I've been totally stupid

[ZoyaDestroyer]

I made an enquiry online today to Stepchange. Except it turns out it wasn't stepchange.
I gave them all my details, and sent copies of bank statements, tax credits award, everything.

What the fuck do I do?

I'm reassured by all the positive messages re: payplan. I think I will call them tomorrow.

I am so exhausted after today

You’re not stupid.

There’s one doing the rounds pretending to be the DVLA as well, scamming people (mainly 17 year olds of course 😡 ) into booking non existent driving theory exams.

Scumbags, all of ‘em.

Not sure if it helps but there should be a phone number on the back of your bank card that will get you through to someone straight away. I phoned it when I was at a self-service till in the supermarket the other day when my card was declined. They were able to tell me straight away that there was no block on my card and that the supermarket's till must be at fault (which it was - the payment went through OK on another till).

Just pointing this out as some people don't know about this number on the card.

@ZoyaDestroyer that will be fine then - they'll take mileage into consideration or you can say it's in poor condition and they'll take the lower valuation.
I would definitely go for a DRO if I were you - I'm a DRO intermediary at a debt charity and if you qualify (which is sounds like you definitely do), it really is the best way to clear your debts and give yourself a clean slate rather than struggling with monthly payments. Mention it to Payplan as I know they do them there, or as a pp suggested, CAB, CAP or National Debtline. Good luck!

Thank you Yorkshire- I'm going to call them today

Payplan aren't able to help me with a DRO. They've advised offering token payments to creditors for now and re visit in a few months.

Can you look at a Debt Mangement Plan in the interim to keep the wolves from the door? I have one with PayPlan and they're fantastic.

I dont have enough disposable income for them to do anything. I'm currently in a deficit. The wolves will just have to come.

have you tried citizens advice?

Why did they say they can't help you with a DRO? Is it an eligibility issue or just that they can't do it there? I was sure they did them. Definitely go to the CAB then.

OP, this sounds overwhelming for you.
Please go to CAB. There must be some way of taking control of this.

Please go to CAB

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Pick the area and put in your postcode to find the nearest one. Make an appointment. Take every single bit of documentation of debt with you. They can help you fill in the form and then you pay £90 for the DRO. If for whatever reason a dro is no good for you, they will work something else out that is manageable.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/debt-solutions/debt-relief-orders/getting-a-debt-relief-order/how-to-get-a-debt-relief-order/

The only things you should make sure to pay are your Rent and Council tax everything else can wait. You could ask the CAB to refer you to a food bank as well if that is also an issue.

Please remember is it only money and as long as you have a roof over your head and food to eat, that is all you really need. So try not to worry too much.

Hope you can work something out with CAB.

So what are your balances that make up the £10k?

I believe PayPlan take a fee, if you are able to pay around £150 between your creditors they should be able to freeze interest and accept a debt management plan. You can set this up yourself without paying a company to do it for you. Get your income and expenditure, photocopy it/print out a copy for each creditor. List your balances and make an offer to pay by splitting your disposalable proportionally. The creditors can agree a dmp with you. If interest was frozen £166 per month would clear £10k in 5 years, so if you can pay £155 per month then you are in the realms of being able to get a dmp imo

Sorry just read you have a deficit of £400

Is the deficit just income minus living expenses? What is your income?

If you have an ongoing deficit you will need more than a DRO/IVA to sort it out. Why are you outgoings more than your income?

I have just separated from my husband.

I'm paying back £95 per month for a UC advance. My UC, after rent and advance repayment, is £800per month. I get £208 per month from child benefit and £160 per month child maintenance. So £1,168.

I owe £2000 to HMRC for a tax credit overpayment.
I owe £2900 on a CCJ
and a total of £5000 in credit card, overdraft and catalogue debt.

I'm currently paying back £145 a month for the debts excluding HMRC, they have said they will deduct from my UC.

My utilities are £175 gas and electric, £160 telephone, mobiles, broadband, TV. £60 Water. £30 life insurance. Car inc fuel £220. So £645 in total + £145 to debts leaves me with £378 per month for groceries and the children's expenses.

I'm not sure what stepchange did but they said some categories had a minimum spend so that bumped it up.

Whilst you're sorting these debts out you could ask UC to defer your advance payments for 3 months, as long as you haven't done this before. It will give you a bit of breathing space and if you do end up applying for a DRO, advance payments are treated differently to social fund loans and are a qualifying debt so will be written off.

Your gas and elec seem quite high so you could have a look on uswitch to see if you can find a cheaper supplier and check if you're eligible for the warm home discount too.

A deficit budget won't stop you from having a DRO, but obviously you'll want to reduce it so you're not still struggling. It doesn't seem like a debt management plan or IVA would be a good idea for you and token payments would only be a temporary solution and only for some of your debts. If you do go for a DRO then any deductions from your UC will stop.

Oh and your water rates are high too. Check with your water company to see if they have a WaterSupport scheme or similar to cap your charges.

£160 telephone, mobiles, broadband, TV

How many mobiles?
I pay £15/month for sim only, £15 for broadband and £12 odd for TV licence.

I've applied for a discount on my water rates, and am waiting for a letter of confirmation for my UC to send off. It's the gas that's high - we are rural so have a tank. My mobile is expensive, contract taken out before I was made redundant, only a few months left.

That's useful re: advance. I will get in touch with them today, thank you.

I saw this this morning and thought you'd like to know.

www.yourmoney.com/credit-cards-loans/google-crackdown-on-exploitative-debt-service-ads/

'Following a campaign by StepChange Debt Charity, which drew attention to the misleading advertisers impersonating reputable debt charities, Google has committed to restricting debt services advertising solely to firms meeting accreditation standards. From mid-November, debt advice adverts will be subject to an application and approval process.'

Oh wow empress! I don't feel quite so stupid now, thank you

You're welcome!

Google are having a big push at the moment on making sure that sites advising on money, health etc are credible before they include them in their search results. Which means LOADS of people must be getting hit.