We are in a serious financial mess and falling deeper by the day!

[brunettebimbo]

I don't know what to do, I knew things where bad but just hoped by some miracle they would get better I honestly don't know what we are going to do.

My Hubby is self employed and has been since October, his tax bill will be due in January which his friend who is in the same job thinks will be around 7 grand We had started saving for his tax bill but 3 weeks before our wedding hubby fell and fractured his ankle which meant he couldn't drive and had to take 2 weeks off work which cost his about £1600 to get someone in so that was our savings gone!

We got an 8 grand loan to pay for the rest of our wedding, pay off my credit card and buy a decent family car as ours just kept breaking! We bought a car for £4800 which was ex company car and had had only one owner and was in what we thought brilliant condition. Well the car started losing power and then started hissing, we took it to a Vauxhall garage who changed a split pipe and said it needed a new part, put it through it's MOT and passed it this took them 4 weeks and cost us £700....£500 of which we had to borrow from Mum. We had the car back 2 weeks and it broke down on the motorway Losing power AGAIN!! We've taken the car back to the garage and after speaking to them on Saturday they think it is an electrical fault and therefore isn't covered under warrenty so they will want more money from us! We haven't got any! And if I've got anything to do with it they won't be getting a penny!! How on earth can they charge us £700 and pass it through it's MOT for 2 it to break 2 weeks later!!!?

Hubby can't possible take on anymore hours, he works 4am-6.30pm as it is. I'm leaving for Maternity Leave in 2 weeks and will only be on SMP so things are going to be worse moneywise.

I've searched my house for things to sell but have nothing!

I'm so scared and I've no idea what to do.

 

[Annabel]

Hey hun,

Im not sure what to say really, I think you need to prioritise what bills you pay. Ensuring you pay your mortgage is number one priority.. Credit cards etc can wait, and so can the car.. Cant you take the car back to the dealer and say you aren't happy with it and mention the words, trading standards....

As for your hubby paying a large tax bill, im not sure what can be done, as it obviously must be paid...hmmm...

Will you be on SMP as soon as maternity leave starts? How long have you planned to take off on maternity leave, as you may need to go back to work sooner, (if you earn more money than childcare costs)... This is what Ive had to do, very upsetting, as I would have loved to stay at home, but cant have a home if we're both not working

Hope you get it sorted soon hunny, and I know its so so difficult, but try not to get too stressed about it

 

[TattiesMum]

Do you rent or own your house Hon? If you rent then you may be able to get some Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit once you are on SMP

Once your LO is here you will also get Child Benefit and probably Child Tax Credit as well, which will help a bit. I'm really not sure how to handle the Tax Bill, but I do think it's worth you making an appointment with CAB ... they might have some suggestions/advice which could help you through

 

[brunettebimbo]

It's straight onto SMP.

I'm contemplating contacting the FSA about the garage as surely the car shouldn't have passed it's MOT if it had an electrical fault?

 

[brunettebimbo]

Will we be entitled even though Hubby is self employed? He does earn what looks like a lot when written on paper but once all his work outgoings have gone it's not especially with my SMP.

I've no idea how to go about claiming anything, like when am I allowed start? What can I claim etc?

 

[Annabel]

I suppose it depends what kind of electrical fault, as these MOT only test for certain things I suppose? Like, does the horn work, lights etc?

 

[brunettebimbo]

One of the back lights is out now.....

 

[brunettebimbo]

As for Maternity Leave, I had planned taking a year but as the last 3 months are unpaid I think unless by some miracle we get straight I will need to go back after 9 months.

Luckily we don't need childcare as my Mum will be having him when I go back to work.

 

[iwanta8a8y]

Oh Hun, what an awful situation to be in at the mo! Like others have said you need to prioritise what your paying, I knw it isntthr long term answer but you should look into 0% credit card put stuff like the car bills onto that for the time being until you get on yourfeet again. Also look to switch bill providers etc i have just saved us £100 a year yesterday by switching gas and electricity to n power. Look at all those things as they are all savings

Hope it all works out for you Hun. xx

 

