On the 23rd of August, 2018, I was standing in a court room hoping to keep possession of the flat I rent. The hearing did not go as planned and the Judge has ordered that my daughter and I must leave the property, in 28 days.
Obviously, this hasn't just happened, overnight. I am not proud of ending up in this mess and I have no desire for it to continue any longer. We all have to hit rock-bottom sometimes, to realise what's at stake and what's important.
I am not here to cry about things and I'm certainly not here for charity. I simply want to give out a reality check and show people how easy it is to be sucked into a cycle of debt. Hopefully, I can also display how the authorities respond, when someone falls on hard times. I think my story is quite typical of how many folk struggle these days, therefore, I hope this may help to remove any misconceptions people have about "The poor" and the "homeless". Much of this is my own fault and I am trying to reverse this, but I have to add that I strongly suspect that I am caught in a trap, one that has been very, very, effective at making the rich, richer, and the poor, even poorer. Those who fall to the very bottom of the social ladder are the ones who depend on the state the most.
Keep you friends close and your enemies even closer
I am going to be posting a series of blogs as I go through the "official route" and show you exactly how the system works, what choices there are, and what help is given. My accounts of all this start from way back, when I was still with the mother of my Child. Therefore, I will try to write a couple of paragraphs on every post, giving you the backstory, to how I ended up in court last Thursday. I will also be writing about how I am feeling about the process and more importantly, what moves I am making to resolve the issue. Also, I will be updating you with what I am doing, presently, to rebuild the family home.
Many of you know I am not a fan of "Governments" and going to them for help is a last option for me. I already suspect what they are going to offer and it won't be pretty. I have every intention of digging myself out of this whole and not allowing the government to stick me in another one. Like I said, I know what's on offer and I have lived in those places before, they aren't fit for children, trust me.
I understand that beggars cannot be choosers, absolutely. I am not being ungrateful here, or snobbish, and if push comes to shove, I will not let pride see my daughter and I homeless(Not that it would ever come to that, but I'll explain about that later).
The whole reason I moved out of those "bad areas", in the first place, was because I wanted a "better life" for our child. It would be unfortunate to have to return. These places are filled with drugs, poverty and violence and that's no place for a young girl to call home. I don't think I'm any better than the folk already living in these places, I do understand why they feel so jaded. Nevertheless, this story is not about social dynamics, this is about the system itself.
I also have another reason for documenting this experience and that is where you all come in(No don't start groaning. I'm not about to list all my crypto wallets and get the begging tin out).
All I need from you folks is encouragement and maybe some advice, too.
I was given 28 days to find a new home and that was 3 days ago. The clock is most-definitely ticking and it is time to start getting busy. I have always had a plan in mind, to which, some part have worked out and others haven't.
With the Judge awarding the property back to the landlord, I am now switching to plan b. This involves jumping back into the rat-race, a thought that makes my skin crawl. Regardless, situations dictate and there isn't any room for manoeuvre. I have a few things lined up and I would like to document the progress, ie job interviews, property searching and my general mental state(that's where you come in).
So let's get this series started.
To begin, I will give the skeleton-plan and some other crucial details. Tomorrow I will begin the back story to how all this began.
I have 25-days, from today, before the property must be handed over(I have no intention of squatting)
As well as being evicted I have been ordered to repay the rent arrears, plus another £1000 in court costs and interest. This all totals around £5000.
I have a mountain of other debts, including council tax, water rates, electricity. These debts now total around £4000-£5000, of which most is made up of 'administration fees' and penalty charges. You will come to learn how this all began from an £80 council tax debt that snowballed out of control. Total debt is around £10,000.
I cannot afford to pay-off these debts anymore. I have tried for years to clear them, but my outgoings now far exceed my incoming and I have now given up trying.
My credit rating restricts me from any further credit(not that I want any more debt). I am planning to apply for bankruptcy and I have a meeting next week about this, which I will document for this series.
Once my debts are taken care of I can then support my daughter and I, while working part or full-time.
I am currently signed off sick with "depression & anxiety". I have no desire to remain off work and my daughter(11-years) is now much more independent, allowing me to increase my working hours.
