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
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.
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/ (http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/)
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 (http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/index.php)
There's also Payplan;
https://www.payplan.com/ (https://www.payplan.com/)
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 (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 (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.
If either you or he gets the Which! magazine, there is a low-cost add-on for legal help ?
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!
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 :thumbsup:
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.
:NGF:
Been in your son's position myself many years back and I found most creditors were happy to discuss the problem and offered various ways around the problem ranging from payment breaks to paying interest only for a time I was helped by the banks and building societies etc. But I must stress he needs to talk to sooner rather than later I wish you and him good luck.
That's a horrible situation to be in, but there is always a way out. I remember many years ago when I was maxed out on my current a/c and credit card just before Christmas. No way to get any cash. Had to make the presents for my two girls myself - just as well they didn't mind getting an articulated lorry, although it was full of bricks. To quote the song: Things can only get better.
A big thanks from us all to you all.
We managed to transfer some monies from us to my sons account yesterday and and he used it to part pay 90% of his bills. Today he has been over and we have gone through the whole situation and advised him best possible.
He also has a print out of this thread in full and is taking it home to digest
An extra smallish amount from us will enable him to redeem his pawned items before they get sold on or attract to much interest.
Later today his phone will be used to phone all utilities/banks/morgages and explain the problem to them.
(fingers crossed time here) :worried:
Thanks again fro us all
Quote from: Trainfish on 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.
Certainly the electric, I know they cannot cut off. They will most likely, if it comes to it, install a meter that takes pre-paid cards rather than a standard billable meter. Pre-paid meters are funded by buying top-up cards rather like pay as you go phone cards. At least that's how they used to work.
All the best of luck to your son and his family. "There but for the grace of God", etc.....
I don't think you can cut off water either.
Jon - I hope your son gets things sorted. I've been there with a family member and a friend's relative and it isn't any fun. This is a horrible thing to say but where you can try to make sure that your son is actually paying off things rather than making the situation worse - if necessary offer to pay companies direct rather than handing over cash or transferring funds.
It sounds like you are doing exactly the right things and I hope it works out OK for you all.
Cheers, Mike
Quote from: red_death on January 12, 2015, 01:32:47 PM
This is a horrible thing to say but where you can try to make sure that your son is actually paying off things rather than making the situation worse - if necessary offer to pay companies direct rather than handing over cash or transferring funds.
It sounds like you are doing exactly the right things and I hope it works out OK for you all.
Cheers, Mike
We have him on a 'short leash' at the moment and he is updating us every time he sorts something out. Unfortunately he works nights so today being a first of four days off has been a bit messy with him needing extra sleep due to extra traveling/work pressure last night.
I would not talk to these people on the phone do everything in writing it also may be worth your son sending the creditors a data subject access request (DSAR) this costs around £10 and they have to send all the information they have on him statements etc indicating payments charges etc because all late payment fees, and other fee etc are not lawful and can be reclaimed and also is there any pip payments as well that can be reclaimed. Have these debts gone to debt collection agencies yet or are the original creditors still trying to collect if the Dcas are trying to collect and they have not purchased the debts then they can do nothing except send threatening letters and stamp there feet if they have purchased the debts then your son should have received a notice of assignment off the original creditor and the debt purchaser if this has happened then send the Dca a cca request this will determined weather they have all the necessary paperwork and original credit agreement to make it enforceable in a county court. the creditor has 40 days to respond to a DSAR request and the time period for a CCA request ton respond is 10+4 days for postage and send them recorded signed for post.
Jon,
Do try and get your son to go to the CAB as they are excellent.
I know that you mentioned that his partner is disabled but not disabled enough to claim benefits. The CAB will advise if that is definitely the case - he shouldn't just accept that they aren't entitled to something even if the DWP has previously turned down the claim. They have been known to get decisions wrong. There is also more than one benefit covering disability/inability to work e.g. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA). Your son might also be entitled to Working Tax Credit depending on the household earnings. The CAB will advise him about all of this.
Hope things work out ok.
Simon
Quote from: ScottyStitch on January 12, 2015, 01:08:26 PMCertainly the electric, I know they cannot cut off. They will most likely, if it comes to it, install a meter that takes pre-paid cards rather than a standard billable meter. Pre-paid meters are funded by buying top-up cards rather like pay as you go phone cards. At least that's how they used to work.
