new to board help needed...please

tgriggs

hi all im new to this forum, was recommended from another site i visit...
been having a few money problems since....erm forever, but last few months things have gone from bad to worse, basically i owe about 20k to creditors and still owe my council tax from last year- £1130
i came home yesterday to a baliff letter saying i have got 14 days to pay total or they will be back to remove goods, i rung and tried to explain my money problems at the min, but the bloke wasnt interested just said as i had already broken the agreement i couldnt make another one, he will give me 2 weeks to sort it.....i havent stopped crying since, got a summons through this morning for this years council tax as i payed it late (trying to keep on top of rent and ct) managed to convince them not to take me to court and now i have to pay £35 a week without fail,
i have been to cab and they are suppose to be writing to my creditors on my behalf to ask them to freeze interest and payments for 3 months so i can try to sort things out (the reason im suddenly unable to pay anything is due to tax credits overpayment, my payments have been dropped from 118 a week to 60 a week and i havent even done my renewal yet so god knows what they will drop it to then!)
im just fed up with having people on my back for money i havent got, ive constantly got a headache, now got a throat infection and generally feel like poo!
please tell me there is light at the end of the tunnel...

smashedbooboo

Hi hun and welcome,

You have made the right move by posting here. You will get loads of support on here. There is light at the end of the tunnel even though it seems a long way off. Can you post up a statement of affairs. All your outgoing, all your creditors and how much you owe each one. And everything you have coming in. Then the lovely people on here will be able to advise you as to where you can trim back on things etc. How far have your creditors taken you hun. Any in the hands of debt collection agencies yet. If so let us know who they are and what debts they are. HAs the bailiff actually been in your property and made a list of goods to take away. This is important hun. We need to know this. Keep posting. We will help you all we can. x x x

tgriggs

hi thanks for replying...
right debts are-

catalogues-next-189.81
littlewoods-950.89
empire-46.92
additions-306.39
argos-388.39
studio-523.31

credit cards- capital one-1890.82
halifax-10,382.44
barclays-907.97

provident loan-592

got joint loan with dh as well which left to pay is 10607.51(dh pays this though)

my income is- approx 220 a week (im self employed so varies)
outgoings-
rent-89pw
council tax- 35pw
gas-10pw
electric-10pw
travel expenses-approx 20pw
phone landline-12pw

water rates-35 pm
contents ins-27.81 (im a childminder so quite high insurance)
life ins- 29.36 pm
tv licence-11.61pm
mobile-30pm
internet-19.99pm

dh works he earns approx £1500 pm
and he pays
lif ins-28.14pm
abbeyloan-221.44
mobile-40
car ins-40.10
sky-55 (we are rining to drop this to lowest package today)
capital one card-60pm
halifax loan-354
bike finance-156
bike ins-55

plus weekly shopping approx -£70ish


the debt collector hasnt been in my house, i was out when they knocked yesterday, was quite shocked to get the letter as i know id missed a couple of payments but thought id get a reminder or something first!

as for the creditors at the mo im just getting the phone calls and letters saying i need to pay, i have been to cab and they are writing to the creditors for me

helping_hubby

It also might help if you can find out the interest rates and minimum payments on your loans, credit cards and catalog bills.

I think there are a few areas you should be able to cut back on to help go towards the debts.

I think the car insurance is possibly quite high (of course this depends on NCD, how young your OH is and what car he has). But it could be worth shopping around. Also look at Quidco (https://www.quidco.com) for cashback deals.

You could cut your mobiles down a bit when you come to renew.

You say your phone line is £12 a week? Are you sure this isn't per month? And internet is £20. Well for £20 a month you can get Virgin media line rental, evening calls, 2mb broadband and some digital channels. (I just happened to be looking at this today - so saw the deal)....there are also Quidco cashback to be had. So again shop around for internet/phone deals. Talk talk offer some good deals too.

I think your weekly shopping could be greatly improved. Is it just the 2 of you to feed? Check out the Old Style forum for ideas on batch cooking and cutting down food bills. I feed myself and OH on £20 - 30 a week (depending how good we are - and this includes non food items such as loo roll and shampoo etc).

Hope that helps for a start...

helping_hubby

Oh...I had another idea. You say you are self employed....well you could add a little more to your income by looking into Mystery Shopping. It doesn't earn lots and isn't guaranteed, but you can get some nice jobs such as visiting restaurants, cinemas, fast food chains etc.

Also look into things like survey sites, Pigsback, iPoints, myTNS, etc etc (check out the freebies board). They don't bring in much but it all helps for a bit of a social life (I usually redeem my points for cinema vouchers).

10past6

Hello tgriggs :hello:

Welcome to the forum.

There's a few issues that you need to understand, priority debts, and non priority debts.

Priority debts you MUST pay, these are, mortgage / rent / gas / electric / water / any CCJ / Council tax, these MUST be paid.

Non priority debts are just that, non priority, which may be CC / loans (unsecured) O/D.

Re the bailiff attending, was this a court baliff to do with council arrears, if so, contact the court immediately in and ask for the case to be set aside.

If it's a general "Debt collector" under the name "baliff" send them this letter by recorded delivery:

Your address

Date

Creditor / DCA address

Ref - a/c no.: XXXXXXXXXX

Please be advised that I am only prepared to communicate with XXXXXXXXX in writing. OFT rules and regulations clearly state that you can only visit me at my home if you make an appointment and I have no wish to make an appointment with you.

There is only an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; e.g. the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v. Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.).

Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives, to visit me at my property and if you persist in sending "doorstep callers" to my home, you will be reported for harassment and be liable for damages for a tort of trespass.

You would also be liable for conspiring in a tort of trespass by acting in defiance of my instructions and sending someone to visit me nevertheless.

Should it be necessary, I will obtain an injunction

ONLY INITIAL - NEVER SIGN THE LETTER

I suggest you contact one of the debt charities listed here for free advice, NEVER EVER USE A FEE PAYING DEBT MANAGEMENT COMPANY THEY CANNOT DO ANYMORE FOR YOU THAN THE DEBT CHARITIES.

Re your other creditors, once you contacted one of the debt charities, send them this letter, again by recorded delivery:

Your address
Date
Creditor / DCA address
Dear Sir/Madam

Re:− Account/Reference Number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We are writing to inform you that we are seeking advice and assistance from [enter debt charity name] regarding our current financial difficulties.

To this end, we would appreciate if you could hold any action on the above account for a period of at least 28 days.

Also, during this period, could you please freeze interest and/or any other charges accruing on the above account.

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully

Any further questions, just ask.