Debt is out of control

[Debtfreewannabe]

I would love some advice from anyone with regard to debt and if I am doing the right thing.

I have several debts adding up to less than 5k but the repayments are now beyond me. I have a child recently diagnosed with a disability and had to cut my work hours to meet his needs. I have no regrets about doing this as he is definitely benefiting from having me around to support him after school. Prior to this I was working full time and have dropped just over 1000 a month.

My debts are all catalogue based and have been to buy things like a fridge/cooker/sofa when I separated from my husband. I wanted to go second hand but didn't have the money up front for that and at the time was earnin g well so catalogues seemed okay. I am a savvy shopper so always look for discount codes which means I end up getting items at the same price as they would have been in the shops.

Anyhow - fast forward several months and suddenly I am on £1000 less a month, have an ex-husband who pays me maintainance at varying times each month depending on when he gets paid. This month he has paid me today but next month doesn't know if he will be able to "give very much" as he is self-employed and has had no work this month (lots booked next month which is no good). I have been sitting here panicking as without that I cannot make the payments to my creditors.

I went through CCCS and did a budget with them and there advice has been that I have very little to spare and too little for a debt management plan. Their advice has been to write to all creditors (4 of them) with the info regarding separation and my child's recent diagnosis and ask them to accept a token payment of £10 a month which is all they say I have spare (I had no idea it was so bad). It has got worse with the increase in petrol prices (need my car for work) and the increase in electricity.

I am panicking about what these creditors will say. I am also paying a CCJ (courtesy of exDH who defaulted on loan payments without telling me). I have been advised to approach the court for a decrease in this payment too which I am dreading.

Any advice?

Meant to add that I didn't include my maintainance in the CCCS figures as I just cannot rely on it. With it I can pay my creditors albeit maybe not at the agreed time

If the ccj is in your name then you can apply to the court for what used to be called an administration order ( used to work in the county court years ago but they will prob call it something different now).

Essentially, as long as there is one ccj in your name and the debts don't exceed a certain amount (it used to be £5k about 20 yrs ago), then you apply to have all your debts rolled into one. The court decides how much you can afford and you pay one amount to the court each month and they distribute that every 3 months or so pro rata to all your debtors.

It's a bit like a bankruptcy, but not an actual bankruptcy.

As I say my details are out of date but I b elieve the system is still there, althoug little known about.

Calll your local county court, ask to speak to someone on the enforcement section and see if they can help.

Would really recommend you go to CAB as they have all the info on your options. Maybe a debt relief order ? www.insolvency.gov.uk/bankruptcy/alternativestobankruptcy.htm

Go to CAB and get them to go through a budget with you - there's a formula that the courts use when assessing how much you can pay - and get CAB to contact the companies - they tend to respond better to the CAB! Make an offer that you can afford, based on your changed circumstances.

Pay that amount every month. They may say they won't accept it, reply that you are paying what you can afford, after your essential expenditures.

Continue to pay that amount. If your circumstances change, write to them and change the amount that you can pay and pay that.

If they hassle you, tell them that they may only contact you in writing. Also tell them that you think it is best if they take you to court, where you will demonstrate to the judge that you lack the means to make higher payments and the judge will order them to accept the payment you are making at the moment.

• they like to threaten court because many people are scared, think court is a terrible thing and horrible things will happen - not true. Courts are generally very sympathetic to people who find themselves in trouble through a change in their circumstances. (Although they come down like a tonne of bricks on people who choose fast cars and foreign holidays over paying their bills!

Bottom line - catalogue payments are unsecured debt, fairly low on the list of priorities. They take what you can afford.

oh - and go to thingie..arrgghh what's it called? CSA!! to get them to fix a payment. Your ex needs to sort himself out. He can delay his payment for a week or two but your child can't delay eating for a week or two!

Because if you have income you don't declare because you don't know what day of the month it's coming in - that will not go in your favour!

Plus you can carry it forward so the first month you don't pay while you are sorting this out - but at some point in the month your ex pays you. That is saved and used to pay month 2 to creditors. Month 2 at some point he pays which you save to pay in month 3 - see?

CCJ is in joint names as he needed me on the application to get the loan

Have you looked into the benefits that you are entitled to? My son is disabled, there's an additional child tax credit element, you can also claim mobility and disability living allowance for him (they have changed this to something else).

Go and see the CAB about the catalogue debts, I worked there a few years ago, the catalogue debts are not legally binding IIRC as there's no contract, morally is a very different story though.

The courts will be sympathetic.

That's a good idea Just. Think I will send the letters. Definitely do not want to conceal any income. Would they count my son's DLA if and when he gets it?

Annoying thing is that with the maintainance I can just manage all the payments.

If he gets dla then the amount you need to live on is considered to be increased (that's how HB, CT, IS etc works it) I'm not sure if they have to disregard it by law or not - I think so but I might be wrong. It's not your income if it is for your son, is it? Get CAB advice. I think maybe declare the DLA and factor in care costs to that amount (or more) and it cancels itself out?

Go to the CAB and work with their budget. You'll find they allow you more than you allow yourself!

here's one

Thank you so much Just - that's really helpful.

good luck.

And try not to worry, you can only do what you can do. Sometimes your circumstances change!

I had someone really aggressive on the phone once sneering at me saying you can't afford £whatever, and I said "which of my children would you like me to stop feeding so I can give you this money? Take me to court."

And I remember one really horrible person who said to me that I had no right to get credit that I couldn't afford.

And I said "when I took it I had a successful business and it was a commitment I could afford. I earned more in a month than you do in a year. My situation changed and it wasn't my fault. Take me to court, I'll explain it to the judge." I know that was quite arrogant of me, but he really pissed me off.

I used to say "take me to court" quite a lot.

Also, "do what you like, I really couldn't be in a worse situation no matter what you do."

I would advise you to do exactly what the ccs have advised

I say keep the money safe that your ex gives you and put it away for some savings

Thing is if you write and then you pay more they will then not beleive you can't alway pay more...