[amandaawesome]

like annabel said, prioritize how to get a long. yes the bills are there. yes, they are adding up. yes, it is bad. but you have to remember you are still going to be standing with your husband and holding a little baby in your arms. no matter how much the bills suck or the walls are closing in on you, you still have your family. i am in the us and so close to not being able to work just long enough to have the baby. i figure i will be out of work for about 4 weeks. i would give ANYTHING to be able to take more time, but it is NOT going to happen. i am scared to death how we will cope with me taking off a silly month. i have already decided the order bills will be paid and it is just a no brainer i didn't have to think about even. rent, electricity, health insurance, car insurance, cell phone, cable. obviously food i a necessity. if something gets cut off then it gets cut off. gonna have to make the best of it. we have 2 older vehicles with quirks and i say a little prayer every time i put the key in the ignition. it is gonna be okay. it will just take some time and figuring out what is best. do they not have a payment plan you can set up for the tax situation?? i basically have to pay in a lot of taxes as well and i have no savings towards it right now. another scary thought!!! mine is probably around 1k, but still very scary!

please don't stress!!!! it's gonna be alright no matter what. xoxo

 

[brunettebimbo]

iwanta8a8y I am not getting another credit card, that is one thing I am not willing to do. My last one got me in a lot of mess and now that it is cleared I plan never to use one again.

At the moment our bills are priority, we are still managing to pay everything but there just isn't anything spare to save for the tax bill with.

I honestly don't know if there is a payment plan, maybe worth looking into!

I think I will try and get us into CAB at some point too but they work crap hours!

 

[TattiesMum]

Will we be entitled even though Hubby is self employed? He does earn what looks like a lot when written on paper but once all his work outgoings have gone it's not especially with my SMP.

I've no idea how to go about claiming anything, like when am I allowed start? What can I claim etc?

It's about Net earnings, not Gross, so as long as you do a full Income and Expenditure summary on his earnings, which shows how much you actually have to live on, you might be able to claim: CAB or your Hubby's accountant might be a good place to start Hon .... but you could also phone your local council and enquire (for Housing/Council Tax) and phone the Tax Credit Helpline for some advice.

 

[brunettebimbo]

Thanks

That's another to add to the list.....we still need an accountant!

 

[TattiesMum]

Thanks

That's another to add to the list.....we still need an accountant!

Do you know anyone who might be able to help you out for free with the accounts just for now? A Family Friend or relative maybe? Apart from anything else a good accountant might well be able to save you from any more massive Tax Bills

Turning your Hubby's business into a Limited Company and paying him a salary as a director would make life a lot easier for you in terms of PAYE and thus claiming benefits for example and that way any future tax bills would be owed by the company and not by him personally It's probably not practical right at the moment, but it's worth thinking about for the future

 

[mammym]

Hi I'm so sorry you are going through all of this, my hubby is a tax accountant but he is based in cumbria so its a bit away from you. As your hubby is in his first year he may have alot more initial out goings so he could claim back more tax? Make sure he keeps every receipt he can, petrol, tools, clothes, stock, maintanence, all pay slips/ business bank statements and his accountant will claim for everything they possibly can. I'm not sure about payment plans but that may be an option.
Could you switch your mortgage onto interest only re payments until after the baby is here? And what about the surestart grant and the hip grant have you got those or can you apply for them? As for the car I'd be furious, garages seem to have clauses for everything, and can always manage to get out of their responsibility. How long have you had the car? If its less than a month can you not take it back and demand a refund or alternate car? If you have got money on a credit card then transfering it to a lower 0% card would be a good idea but as long as it was fixed for a long enough period to cover you while you are off work. Hope cab can offer you some more advice, good luck xx

 

[MrsJ08]

I recommend that you call "National Debtline" - they are free to call and a charity so the advice you get is 100% objective. I wouldn't recommend any that offer to "manage" debt for you as in my view they aren't objective. We have been to hell and back over the past couple of years as I was made redundant from a very well paid job when the business I was working for collapsed. I talked to National Debtline and they gave me the confidence to ignore things like Credit Cards and Loans that are "unsecured" and focus on priority bills like the electric and gas. Because Credit Card Companies and Banks tend to throw their weight around and threaten legal action, people often feel pressured into paying those bills first. However, in reality they are unsecured and there is very little they can do, as a previous poster said - if it get's to the point that they take you to court (over a year since Lloyds first threatened to do that to me and still haven't - just to give perspective) it really isn't that big a deal. One of my debtors did, I filled in a form with my income and expenditure offering to pay £1 a month and the court agreed that was all I could afford. They like to threaten you with is a debt collector but in reality they can't take goods to pay "unsecured" debts so it's just a scare tactic.