I have a part-time job opportunity(Unskilled and minimum wage, but perfect hours and family business)
I can earn around £500 per week as a truck mechanic, so this option must be considered.
I have enough equipment and knowhow, to start my own business, within some form of mechanics. One idea is to become a trailer mechanic. The money is fantastic, but the responsibilities are massive(Maybe, not the best time for this kind of venture)
I love my time on steemit and I find the writing to be therapeutic, it has also opened my mind and allowed me to explore my creative side. I have invested a lot of time and effort on this site and there are people here I have huge respect for. Maybe, with the part-time job on the table, I could hold down a job and also keep up with my steemit profile, earning a supplementary "crypto-wage".
I am not going to get a glowing reference from my current landlord(Unless they aren't allowed to comment on arrears?)
If I am to gain a property on the private market, I am going to need to pay around 4 - 6 months rent, in advance.
My daughter and I, may, have to stay at my mum's house, if I can't find somewhere else in time. I have not had an official invitation to stay at my mum's and I get the feeling she would rather I didn't. My family is complicated and something I don't wish to discuss in detail. There are no big dramas, but lets just say that when a family splits up, it can have crazy effects years later.
I have car worth £300-£400(My driving licence has expired and the car is currently out of use). I also have around £600 in Steem and £400 in the bank).
Now you all know the bare-bones of the situation and I hope to start filling in the blanks and taking you on a very interesting journey. Hopefully this all ends in success and we will have something to celebrate in 25 days time. If that doesn't happen I have my family to rely on, so nobody will become homeless here. I don't want you to get the wrong impression about my situation, I am one of the lucky ones who has people to fall back on, many people do not.
Maybe, after I have explained my own journey, the next time you see someone living on the street, you might look at them differently and give a thought to how they got there. Being that this is being read by steemit members, my guess is that you already consider the plights of those less fortunate. Nevertheless, I will continue document my experience.
I hope you will all come back for the next post and I would love to hear your opinions and your own experiences of this kind of situation. Any upvotes and resteems are highly appreciated and I hope you all enjoy reading something from its source. Big love to you all on steemit.
PTYAY
Written by @article61
Does it matter where in the country you live?
Diggers and Dreamers/ Radical Routes co-ops may provide a cheap option for a room... much cheaper than paying 4 months up front.
Good luck with finding somewhere secure!
Posted using Partiko Android
Hi buddy, thanks for the comment. I have to stay local due to daughters school and her Mum would flip and cause family problems if I tried to move us both away. I'll still check out your suggestions though, never heard of them before. Thanks again bud and I guess "worst thing have happened at sea" :D
You never know, there may be options where you live - radical routes is basically a network of anarchist leaning co-ops, diggers and dreamers more communal but similar.
That sounds like something for when my little one has fled the nest, but awesome all the same. I have made my bed until then but I am very conscious about wanting to be self sufficient when I have less responsibilities.
Hope you are enjoying your career change, have you gotten used to the new routine?
Hiya mate, sorry to hear your going through a rough time at the moment, things can only get better and you need to stay strong for your daughter.
There is a few things that you can do to get a property.
We lived in a council property and it was a shit hole, we had murder drugs and pedos all around us and we could never let the kids out with the fear of something happening to them.
We found that if you find a house that is dss friendly which we found ours on zoopla, we didn't need a bond and with me been on the sick like you with depression anxiety and panic attacks we got help from the state which pays our rent and council tax.
Going back into work right now with the amount of stress your under I wouldn't do, this at the moment needs to be put on the back burner until your ready to go to work, not just because you need money.
I am not one for fiddle work, but you could work cash in hand for a few jobs for friends and family. do servicing that is a job you could do at side of the road.
Keep you Steem in steemit as the price production is forecast to be huge at some time in the next few years, and if you take that out of your account you will be kicking yourself when it does.
Now bankruptcy sounds like your best option, and while you are on the sick you can do it cheaper than if you you are working as they help you with that, I think it is something like half the price or something.
it is not the best thing in the world, but it stops people chasing you for money, and in a year you can start rebuilding your credit.
a friend of mine went bankrupt and he is now a millionaire, (food for thought)
Things like this happen to all of us, it is just some people are more vocal about it than others.
