183 replies to this topic

[MaxAndPaddy]

Only just read this.....been busy

It sounds like your getting things sorted now, but I was genuinely sorry to read about your troubles. Your doing all the right things, its definitely worth doing the 6 week pay option if you can get it - just make sure you know what interest they will charge on top so you can factor that in

Anddddd a £400 overdraft is small, I would be talking to the bank if I was you about upping it. Our eldest son is a liability and has managed to get £1500 out of his bank, so ask them and you may be surprised ...then at least its there as back up

Best of luck matey ... I'm one of many that would of happily given you drive space if you were nearer

[AVV IT]

I don't wan't a credit card, I was always taught by my Grandad if you can't afford something then you dont buy it.

.......And that's a good philosophy, at least where it comes to spending on the things you desire. But when you own things like a car and a house, then there will always be those situations that arise where you suddenly need a few hundred quid that you don't have for something unexpected. When that happens, you either borrow the money and pay it back over time, or you accept the consequences of not being able to pay up, which are often far worse than borrowing the money would have been.

When you own your own home and the boiler breaks down beyond economical repair in the middle of winter, you can't just turn around to your wife and kids and say "oh well, we just wont have any heating or hot water until I can save up the £1,500 to buy a new one". Basically there's a big difference between having available credit that you can use in an emergency, and taking your credit card shopping to buy yourself a load of great stuff that you can't actually afford. If you don't have savings, or the bank of mum and dad to fall back upon, then having a credit card for use in emergencies is a very sensible idea, it's spending on it unnecessarily that isn't!!

So I'm currently a bad/risky debtor. I hate it. I really do. But trying to fix it takes time as well as money.

As MaxandPaddy suggests, speak to your bank as £400 really is a very small overdraft, they may be able to help, particularly if you go to them with a a budget/expenditure plan and show how you can afford to pay it back and over what period.

Edited by AVV IT, 01 October 2012 - 08:30 PM.

[Mini Cheddars]

Well I could always speak to my bank on Saturday I guess. Maybe print off payslips that shows how often and how much I get paid. I just don't want to get further into debt as that's the opposite of what I want to do. I just need to get this car back on the road.

God damn this is a tough time in my life and it's all happening at once.

[AVV IT]

Yeah the worst that they can say is "No", but I'd go one better than just taking your payslips, and go to them with a breakdown of your expenditure that shows all your outgoings including rent, bills, food, entertainment etc and also shows that you have enough left over to pay the overdraft back at "X" amount per month, over "X" amount of months.

Edited by AVV IT, 01 October 2012 - 08:50 PM.

[MaxAndPaddy]

If your in full time employment they dont really care and will happily increase it...£400 is a tiny overdraft facility I'd be very surprised if they didnt up it willingly, our 14 year old has a £200 one

Its alot safer than credit cards but I remember the days of ''Credit Card Roulette'' fondly........Great game

[Tanya]

Excellent idea AVV IT. I find National Debtline a great resource - http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/. They are a nightmare/impossible to get hold of over the phone (or at least they were when I last tried), but their website is very good and has info on Personal Budget Sheets. You could complete a Personal Budget Sheet which would show you how you propose to repay any loan or overdraft that they bank might be minded to give you. Their website will be able to help you with managing your current creditors too. I can find all the information that I need on debt on their website and I only needed to speak to someone when the person I was working with had complex debt issues (e.g. what effect would a bankruptcy have on a tenancy). I'm assuming that your financial situation isn't so complex. Good luck

[Bungle]

would minispeed knock a bit off the bill if you went in on saturday morning and sweeped the floor made the tea etc

[SamMayfair1996]

Minisport have an EPIC sale on at the moment (up to 58%) might be able to get cheaper deals on parts which will help if only a tiny bit on repair costs.

Good luck, but in future sort your tax, insurance etc cause you dont want to be in this situation again.
I've seen first hand what happens to those who dont, and the cost of not doing it and being caught FAR outweighs the cost of paying for it in the firstplace.

[Shifty]

If your in full time employment they dont really care and will happily increase it...£400 is a tiny overdraft facility I'd be very surprised if they didnt up it willingly, our 14 year old has a £200 one

Its alot safer than credit cards but I remember the days of ''Credit Card Roulette'' fondly........Great game

Or the accumulator,,,'can I put £50 on this one, £76 on this and then the rest on this'!!

[M J W J]

For parts I would put out a wanted add for them. There are usually people who have a set of steel wheels knocking around they want rid of. I'd imagine you could get a set of drive flanges cheap as there must be someone who has upgraded to 4 pot metro brakes and so have swapped the drive flanges.

As for borrowing money try my sisters trick. She has a card just for emergencies but is wrapped in a cloth frozen in a block of ice in her freezer. If she needs it she can get to it but its a right pain so stops her from buying shoes, etc with it.

As for the overdraft I would consider yourself lucky. Natwest want to charge me £12.99 a month for the privilege of having a £500 one. Every time I go into one of their branches they are always trying to get me to upgrade my account. If I earned more I would get it for free but until then my overdraft limit is set at 0.

I've seen first hand what happens to those who dont, and the cost of not doing it and being caught FAR outweighs the cost of paying for it in the firstplace.

Not always true. A lad at work (who has insured his car) is paying over 3k for his 1 litre corsa which he bought for £550. For what his insurance is costing him he could afford to have the car crushed, replace it and pay the fines. Obviously if he injured someone then he could loose a lot more, but it does make you realise why some people don't bother.

Also in mini cheddars case he wasn't actually using the car (other than the brief time of moving it). The problem was that he had to store it on the road.

[megamini_jb]

I've only got a £90 arranged overdraft at the bank I've never needed to use it. Do you just go bank and tell them to increase it?

Glad you've got your mini back and hopefully you'll have some luck soon and be able to pay everything back and have your mini back on the road and most importantly enjoying it. Can't believe you were considering letting it go for good at one point, but don't blame you if you were/are having financial difficulties. Just silly keeping a car on the road untaxed, insured etc, but I know you know that anyway. Hope you get mini back on the road soon bud

Edited by megamini_jb, 02 October 2012 - 12:19 AM.

[twink]

Cheddarsssssssssss

Ask the garage first... To be fair, they can keep the car as collateral, or wait for the cash before they do the work. No point taking out stupid interest rate loans if you haven't got a gun to you head so to speak.

Don't put yourself in a financial position that is gonna mess you up for longer than is neccassary....

Le twink
Xx

[Burnard]

Shame i didnt see this sooner but ive been busy I know someone with a full set of DVLA wheel clamp keys....

Glad your getting it sorted out.

There are loads of nice people in basingstoke mini club. Im sure if you asked any of them who had the space they would have let you store the car.
I would have done too, but its not my house. :/

[Ethel]

Maybe you can borrow some wheels for the MoT? You'd have to check the specifics for afterwards, whether it's illegal to park on bald tyres or only to drive on them.