where to start so many problems

[Stormandsummer]

I was told about this forum from my father whom has had great sucess with many things but even he can't help he said i need to post questions direct so here goes ............

 

I have alot of debt from many years ago from banks to credit cards etc all in my previous married name, single name, I am now remarried with yet another name

 

For the past five years i have been paying them off at 1.00 per month I owe alot of money and in all seriousness in my life time i will never pay them all off :-|

 

 

I was advised three years ago to go bankrupt but the thought scares me,

 

let me explain, some five years ago i had a severe mental breakdown, resulting in my now not being able to cope with life and i am on heavy medication for this and after an car accident I had i am left with permanant injuries and pain, therefore i am unable to work and it is unlikely i will ever return to work I am on disability benifits now.

 

For me to go bankrupt it will cost me about £400 and i will need so I have been told to go into central london.

 

i am agrophobia and only have a few places i can go, such as to see family the thought of going to court and dealing with all the paperwork will and has in the passed caused me so much stress i can honestly say I shut down mentally and then can't get out of bed :-| for weeks.

 

 

somehow despite me being on benifits i have stupidly managed to get an overfraft in the bank where my money is paid into, i claimed from them with the help of my father some back dated charges and won, however recently they have charged me 105.00 for going 5.00 over my limit i spoke to them and they won't take the charges off because i had a claim paid to me

 

 

My whole fiinancial affairs are a disgrace and i am constantly over whelmed by them I have tried to be sensible and pay my way but since being unable to work, everything went downhill and now i am a complete mess, I just don't know what to do, how to do it.

 

It sounds stupid but i just wish someone would help me sort everything out, not that I can truely cope with it all, i just want it all to go away now, it has been hanging over me for years,

 

Please help

[slick132]

Hi Storm and welcome to CAG.

 

You are in the right place to try and sort out these problems and will get good help and inspiration here.

 

It may help if you give a brief list of what you owe and to whom.

 

I'm in no way qualified or experienced to talk about Bankruptcy but others here will be able to help.

 

Take some time to read around the forums and get a feel for what goes on. Come back with the info when you're ready.

 

Slick

[rory32]

First of all hi and welcome to CAG.

 

Can I ask do you have any assets e.g. are you a homeowner?

 

Have you considered granting power of attorney to someone else (possibly your dad) so that you do not have to directly deal with this?

 

As far as self bankruptcy is concerned it need to necessarily cost you any money. There are various charities and trusts which may give you the fee to go bankrupt. A lot of these trusts are actually set up by utility companies. Who is your energy supplier?

however recently they have charged me 105.00 for going 5.00 over my limit i spoke to them and they won't take the charges off because i had a claim paid to me

Have you considered a basic bank account with another bank? This type of account pays out DD's and SO's but doesn't give you an overdraft facility or a switch card. I know that Lloyds basic bank account don't charge for DD's that there are not enough funds in the account to pay. They just don't pay the DD. The downside is if it happens 3 times they ask you to close the account, but at least you don't receive any charges.

[Stormandsummer]

I will try and list them all

 

£17 thousand to halifax for a loan i took out weeks before my breakdown - whom have never sent my any letters or requested any money i pay a £1.00 a month to them but never hear a thing :idea: !! they probably don't know who is sending the money and why

 

i got taken to court ( but have no knowledge of this ) by barclays for two joint accounts with my ex, they also get £1.00 per month each

 

barclaycard I know i pay £1.00 per month them but i do not know how much i owe them

 

capital one, passed on several times to debt agencies I pay them £ 1.00 per month balance £2199.00 only know as they sent me a letter today, i immediatly burst into tears , the letter asked if i wanted to pay them 1099.00 as full and final payment......... ermm no as i don't have it

 

one catologe i own about £1300 too

 

I owe money on my rent and council tax but hopefully i am sorting this one out although this amounts to hundreds, my husband starting working part time and i forgot to inform them so this was backdated, completly my fault as he is working part time and not earning a great deal i thought i did not need to tell them as it is only 12 hours a week, , the rest of the time he cares for me, when i am bad physically

 

 

it is all such a mess, when i had my breakdown, i set fire to all paperwork relating to debts and now i can't remember how much i owe , it is only because some of them wrote to me that they get a £1.00 per month

 

this is not a threat but i really can't cope with sorting this all out ideally it would great if a solicitor or someone could just deal with it all i really can't cope right now

 

 

I have no assets. I was told by the benifits people to open an account with the post office which i did but as i hardly ever go out, having an account with a debit card means at least we eat, as i don't need to leave the house to do the shopping