Try and focus on your priority debts which are
Mortgage/Rent
Gas
Electric
Water
Council Tax
Tax Bill.

You may find you are over-estimating what the tax bill is going to be and I can't see that you are going to be expected to pay it immediately in a lump sum. Not even celebs do that - enough of them have been done for dodgy taxes for us to know that for sure. I know it feels quite overwhelming at the moment but you will get by. You will definitely be entitled to Child Benefit and possibly Council Tax Benefit although I doubt it because a claim for that only takes into account income not expenditure and I think your DH's income will preclude it. It's possible you could get Working/Child Tax Credits so it's worth looking into that. If you google "Benefits Checker" there is a government search engine which you can put your info into and it tells you what you are potentially entitled to. It only takes about 15 mins and you can put rough figures in if you don't have the exact info to hand.

On the subject of the car, I think you need to go back to the place that sold it to you and say it's not fit for purpose and mention Trading Standards - did you get it from the same place that did the MoT? Did it come with a warranty? If it is an electrical fault - that isn't something that would effect an MoT pass or fail so I don't think you will get far with that tact. (I only know because my Mum had a similar problem a few years ago) Did you get RAC to check the car before you bought it? I only ask because you could have some come-back there if you did?

Hope this helps xxx

 

[jogami]

I feel you hun!
DH was also unemployed for 3 months and then started working again, but although his gross pay is more he comes out with less. As it is we took an overdraft on his account and loaned money from his parents. Although they are in no rush to be paid back, it's a sword that hangs over our head. I really despise owing anybody money! To add fuel to the fire we are behind on our car payments (only by a month but still I abhore it!) and we have to make a double rent payment this month. I am still lucky in that I will be working from home and my boss is only docking R1000 (equivalent to 100 dollars) off my pay ~ but at the moment every cent counts!!! Oh well, God will help us through this. We still have food on our table and fuel in our car and our Medical Aid gets paid every month. I try to be positive and look on the bright side of things, we are not bankrupt but it's hard...

Hope you are comforted and like the rest of the ladies said, just prioritise what's most important to pay, the rest can lump it! Sending you

 

[jeanettekaren]

I don't think you will have any joy with the MOT garage tbh. An electrical fault can happen at any time and the garage will claim it was fine to get through it's MOT, it probably was and is just bad luck that everything has gone wrong at once.

I think you would have more joy going back to where you bought the car from assuming it was a garage/dealer and not a private seller, although they will still probably argue that the car was in good condition when you bought it.

Regarding the tax bill, there can always be arrangements made with HMRC if you cannot afford the bill in a lump sum. Try not to worry until the bill actually arrives as it might be much less than you think, then give them a ring and explain the situation. They will most likely work out a payment plan for your hubby.

 

[Mrs R]

I was going to suggest the same as Mrs J08. Why don't you try one of the helplines (as the last post says, make sure it's a non-profit organisation). Also CAB would be a priority for me.

Things will seem a lot better once you get some of this off your chest and talk to somebody who knows how to legally help. Maybe they can help you consolidate your debts, plan for your tax bill etc. Best wishes, things can only get better!

 

[KittyVentura]

Oh Love

Don't really know what to say.

If I were in your boat I'd contact the Garage today. Don't go into specifics but say you have a complaint about a car they recently sold you, that you wish to know the official channel to take the complaint down. Get an address, letters make a bigger impact and can be kept as proof. I'm known among my friends as the 'complainer' given that I used to work in that kind of area and know the things to say to get a response so if you want me to help with the complaint letter etc I will.

If my FSA you mean Financial Services Authority, they're the wrong people to threaten to go to. The complaint arm of the FSA (FOS-Financial Ombudsman Service) would be the ones to mention but the FSA only regulate specific financial services. EG if you though there was an issue with the finance deal you took the car out on, then FOS would help. An issue with the car itself is not something they would touch (I dealt with FSA frequently in my last job in financial compliance). Trading standards would be your best bet. If FSA is a term for another body then ignore all that shpeel! Lol

Definately contact CAB and speak to them and perhaps even the DWP office (tax office) and see what support and help is on offer... You can't be the first couple unable to pay a tax bill and so they must have provisions for it.

Categorically... Don't take out any more credit, you'll just be delaying the problem and making it bigger.

Hope that helps a bit? Xx