I open my mouth where my misses would rather suffer in silence and it has a good balance to things if you get me.
The statistics that came from citizens advice this week was every two minutes some one in the uk calls them because some one is casing them for debt. that is a crazy amount of people each week when you add it up.
The debt to do with council tax will never go away but you can ask them to put a hold on it for so long "as you are on the sick" I know it sounds crazy but if you do speak to them, tell them the stress they are putting you under is making you want to end things. this give the guy at the end of the phone a pretty big shock and I have had a few in tears in my time from telling them this.
I hope you and your daughter stay safe. keep steeming while you have the time. and I look forward to reading your next post.
respect for enlightening us with this.
@artonmysleeve
Your response has really struck a cord with me and I can tell I am going through something similar to you. All I have heard for a while is "you need to get a job and just crack on". I know you understand that it is all about timing and giving yourself enough respect to drop everything and look at repairing you own soul. I have been on that path for some time now and feel strong enough to try again. The worst part was when I didn't know my rights and was at the mercy of debt agencies. I despise these companies and will never let another one intimidate me ever again. Everything I own can be easily replaced and this has made a cathartic difference to me outlook. People don't get to see how those in debt are feasted upon by debt agencies and, worse still, payday loan-sharks. In my hour of need I was robbed of my last pennies by one of these companies, they promised me a loan and then did nothing but take my last £80 for administration fees, after they informed me they were just there to "find someone to loan to me". That moment was a real turning point for me and left a very bitter aftertaste towards the system.
My daughter has always been number one and she is my rock. I will come through this, no doubt, but thank you so much for your advice. The bankruptcy charges, I had no idea about. Maybe I should get that out of the way first. Also, does this mean that council tax can not be added to a bankruptcy order? It is the debt agencies who hold the debt now, not the council(not sure if that makes a difference?)
As a positive, I have just started dating a wonderful lady and she takes me for who I am, not what I have, and I hope this is the start of a new era.
Thank you so much for this reply, that meant a lot to me.
A friend of mine still had to pay his council tax, as it is the law he was told, I don't know really how it stands but back in 2009 I had a knock at the door from a council tax debt collector for the sum of £555, this was a debt back from 2001, I said to them that I believe this debt to be statue bar, as it is older than 6 years, I told him that my right as a person means he had no authority to enter my house, with in an hour I had 2 police officers from the court come to my house, I had a choice either pay the amount there and then or I was going to court to face jail time.
I tried to argue it there and then, but with a crying girl friend at the time and a baby of 2 years old i did not want to go to jail, so I had to phone around family and pay the £555, which took some doing.
I talked to a debt management company and they said to me that council tax is something that you have to pay, and there is no way around it, they did say that I could start a money order to pay all the debts through their company and the debt collectors couldn't do anything about.
I took on the debt plan and it was the worst thing that I could do, they took advantage that I was in debt and took a % of what i sent them to pay them selves.
every 100 i sent them they took 20 so that was money that I could have paid my self to get rid of the debt.
so going back many years before I meet my wife I met this girl, she was the hottest peace of ass I have ever layed my eyes on, she was great at everything if you know what I mean ;D
she had her own house and I moved in with her with in a month of meeting her, I was head over heals for this bird as I thought she was great, but my mates didn't like her. I should have listened at the time but I didn't.
I worked 40 hours a week at burger king as a duty manager and had a really good wage, she told me that she was pregnant and that we needed stuff for the house and for the baby, she thought that it was a good idea that I borrowed £15000 from the bank so we could sort it out. So I did, we bought everything new,
the house looked mint and I could afford the payments,
I went away on a lads holiday for 3 nights 4 days, it was a great time, when I got back I got a taxi from town and headed home, but when I got there the house was empty.
I tried to phone her but there was no answer, I had no clue where she was or anything.
I was left with a debt of £15000 and I was in a mess, I had a little breakdown and lost my job, didn't pay the debts and got my self into shit.