[Stormandsummer]

sorry meant to add what would handing over power of attorny mean exactly long term? My dad tried to help in the passed but he started to get letters saying he was liable for my debts and they wanted to take him to court and i could not allow that to happen so i took them all back

[rory32]

Okay what I would suggest is that you grant someone power of attorney over your affairs. This means that you don't have to deal with sorting this all out and someone can do it on your behalf. There are two main types of power of attorney, these are a last one and an ordinary one. A lasting power of attorney will give someone permanaent ability to act over your affairs. An ordinary one allows someone to act on your behalf for a period of time. The CAB will be able to help you with this. Someone can attend on your behalf - you don't need to go yourself. Alternatively you can buy power of attorney standard forms from such places as WH Smith.

[rory32]

sorry meant to add what would handing over power of attorny mean exactly long term?

An ordinary power of attorney would only be for a set period of time. You and only you are liable for the debts, not your dad. Your dad is simply acting on your behalf with your permission to sort your financial affairs out. He has no personal liability for the debts.

[Stormandsummer]

my dad tried but it all got too much for him and i felt embarrassed and guilty for putting it all on him, he does his best but it all came back to me , sorry i am going into mental shut down i can't even cope with talking about all this at the moment, i will be back when i can, thanks for your help rory

[rory32]

A charity that I would suggest you get in touch with, to give you some support as well as advice, is National Debtline:

 

FREEPHONE: 0808 808 4000

Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm

Saturday 9.30am to 1pm

24-hour voicemail.

 

Your dad may wish to do this on your behalf if you don't feel able to cope with it.

[Stormandsummer]

Right my mind is back with now !!

 

I guess i need to do a number of things....

 

first my benifit is going into an account with a £700 overdraft with the abbey, that I have never signed for and always been done over the phone is this legal ?

 

 

They know I am on benifits yet they still recently took £105 out in bank charges for going £5.00 over my overdraft can i do anything about this?

 

next do i need to change banks? if so what happens to the o/d on the abbey account ? would this now just become another debt to add to many ?

 

please be patient with me, i do lose the plot every now again

[honey5]

hello im so pleased you came back i worried about you and how you were

youre in great hands here, they will walk you thru everything i promise

they arent allowed to take your benefits, cant you arraange for these to be paid into another account ???

honey x

[rory32]

first my benifit is going into an account with a £700 overdraft with the abbey, that I have never signed for and always been done over the phone is this legal ?

 

Yes perfectly legal. As honey has suggested you need to open another bank account. Either a basic bank account (all the banks do these now) or a post office account. All you need to open one of these are forms of i.d. such as a utility bill. You also need to get in touch with the benefits agency while you are setting up this new account and ask them if they can send you out a giro as a temporary measure until this new account is set up.

 

As to reclaiming the charges, it's unlikely that the bank will just hand them back to you without a bit of a fight - although you should get them back eventually. The overdraft is going to just become another of your debts as really you don't want to be using an account with an overdraft facility.

[Stormandsummer]

I am sorry if i am being a pain, this is not going to be easy for me.....

 

I have already got a post office account opened by dwp for me, however it has no online banking and i am agrophobic, I tried to go out today to open a lloyds account so i can have d/d and s/o on the account and i could not even get passed my front door

 

How the heck am i supposed to sort this out if i can't get out the house, what happens if i get my benifit paid into the PO account and then i have to run around paying bills left right and centre ? It just won't happen I am never going to get this sorted am i ??

 

i rely on my abbey account to do my weekly shopping too, without it. oh god i dred to think i would lose alot weight I have my shopping delivered

 

There is no hope for me is there

[sillygirl1]

Try a Nat West Step account, it has online facilities and you can't go overdrawn (and THEY can't overdraw you either on this one...)

 

AS far as bankruptcy I don't believe you HAVE to come to London, you really need to speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau as they can help you due to your situation more than they helped me.

 

Good luck in your hunt for a bank account.

[rory32]

I tried to go out today to open a lloyds account so i can have d/d and s/o on the account and i could not even get passed my front door

It's just an application form that you fill in and post off. Could you possibly get someone to pick up one from a branch of Lloyds? Another alternative is a Nationwide basic bank account which you can apply for on-line. The link is here Please note both these accounts offer only cash cards, so you cant use the card over the net.

 

Another alternative is a Bank of Scotland Easycash account which offers a Visa Electron card which you can use for shopping on-line. Again you can apply online. Link for further info is here

 

Please note that while there is no overdraft on these accounts Nationwide and Bank of Scotland will charge you if there are not sufficient funds in your account to pay a DD or SO.

