Hi i know this has been probably asked a thousand times but I'm just not sure where I stand. I am due to emigrate to Australia and have OS debt in the form of CCs and loans. I have always intending on paying them and will be leaving enough money in my UK bank to service them for the next couple of months. However I'm worried about what will happen if I fall behind in payments and cannot continue to pay them when in Oz. I have prepared letters informing all my creditors that I will be residing overseas (not told them where). It is my intention to not come back in the near future. Any advice would be great feel ill with worry just want to give my kids a good life and jobs mean we need to move. P.S lm in Scotland the now & 2 credit cards pre 2007 with MBNA Thanks

Hey all So I moved into a property on 29 July 2015 I payed £675 deposit and £675 one months rent advance We’ve just been excepted for social housing so have now given notice on this private property. As it’s 4 weeks notice from today this gives me until the 11/03/19 The question is about what is left to pay, am I right in thinking as it’s payed in advance that the £675 I payed on 31st January covers February’s rent until the 28th So I only have to pay the 11 days of March rent as I’ve already payed February’s Or Do I still have to pay February’s rent plus the 11 days of March

Hi, I am looking for advice please. At the moment I am heavily in debt with credit cards and for a few years now have been making agreed payments to my creditors on a pro rata basis. Although no interest is being charged there is no way I will be able to clear these debts in my lifetime without either going bankrupt or an IVA. I am 67 years of age and an IVA would take me to 73 and having to live on the breadline for the next 6 years isn't how I had planned my retirement. I have a mortgage and a 2nd charge both on an interest only basis if I were to sell then there wouldn't be a great deal of equity left. At current property prices I would be lucky to come away with £8k which wouldn't make much of a dent in my credit card debt. This would leave me penniless as I have no savings and no personal life insurance. I had planned to pay off the mortgage by cashing in my stocks and shares but the banking crisis wiped these out and what was left was sold to service my credit card payments following me losing my job on top of everything else. I would like to sell up and go live in Spain where property rentals are very reasonable and I could manage quite well on my works pension and state pension. I am not one to shirk my responsibilities and would try to continue paying off what I can but I don't want to start afresh with absolutely nothing. If possible I would like to keep a £4k cushion out of the sale proceeds of my house for contingencies such as funeral costs as I can't expect my siblings to pay for this and I have no other family. Most of my debt has been sold to the likes of Arrow Global , Cabot etc. I reckon they only paid a small percentage for taking on the risk. Is there any point in me appealing to their better nature and asking them to write off my debts or should I go down the route of an IVA? If I go for an IVA can I sell my house during it and then go live in Spain and just continue with the payments or would it be best to sell now and then go for an IVA. Sorry for the lengthy dialogue but as I don't have much of a lifespan left I would like to spend it relatively at peace.

I have recently (well still in the process of assessment) had to go on Universal Credit due to moving into an area where they have rolled it out in the past two months. I was on Income related ESA in the support group and was told when reporting my change of address that I would have to claim the new benefit. As mentioned I am still in the 4 weeks and 1 week assessment phase. The property I have moved into is incredibly small and it is affecting my condition due to feeling claustrophobic, consequently I am considering moving house again out of the area to another region where UC isn’t even running yet. Can anyone advise as to what happens if on UC and you wish to move please!. Even though I have only lived there 4 weeks my HA will require a months notice but the prospective HA will require rent payment at sign up. There is no mention of a benefit overlap of 4 weeks anywhere on UC (unlike the old Housing benefit system which had this four week overlap provision, were in effect both councils pay rent for up to a month). Can anyone advise on this housing issue please?. As a side note, I had a similar problem with the currently flat, I signed for it an the 10th July and obviously couldn’t move on viewing it, I moved in on 24th July and immediately claimed UC (no other option) the UC said they wouldn’t be paying rent from the sign up date only from UC claim commencement date. No mention of a benefit overlap what so ever, has anyone encountered this and got somewhere with them as I’m hitting brick walls

Hi all, 1) With my last claim for JSA you didn'tt have to allow the DWP access to a UJM account. Is this still the case? 2) Does UC also replace HB? 3) Overall is the net money lower with UC (I'm guessing so). Thanks all, JB

Just a quickie folks - am moving back to the UK from Portugal after 9 years away can I check my credit file as per my old address to see what has be recorded against me since I left Nothing major left behind just 5 small debts for utilities and credit accounts etc also a council tax bill for about £430 on a liability order which Im sure will bite me on the ass after return:oops: How should I play my return? Advice appreciated:-) Paul

