OR Interview - I&E

[scaredkez]

jane what gives you the impression that the or is trying to put an ipa on you when you have only £20 surplus, are you reading too much into this have they directly said you are getting an ipa? if it is under £100 surplus they don't bother as it cost too much, why would they make you the different from the norm?
the car is the hard part i really needed mine with 3 kids and working are you working jane or just hubby? i was told to get the bus and basically leave my 3 kids at home to fend for them selves, i haven't had it easy and BR is not an easy way out what did you expect? your debts have been written off, you have to adjust to the new way of life, you don't have picture hanging over you any more, you have new home and a fresh start why are you panicking so much?

i too have to pay my tax credits back but have been told on the other site were you post too that on discharge they will clear the tax credits, start living on what you can afford and not think of what you had in the past, budget, and learn to live again in the real world like the rest of us, you shouldn't stress so much, we have all been at the lowest ebb and have to now get on with it.

jane its the best thing start sleeping girl live a new life and make it better i have had too!
kerri

Please view my blog at: http://scaredkez.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[Soulgrowth]

Hi BrassicLintus, I was reading through the allowances the OR allowed you again. Would it be prying of me to ask your personal situation i.e married? children?. I am using your figures to try to work out what kind of allowance I might be allowed ... I am a single person with one daughter and her new baby living with me who is in receipt of income support and another daughter who is nearly 19 but may be going back to college soon. I was just wondering how our circumstances compared?

Many thanks

Debbie

[jane.l]

We had our OR interview last week and nothing was mentioned of an IPA. We got a letter the next day saying that he thinks there MIGHT be enough for an IPA!
This sent us into a bit of a panic. The OR said on the phone that he thinks our shopping bill is too high, (£545 for 2 adults, 3 teenagers and 2 cats) He says the car insurance is far too high, £48 per month for the car hubby has now) He thinks BT is too high £45.50 per month.

He wanted us to fill in another I&E form, so I have, but I have explained to him that we really do need ONE car at least, so I have worked out some running costs for an old banger! Hubby works about 3 miles away but he is on call at all times and is often called in to work at weekends and evenings. He also has another factory that he has to travel to about 3 times per week and this is 25 miles away. I do not work now so I will have to “make do” BUT the children’s school is about 4 miles away, no direct bus route, we live on a hill at the top of town. To walk directly to the school, cutting across town, is 4 miles so me and the children would have to walk a minimum of 16 miles per day, that’s not including if I needed to go shopping or into town!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is why I am panicking, I think. I just need to know what our expenditure will be so we can start to move forward and make a fresh start!

[lily]

Jane

There is no point in stressing anymore about this, you have had to cut your spending and have to live within your limits. If there is only 20 pounds per month surplus, based on actual fighures you will not get an IPA. Neither are you able to fund a second car.

We have all lost out by living beyond our means, you are not alone there. However the best way forward is to stop worrying and stressing and start to be more positive. Your children have been through this with you, through no fault of their own and now its time to bring a stable ethos for them to thrive and develop. What if's, mights and panicking isnt going to help them or you. However much you panick now, in the end you will have to roll your sleeves up, get stuck in and deal with it.

lily

[BrassicLintus]

Cheers Pippa (near neighbour I believe!. And many thanks Melanie, I'm away till Sunday but perhaps I could give you a call then or could I pop into your office?

[katy]

Sound advice from everyone whose been through it. I have my phone interview on thursday morning and i'm concerned about my husbands job, he's going to be honest with them and tell them about our bankruptcy to 'soften the blow' he's a gardener but the thing is the house we rent is tied in with the job so if he's loses his job we lose the house. It's unlikely he will lose his job for this (it could look bad for business) but at a time when everything is up in the air, i'm waking up with bad dreams every night and other stresses I cannot help but worry about everything.
Having said all that I am quite prepared to get on with whatever life is going to throw at me now, at least I have no credit to worry about and we will be living within our means. I still have a lot to be thankful for, my lovely daughter and husband

Katy

[BrassicLintus]

Hi Debbie (Soulgrowth), I don't find you asking at all, anything that I can do to help - that's what this forum is for!!! I'm single, no kids (unless you count my hammies!) and the OR works off guidelines as to allowances. I had put down £300 for my household expenditure and he said the allowance was £200 for a single person. But I had included my parking for work so he put this down separately. Plus after the interview I had forgotten that I had included my dry cleaning bill (for my work uniform) in the household budget as well, so I called him back and he allowed me £30 a month for this. So all in all even though he reduced my household budget to £200, he allowed me £62 for other things. He did question my union memebership as said he was quite high but I said that's Aslef for you so he allowed it. He did question my clothes allowance, normally it would be £30 for a single person, but when I explained that i'm 6ft tall and have size 9 feet, I can't shop in "normal" shops, and a bog standard pair of jeans costs me £55, he allowed it! As I said he upped my heating and water allowance, and I had forgotten to put down car repairs and he looked through his list and came up with the figure of £45 (more than I had expected!). He even said that my petrol costs were quite low! So my advice would be to put down absolutely everything that you spend each month. If you include things other than food in your household budget, make a note and have it ready for the OR interview, that way you won't forget anything and you can explain any additional costs you have. Hope this helps.

