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

[I<3paul]

Sometimes you can contact the bank and ask for a break in paying your loan just whilst you sort yourselves out. When the baby is here you can apply for child benefit and tax credits. When you have the baby, the hospital will give you a new mothers bounty pack, the child benefit application form will be in there. Once you start receiving child benefit you can apply for tax credits (you can get the application form before though) the tax credits tel no is 0845 600 3900. Like someone else mentioned you could get housing benefit and council tax benefit but it will depend on how much you and your partner earn. I think they do ask questions like how much is deducted so they will take some of his business outgoings into consideration but i'm not sure whether you would be eligible. It cant hurt to try though?

I don't know about the mot, maybe ring fsa or citizens advice? Good Luck. Write all your outgoings down and see how you can cut down, dont worry about the baby especially if you're breastfeeding they are not too expensive at first. People buy you loads!

Good Luck xx

 

[fluffyblue]

Just a thought if it was an ex-company car there are strict guidelines that the car should have been serviced etc bang on time. If you find that the part or parts covered should have been serviced and havent then you have a claim.

I bought a Megane some years ago, it had about 78k miles on the clock, about 4 months later the CAM belt went and the garage woudnt accept responsibilty, I read the handbook and learnt that the CAM Belt should have been changed at 65k miles. But it hadnt, it was hard work but eventually they paid it as they agreed, this was with Lloyds autolease. Check the handbook/Service book. It would have cost me over 2k to get it fixed.

 

[MrsNovBaby]

What a horrible situation to be in, lots of hugs and I hope something works out for you xx

 

[rach321]

Talk to the HMRC about the tax bill - it is possible to pay in instalments. My Dad does this if he's had a bad year - but you need to talk to them about it.

 

[Cookie1979]

Do you have a mortgage? if you do you might be able to take a payment holiday, pay interest only or get a loan through your mortgage that will just be added onto the amount you earn.

Just a thought because if you can pay less for your home then it might help you out abit.

 

[mrs martin]

Aww stress you really dont need! In terms of your car complain to the garage however interms of the MOT it really is just a snap shot of how the car was for that 45 min period during the test. Did they service it before hand or know about the fault if so then you have more of a case for bad diagnosic skills and workmanship another organisation to mention when complaining is VOSA anyone who has a garage will tell you how scarey they are!I would also speak to HMRC re tax bill and see what help they can give you. I would also contact your bank and see how they can help you too mabye increase the term of the loan lowering payments etc try this with your mortgage company too. x

 

[ssmith1503]

My thoughts are with you, me and my partner are going through similar circumstances. What makes it worse is we still have to get stuff for the baby and are moving house next month which is going to cost more money. We bought a car for £3200 so far it has cost us with repairs £5500. It just gets worse. I work in a family business which is on its last legs and its harder for me to be made redundant because I am pregnant so that isn't an option. I don't know if i'm getting paid from one week to the next, it's all a nightmare the timing couldn't have been any worse! Behind on our rent which isn't a good thing as like i say we are moving into another house with the same landlord which costs more money. But this needs to be done cos we don't have the space. I just try and stay positive people can't have what you haven't got! I really hope it gets better for you soon xx

 

[Thegirl]

Tax

Speak to the tax office in the first instance, ask for their advice if the tax bill is large and you don't have the funds and they should be able to give you an idea of options. You need to find an accountant/bookkeeper (my parents use a bookkeeper to do their tax forms for them, but he was highly experienced and recommended) as soon as possible so you know what kind of payment you are actually looking at. I would get your husband to ask people who work in the same field as him or who you know are self employed who they use, a good one always gets recommended. Plus as others have said, make sure you have receipts for everything, it's amazing how much you can claim back on, plus you can retrospectively claim back VAT for one year if your accountant suggests becoming VAT registered, this may also help with getting some cash flow.

MOT

Wouldn't check for electrical faults, little come back concerning the MOT I would think.

Car warrenty

I would take it back to where you got it and kick off. Research everything you can first and enquire with trading standards, if you ring they may give you a pointer as to whether you are on the right lines with what you think you can ask for.