I will do my best to ask my question without making it too complicated. I have 14 separate diagnosis. I live currently in the home I raised my children in, which was recently transferred from the council to a housing association. All my children have left home. I have carers coming in to help with personal care and domestic tasks and taking me out into the community, i.e. shopping, coffee out, for 7 hrs per week, the remainder of the time I am at home, in doors and extremely lonely. It is having a real impact on some of my diagnosis. I have a friend that is returning from outside the UK after 14 years and they are hoping to return to their home town in Yorkshire. I live in the south east and I would like to be able to share a 2 bedroom flat or house with him in Yorkshire for companionship. There is no relationship other than friends between myself and this person who happens to be male. We have known each other for 33 years. At home I feel as if I am just waiting for the inevitable....I have social services involvement but what I want to know is this....Is it possible to move to Yorkshire and move in with a friend that would for my benefit reduce the amount of care I would require, reduce and potentially stop some conditions from occurring and have a normal happy life as much as possible, without being accused as him being my partner? Thanks

I have been on the waiting list for a hip replacement for 6 months now and have been told it could be another 5 or so months wait. My problem is I have sold my house and am moving out of the area. When i register with my new GP will they try and put me on the list at the nearest hospital (the bottom of the list) or keep me on the one I am on. i have looked on the NHS choices website but there is no information about this ,only that I can choose hospitals.

Hello all, I'm in the process of renting a flat through an established letting agent and they are taking a long time to send the tenancy agreement. I have signed a contact with the agency and made the initial payment for the first months rent 15 days ago, and should be moving in soon. Whats the course of action to take to ensure i get something in writing asap, as txt messages and phone calls do not work, it's always "will be with you soon".

Hi Everyone, I would really appreciate your help here, as I think the Post Office home insurance are mis-advising people. I am moving out of my housing association flat to a house I just bought with my girlfriend. I have a 6 week overlap for the two properties so we can renovate and decorate prior to moving in. I already have contents insurance for the new house. My flat was covered for the last 6 years by the Post Office, I told them I am moving and have to cancel the insurance as there is already insurance at the new house, so they can't insure it. As such they have to cancel insurance at the flat as I won't be living there and can't transfer the insurance to my new property. However, they are still wanting to charge me an £35 early cancellation fee. Surely this isn't right, as they can no longer legally provide a service to me? Are they [causing problems] people like me out of £35? Many thanks in advance!

Hi, I am moving to Spain next year but I have around £18k worth of old loans/credit cards which the creditors keep pursuing with letters and phone calls, these debts are around 15 years old and have been pasted from one tinpot company to another. My question is when I go and not bother telling these companies will they chase me? I also plan on taking out some store cards now for various things I will need when I move and making the monthly payments and then just stop when I go.

I am looking for some advice dealing with the DCA chasing after an alleged debt they say I had with Npower. I paid every month by direct debit and as far as I was concerned all paid off and sent the final meter reading on the day I moved out. I called them few months later and was told what the final bills was £36 and paid off. Now a DCA sending letters, but the company name is Npower Northern which I have never known. My bills had the name Npower and not Npower Northern. Have they changed names? How can there be an outstanding amount when paid by monthly direct debit ? I have read so many posts regarding their incorrect bills. I am going to call them today and send a SAR request and start the process from there. It is so unnecessary that we have to do this as when we pay every month and trust them to send correct bills.

My partner had been on ESA and PIP for a little over a year now and has just been offered the opportunity to become self employed. This would allow him to return to work in a way that he would be able to manage with his illness and we are both very keen to try and get this off the ground. He would be forming his own company rather than being a self-employed contractor so money obviously wont start coming in right away. My understanding is that PIP is unaffected by either working or self-employment, is that correct? If so its only ESA to worry about, obviously his ESA stops because he is going to be able to work (I am assuming this all goes well of course) So what do we do? Do we talk to ESA and tell them the plan, and what we hope will happen with regards to the business taking off and becoming profitable? I assume at that point he would lose his benefit? But that's a lot of money to us and if we lose it before he starts bringing money in we might have a problem. He wont be doing many hours and obviously wont make a lot of money to start with but my earnings take us over the tax credits threshold so there wouldn't be anything else we could claim. I guess what I want to know is what the steps are to coming off ESA to become self-employed and when we take each step.

