Hardship Advice

[thebestrc]

Hi,

I need some advice on my current financial plight. I have an overdraft with Nationwide which up until about 4 months ago was £1050. It was then cut to £550. However i am now into an unauthorised overdraft as my account currently stands at £-617.

Today i received a phone automated phonecall from them asking for full or part payment to bring the account back into the black within 7 days. I couldn't make out the amount they wanted me to pay as the line was unclear.

Currently i am out of work, left my last job on 15/07/11. I have no savings as they are all tied up in my deposit for my flat. Currently i'm living off £10 that i have in a clean bank account i opened up with Lloyds. I've recently applied to start claiming benefits but don't know how long it'll take before i'm verified.

In addition to the debt with Nationwide i also have bills due in the next few weeks which i will be unable to pay for due to the current state of my account. Rent and Electricity are due in 2 weeks and i'll have no way of paying them unless the matter with my overdraft is resolved.

What steps can i take to resolve this matter?? I don't want bailiffs turning up at my door or get taken to court. I'm just trying to scrape by the best i can.

[seduraed]

Re: Hardship Advice

Nationwide can be really very unsymapthetic and don't really have mch lee way. Try toget back to your OD limit ASAP as they will charge £30 per month on top of the unauth od unless you ring them and explain the situation. I had thi one and was ableto negociate a reducingOD. Make sure that the dole is paid into thenew account not the nationwide. Explain the situation toyour energy suppliers. They may be to offer payment cards so no need for a pre-payment meter. If you are out of work make sure you are claiming every thing that you are entitled to and make every penny count. Do you know if you are likely to be out of work for a long period because if so you will need take a radial look at our expenditure. I'm sure if you post an income and expenditure sheet here the kind folk will look at it and suggest ways of cutting back . Can you take in a lodger ? |is there any work locally maybe not what you are used to but almost any jobis better that a dole cheque.

[thebestrc]

Re: Hardship Advice

I've got 3 interviews lined up this week and i should fingers crossed be in employment within a few weeks. I've posted a claim online for benefits and put nationwide as the account they should pay it into. Should i not have done this????

Where can i get an income expenditure template that i can fill in and upload here or shoud i just list it all here in a post?

Also is it worthwhile me taking out an unsecured loan in the short term to pay for rent bills etc.

[Caspar]

Re: Hardship Advice

You definitely need to change the account your benefits will be paid into to your parachute account (your "clean" account). If Nationwide freeze your account you'll have no access to any money. Phone and get the account changed - shouldn't be a problem.

[thebestrc]

Re: Hardship Advice

Ok will do. I tried to access the thread with the template for income expenditure sheet but i'm not allowed to access to it. Any reasons why? Is it for VIP members only?

[WendyB]

Re: Hardship Advice

Try this one. It will only work if you have Exel though, I think. Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

[Caspar]

Re: Hardship Advice

Try this one. It will only work if you have Exel though, I think. Legal Beagles Consumer Forum

If you don't have Excel, download Open Office for free - that will open any MS Office Suite document!

[TUTTSI]

Re: Hardship Advice

You should be be able to open this link for the Income and expenditure it is in the Library which is accessible for everyone http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ad.php?t=19592

[SpringerSpaniel]

Re: Hardship Advice

Sorry to hear of your horrid situation, no wonder you are feeling 'stressed'.

I would further endorse the recommendatoin made by other posters that you should have your benefits paid into a different account, one which has no overdraft facility, so that the bank cannot take your benefit to pay borrowing and charges, leaving you nothing to live on.

Contact Nationwide, explain your situation and ask them to freeze interest and charges on your overdraft whilst you get back to theem with an income and expenditure sheet and proposals of how you will repay the overdraft in installments. Put this in writing not over the phone, keep a copy and send your correspondence by recorded delivery.

Work out, if you were to get one of the jobs you have an interview for, how long it would be before you got a paycheque, and how much money you would need to survive - rent/mortgage; utilities bills; fares/petrol to get to work, groceries and anything else absolutely unavoidable. This may well be more than the £10 in the 'clean account'.

Having calculated this sum, consider if there is any way to borrow it without having to resort to loan sharks: family and friends; credit union; social fund.

A number of industries and occupations have benevolent funds, you can check if thee is anything you might qualify for help from on the website http://www.turntous.org.uk

When the utilities bills come in, contact each supplier, explain your situation and ask to pay the bill by installments eg half now aand half after you get paid, pay a quarter's bill in equal monthly installments. Also ask to be on a social tarrif, this will often be 20% lower and there are sometimes other perks eg help with insulation.

Ask the DWP or a local advice centre how long a benefit claim typically takes to be paid. About a month might be par for the course if it is JSA you are claiming. Sickness claims can take longer. You can ask the DWP for interim payments when you sign on.

If you are a private tenant, you should be paid Housing Benefit within a fortnight of getting all the necessary documents to your council. If they do not pay within this time, there is a right to an interim payment from them.

Although it is easy to fear the worst and panic, you are a long way off being taken to court or having bailiffs at the door.

If Nationwide get nastier, post on here again - members will give both practical advice about managing the situation, and give you support.

Good luck with your interviews.

[thebestrc]

Re: Hardship Advice

Thanks for being so supportive. It means alot when you don't know where to turn to. I've rung up the Jobcentre they said my claim hasn't gone live yet so i should wait until i receive a callback setting up the new jobseeker interview and change my account info there. Anyway when i tried to enter data onto the Income Expenditure sheet it said it was protected and needed a password for me to modify data. A little help please.

Also you said i should make the recommendations to nationwide in writing do you have any letter templates i should follow. I tried searching but lots a threads turned up and none of them had the information i wanted. Also is it worth me sending them an email aswell as all emails sent via the online banking service are recorded for legal purposes?

[leclerc]

Re: Hardship Advice

Can I clarify something, when you say savings are tied up in deposit for a flat, do you mean it's in an account that is tied up for a period of time? Is it the deposit for the flat you live in at the moment?
Am trying to clarify this point because that in itself may be the difference between potential hardship and a straight rejection.

[thebestrc]

Re: Hardship Advice

It's the deposit for the flat i currently live in at this moment in time.

[SpringerSpaniel]

Re: Hardship Advice

Are you living in privately rented accomodation ? If so, it is important to get a Claim for Housing Benefit in as quickly as possible, this is dealt with by your local Council, it shoudl also deal with Council tax on the same form.

[leclerc]

Re: Hardship Advice

It's called local Housing Allowance which is the equivalent of housing benefit.

[SpringerSpaniel]

Re: Hardship Advice

Also, if you are very strapped for cash you may want to think about whether you have anything you could sell eg on ebay.