAB then sent through my financial statement stating they had contacted my creditors with offers of basic payments, they had made an error on the FS and worked it out on £60 more than I earn! I tried faxing, ringing, writing immediately but couldn't make contact with anyone. In the end, I took yet another day off and went and saw them, said that actually, in hindsight it might be better to organise this whole thing through CCCS as they were available 8-8 on the phone, had a website and it was easier to manage than having to take days off each time I needed to contact CAB. They were fine with that and I made an appt with CCCS.

I have now started to hear from my creditors, the two biggest are both fine with the initial offer on the DMP, however, unfortunately now they will get another letter from the CAB offering them a lower figure and I have to hope they will accept that too! The CAB worked out that I have a surplus of just under £200 and that has been divided up amongst them – this is the correct amount.

I then had my telephone appt with the CCCS last night and they have now suggested bankruptcy and were pushing that this would be the best solution!!!! As my debts on a DMP would take more than ten years to clear this was their recommendation. I am such a muddle cos have researched and researched and dithered about what to do. I have spoken to different "debt free advice" people and am getting, not exactly conflicting advice, but different advice and I don't know what to do for the best?? CCCS are sending through a load of paperwork about BR etc, in the meantime, I'm thinking it might be best if I continue to pay my creditors at the new, correct (but lower) payment and think some more.

I don't owe any money to my bank, but judging from what is said on here, I guess I would still have all the difficulties with bank accounts and everything. The CAB were more in favour of a DMP as BR was hard to go through, came with a lot of problems, work may need to know, housing assoc may need to know, problems with bank accounts etc, etc. The CCCS are more in favour of BR and say that it's not as bad as it seems, there aren't the problems with bailiffs turning up on the door etc. I own a car but it's old and of no value, have no assets and should all be reasonably straight-forward.

Sorry this is all long and muddly, I think I've remembered to put in all the relevant facts and that it all makes sense!! Can anyone help …………………… please????!?!? :mad:

Gx

immoral_angeluk

If you rent and haven't got any assests then sometimes bankruptcy is a viable option. Your credit record is clear after 6 years and you start the slate clean with your debts being wiped. With a DMP your credit file will be trashed for as long as the DMP carries on THEN another 6 years after your last default. So with the DMP you're looking at potentially 16 years of not being able to get credit. A DMP does not guarantee than the creditors won't take any action as it is an informal agreement. So at any time they could come back and demand the balance then and there or take you to court.

At the end of the day it's your decision and you need to get as much information as possible to make an informed choice. Don't let anyone push you into anything you don't want to. I would recommend having a visit to the bankruptcy board to get some advice from them as well.

rayday2

A DMP ruins your credit history in as much as your defaults stay on file from when they are first put on so at least 6 years, the older they are the less impact they have.

It is the least damaging to do to your credit than IVA or bankrupcy.

Remember CCCS only advise if you want to pay your debts tell them you appreciate what they are saying but you would like a DMP. Our was going to take something like 34 years but I knew once my children were older I would be back in work and we could hammer it down.

boredofbeingathome

Hi and welcome to the board.

It seems that you have done your homework thoroughly. Can't really offer any advice, except to go with the route which you feel most comfortable with, and that sounds like a DMP.

As you say, work may need to know, as would housing association etc, this would make it more stressful for you.

It may be worth posting on the Bankruptcy board and asking opinions there.They would be able to tell you how it is for them. That way you can guage an honest opinion.

Good luck, I am sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon.

Bob x

GeorgeUK

Hi GNF

Hopefully we'll be able to offer some advice, but from what you've said so far it's not too east to get a handle on exactly where you are financially. It may be possible for you to do a DMP but we'd need to see what your income and outgoings are for that.

I suggest posting up a statement of affairs so we can see what debts you have, who they are with, the APR's and all other outgoings. This calculator is quite handy for the SOA.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Hopefully we'll be able to spot other areas you can make savings in other than just your debts which may help. Well done for taking thinks forward. Here's hoping a solution isn't too far away.

GNF

OK - here's my SOA - it's not completely accurate because the CAB have calculated it one way with their figures differing from the way that the CCCS calculated it!! But suffice to say, CAB ended up with a surplus of £195 and CCCS are in the same region ......