Hi All, I'm looking for some advice regarding my debts because frankly I'm an idiot and don't know where else to turn. My situation is so: I have £10k or so left on an unsecured Natwest Loan which I originally took out back in 2015 but have rescheduled a few times, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to run for at least another 4 years at around £300 a month. I also have £1900 on a 0% credit card which doesn't run out till September 2019. I will however pay £300 or so off this next month. I also have phone and tablet contracts which run to about £960. I move to Canada at the end of August to start a doctorate, they are giving me enough scholarships to cover my fees and have about £10k afterwards. I'm intending to look for a part time job over there and can work up to 20 hours a week during term or any amount of hours during the summer. I originally was in a job where I earned £26k pre-tax so going from that to £10k even living as a student will make it impossible to cover my debts. I want to find some way of paying my debts off and definitely want to avoid bankruptcy, an IVA or anything of the like as if I wanted to stay in Canada the immigration authorities would, from what I understand, take a very dim view of it. I've spoken to a debt charity who have said they probably could help but are only willing to speak to me properly after I've finished my job on the 20th of July. I would like to try and sort something out before then so I can stop worrying and beating myself about my idiotic credit habits! It'll also the last thing I need when added to the stress of having somewhere to live in Canada etc...etc... Many thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me

We received a letter from Npower recently, included was a "final" bill, saying we were £347 in credit. I have no idea why they have sent this now, considering we moved out of the propery 5 years ago ! I have also now received a cheque for the amount owed. Should i complain, do i have grounds for claiming for lost interest or any other reason. I remember they completely messed up our billing for about a year before we moved out, however i thought it had all been settled.

Hello, I am posting here to see if I can get some advice regarding employment and support allowance. My history is that I currently recieve ESA in the support group and have been on this benefit for four years now with 3 reassessments including my first in 2012. Twice I was placed in the support group after a WCA but after my second assessment I was initially told over the phone I would not get any benefit. I asked the DWP on that call to reconsider and about an hour later they called back telling me I was again in the support group. I am now waiting to find out about my next assessment for ESA and I have some questions. Firstly does anyone know how likely it is that after 4 years in the support group it will be that they can remove the benefit from me? My condition can in some cases improve but in my case it has not and I still attend the hospital regularly 2 or 3 times a year and I am awaiting a further referral. Surely it would be very difficult for the dwp to remove me from a benefit they previously agreed I was entitled to? Also if I am called to a face to face assessment I will not be able to take anyone with me I don't think which I have done in the past, I will be able to get a lift to and from the centre but nobody is free in the day anymore to come in with me. Will not having a companion at the wca be bad for my claim? My last question is on the new esa50 the say not to send any appointment letters. I feel I should send them copies of my appointment letters as it lets them see that I am still being seen regularly by the hospital and have been for some time. I don't have any reports to send and feel it is important to send something. What should I do?

Hi all not been on here for many years but i hope im asking in the right forum, if not please move Ive got a DMP had it for several years slowly steadily paying my debts off . The thing is my dad owns a few houses and to offset any inheritance tax he's thinking of putting a house in my name, now if he does and i sell the house ill have x amount in my bank and if my creditors see it they will want or even might want their share. I want to put the money into a project that will earn more money which means i can pay my creditors off when it suits me Now my question is: can i put my dads or someone elses bank details on the conveyancing form so the money will not go into my own bank account? Or is it a legal requirement that the house owner has to put their own bank details for any monies to be paid into? thanks

I have been on income related ESA in the Support Group for about 4 years now. All the time I have been on ESA I have lived with family members and recieved no other benefits such as housing benefit etc. At some point over the next month or so I will be moving in with a partner. My partner earns over the threshold I will lose all benefits once I move in with them. The house my partner has bought earlier this year is currently being renovated and due to my ill health I cannot move in until the work is complete which will hopefully be soon but I have no definate date. As far as I know I need to inform the DWP of my change in circumstances within 30 days of moving in with my partner is this correct? In addition I don't know what to expect when I tell them of my new situation when it happens. Will it trigger a new WCA for example. Do I just need to fill out a form about my change in circumstance or will they investigate i.e. come round to see if I am living in the new house? I am hoping it shouldn't really be an issue as my change or circumstances will mean I am no longer getting any benefits paid except my stamp as opposed to me asking for more money? Could anyone advise me on what to expect?

