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Original poster

At my wits end HELP!!!

22 replies

loganberry12 · 28/04/2009 21:08

its a long story but when i married my husband 3 years ago he brought with him £43,000 worth of debts he owed. We have struggled through til now but things have become so bad we only have £200 pounds left a month to buy food for 2 adults and my teenage son and my 19 year old daughter 2 dogs and 3 cats. That is before we buy petrol which we need to get us to work. I am leaving work soon for maternity leave as i am expecting a baby, unplanned i might add but will be very loved. Between us we earn £20'000 a year so do not qualify for working tax credit and im told that when i go on maternity leave we still wont qualify although i will getting £100 less a week.we do not get any other benefits at all.My husband says he has contacted the companies he owes money to about reducing the fee's each month but they say they will not reduce them. Has anyone got any advice please??? im so stressed!!!

OP posts:
GypsyMoth · 28/04/2009 21:12

work out full in/out expenditure and send companies your statement of means,offering just a pound.

thisisyesterday · 28/04/2009 21:12

speak to someone at cccs would be my first advice.

other than that, menu plan, budget better, get rid of some animals???

littlemissbossy · 28/04/2009 21:13

My god I'm not surprised you're stressed. Your DH needs to go to your local citizens advice and take with him all the details of the debts - don't know if he has to call and make appointment first? They will contact all the creditors and/or advise him of the best way to help you all out of this mess. No personal experience TBH but a close family member volunteers for the CAB - they do fantastic work and it's free!
Good luck lmb

dancingqueeen · 28/04/2009 21:14

I would try and get some advice. The consumer credit counselling service are a charity (www.cccs.co.uk/ ) and I would recommend them as a good starting point (be careful as some other organisations are actually commercial and make money out of your situation).

(I know them through my work, and have been impressed by the work they do)

best wishes

dancingqueeen · 28/04/2009 21:16

i see someone else also suggested them! they are a debt counselling service, and can help you reach an agreement to reduce your debt repayments.

CAB also good

puppylove · 29/04/2009 08:20

not sure if this will help, but there is a short and long questionaire on the hrmc website that will work out if you are entitled to anything:
[[http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/payments-entitlement/entitlement/question-how-much.htm]

it does state that if you earn under £58,000 as a family you would be entitled to some tax credits.

Original poster
loganberry12 · 29/04/2009 16:17

Hi Puppylove no we are not entitled to anything already tried they say as we earn over 19,000 per year not entitled

OP posts:
BONKERZ · 29/04/2009 16:20

when your baby is born you will get child tax credits at higher rate for 1 year. until baby is born you wont get CTC unless your DS and DD are in full time education still.

BONKERZ · 29/04/2009 16:21

everyone with children who are under 16 OR in full time education till 19 are entitled to CTC and its paid at higher rate for babies

LauriefairycakeeatsCupid · 29/04/2009 16:26

Yes contact cccs. He can't afford to pay his debts so he should stop paying the non-priority ones like credit cards and loans and focus on paying council tax and mortgage if you have one.

If you have no assets to protect (house with equity/fancy cars and inherited valuables)then he can consider bankruptcy unless he is in a profession that would not allow. Or even an IVA - where you pay it off over 5 years and have part of the debt written off.

You cannot continue to afford to pay this

definitely go on cccs website or if you make an appointment at CAB ask for an appointment with their debt advisor.

If he decides to reduce his monthly payments or just make token payments then you need to strap on some steel balls because you will be harassed horribly by them. You can get number preference from BT which means you can block them trying to call you - some will harass from 8 in the morning til 10 at night.

Also only communicate in writing if you decide to go down this route.

The very fact of the matter is you cannot afford to continue to pay these off.

If you want advice on how to handle all this and support go over to www.debtquestions.co.uk

good luck

lal123 · 29/04/2009 16:32

You will be entitled to child tax credits - DP nad I earn well over £20k per year each and we're entitled to it.

The Martin Lewis website has a good forum for debt advice etc. good luckxxx

wombleprincess · 29/04/2009 17:57

give away the animals to start with.

Tinker · 29/04/2009 18:00

Does your 19 year-old daughter work? If so, she should be contributing to household. If not working, could she get a job to help?

Surfermum · 29/04/2009 18:12

Tax credits normally work your payments out on the previous year, but if there is a significant change (like your maternity leave) they will work it out based on your anticipated income.

Do you know what your income will be for the year April 09 to Mar 10, taking into account your maternity leave?

inscotland · 29/04/2009 18:35

Getting rid of the animals does not help and is a pretty cruel thing to say to the OP.

I hope you get things sorted out. Godd luck.

GypsyMoth · 29/04/2009 18:39

get rid of the animals? how? where to?

sorento · 29/04/2009 19:10

she could sell them or put them down. i dont think its cruel to say that, ffs she has £200 a month to buy food for 4 adults, one of whom (OP) will need at least 9 months worth of good, nutritious food.

StarPlayer · 29/04/2009 19:13

I second you visiting www.moneysavingexpert.com I always find the threads/forums helpful. It's really worth visiting the site.

wombleprincess · 29/04/2009 19:14

how would getting rid of the animals not help? i mean pet food and vets bills cost money?

Surfermum · 29/04/2009 21:01

It would help with cutting down the financial burden, but some people are incredibly close to their pets, they're like family. It not that simple just to say get rid of them as sensible as a suggestion it may be. And I'm shocked at the suggestion that they get put down. They're not toys or belongings to be sold on Ebay or put in the dump .

wombleprincess · 29/04/2009 21:52

ok, keep the zoo, you could buy pet food in bulk and the whole family could eat dog/cat food. would also save time!

Original poster
loganberry12 · 30/04/2009 17:02

just to say my pets do not cost much at all to feed i buy a bag of food which lasts 3 months for the dogs as they are small toy dogs and eat small meals. The cats are the same a bag of dried food lasts them a month. I dont think it would be fair to get rid of my animals as some of you on here have put it as i had them long before my husband and his debts came along , they are rescue dogs and the whole family is very attached to them it would just cause so much more stress.

OP posts:
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