Sam

[BrassicLintus]

Just a quick note to Jane, I was told that the IPA takes around 3 months to set up, so don't panic, you have time to sort things out. I was told that a firm of solicitors will be writing to me, because they collect both the IPA and my tax money, so I assume this would be the same in your case. When the solicitors contact you, make sure they have all the correct information, if not phone your OR and explain again. They will allow your husband to keep a car I'm sure, he needs it for work. When you had your OR interview did he give you exact figures of what he was allowing you and did you write them down? If he didn't then you need to ring him and ask, just to put your mind at rest. I know it all seems up in the air at the moment - but if your surplus is £20 there is no way you'd get an IPA. In my case they took into account some overtime that I'd worked last month and I was gobsmacked when he said he's worked out my average monthly take home as over £2000 and that my IPA would be around £340 a month!!!! But he said when the solicitors contact me to give them all my latest payslips showing my basic which is what I usually earn. So I'm not panicking too much (yet!) after all they can't take what you haven't got!!!!

[Skippy]

The IPA payments are collected by a company called Clarke Willmott based in Taunton. Everyone I have spoken to there is lovely and nothing is too much trouble for them. I was made BR in March and I made my first payment in June so you don't have to make a payment immediately. When you receive your IPA paperwork from CW, if the payment date is not convenient for you give them a call and they will move the date.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[BrassicLintus]

Cheers Skippy, tho I'm trying not to stress too much about the IPA (yet)! I am a bit concerned about my tax. The OR based obviously based on my tax contributions on my last 3 months pay (which included the overtime), and obviously this is going to be higher than the basic salary I will be receiving from now on. The OR said that once I noticed on my payslip that I had a zero tax code then this is when I'd start paying Clarke Willmott, but they will be expecting a higher amount won't they? Also I get paid every 4 weeks, not monthly, so how would this work out - would I be able to pay every 4 weeks or even weekly?

[lily]

Brassic

From what I understand they take it calander monthly, they would have to work out a monthly figure for you by diveding by 4 times 52 divide by 12.

Its going to be up in the air for you for a couple of months, everyone needs to know where they stand and what the budget is, I remember skip was. It must be very unsettling for you. I hope it all gets sorted very soon.

This forum is good for sounding out your concerns and everyone tries to help everyone else, even if they dont know the answer, its nice to know someone cares.

I wish you the very best.

lily

[Skippy]

When I received my IPA agreement it stated how much tax I would be expected to pay into the IPA (I never received a NT code so it didn't apply) and I had to sign the agreement and return it to the OR. If I were you I would wait until you receive the IPA agreement, see how much tax they say you will have to pay and if you disagree with it contact the OR before signing the paperwork. Do you have payslips from other months that show a regular amount of tax or does it always vary from month to month? I'm just thinking that if you can show him that you tax is always lower it will strengthen your case,

Regarding the payment dates, I would suggest that you wait until they tell you the date the payments will start (in your IPA agreement) and then contact CW who will be able to help you.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[BrassicLintus]

I've got a years and years worth of payslips Skippy!!! I was off sick for nearly 5 months at the beginning of the year (broke my foot on New Years Eve - and may I add that I was stone cold sober!) and up until last month I was on basic pay. There's the odd couple of quid overtime (and I mean £6 here, £2 there) but other than that it's the same every month. I did explain this to the OR and he just to keep my next 3 months payslips and submit these. Many thanks again for the advice - guess I'm just playing the waiting game - again!!!

[Skippy]

Sadly that's all we can do at the moment - even nearly 6 months in I'm still waiting! At the moment it's to see whether or not the OR will increase my IPA payments in line with my pay rise. I think you just get more blase about it as time goes on!

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[BrassicLintus]

It's only been 2 weeks for me Skippy and I think I'm at the stage of "oh well - worry when it happens!!" The way I figure it is I've done the really hard bits (court and OR interview) so it should be downhill from now on!!!