CCj's the only option for us??? Help us!

[lexis200]

Please please contact your banks with an Income/Expenditure form and a letter explaining you cannot afford to keep up these payments. Don't use a company to do it, it is possible, free and quick to do it yourself - either using the templates on here or via CCCS or one of the other free debt help centres.

 

You can ask for interest/charges to be frozen, and with the amount you have available pay them a pro-rata or preferably a token amount.

 

You need to make sure you include realistic figures though - a family of 4 can not be expected to survive on under £70 for 3 weeks groceries, and you must make sure you have enough for heating. We have 2 young children, so I know you must be going spare with worry about the cold, let alone everything else. If that leaves you with £1 to offer your creditors, then that's what you offer, not a penny more.

 

The very important thing to remember here is that if they don't accept this from you, the worst they can do is the very thing you are thinking of asking for yourself. And, if that did happen, the court will simply order you to pay what you can afford, not what the bank wants.

 

Also, as you live in rented accommodation not only can creditors not apply for charging orders etc, but I'm pretty sure they can't send bailiffs in either as the contents of the house could belong to the landlord.

 

Purely from reading your very sad story I would very much agree with Goldlady; you could and should offer them a token payment of £1 a month. There is a template letter available here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html. I would suggest letter C rather than B, as it reads to me that you need every bit of money you're currently paying the banks.

 

Next I would contact your utilities suppliers and see if they have a hardship program that you could be placed on. If they don't I would try and switch if you can. There are a few companies who can help, although the only one I can remember at the moment is EDF.

 

There is also a trust fund run by United Utilities. They offer a (non-repayable) grant to qualifying people in need - United Utilities Trust Fund

 

Additionally, this thread may be of interest to you - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/utilities-gas-electricity-water/100405-utilities-trust-fund.html

 

Definitely go to the link that the main man has given you as you really need to find out what you can claim. As you are in rented accomodation Housing benefit may be applicable. If the online calculators don't show you being entitled to anything, but also don't give you the opportunity to input the maintenance you are paying, it would probably be worth giving your local council a ring and asking them directly if you would be eligible, taking that into account.

 

Lastly, please try not to feel ashamed about this (sooo easy to say I know). You don't have much money, that's all. And that's about 99% of the people on this forum who, to a greater or lesser extent are in the same position. No one here is judging you:)

[lexis200]

by request of DFH, but was asked by them not to show increased bills ie bigger gas/food/electric because they would have to re-negotiate with the creditors and this would take time

 

I'm sorry but that is unbelievable, and this company should not be allowed to continue if this is how they 'help' people in debt.

 

I am completely incensed that they would have told you that. It's not only irresponsible, but it's also asking you to lie on your I/E form.

 

Quite apart from that, put simply they are telling you that because they won't pull their finger out of their ***** and do what you are paying them to do, you and your family have to go without heat and a grocery budget!

 

Did they do this in writing or on the phone?

[lexis200]

Hi again

 

How long did that take you to type?

 

Okie dokie - Deep breath now, it's a long one:D

 

First off, if you can bear a bit of hassle (a lot to ask when you feel like you're drowning I know), you could really do with dumping the 'professional' (and I use that word quite wrongly!) company and going it alone.

 

You will more than likely get a lot of phone calls when you start, but as long as you keep sending the 'no phone calls letter' (which most people on here will likely have a template for that you can use), they do eventually tail off. For the period before they do though, you simply get the name of who is calling and then repeat the mantra 'I do not talk about financial matters on the phone. Please write' until they hang up. If you can't face talking, just keep a log of the phone number, time called and date called every time you are phoned. Oh, and if you can possibly manage it, a recorder for the phone is a very good idea.

 

Letters will be sent which will scare the pants off you, threatening all sorts. When that happens you come on here, either scan or write what has been sent, and then find out that it is just an empty threat and you can deal with it easily. I haven't had a letter yet that some kind soul on here has not been able to dispatch for me with a suitable response if I've been worried.

 

The creditors refusing to deal with the CAB is very poor, and against OFT guidelines, but that's only to be expected.