Cash flow

There are lots of options available to you. Much as you don't want to use credit cards, provided that you have a good credit rating and know how to use them they can be very useful. For example 0% deals for a year on spending could help with your every day expenses and free up some capital now (assuming you can catch up within a year to repay the spending-only a good idea if capital is desperately needed now). You can even get a card from Egg that allows you to transfer cash to your bank account to the credit card and pay this back at a life time rate of around 8.9%. They don't have to be bad news, you just have to be strict. However, if you are nervous only use them if you are confident as to how they will be repaid and after you've spoken to a proper debt counsellor on one of those charity lines, most definately NOT one associated with a debt consolidation service (you pay them for arranging payment plans that are not necessarily in your best interest and are something you can sort yourself-without a fee of £50 per month).
Make sure you have added up all of your debts and commitments, incomings, interest rates that are applicable before you ring, they can offer much more help that way and scary as it seems, seeing it all written down actually makes it better when you have a plan of how to clear it. You can prioritise your debt and work out where to put it much easier if you know what it is first. The unknown is far scarier than reality when it comes to debt, trust me x (former spendthrift extrordinaire and reformed spendaholic).

The good thing is you know you are in a pickle and are trying to do something about it. However bad things seems, they are not as bad as you think, honestly. You are being positive and sorting stuff before you start missing payments ect, which is normally when people start to spiral down.
Hopefully a bit of good financial advice and some frugal planning should have you back in the black sooner than you think.

 

[Mizze]

Hon- I think you might well be overestimating your tax bill and you arent expected to pay it all at once. Generally you pay in three installments - with some of it being next years expected tax.

https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/ways-to-pay.htm#2 This is a good website to check out - there is a helpline to call for the newly self employed for example.

I know everything seems terribly overwhelming at the moment BUT you will be surprised once you make a list and start working out what you can do how soon you can find yourself feeling better.
My advice -
1) Make a list of the seperate issues you have -for example the tax bill. Then get yourself an accountant as a priority because you have a self assessment deadline at the end of September - that means the govt work out the tax for you BUT you will probably need the accountant to work out what is tax deductible and what isnt. If you dont make the September deadline dont worry the accountant will do it for you by January but will have to do more of the calculation.
2) Ring CAB or a debt charity - they will give you good advice
3) Work out what bills really cost - you know your mortgage but do you know how much you spend on food?
4) Ring your mortgage company for its policy on "holidays" They might allow you up to 6 months holiday on your mortgage during your maternity leave - I have heard of that but you will need to contact your mortgage supplier to find out whether that is possible.
5) The car - im no car expert but you have already had good advice on this.


With a little work you could find a lot of this worry is completely manageable and you will be in a position to know exactly where you are rather than worrying about the "what might happen" - which is always worse.

HTH
Mizze

 

[ellaandcallum]

Have a look at the citizens advice on line, they tell you how to prioritise your bills. Things like gas, electric, mortgage are priority although if you contact your mortgage provider they maybe able to freeze payments for a period of time. Things like credit cards, store cards etc are non priority debts and basically get what you can afford whether it be £5 per month or £50 per month. Try switching providers too to see if you can save money. The thing is with housing benefit if you do rent regardless of what you pay out that is not taken into account, but once LO is here you are entitled to more money.

 

[kintenda]

With regards to your car, ring (Consumer Direct) 08454 04 05 06 - I used to work for them, they'll take the details & give you appropriate legal advice. They'll also report any safety issues to Trading Standards.
Good luck hon, am sure you will be fine xx

 

[Kitten-B]

ah that sounds like a big stress that you don't need right now

Are you sure about the tax bill? You might find it more reassuring if your husband were to begin pulling together the information to calculate the exact figure?

Not sure how much you know but payments due on 31 January 2011 will be for two periods:
- firstly a balancing payment for the tax year from April 2009 - April 2010. As this was the first year your husband was self-employed this will be a payment for his full tax liability from October 2009 - April 2010.
- there will also be a payment on account for the tax year from April 2010 - April 2011, which will be calculated as 50% of the above payment.

Very roughly for £7k tax and NIC to be due he would have earned about £16k in the period Oct 09 - April 2010. And the system assumes he earned the same since - so approx £32k cash received in the last year before paying any tax/NIC.

If these figures don't sound right maybe consider getting some help to calculate what tax should be due?

I suspect they won't sound right? As if he had £32k coming in after expenses, in the last year (equivalent of an employed person earning £40k - £45k) I imagine you wouldn't be struggling as much now?