Sadly those days are gone
I had a phone call from one of my tenants last year that initially they thought the property had been broken into and were waiting the Police, but oddly there was no electric
I advised them I would be straight over and call out our electrician
On my arrival the Police confirmed to me the property had been left secure and the electricity cut off, but it was now a civil matter for me to resolve (oh, lovely)
The property already had standard meter (as I only select tenants who can afford this)
I inspected it and found it had been disabled, along with a new seal and notice of end of service for non-payment in excess of 6 months
I then asked the tenant if they had received any warning letters, but they advised they had not
So I then phoned Scottish Power and after nearly an hour they phoned back to advise they had disconnected the WRONG property!
When the engineer arrived (12 hours later) I asked if the standard practice of replacing the standard meter for a pre-payment meter was used, but confirmed this ended a few years ago and only takes place if the tenant is consistently late with payments, rather than non-payment
Non-payment in excess of 6 months allows access without notice and termination of service
Quote from: mjkerr on January 13, 2015, 01:26:38 AM
Quote from: ScottyStitch on January 12, 2015, 01:08:26 PMCertainly the electric, I know they cannot cut off. They will most likely, if it comes to it, install a meter that takes pre-paid cards rather than a standard billable meter. Pre-paid meters are funded by buying top-up cards rather like pay as you go phone cards. At least that's how they used to work.
Sadly those days are gone
I had a phone call from one of my tenants last year that initially they thought the property had been broken into and were waiting the Police, but oddly there was no electric
I advised them I would be straight over and call out our electrician
On my arrival the Police confirmed to me the property had been left secure and the electricity cut off, but it was now a civil matter for me to resolve (oh, lovely)
The property already had standard meter (as I only select tenants who can afford this)
I inspected it and found it had been disabled, along with a new seal and notice of end of service for non-payment in excess of 6 months
I then asked the tenant if they had received any warning letters, but they advised they had not
So I then phoned Scottish Power and after nearly an hour they phoned back to advise they had disconnected the WRONG property!
When the engineer arrived (12 hours later) I asked if the standard practice of replacing the standard meter for a pre-payment meter was used, but confirmed this ended a few years ago and only takes place if the tenant is consistently late with payments, rather than non-payment
Non-payment in excess of 6 months allows access without notice and termination of service
Every day is a school day! Thanks for that.
Quote from: shaker_wooders on January 13, 2015, 12:51:32 AM
Jon,
Do try and get your son to go to the CAB as they are excellent.
I know that you mentioned that his partner is disabled but not disabled enough to claim benefits. The CAB will advise if that is definitely the case - he shouldn't just accept that they aren't entitled to something even if the DWP has previously turned down the claim. They have been known to get decisions wrong. There is also more than one benefit covering disability/inability to work e.g. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA). Your son might also be entitled to Working Tax Credit depending on the household earnings. The CAB will advise him about all of this.
Hope things work out ok.
Simon
We have told him to contact CAB and discuss the situation with them ASAP and that's on his schedule for today.
As far as disability is concerned his partner was `assessed` just before Xmas and she was told 'nothing we will do'
Since then she has been told that the office she was assessed at has a bad reputation and so she is appealing against their decision. Its an on-going situation >:(
Mate, I've dug some pretty deep holes for meself over the years.... big time, believe me. REALLY big holes. But I have managed to climb out of them.
The day will dawn, the sky will become blue, and you might just wonder what the problem was.
Chin up and best wishes!
George
Quote from: jonclox on January 13, 2015, 09:37:06 AM
We have told him to contact CAB and discuss the situation with them ASAP and that's on his schedule for today.
As far as disability is concerned his partner was `assessed` just before Xmas and she was told 'nothing we will do'
Since then she has been told that the office she was assessed at has a bad reputation and so she is appealing against their decision. Its an on-going situation >:(
I had a similar problem when applying for DLA. I only had some success when my GP wrote a detailed letter listing all of my problems that I eventually received some help. I would suggest your sons partner does the same thing and if she has been treated b any hospital consultant, get them to write a letter as well ;)
cheers John.