 

lexis200, it took months and months for the creditors to cave in, HSBc spent months demanding £300 a month off us, (theyre old payments) then they asked for £150 a month, months later they finally wore down and accepted £74.09p a month through DFH, they will FLIP with rage when i offer them a pound a month, i'll be in court so fast i'll feel like my feet are dancing! (but i am not worried, court is inevitable!) sooner or later

That's really not necessarily true. For a start, in the big scheme of things most of your debt is reasonably small amounts (apart from the HSBC one) spread over a lot of cards to equal one big debt. This means it becomes less worth it for the banks to take you to court, as it costs them to start legal action. Also, if your I/E shows your actual income and expenditure (you know, like enough to enable you to heat your home!), as opposed to the ones you were told to put, they will be able to see you do not have spare cash. This may well not make them any more sympathetic, but if it does go down the court route how kindly is a judge going to take to a creditor insisting you pay them rather than keep your kids fed and warm? Even HSBC with the big debt will not be awarded any more by a judge than you can afford, so if you have no assets to sell or house to get a charging order on, there's not much incentive for them to do it.

 

Also, it's not like you make a smaller payment one month and the next you're in front of a judge. OH has been paying MBNA the amount he can afford for the last 7/8 months, not what they want. We've had 20+ letters from them - very few phonecalls really though after telling them to go away - but they are nowhere near court action. BOS have not been paid for a few months due to unenforceable agreements, but they too are not seeming eager to go to court. It was threatened on one account, but after a superb letter (from another member) was sent, not a peep from them. Obviously not all banks will be the same, but it's not something they seem to jump into with any great speed.

 

I believe a lot of it comes down to the circumstances you give them. I had a pretty sh**ty run of luck when I became ill and my OH lost his job due to taking off to much time to look after me and our (then) baby. When I eventually got the guts up to write and ask them for help (this took literally years of living on the edge - we'd already lost our home and gained another child by the time I did it!), all but one accepted my pro-rata offers (ironically the 'ethical' bank:rolleyes:). The letter I sent gave a completely true account of the state of affairs, but I steered away from being too personal - just gave them the facts. Two of my cards totalled more than your whole debt currently stands at (OH had a good job previously so credit was no issue), but I pay them less than £50 a month between them, which is what I can just about afford. If I could only afford £1, that is all they would be getting, regardless of how loud they shout.

 

I'm unsure as to why your utility company wouldn't let you switch due to someone else's non-payment? Unless they were expecting you to pay, I don't see their reasoning here. Anyone else have any ideas why this might have been done? If it was a while ago though, it may be worth another phone call to them. If they still won't play ball, perhaps they have a hardship plan they could put you on?

 

Bankruptcy - this is from the National Debtline book that they sent me

Bankruptcy is really a last resort and most creditors are unlikely to make you bankrupt. You must owe £750 or more to that creditor before they can make you bankrupt. It costs them money in court fees and they are unlikely to get the debt paid back to them unless you have assets that can be sold to pay your debts. The aim of bankruptcy is to claim assets that can go towards paying off your creditors. Once you are bankrupt, your creditors can usually take no further action against you.

 

You can make yourself bankrupt but the fees are high (Court fees £150, petition fees £345).

 

Bankruptcy can be a solution if you owe a lot of money, have no assets, and can see no way of ever paying the debts off. You are made bankrupt for normally up to one year. Usually debts that have not been paid are then written off and you are 'discharged' from the bankruptcy. You may still have to make monthly payments for a total of three years under the terms of your bankruptcy order.

 

I don't see any reason though why you would need to go down that route yet, if at all. You may find you have unenforceable agreements, and hopefully in the meantime you will be able to reduce your payments and chuck the DMP company who seem to be very adept at not getting you out of this mess!

 

Hopefully not all of that was ramble and some of it will be of help - assuming of course you've not fallen asleep in the middle of reading it!

 

Lexis:)

[lexis200]

Hi again

 

I'm glad it helped a bit.

 

The only reason I was harping on about the utilities is not so much to save you £20 over the course of the year, but more because if you are with the right company they could possibly help you with actual payments. EDF for example have an energy trust and may be able to grant a lump sum towards a future bill, just giving you a bit of breathing space. EDF Energy Trust - About Us: a history of the EDF Energy Trust

I thought it was them who had the tariff for people on low income, but I can't actually find it now so it may have been another company.

