I'm having some problems. I left DH & inherited a not so pretty debt.
We had both mobiles in my name & the electricity has always been in my name.
Over the last few months he has been constantly ringing & texting me. I now owe telstra around $3000 for the last 3 months. I looked at our last bill & his share was $992. Mine was $360 (way higher than normal coz I was always having to ring or text him back coz of his stupid insecurities). The one before his was just as much higher than mine.
He now has his own pre paid, but I still have to pay off that bill & plan for another 12 - 15 months.
Then the electricity bill from when we were together is sitting at around $1900. Its slowly built up after we got behind 4 years ago. I was always having a winge about it, but he'd always say 'its only money'.
ONLY MONEY!! Only money we can't afford! Only money I can't afford & he won't give me. He only has to pay $50 a week child support & I haven't seen a red cent of that either!
So anyway. While I was on the phone to CSA yesterday the lady I spoke to said I should be able to get some help from a charity organisation. I have seeked help from them in the past & they paid $300 off my electricity bill 3 years ago.
I'm currently paying $50 a week off my mobile bill & $90 a f/n off my electricity. I can't afford anymore than that. I really don't think I'll get much help from a charity place. Maybe with my power, but not the phone bill.
Does anyone know what else I can do? Or what sort of help they can give me?
Why wont he help you? I dont have any suggestions, im sure someone else might.
It's not fair. But you are doing the right thing with your payment plans and working towards paying them off. However, it shouldn't be solely YOUR debt to pay. I hope someone else may have an idea on how to get him to help. Sorry im not much help hun, but i know debts not fun
He's trying to control me I think. A desperate attempt to get me to realise I can't afford to live without him.
I couldn't afford it with him, so its not working to his favour!
How stressful . Can you ring Centrelink (or whoever organises child support) and get them to enforce him to make payments? My dad never paid a cent to my mum for us three kids and we really struggled. They shouldn't be able to get away with it!
You are doing the right thing by making regular payments, good on you. I don't know what sort of help the charities can give you, but it's definitely worth finding out. Can you change your mobile phone plan to a more affordable one? Or switch to a pre-paid phone? Do you have anything you could sell on eBay to give you a bit of extra cash?
Your DH really should be helping you pay those debts off, but it sounds like money isn't his "thing" which is so frustrating when you are the one left with the bill and three little ones to feed and clothe.
I rang CSA yesterday & they are going to get CS through his employer, but that takes 6 weeks.
He owes me $800 just in CS now. By then it will be $1100.
I can't change the phone plans coz they are minimum 24 month. I've had mine for 12 months, but his is only 8 or 9 months old. The $45 a month I'm paying is just for the phone alone, so I can't reduce it as far as I know.
Honey you are doing a wonderful job so firstly dont doubt yourself!
There are places around...like Salvation Army, St Vincents and other reach out places that can help you with funding. Take aleaf out of my book..dont be to ashamed to ask them for help. Its better then the stress of worrying about paying for the bills and your seperation as well.
My GF also got her electricity bill paids for her..hers was $3000. Its a one of thing. I'll try and get incontact with her adn find out how she did it and let you know.
in the mean time get on the blower babe and start asking for some help
i went through something similar when i left my ex... both obiles were in my name, i didnt want to be slack and leave him stranded so left his phone connected
BIG mistake, a hole (creative spelling justified here) racked up $2,300 worth of calls by the time i got my next bill
there was nothing i could do, it was in my name, i was liable, couldnt even take him to court. lesson learned there!
but as for the electricity, try lifeline, the salvos, just see if they can help, at all.... not sure, but you could even see if department of housing could help out, i think they might, if you are on a waiting list?
it does get easier hun, it does take time though, and once it is sorted out youwill feel the calm. fresh air again
What an awful stress for you!
Is it possible to get the account on his phone transferred into his name?
How much would it cost to cancel your account? Would the payout now be much less than if you continued paying out till the end of the contract (assuming you even have the cash at hand to do that of course)?
Anything you could sell for extra cash - or, more to the point, anything of your ex's that could be sold...?
Skye, My sis was in a similar situation, but she stuck to it and eventually got the whole darn lot paid off! So take heart, you will get past this! xxx
Agree with all the suggestions re ringing your service providers (phone, electricity, in fact anything you have to pay on a regular basis) and ask about their hardship provisions. You might find by ringing around that there are all sorts of things you can do to help.
Also, definitely find out about a financial counsellor. I know Centacare have them too. They might be able to help you with consolidating all your debts into a single loan or something like that. Good luck.
I am pretty sure that you can't transfer mobile contract to his name, I tried doing this too. You can cancel the contract, I think they charge you half of what your monthly contract is and times it buy the remaining months. So if you have 12 months left and pay $50 a month, it will be 12x$25. It is still better to do it in some cases, he won't be able to rack up anymore calls in your name. Most places are reasonable if you call and talk to someone and explain the situation rather than ignore the bills. You are doing the right thing by paying a small amount each wk/month, it shows them that you are trying. Good luck
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