Financial assistance

jonclox · January 11, 2015, 11:31:56 AM

Our younger son (with 2 kids) has got himself well and truly in dept. and services are threatening cut off (Gas electric water phone telly etc)
We can probably manage to bail them out short term but need to point him towards good debt relief/help for the future. So far it seems they are scraping the mortgage payments together ok
Ive so far today pointed him at CAB and he has admitted theres a problem to his disabled partner who it seems isn't disabled enough to get benefits

Trainfish · January 11, 2015, 11:47:09 AM

Jon, I don't think they are allowed to cut off the gas, water and/or electric especially when there are kids involved. Also tell him to speak to his bank, they may be able to give him a mortgage break for 3/6 months. Ok the debt will attract more interest but it would help in the short term. If he is currently working they are more likely to help. A friend of mine is currently in the middle of a 6 month mortgage break due to being away from work with stress.

Jack · January 11, 2015, 12:07:57 PM

Citizens Advice is a very good first stop asap! Advice and help is free. The website should help to find the nearest office to your son.

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

steveg1966 · January 11, 2015, 12:11:42 PM

Have a look on the consumer action group (CAG) web site they is some really good debt help on there and they will point him in the right direction.
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/index.php

mickeyflinn · January 11, 2015, 12:28:19 PM

There's also Payplan;

https://www.payplan.com/

simong · January 11, 2015, 01:00:45 PM

Here is a link to a charity that deal with the creditors directly on behalf of the client and with no charge or strings attached. They also help with budgeting. I know someone who works for them and they have an excellent success rate and because they are a national charity they have good relationship with creditors, so once they are involved the creditors deal with them directly, taking a lot of the stress out of it for the debtor.

https://capuk.org

If he needs access to food the following charity has food banks up and down the country, again the service is provided free with no strings attached.

http://www.trusselltrust.org

Having been through redundancy in the past I can understand how stressful it is to get into debt. Hope it helps your son move forward.

MikeDunn · January 11, 2015, 01:26:38 PM

If either you or he gets the Which! magazine, there is a low-cost add-on for legal help ?

OwL · January 11, 2015, 01:31:14 PM

First of all I would like to wish your son and family every success in getting this sorted.
It's an awful situation to be in. However there is light at the end of the tunnel.
There are many charities and organisations that offer free impartial advice as other members have pointed out above.
Another good tip is consolidation of debts. For instance if money is owed on a credit card which charges 19% interest then flip the debt to a 0% interest card on a balance transfer. There are many credit card companies whom offer 0% interest on balance transfers for up to two years!
The reality is a debt could be transferred and potentially paid off interest free.
Things to consider are that balance transfers will charge a small fee (no more than x1 months worth of repayments) and that after the interest free period ends the interest can go up to 20% (but there's nothing wrong in flipping the debt again to another 0% interest card)

Also prioritise debts. Tackle debts that incur a higher interest rate first as these are the more costly ones.

Good luck to you and your son. It takes a lot for people to talk about their debt problems. By doing this is the first step to a debt free future.

Also look out for money saving expert (Martin Lewis) for tips on how to reduce debt.
I will post the link when I can find it!

jonclox · January 11, 2015, 01:55:09 PM

Many thanks to all who have offered advice/aid on this thread so far. I shall take note of it all and try and sort bit by bit.
Please keep info help coming .
We have asked son to call tomorrow morning to try and help him face to face.
I may well print out this thread for his viewing and digesting
In the meantime I`ll look at all the links

Irish Padre · January 11, 2015, 02:21:19 PM

We had a guy from CAP (see Simong's post above) speaking at our church today and they sound really helpful - have achieved really good results for people. Am sure you just want to get him the best help possible.

A.Carter (BiG-T) · January 11, 2015, 02:48:02 PM

Hi
StepChange are another Charity that helps with Debt management also look on Martin Lewis's website there is some very good advice on there.

Tony

port perran · January 11, 2015, 03:11:48 PM

Hi Jon

I do hope you can get this sorted asap.
Lots of great advice already. It's definitely a good step to get everyone involved talking and aware of the problem. Certainly talk to the bank and utility companies.
If Credit Cards are involved it might be possible to make a Balance Transfer (often at 0% for a year although a fee is charged) to another card. As long as that new card (or the old one for that matter) is no used then the debt starts to be paid off without incurring extra interest. Good to shop around for deals though.

Zakalwe · January 11, 2015, 03:57:57 PM

Firstly I hope it all gets better ASAP

Having admitted to the problem is the hardest step for many although hard decisions are ahead , the biggest hurdle is actually done now.

In addition to the other sound advice, Stepchange are also very good too.

Important step is to talk to the major creditors and get a conversation going. Banks re presently much more willing to do payment holidays etc. rather than repossession as it is simpler for them long term and beneficial for the people involved

jonclox · January 11, 2015, 04:18:05 PM

Thanks everybody for all the incoming advice.
Ive printed out everything up to this point and will print any all late additions in the morning.
Both my wife and I are determined to do our best for them but this is somewhat out of our comfort zone so anything is helpful
We could I guess scream, fume and rant at him but I don't see that being of any use. Help is far more important all round

Trainfish · January 11, 2015, 04:43:43 PM

Quote from: jonclox on January 11, 2015, 04:18:05 PM
We could I guess scream, fume and rant at him but I don't see that being of any use. Help is far more important all round

Definitely don't do that Jon. As Zakalwe has said, the hardest part is done in admitting to there being a problem. I've been in a similar situation many years ago and once I had done that it was like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. There are very few companies who don't have sympathy in these situations as let's face it, they want their money eventually and would rather that than not get it at all.

Good luck for tomorrow and feel free to return to the NGF (N Gauge Finances) Forum if you need further help/advice.