 

Certainly though starting to deal with the main debts will at the very least make you feel better. Personally, I found that once the first letter had gone out I had a wave of relief. Even if the result isn't quite what you expect, you will most likely feel better simply by knowing one way or another!

 

I've no idea about the consolidation question I'm afraid, so I'll leave that to the rather more knowledgeable bods on here.

 

Good luck with your uploading:D Don't forget to obscure all personal details, and any ref. numbers that may be showing!

 

Lexis:)

[lexis200]

I completely missed the bit about you not taking your medication due to the cost of scripts, but as Cadencealex said, missing important drugs is a big problem (been there, done that, got very sick because of it!)

 

I'm lucky enough (so to speak:rolleyes:) to be exempt from script charges at the moment due to tax credits - if I wasn't I'd be looking at about £60 a month. However, when I was younger, not with decent money but also without any benefits, I went to my doctor and explained that I couldn't afford the monthly amount, but also couldn't afford the lump sum needed for pre-payment scripts.

 

Now I did know my doctor very well due to long term illness, so that may have helped, but he used to give me scripts to last 3 months. This meant that I was only paying 1 charge for 3 months of drugs.

 

I would try the same thing with your doctor and see where it gets you. Even if you can get a couple of months worth as your repeat rather than the standard one month it's better than nothing. You don't need to go into a detailed breakdown of your financial issues, just tell them at the moment you're struggling to get the script filled every month and would they be able to make it a larger amount. Or even say it's because you find it hard to get the time to pick them up every month and it would be easier if it was less. They're long term drugs so it's not a stretch to say either of those things.

 

Lexis:)

[lexis200]

Hi again

 

I have no idea about incapacity benefit either, I think you may be mixing my post up with another?

 

As for your meds, it's not just a case of not being around for your boys, it's your wife too. You've stated you have no idea about benefits. You are bringing in the only wage at the moment - if you're not there what happens then? Sorry to be so blunt, but you can't go thinking that it won't matter, or worse that it would be better, if you aren't around.

 

We have housing association people on our estate, although we rent privately. It's only 5 years old, and they are nice people. You may find yourself in the same sort of place with the same sort of neighbours, don't go thinking that because it's HA it's automatically a dump. That's not necessarily the case. Plus, as far as I'm aware, if somewhere really isn't suitable for you, you don't have to take the first place they offer (can anyone who actually knows about this properly answer that one?)

 

As for benefits, I think someone posted a link to 'entitled to' earlier in your thread. It would be soooo worth you spending 10 minutes going through it to see if there is anything that can help you. You may not want to have to ask for monetary help at the moment, but if it gets you through a dark patch why not?? As you said, you've paid your taxes, let it help you if it can rather than the bloke sitting on his a**e.

[lexis200]

Hi

 

A couple of things to remember for when you send your I/E sheet off to the creditors.

 

Don't sign any of it. Either print your name, sign on a patterned background, add letters into your signature, or my personal choice, use a digital signature - vLetter Free Font Demo Online - Try Our Real Cursive Handwriting Fonts is the place I use which is easy and quick.

 

You DO NOT need to let them have your signature for CCA requests, or send them any other documents they may ask for. They only need your I/E form as this is accepted as a true reflection of your finances. If you have any problems with this regarding them, I should have a letter you can use to send them off with a flea in their ear (it worked for me with Cap1 and Co-op)!

 

Remember what you put on your form is what you need to live. They know this. So, if/when they try and get you to up what you've offered, keep that in mind - they can afford to lose a tenner a month; you can't.

 

Lastly, if you haven't already got it in your covering letter I'd ask them to freeze interest and charges on receipt of your letter informing them of your change in circs. I didn't do this, and as a result ended up with between 1 and 3 months interest and charges being added whilst the account was being looked at. I'd just say something like as you've informed them of your difficulties, you would appreciate the interest and charges being frozen whilst they assess the situation, in order to stop the balance growing.

 

Lexis:)