Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
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I understand that I do have to provide creditors with this information; it may be unreasonable for them to ask for documentary proof of every last detail. As I understand it, the Court would not ask for full proof of every last penny, and therefore my creditors cannot either. Am I mistaken in this belief?????
Thanks for the link, Ida, but is there any actualy guidelines as to what is reasonable spending?
Given my way, I would regard a couple of hundred quid a week down the pub as reasonable, but clearly my creditors could dispute this... easily!
I just want to end up in a situation that I can live with and will resolve my problems, without having to live like a monk for two years.
Sorry about that, should have put Google Income & Expenditure Then scroll down page and Debt Advice should be top one after sponsered links
not sure how to do a link!!
For my dmp, I needed to stick within the BBA guidelines.
For housekeeping it is usually £180-£200 for a single person, clothing £20, socialising £20, and I am unsure about smoking, but you are allowed contingency x
There is an excellent sticky by Sequenci on this subject - link here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...-out-debt.html
I suggest you read the whole thing but in the meantime the bit relevent to your question is:
STEP TWO: YOUR OUTGOINGS
When it comes to outgoings it is vitally important to ensure you consider all the essentials that you will need to pay each month. These include the obvious payments such as housing costs, housekeeping and utility bills. You should also factor in the less obvious outgoings such as TV licence, health costs and emergencies. The key to an accurate budget is to ensure that your figures give a fair snapshot of how things really are, one thing to bear in mind is that a month is NOT 4 weeks, if you pay for items on a weekly basis you will need to multiply that figure by 52 and divide it by 12 to get the correct monthly figure.
One of the key stalling blocks for many is the figure for Housekeeping. This is the figure which includes food, toiletries, cleaning materials, newspapers etc. It should also include a small figure for entertainment. Your creditors will have general guideline figures that they will expect you to adhere to, if you have any reason as to why your figure might be higher than normal you will need to quantify it, perhaps you have a special dietary requirement for example. To get you started a typical housekeeping figure for a single person is £140/month, for a couple it is £230/month, for each dependant you’re looking at an additional £85/month. Please bear in mind these are very rough guideline figures and you may actually spend a bit more or possibly less. I really wish to stress that creditors will refuse a budget if you have a ridiculously excessive housekeeping figure. If you’re savvy you can shop around to find bargains, don’t be afraid to visit Aldi or Lidl and also your local food market.
When calculating your travelling expenses please remember to factor in monthly amounts for items such as road tax, maintenance, MOT, insurance, Roadside assistance as well as petrol. If you have purchased your vehicle via a lease, HP or Bill of Sale arrangement you MUST record this figure in your essential outgoings too, the reason being is that the creditor may be able to use repossession if you fall behind on payments.
It is perfectly fine to have a Sky or Virgin Media package so long as you are only paying a reasonable price, invariably this means that you may need to consider cancelling the premium channels such as movies and sports. If you’ve been with your supplier for over a year you might be able to renegotiate a cheaper package and keep these channels for a much cheaper price. You may also be able to do this with telephone and broadband packages.
You might have an entitlement to free prescriptions, dental treatment and glasses. Contact the health costs advice line on 0800 917 7711. If you cannot claim free prescriptions you might be able to reduce the cost by buying a prepayment certificate.
It is important to also factor in amounts for clothing, birthdays, Christmas, emergencies and other miscellaneous expenses, remember you might need to quantify your figures.
Bank of Scotland account 1 - £2,666 WON
Bank of Scotland account 2 - £2,500 on hold
GE Capital charges -£30 won (hey, every little helps!)
Barclays Partner Finance £425 charges - £225 offer accepted.
Finally debt free after 4.5 years, thanks to my Debt Management Plan through Payplan. There is no better feeling
I did one with CCCS a few years ago.The figures I came up with allowed me fifty quid to pay creditors. But when I gave these to CCCS on the phone , they whittled them down even more, that I was just down to paying token payment of 1 pound each to 5 creditors. They told me to put down more in the emergency fund, more for clothing and to have something left to spend how I wanted to. You have to have a life as well, I was told. Was quite happy with that.
And that is all I am paying.
If in doubt just massage the figures.
At the end of the day it's your business not the creditors and you do not have to supply this information only a court can demand it.
Reasonable Expenses for my DMP
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