 

Another alternative for on-line shopping is a prepaid credit card which costs about £5 per month.

[rory32]

Regarding bankruptcy I would speak to National Debtline. They employ qualified advisors. While the CAB also do, you may not be able to speak to one over the phone and end up speaking to a volunteer. County Courts often deal with bankruptcy and if you phone your local one they will be able to tell you whether they deal with bankruptcy petitions. Some information for you from the insolvency.gov.uk Publications and Guidance Material Issued by The Insolvency Service

[ananya]

Try a Nat West Step account, it has online facilities and you can't go overdrawn (and THEY can't overdraw you either on this one...)

 

AS far as bankruptcy I don't believe you HAVE to come to London, you really need to speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau as they can help you due to your situation more than they helped me.

 

Good luck in your hunt for a bank account.

 

Hi storm and welcome to CAG

 

We have a NatWest Step account and they give you a Solo debit card with the account so you can shop online.

 

All the very best of luck and keep coming back to CAG so we can all help you.

[gh2008]

Another plug for the Natwest step account, apply online here NatWest - Current accounts - Step account telephone & online banking and a Solo debit card which is accepted almost everywhere.

[honey5]

I am sorry if i am being a pain, this is not going to be easy for me.....

 

I have already got a post office account opened by dwp for me, however it has no online banking and i am agrophobic, I tried to go out today to open a lloyds account so i can have d/d and s/o on the account and i could not even get passed my front door

 

How the heck am i supposed to sort this out if i can't get out the house, what happens if i get my benifit paid into the PO account and then i have to run around paying bills left right and centre ? It just won't happen I am never going to get this sorted am i ??

 

i rely on my abbey account to do my weekly shopping too, without it. oh god i dred to think i would lose alot weight I have my shopping delivered

 

There is no hope for me is there

 

 

ok calm down, youre doing something about this, youre talking to people

thats a huge step in itself

take things slowly and nice and easy, you will get there you can do this

 

honey x

[Stormandsummer]

Deep breath......

 

you guys/gals are fantastic :grin: Just when i think I am up against a hurdle you come up with an alternative, they say it is good to talk and in this case i have not spoken to anyone for years over this, and this is helping me no end, I will try the NatWest step account and let you know how i get on.

 

I found a letter on here asking a debt collector to write off a debt due to circumstances this is my next action. after the bank account.

 

It may take some time for me to sort this out and I am sorry i will need alot of support and deal with one thing at a time, or i will shut down mentally:( it saddens me that I was once and efficient personal assistance for 5 directors and could handle anything.... now i can't even get out the door but this is my life now and i want it back and sorting the financial side out will go along way to restoring the balance of life, pls bare with me, don't give up on me pls

[ananya]

Hi again Storm Excellent news regarding the bank account too!

 

The way to tackle things is one step at a time, try not to get overwhelmed and treat each one as an individual, keep the others ticking over whiole you deal with each one. You can do this, everyone on CAG is here to help and you can get yourself back on track.

 

You've conquered the first big hurdle by coming here and talking about it all and that can't have been easy.

 

Well done again and keep us all posted

[sisternumber1]

Storm

 

Just to offer support and to let you know that I have been helping my daughter, and yesterday she was declared bankrupt. Could I put in a big plug for the National Debtline, they helped no end.

 

And the bankruptcy bit was nowhere near as fearfull as we thought it would be, my daughter is disabled and quiet ill and in a wheelchair and the people at the court could not have been more helpful, we were only there for about 30 minutes, she did not have to answer any questions as we filled in all the forms at home.

 

However as several people have said take it one step at a time, you will get there in the end.

[slick132]

Hi Storm,

 

Glad to hear you are more positive about sorting these things out. It WILL take time and there'll be moments when it all seems overwhelming.

 

But if you deal with things one step at a time, you'll get there and there's buckets of advice and support here for you.

 

Slick

[Stormandsummer]

I have now started the ball roling on 2 things :grin:

 

One was to open an account, still waiting for the post to arrive on that one, the other one is i sent a letter asking one of my debts to write off a debt, we will have to wait and see if anything happens on that one too

 

meanwhile now i have made a start I am taking a break and will see what my next step will be, meanwhile time to recharge it has been a stressful few days .

 

 

I meant to say a huge thank you for being so supportive, i have a way to go yet but one day i hope to post that i am debt free

[linz2011]

Good luck with this - you will get lots of support on here - just remember you are not alone and most of us are in the same boat.

 

Take care and shout when you need assistance, a chat or a moan