I don’t want to die.

[Dpresst]

But I think I have no choice. I have fucked up my whole family’s life so badly I cannot cope with the shame and guilt.
DH and I have made a decision which is going to blow up in our faces. I know in my heart it was the wrong choice but we were in a desperate situation housing wise. We’ve taken on too much and didn’t expect the additional costs involved. We can’t afford the move we’ve made. It’s too late though.
I can’t see a way out. The stress and anxiety is too much for me.

you might be right. It’s for payments between Jan-March? I don’t really understand how it works.

Then hopefully it's not £400 a month but around £150. Phone them tomorrow to be sure.

Oh my lovely, I've been in this situation. We still struggle financially but it will get better. I believed they'd be better off without me too but please believe me when I say they won't. Their situation won't change, it will just be ten times worse because you are so much more important than anything else in this thread. You have each other, it's scary and it's a horrible situation but i promise you - it will get better.

It'll say the total due for the period so if it's £450 then that's over 3 months.

So there you go £300 a month less than you thought straight away 😊

We’re band F. I am going to try and call them. There’s no way in hell we can afford it

Go on to your councils website, they should have the annual amount for all bands on there. We also have ours on the reverse of the bill.

This is the bill. I was wrong it’s for November to March.

So it's November to March but they're taking that in only 3 payments even though it's 4.5 months. So you haven't had a payment for half of November, or December. So you'll have been able to save a bit for the January payment due to that.

It'll be £270 or so a month going forwards. Not great but nothing like £400!

Could the electric bill be similar - they've charged you for more than a full month due to when you moved in?

Call the council and ask them to spread the payments out if it will help you. The electricity and gas will be an estimate based on previous usage at the property, number of bedrooms and the number of people you told them live there - I have a 4 bed town house and I am actually paying around £140 a month and our standing charges are higher than yours (sw England they rip you off even more)

I have a 4 bed town house and I am actually paying around £140 a month and our standing charges are higher than yours (sw England they rip you off even more)

Can I have your CTAX bill, ours is 270 per month for a 3 bed detached in the south west.

That's the PP's gas and electric bill, not council tax!

That's the PP's gas and electric bill, not council tax!

And my sleepless night kicks in. I feel a bit better now, ours is about the same for that.

Why haven't you put a claim on for universal credit? You would be surprised how much you can earn and still get some help.....

Contact Citizens Advice, OP, and they will help you to manage all your debts and payments, as well as checking to see whether you are entitled to any benefits. Your situation is not unusual and completely manageable.

We have. Our latest statement says were due 0.00 this month. We usually get £190 pm

Day 3 of the awful job and I’ve been crying since I got home. I don’t want to go back. I have to go back. We need this money so badly. I feel at the end of my tether. I’m fucked up everything so much. I’m so awful,

HOPE - hold on pain ends

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Break down the problems and tackle them one by one. Phone Ciitizens Advice for suggestions about the gas and elec costs. Have you checked eligibility for universal credit etc?

All the best

You will come through this op. It may not seem like it now but you will.

Do you have anything you can sell?

Strip back to essentials only, get clever and shop at places like Iceland or aldi/lidl.

Remove non-essential light bulbs and electric devices, turn off radiators in rooms your not using and wrap tinfoil shiny side out around old cereal packets and get them behind the radiators to help reflect in heat.

Take a meter reading and give this to your energy provider ASAP. Then shop around for cheaper deals and switch.

Are you on a water meter? Add a brick into the toilet cistern and flush less. Quick showers only no baths.

Nothing to be done about shit job except look for another.

Can any family loan you the funds to repair your car?

I live in the same town as you OP, if you haven't already please call the council and ask to spread the council tax payments out. They did for me last year and were totally understanding and helpful. Some car garages will do repair work and let you pay in instalments. Worth calling some local ones and asking.

I came so close to driving crashing off the A2 tonight. I’ve quit. I’ve signed up for two agencies I’ll temp until I find something better. It’s not worth my mental health to go back and suffer that job.

I’m not expecting replies anymore. I’m just going to write stuff so I get it out.
Im feeling better today. Knowing im not going back to that place tomorrow is a weight off. Of course im now worried about the future and finding work quickly. Im hopeful that tomorrow some agencies will get back to me. Im qualified so im hoping it will be quick to find temp work. I’m also going to sign up for some of the free gov courses to upskill a bit and hopefully increase my chances of finding remote work, that would be ideal. Fingers crossed. It all works out. Tomorrow I’ll be home so I can unpack and organise, call dartford council and sort out other life admin.

you sound much calmer which is good. I hope you find more suitable work, the job sounded like it wasn’t right for you x

You sound like you're in a much better mindset op which is great. Just take it one step at a time.

Like a pp said, from April your Council Tax will be £270 ish pm for the next tax year which is far better than £400 (make sure you call the Council in March and ask for next years payments over 12 months not 10).

Gas and electric sounds high but from your Council Tax bill it looks like you've only lived there since 18/11 - so that will just be the Gas/Electric company pulling an estimated figure from their arse, the true amount may well be lower - call them and ask to set up a DD for £200 in Dec and Jan and then reassess in Feb and increase/decrease if needed.

You mentioned CCJ's - do you have debts you're paying off? Or bad/defaulted debts? Could you be paying more than necessary and able to lower payments there?

Thanks for the replies. I do have quite a lot of debts. I’m paying £200pm. I’m not sure how I could lower this without an IVA or DMP which I’ve been told are detrimental to credit

Are they current debts op, like open credit cards/loans etc? Or already defaulted?

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