Hi there, My mother currently lives in North Wales, she suffers from ill health (heart problems that are degenerative, and long term) she has a pace maker, and currently receives PIP and is entitled to ESA but has a part time job of 18 hours a week, and a partner in full time work. Her partner is useless. She spends all week in her caravan (closer to work) because he wont travel 20 minutes to drop her off or pick he up, the caravan she is in at the moment is suffering from damp and mould (this is not her caravan, its a rental, she has her own on another site but the season is over until March now) so it's not good for her. She works at a care home, it's not much in the way of manual labour like most though, as it's a care home for recovering addicts and most are just homeless and appreciative of somewhere to stay for a bit. But with the stress of her partner, and her health getting a bit worse, she wants to move back around family. She can stay at her aunts for a few months, as she is out of the country, which will be of use as she tries to set herself up but will then need her own home. Both me and my sister have no room, other than sleeping on the sofa, so she will need to find a home near us. She has signed up for local housing agencies, ideally to get somewhere close, and not one of the rougher areas that are further away. IF she moved here, what would she be able to get, immediately? would she be able to apply for ESA? (and hopefully get a 16 hour job for a year until she was comfortable to move the hours up) as I know they can be funny about moving to a new area and starting anew claim immediately, but she is moving for health and family support. With PIP until 2018, would housing benefit be a guarantee? again, just until she can get on her feet and extend her working hours? Will her owning a caravan have a large effect on her? the caravan is not worth much, maybe £1000 at the most. They bought it (its in her name only now) for £2000 3 years ago. It's on a site that does not allow the vans to be rented for income, so no holidays are taken in it. It's purely for her to get away when she can as being there is a great calming factor for her. But with it being a 9 month season, she has 13 weeks a year where she has upheaval. Using it as a place for a break 3-4 times a year will be better for her. The site fees are paid up for the year, so she has no bills there til 2018. It cant be sold unless its taken off site, which will cost enough that the sale would be for a neglible amount anyway. She really wants to keep it, as it's a place where she can go (occasionally with grandkids, but mostly on her own) to just have a break by the sea. But she does realise that once site fees become due at the end of next year, for 2018, she will likely have to give it up. Also, if she did move here and was requiring a place to stay for 2-3 weeks, whilst her home was sorted. How would that effect people in my household. My wife currently gets PIP, can 2 people in the same household claim PIP? or it 1 per household. Thanks for any help!

Hi, I've been a customer of Barclaycard since April 1996 - so a very long time! A couple of years ago after a messy divorce , I found myself in a bit of a financial mess to the point where I had to enlist the help of StepChange to sort things out. Until now, Barclaycard have been fine and were happy to accept the payments from StepChange. Unfortunately I missed a payment which "broke" the agreement but they were happy for me to continue on an "informal" arrangement and indeed back in March this year when I contacted them they assured me that there were no plans to default the account as long as I kept up with the reduced payments, and that I should contact them in a few months time. What they did so is that they had no "formal plans" available for me at that time. Yesterday I received a letter from them stating that if I didn't clear the arrears within 60 days, and then resume my standard contractual minimum payment (with intrerest) they would default the account. I contacted them today to query this and say that they were effectively moving the goalposts as they had previously said that they wouldn't default the account, I also made the point that the minimum payment would be more than I am paying via StepChange and therefore I wouldn't be able to do this without manually topping up the payment and thus being in breach of my plan. They were adamant that there was nothing they were prepared to do , although I have asked for this to be escalated as a formal complaint. They did tell me that these letters and change in heart is a new policy of theirs and they have had a number of similar complaints.. Any thoughts as to what I can / should do? Is the fact that the account is sold old of any relevance?

have both phone and b/band with bt moving house in 4 weeks so visited bt moving home site no charges to be paid as prop moving to is supplied by bt;however bt say they need to make Credit Checks(no bother) but they say I must sign a new contract for 12 months, my query is, as im being treated as a new customer do I get all the benefits ie. discounted bb etc or is this just another bt trick to keep you with a rubbish provider, I want to swith but mrs sopwith says no, further they cant provide me with service when I move in. any advice would be appreciated. if I have posted this in the wrong place would you kindly redirect thanks soppy

Hi all, I am a UK national hoping to move to the Netherlands very soon and would like to know what benefits I am entitled to take with me, I am worried as I have done this once before and all my JSA and DLA was stopped due to my no longer meeting the UK residency criterior. I am in reciept of PIP (Highest rates) and Income related ESA, I recieve approx two payment of £360 PM ESA and one payment of £416 PM Pip. This is enough for me to live comfortably in Holland, but I fear as soon as I disclose that I am abroad they will stop my benefits again. Please can anyone offer me any advice?