I had debt collectors going to my mums house to reclaim the money that I owed and I felt like a right dick.
I decided the only way was to run away from my problems, so I did, I packed my bag and for 6 years I moved from friend to friend and family to family member, every time there was a debt collector letter that came through that door, i moved on. till they stopped looking for me.
I had finally managed to escape my problems, then when I met my wife and settled down I got some letters through the post saying that I owed money, by now it totaled £35000.
I write letters to each of them and told them that the debt was statue barred and that they should stop contacting me as it was against the law. they stopped and after another year my credit rating had gone from poor to me been able to buy a house if I wanted. it was great.
So if you fancy moving around do that, as it is the only way they can't keep up.
But the council tax did follow me as this was when the debt collector and the police visited me, and it was from her house, even though it was not in my name because I was down on the house name it bit me in the arse years later.
any way life is good now, money is not everything your health is, don't go back to work until you are ready mate, get the bankrupcy sorted first and then go forward from there.
when you go bankrupt you will have an official receiver and if you make more money than they say to live on they will take that from you to pay the debts.
"A girl who is good at everything" haha! I like that :) Mate thank you for this, you have given me lots to think about her and I know you are speaking from first hand experience. Debts can get pretty depressing when you let them but as you said it is only money. I'll keep you updated bro. Thank you so much for this.
No worries buddy. Like you said it is only money, we are brought into a world were we are slaves to the system, it is all about making money. they brainwash us at school, they make you get a job, we are all just drones and nothing else to these companies where the rich get richer and the poorer get poorer.
Amen brother and I am glad to in a place where people realise this, at last. Lets hope for a breaking point someday.
If predictions are right we should be hitting $70 per one steem in 2020 so I have my fingers crossed that it happens. that would bail a lot of people out of crap all over the world.
Oh Dan I am so sorry to hear this, that must be so bloody stressful for you. Seems there are a few of us going through challenging times, but have faith that it will work out xxxx
Thank you Aishlinn and yes it is a prickly time at the moment. Maybe it is the season of new beginnings? I hope so. Thank you for your kind words and support. It is nice to be able to vent these thoughts. Will be updating in next couple of days as I have a meeting with debt agency. Fingers crossed.
the best dialouge is - Keep you friends close and your enemies even closer
Yes, I liked how that slotted in too :)
hmm
That sounds bad, but from the bottom you can reach the top.
Would you consider a different country? I have knowledge about way cheaper places to live than the UK, though you have a daughter, who I dare say will need to be around friends, just thinking out loud my friend.
You sound like the voice in my head :D I would like that to be a viable option, but the kid has just started senior school. TBH It is only really her mum who restricts my movement. If it were my way we would have stayed in Australia, instead of coming home :)
Thanks for the input bro.
How unfortunate you are in this situation. How frightening it must be knowing you have your daughter to consider as you look at/create options. I am guessing based on your options listed so far that your best option will be going to your moms until you can save enough for the private market. I am unsure how it works there, but one thing to ask about is here if you are evicted for non payment of rent they have a database that other landlords can look at and they all refuse to rent to you if you have an outstanding balance with another property.
The truck mechanic option sounds like it might be the fastest route to setting things in order. You might also consider selling the car if you have no immediate plans for returning it to the roads and nowhere to store it until then.
Thank you for your sharing your struggle with us, and you should know that you have the community behind you, to the extent each of us can be.
Thanks for your thought, buddy. I am lucky to have these options, so things aren't at code red. In ref to your comment about feeling frightened, I'm not. This kind of thing has happened so gradually(4-years to be precise) and involved lots of different holes where I leaked money to everyone. You just end up like a rabbit in the headlights, you know what's coming but just freeze. Now it has come to a conclusion so I would like to document this moment. This series should show the real side to all this, I have been let down by so many agencies who take money in exchange for supplying these services. They just wasted my time and made things worse. The citizens advice meeting before the court hearing was no different. They mean well but what you get is not what they tell you they offer. Be nice to expose a few truths along the way.
I hope you are well and thanks again for your support. Folk like you are what I adore about steemit.
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