OK - I'm doing something wrong cos when I copy and paste the SOA it all comes out jumbled and difficult to make sense of which line belongs with which???

Right - well i've sort of sussed it even if it didn't copy and paste properly!! You can more or less read it now!


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance SheetMonthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1224
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1224
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 320
Management charge (leasehold flat)...... 0
Council tax............................. 69
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 17
Car Insurance........................... 26
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 32Childcare/nursery....................... 0Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 21
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 23
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 16
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30
Haircuts................................ 11
Entertainment........................... 5
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 5
Total monthly expenses.................. 999
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 300
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 300
No Secured Debt
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
NorthernRock..................17460.....197.......7
A&L............................7400......155.......17
Egg............................3352......66........15
Black Horse....................300.......21........0
GE Capital.....................797.......32........24
Total unsecured debts..........29309.....471.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,224
Expenses (including secure debts)....... 999
Available for debt repayments........... 225
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 471
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -246
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 300
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -29,309
Personal net worth...................... -29,009
Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com. Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

Clariman

GNF wrote: »

Right - well i've sort of sussed it even if it didn't copy and paste properly!! You can more or less read it now!

It actually does copy and paste fine, providing you copy and paste everything as the Format for MSE page says. If you use Internet Explorer it looks a mess when you paste it into the post editor, but when you preview it or actually hit the Submit post button it all formats perfectly.

Well done for posting it!

Clariman

fermi

rayday2 wrote: »

A DMP ruins your credit history in as much as your defaults stay on file from when they are first put on so at least 6 years, the older they are the less impact they have.

Yep. Defaulted accounts are removed from your Credit Reference Files 6 years from the date the default is first registered.

Equifax - How long will information stay on my Credit File?

Credit Agreements: 6 years from the date the account was settled, written off or defaulted, whichever occurred first

Experian - Sample report.

A defaulted account is removed from your report after six years whether or not you have paid the debt in full.

If you have paid some of the debt off, the balance should show how much you still owe.

I'm afraid none of us here can really advise you whether a DMP or bankruptcy is going to be your best option.

For you to take the BR option, the court/judge will ask whether you have had professional advice that it is in your best interest before they will grant an order. You have had that from CCCS, so that is OK.

However, it is still up to you to make an informed choice on the matter based on your own circumstances.

The people here and on the BR board can help answer nearly all the questions you may have on either/any option, but the ultimate choice is yours.

4littleone

GNF wrote: »

OK - here's my SOA - it's not completely accurate because the CAB have calculated it one way with their figures differing from the way that the CCCS calculated it!! But suffice to say, CAB ended up with a surplus of £195 and CCCS are in the same region ......


OK - I'm doing something wrong cos when I copy and paste the SOA it all comes out jumbled and difficult to make sense of which line belongs with which???

Right - well i've sort of sussed it even if it didn't copy and paste properly!! You can more or less read it now!


Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance SheetMonthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1224
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1224
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 320
Management charge (leasehold flat)...... 0
Council tax............................. 69
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 32
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 25 As you have a land line can you get rid of this or use payg?
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200 I spend £130 a month on 2 adults and 2 kids so i think you could get this down quite a lot. I'll do a separate post to show you how i save on my groceries.
Clothing................................ 30 Do you reaally need new clothes at the moment? Make do with what you already have for a few months. If you need tees etc for the summer £15 will get you a basket full in primark.
Petrol/diesel........................... 40 Is this travel to work? Do you really need a car? See if you could walk or cycle to work
Road tax................................ 17 Ditto above
Car Insurance........................... 26 Have you checked you're getting the cheapest deal, look through Quidco to check and get cashback
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 32Childcare/nursery....................... 0Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 21 Do you use the pre pay cert scheme?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 23 Have you checked this is the best deal? Use quidco for cashback
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 16 As with pet ins.
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 30 This could be cut. I make alot of presents for a fraction of the cost.
Haircuts................................ 11 How often do you need to have your hair done?
Entertainment........................... 5 This is unrealistic, if you compare to how much you want to spend on clothes and presents for example.
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 5
Total monthly expenses.................. 999
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 300
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 300
No Secured Debt
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
NorthernRock..................17460.....197.......7
A&L............................7400......155.......17
Egg............................3352......66........15
Black Horse....................300.......21........0
GE Capital.....................797.......32........24
Total unsecured debts..........29309.....471.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,224
Expenses (including secure debts)....... 999
Available for debt repayments........... 225
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 471
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -246
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 300
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -29,309
Personal net worth...................... -29,009
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com. Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

Hope you don't mind the comments in red there. Just a few thoughts from my own situation.
Have a look at the way you're paying the debts, if you make enough savings from your budget sheet you could "snowball" the debts to pay them off quicker.
ie, throw all extra money at the Black horse loan first,then put the extra on GE capital, then when that's paid off put the extra to Egg and so on. You'd be surprised how you can bring down your debt free date.

