I seem to be up the creak- any advice?

turpentinekiss

My situation is that I am a first year Social Work Student currently doing a full time unpaid placement.
I pay full tuition fees (£3025 a year) as I have already spent 3 years on another undergraduate course (but I did not finish due to illness).

My current income is £750 per month- that is my full student loan and a Social Work Bursary.
My debts have occurred over the past 6 years and up until starting my new university course I was keeping my head above water, paying off the minimum payments on credit cards and paying my loan. When I started at Coventry university (I was accepted onto the course at last minute- a week after the term had started) I had a full time job and I was told that they would reduce my hours to part time so I assumed I'd be able to continue making the minimum payments to my creditors. Sadly once I had accepted the place on the course I was told that as I'd be going on placement later in the academic year my employer was unwilling to reduce my hours and so I became unemployed.
Throughout my first term I looked for a part time job but the knowledge by would be employers that I was going on placement meant that I received no job offers.
I am now on the unpaid placement.


I have spoken the debt voluntary agencies CCCS and Payplan. The two options that I was suggested have been Voluntary Agreements (which I have been trying and failing to get sorted) and Bankruptcy.
My fear over bankruptcy was that I wouldn't be eligible for a student loan over the next two years but I have since been told that shouldn't be a problem. I can't start bankruptcy proceedings until I can show I have a part time job (so that my income is more than my outgoings as I am still living off an overdraft).
So far Intelligent Finance have said that my offer of a token payment is unacceptable and that they will issue a default notice. HSBC have also said that they are sending my debt to a collections agency. Egg have agreed to a £1 token payment but they are still charging me interest.


After my placement finishes at the end of July I plan to work as many hours as I can, and then continue working around 15 hours a week when I go into my second year. Even when working I will only just break even and will not touch my debts.

I'm pretty worried that the voluntary arrangements being rejected will lead to my debts being passed to baliffs, and I'll get CCJ's.

Can you offer any advice?

My debts are around £15,000 not including my student loans.

Bleachbird

Hi,
I completed the Diploma in Social Work a few years ago and worked as a relief Residential Social Worker on weekends and during the course. I used to go to an overnight/sleep in after i had finished a day in placement.
I know local authoritys need rsw's throughout the uk and i worked for the nugent care society as one. Just a thought as the pay is decent and it will look good on your cv once you finish the course.
I think employment agencies advertise for relief rsw's and with some you can get a sign up bonus. so check academy social care, reed recruitment, bbt etc.
hope that is an idea for you.

boredofbeingathome

So sorry to hear of your problems. Are there any extra bursaries, student hardship grants you can claim?

LittleRed_2

Have you checked with the GSCC if there are any other funds you could be entitled to?
Payplan are very good and most of the big companies are used to dealing with them. I have to say my husband had difficutlies with HSBC, who have now arranged a new loan agreement with him, having created a statement of affairs. Like you in time he will be in a position to make bigger payments, but not at present. So at the moment is loan has been spread over something ridiculous like 12 years! But it does allow him to make the repayments for now. They have a specialist department for dealing with these types of loan agreements.
Hope you manage to get things sorted.

turpentinekiss

Bleachbird wrote: »

Hi,
I completed the Diploma in Social Work a few years ago and worked as a relief Residential Social Worker on weekends and during the course. I used to go to an overnight/sleep in after i had finished a day in placement.

I've been hoping to do this, I have had a lot of problems with the agencies not thinking that I have enough experiance as my previous degree was in teaching and previous jobs were office based rather than Care.

I think its time I tried to fluff out my CV a bit though- thanks for the advice!

X

turpentinekiss

boredofbeingathome wrote: »

So sorry to hear of your problems. Are there any extra bursaries, student hardship grants you can claim?

I get a Social Work Busrasry (which is what I am living off) and because I get that I'm not able to apply for any others, I tried applying to the Access to Learning fund but unfortunately the University had run out.

clearmydebts

turpentinekiss wrote: »

I've been hoping to do this, I have had a lot of problems with the agencies not thinking that I have enough experiance as my previous degree was in teaching and previous jobs were office based rather than Care.

I think its time I tried to fluff out my CV a bit though- thanks for the advice!

X

Hi,

I work in a similar area and when I was in University I had to do unpaid placements as well. It is a pain! I also did some care work/relief work part-time with agencies. It is a good way to earn money and it looks really good on your CV when you qualify.

Best of luck

turpentinekiss

LittleRed wrote: »

Have you checked with the GSCC if there are any other funds you could be entitled to?
Payplan are very good and most of the big companies are used to dealing with them. I have to say my husband had difficutlies with HSBC, who have now arranged a new loan agreement with him, having created a statement of affairs. Like you in time he will be in a position to make bigger payments, but not at present. So at the moment is loan has been spread over something ridiculous like 12 years! But it does allow him to make the repayments for now. They have a specialist department for dealing with these types of loan agreements.
Hope you manage to get things sorted.

I will contact the GSCC, and see if they can offer any advice.
Payplan will not contact my creditors on my behalf as I am living off a loan (my student loan).

grimupnorth_2

I'm sorry that you have found yourself in this situation; you could always see if you could defer a year and get a job so that you can show your income and out-goings are suitable for bankruptcy proceedures.

the Access to learning Fund may have been unsuccessful for a number of reasons. Firstly your University may have run out as it is first come first served beginning at the start of the academic year. Secondly, as the Fund is assessed on an income/expenditure basis they will have probably included a figure to represent what student loan you could have got; as they will have assumed that you would have made' reasonable' provision to make up the difference yourself.

I realise that i've not been particularly useful to you, but perhaps it helps to understand how ALF works. I used to work as a Student Finance Advisor at a university and i'm not meaning to criticise you directly but i did find it frustrating that some students said they 'had' to come to university and give up a reasonable job etc. I always saw university as a choice. Again, not a dig at you directly, and i'm sure there's another side to the arguement.