im really confued as i didnt attend the medical but sent off a form explaining why , i then recieved a letter back saying :"we have looked at your reasons for not attending a decision maker says you are capable of work from the 15.04.2010 " (this box was ticked) then underneath is says "this means we have decided that you are no longer entilted to which were : Box One : Incapacity Benefit And National Insurance Credits Box Two : Severe Disablement Allowance Box Three : National Insurance Credits The Box They Ticked For Me Were Just : The 3rd One "National Insurance Credits" This is the only box ticked so i dont understand am i losing my incapacity and servere disability allowance cos it says first "u are capable of work from the 24.04.2010 but then says this means we have decided that you are no longer entitled to national insurance credits ! Im confused as i claim incapacity and servere but these boxes werent ticked so what do they mean im no longer entitled to national credits ? im worried if they mean that ill no longer get any benefits anyone plz help me thanks in advance

Hi, I apologise if this is in the wrong place but I didn't know where to post it and I desperately need help as I am going out of my wits with worry and stress. This will be a long post Me and my partner split up when my son was one. I see his quite a lot so I am lucky in that aspect of it but I don't think its due to my ex being nice more so not being able to cope. Anyway she met a new guy and all was going well. I met him a few times and all went well. My time with my son was not impacted. About a year after they got together I had a letter from Social Services saying her new partner was being investigated for emotional abuse and his children from a previous was not allowed to see them. This in turn also extended to my son and another child my ex and him had (Confusing I know) Anyway this went on and on and I think if I remember there was a protection order in place so he was not able to see my son or his new child. The social left this order in place but did not proceed any further with the case. I later found out that my ex had married this guy and had another child with him while this order was in place and kept it a secret. She had told my son not to tell me and said if he did the social would take him away from his family. For 2 years my son held this lie. Anyway it finally came out and I only found out via the Social. When I confronted her she denied it. I asked her sister who she no longer talks to and she confirmed it and sent me photos (They was talking at the time of the wedding) I sent the photos to my ex to prove I knew about it and she confessed. The social basically closed the case again as they think there is no need to keep it open. I was happy with this as I trust the social. On Saturday just gone (18/06/16) my son told me that his mum thought about moving to Scotland. I questioned more as it took me by shock. My son didn't know more so I left it at that and instantly spoke to my ex who denied it and said I don't know where my son got it from . This morning on the way to school I asked again and he told me his mum said he could Skype me if they move to Scotland as they will not be seeing me that much. I would like to explain that I have a 13 year old daughter who is living in Wales with another ex that I no longer see. I fought in court for 6 years to see her. I got orders, my ex was served papers at her work as she ignored them at her home. Eventually I got contact that was supervised. Then it stopped. I found out she had moved to Wales. At the time I was not in work and I could not afford the travel and with a heavy heart I concluded I would loose access with my daughter. I am thinking my ex is thinking if she moves to Scotland I will back away from seeing my son to. But I am working now and in more of a position to fight it. My son was born in 2007 and I am on the birth certificate. I also believe I get automatic PR as I am on the birth certificate and he was born after 2003. Does this give me any right to blocking the move? Would the involvement of the social have any impact on this? Would the involvement of her new partner who had an order have any impact on this? My son had a poor start in life and struggled with school to. Since he has been at school in Birmingham he has thrived and is doing so well and I am so proud of him. But I am worried him moving to Scotland would have a massive impact on this. I don't want him to start again. He is a timid and shy boy and he has a few friends. I think moving to a new country and school away from his friends will make it even worse. Is there any advice anyone can give me? I am begging here as I am at my wits end and I can't stop worrying. I can't get lagal aid but I can't afford solicitor fees so I don't know what to do. Please help a worried dad.

Hello and greetings to all at CAG, I moved eight doors down the same road (upsizing) and Hastings have upped my annual premium by £131.82. When I queried this I was told that the underwriter (Advantage) take into consideration additional risk factors, such as flood risk, proximity to main roads, crime levels etc, hence the increase. I consider this increase to be out of proportion because there is no difference risk-wise to the part of the road I previously parked in. The only difference is, in fact, one letter at the end of my postcode. I feel I have been stung by some generalised, presumably out-of-thin-air statistic generating at the hands of Advantage/Hastings Direct. My partner's car insurance premium (Aviva) did not increase at all so where does the 'increased risk statistics' come from exactly? I refute the increase entirely and don't see why I should be penalised for moving 62 yards, same side of the road, from xxxx 2AW to xxxx 2AN. I have written several emails to Hastings Direct and have escalated my query to a complaint; which has decidedly fallen of deaf ears because I received the same, generalised reply regarding risk-factors. Short of demanding a Hastings rep come to my road to see there is no difference re: risk between location of house A to location of house B, I've hit a brick wall. If anyone could tell me what else I could try I would be super grateful.