I am currently £13,100 in debt.

Some run up by my son on my credit cards and some by me while manic(suffer from Schizoaffective disorder).

Up to now I have been using all my disability money (esa and dla) on paying towards the debts instead of the care I need so have been relying on my mum to do the caring but she is 80 and it is a strain on her.

I am trying to address the debts so I can pay my sister to do the caring instead and relieve my mum.

The problem is my creditors seem to think that my DLA and ESA should be used to pay then so it looks like I have got plenty of money.

I have tried explaining I need to pay for care but it is falling on deaf ears. Social services have said they cant help because my money should be going on care and not paying debts.

I would like to go bankrupt or a debt relief order but was wondering if they also would say I have too much income?

Any thoughts.

I would suggest that you start off by listing out your debts here. Including the creditor, whether the debt has been put into the hands of the debt collector or if it has been sold on, how much money is owing, when the debt was incurred, when was the last time you paid any money into the debt.

Also, do you have any assets? Do you own your own house? If you have no assets then bankruptcy could be a good way to go – but although you may think that £13,000 is a lot of money, it's probably small beer compared to some of the problems that we get on this forum.

List it out here and people will be able to understand what the situation is and start to give you advice.

Thank you for your reply.

I am looking to ruin my credit as I don't want anyone to let me get credit in the future.

I do have a notice of correction on my credit files from 2008 telling lenders not to lend to me because of my severe mental health problems but that obviously did not make any difference.

I don't own my own home.

I don't have a car and I don't have any expensive assets.

My main question is can my creditors insist on me using my DLA and ESA on paying them instead of the care I need.

No they can't insist on that. You will have priority debts and priority expenses and your own personal welfare will come first.

However, you should follow the advice I have given you which is to list out your debts because it may well be that some of them are not enforceable for one reason or another.

Also the notice based on your file in 2008 is very interesting because if the lenders have ignored that then you may well have a good case for saying that the lending was irresponsible. This could be a good basis for rendering them unenforceable – if necessary with the help of the financials and service.

Please follow the advice here. You have come here for help and we can give you the best help if you allow us to guide you as to what information to give us.

I would like to go bankrupt or a debt relief order but was wondering if they also would say I have too much income? Any thoughts.

There is no point in going bankrupt if you are eligible for a DRO. As you are in receipt of ESA and PIP, it is unlikely that you are left with more than £50 per month disposable income. Your PIP would generally be offset to compensate for your disabilities leaving ESA only and that will not usually provide £50 of disposable income. You would then have to meet the criteria of owning no property and no assets worth over £1000, a Motability vehicle does not count.

|Lots of avenues open right now. Forget about Bankruptcy, IVA/DRO. Theyre a last resort and a far off goal.

Please list your debts

My debts are the following:-

virgin £4,900 Taken out March 18. Been up to date until now

Barclaycard £2,800 Taken out July 17 Been up to date until now

MBNA £2,300 Taken out Sept 18 Been up to date

Sainsburys £1,150 Taken out Sept 18 Been up to date

Marks and Spencers Taken out Sept 18 Been up to date

Tesco Taken out Sept 18 been up to date

Sky Mobile Taken out July 17 defaulted in Sept and being threatened with debt collection agency.

Parents £1,000

A lot of the debt was with Barclaycard (£8,500) and I was struggling to keep paying as the interest was something like 19% so I did some balance transfers to Virgin and MBNA.

Sorry forgot to say amount on the following:-

M & S £860

Tesco £690

Sky Mobile £400

I hope this helps.

Thank you everyone who have replied.

so most of this has been taken out [consumer credit debt] in the last 2 yrs?

the priority here is your parents debt

forget about the morality card..oh I owe these creditors x amount of money, parents 1st.

in the debt collection section of our library is a pro-rata letter

send each creditors one of those

if they don't help [which they must under industry guidelines] you drop them to £1PCM.

as for debt collectors..they are powerless and not bailiffs

shame you switched to balance transfers and wiped the old debts out that way.

what were the debts you cleared by this method and when from?

I would certainly agree that the lenders need to take some blame here as most of this debt has been taken out over the last 2 years and would certainly have been recorded on your credit file.. Have you checked to see if the Notice of correction is still visible to lenders ? It is my understanding this only lasts for 90 days and you might have needed to update it regularly, certainly at least once a year I would have thought.

As advised - use the letter that dx has linked you to - offer them £1.00 per month.

I suspect that lenders are not allowed to use your dla/esa/PIP to repay debts.

You may find the Money Advice Liaison Group's guidelines on mental health and debt useful when dealing with creditors.

Schizoaffective disorder is a serious mental health condition - creditors should be treating you as vulnerable, not trying to take your benefits.

My suggestion is that you speak to your CPN or other mental healthcare professional, and ask them to complete National Debtline's Debt & Mental Health Evidence Form that you can then send to your creditors. It should take the pressure off and stop them chasing you.

Just thought I would update on my situation. I have been working with Christians Against Poverty and they have come up with a Debt Relief Order so I am feeling much better about things.

Great news, mad man. Enjoy the moment when all of that debt no longer exists.