Did he try and set anything at all aside for the tax and NIC?

I work in tax (practice not HMRC & corporate not personal so I'm a bit rusty though!) so if there's anything I can do to help let me know?

 

[Mrs IKW]

Worrying about money is horrible

Do you have a mortgage - if so - could you take a mortgage payment holiday for 6 months or 12 months or change to interest only for a while?

Worst case scenario could you borrow some money from family or take in a lodger - I know a lodger is not ideal but maybe it could help....

Do you have any jewellery that you dont really wear that you could sell?

Hope things improve for you - sometimes when things appear really rubbish suddenly things can turn around for the better.... I usually try Cosmic Ordering when I need some good luck!

 

[xemmax]

so sorry to hear you are struggling and wish i could offer you advice, but i'm pretty clueless

the only thing i can comment on is the garage - i've had absolutely no end of problems dealing with vauxhall garages and dealerships - they're absolutely robbing arseholes and i'd stay away from them. i bought my car from pentagon in sheffield (07 plate - £6000) and 7 months later my brakes failed due to a huge fault on their part when servicing my car. they tried to charge me £3000 to fix the car and i was without a car for 6 weeks before they eventually fixed it after i threatened legal action. at the time i was told by a reputable local mechanic that it would actually only cost around £400 to fix the car.

since then i discovered my air con doesn't work (and never has) because of a faulty compressor - another vauxhall dealership (evans halshaw) wanted £1000+ to fix this. i have just had the work done for £200 with a second hand compressor - but even with a new one, at another garage it would have been £500!

i have NOTHING positive to say about vauxhall and their warranties are awful. i really feel your pain - but stick with it, they will crumble eventually. you should keep complaining and see how far you get! best of luck xx

 

[Mrschoochoo]

If it was me, that car would be dumped in a layby and covered in petrol

 

[brunettebimbo]

Thanks Girls, some wise advice.
I've just had a quick read because I'm on lunch so will read through properly again tonight.

Kitten-B I honestly couldn't tell you as his wages vary from week to week, he roughly gets between £600-£900 depending on the time of year and how busy he is with parcels.

I went into work today and burst into tears, my bosses have been great and are helping as much as they can.

On the baby front luckily we already have all his stuff, we just need to get a crib mattress which will cost us about £13 and formula milk incase I can't feed him....we have £50 in Morrisons Vouchers which Hubby earned through topping up his van there so looks like we will be shopping there next month!

We had a little bit of good news this morning, we have been waiting to have dates arranged to have Gas Central Heating put in and it's taken ages, the guy is now doing it next Tuesday which means once the gas is put in (beginning of october at the latest) we will be able to drop our £100 a month electric bill (cheapest around for what we need) and go to gas and electric which will be alot cheaper BUT this also means our rent goes up by £60 a month!

 

[brunettebimbo]

Things with the car have just gotten worse and I've no idea what to do!

I got Hubby to go into the garage and see what was going on, they have now said that some unit needs replacing and it's going to cost £1000!!! We have AA cover which means they will pay £475 of it but it still leaves £525 for us to pay!

Do we have a leg to stand on? We took it in for losing power, they charged us £700 changed the particulating filter and passed it through it's MOT. 2 Weeks later the SAME problem...losing power AGAIN! Surely they can't make us pay again when it obviously wasn't the particulating filter that needed changing in the first place!?

I'm thinking of calling Trading Standards tomorrow but I'm just not sure if we have any grounds?

 

[Phinners]

Whats your voice like hun? Can you talk shit if need be?

I know of several girlfriends of mine who do 'dirty' talk on the phone and make a stack of money for it.

 

[Nessicle]

Hi darling remember me? so sorry to hear what you're going through. I've been in debt myself (about £14k) many years ago albeit not with a baby on the way so cant imagine how stressful it must be! Can you talk to some one at Consumer Counselling Credit Services (think that's what it's called) or the Citizens Advice Bureau? They might be able to help you get your head round stuff? xx

 

[v2007]

Hi, your not far from me.

Call into the CAB and just wait till they can see you.

Are you mortgaged or renting?

If you are renting, call into Lancaster Town Hall for a Housing Benefit and Council Tax forms.

Trading Standards will be the best place now for your car or Mrschoochoo suggestion of a dark lane and a can of Petrol.

Loads of

V xxx