Also, have a good look at the "make £10 a day" challenge threads on here. There are loads of ways to up your income. Evening bar work? E-bay as much as you can? Sell any books you've read on Amazon marketplace? All those extra pennies could go towards your debt then.

4littleone

Ok so here's how i save on our groceries.

I do a meal plan each week and list what ingredients i need. That becomes my shopping list.
I check the prices on Asda and Tesco websites for supermarket items and then shop at whoever is cheapest that week.
I use the local market for fruit and veg. (less packaging so you only buy what you need rather than the supermarket packs)
I use the local asian shop for bulk buying rice and also for cheap cuts of meat.
I don't waste anything, so if i do roast chicken i pull all the left overs off the carcass, half makes a chicken curry and the rest makes a chicken and veg pie. The left over veg from the roast can go in the pie. The bones are used to make stock that i then freeze in portions and use for soups and casseroles etc.
I bulk buy things like mince and then cook a huge pot of bolognaise or chilli and freeze portions.
I make a huge pot of tomato based sauce each month and then use this to add to meals. You can add herbs and spices according to what you cook, ie add basil and oregano for italian.
I make my own biscuits etc. It works out cheaper if you bulk buy the ingredients.
I have packed lunches only for work so i don't spend any money whilst i am there.
I keep old drink bottles and then fill them with water and keep in the fridge.When i go out i pop one in my bag and that stops me snacking and buying drinks out.

The basic gist of this is to cook as much as you can from scratch and look for the deals. With the meal planning you don't have to eat the meals on a certain night, ie you don't have to plan for salad on a tuesday, but you can cook whatever you want out of the plan according to how you feel each day.

For what it's worth, i think you can probably avoid bancruptcy if you manage to up your income and make savings, but that's only my opinion and it may not be the right one for you.
Good luck whatever you decide. x x

GNF

Hi

Thanks for the comments - like I said the SOA is not strictly accurate now, because CAB have done it one way and CCCS another and each of them lump different amounts in with different sections - hence the muddle!! The grocery bill is high, I know, and not accurate, but one of them includes laundry costs, cleaning, lunches at work and the other doesn't - which doesn't help!!

I'm on a contract for a mobile and cannot get out of it without paying a penalty.
It's not a case of needing new clothes at the moment, but I was told to include an amount as due to working I obviously need to keep some kind of decent wardrobe and can't shop in Primark as there are "size" issues
The car versus public transport is something I'm thinking about at the moment. I bus to work but the car is my "lifeline" but I realise it's expensive to run.
I've just changed my car ins to the cheapest deal I could.
The medical/prescriptions bit refers only to Denplan and opticians - don't have a choice there.
I've got the best pet ins I can, but my cat is elderly and has a heart condition so have regular bills that now, due to his age, I have to pay a percentage of and buy specialist food - hence the cost. Short of putting him down, I don't really see what I can do?
I was again surprised at the amount I was told to put aside for presents - but this was on the advice of both CCCS and CAB and is, in fact, less than CAB advised!
Again, I was told to allow for an amount for "entertainment" so I did!


I, too, wondered about trying to pay off the smaller amount first, as there is little left to pay, so I guess the answer there would be to continue with the DMP from the CAB but when I have any extra cash I, like you suggest, "throw" it at Black Horse and then GE capital etc etc ???

EDIT: I have just seen your post about the cooking etc and agree. I am trying to change things at the moment and my biggest drawback is that, at present, I don't have a large freezer. I am trying to sort that, but once again, to get one costs!! I am doing the big bolognaise, big chicken cook off as best I can, but it's all a bit different for me at the moment, and will take time to grasp a better way of doing things! Where I live I only have a choice of Sains or Tesco - so I guess Tesco is the cheaper option in this case!