Other What's ruining your life right now?

If you're reasonably savvy and use it for a very short term loan, as a one off, to help pay in advance for something you were going to buy in a few days anyway, and have budgeted correctly to pay it back, then I fail to see the problem.

However, if you are terrible with money and run out a few days after payday, then borrow several hundred pounds to get through the month at such an absurdly high APR, things will not end well.

The problem with Wonga et al is that they'll lend to just about anyone, regardless of whether they can afford to pay back or not. Interest free loans from family/friends are always preferable, but are not always possible.

 

At first I was like "really?!" but then I remembered that you're as big a Halo fan as I am and we're going to need the XBO to play the next title - which I hope has a much less disappointing multiplayer than H4.

Then I read the bit about things getting in the way, and I know that feel bro. It's been one of those years for me as well. Car parts, court cases, Solicitors fees, fines, diesel (you have no idea how much diesel I go through each month ) and now insurance premiums - see below

That's one of the most sensible things you've ever posted on this forum. Weren't Wonga or one of the other bunch up in court recently getting their wrists slapped for misleading customers? I caught the end of it on the news one evening.

Anyway - my fairly minor little accident a month or so ago - you know, the one where I swiped and lightly damaged a 6 month old Audi A1? It turns out that we (my family) have been breaking the law and committing a form of insurance fraud for the past 2+ years. To cut a long, sad and ultimately boring story short, I didn't know that what we were doing was called "fronting" never mind that it was illegal. As seems to be the case quite often, the claim brought it to the attention of our insurers and they then brought it to my attention in the form of a letter slapping a nice big additional excess of £500 onto the claim which had to be paid before the repairs to my car would be completed, the removal of 14 years of NCB, the total ban on the policy holder of accruing further protected NCB in the future and last but not least, stating that the now main user of the vehicle (yours truly) must become the main policy holder at the next date of renewal with a larger premium, which wouldn't you know it falls as near as makes no difference on my birthday next year.

****.

 

I'm guessing the insurance was in someone else's [family member's] name with you as a named driver, despite it being 'your' [as in you are the one who drives it] car...

A lot of parents do it to save their kids [and themselves] from stupid high premiums, despite the fact it is, in the eyes of the law, insurance fraud...

 

Yes, apparently the colloquial term for it is "fronting". I had no idea it even existed

The stipulation is that the main user of the vehicle has to be the policy holder. It's all right doing it for some teenager who just got their license and is only using the car a couple of nights per week whilst the parent takes it to work each day, it's when that teenager takes the car to uni and drives it 5+ days per week, or becomes a twenty-something young adult, leaves uni and starts driving it to and from work every day, that the issue arises. In my case, I've technically been the main user of the vehicle since I started full time, self employed work at the start of 2011, although that usage really escalated at the start of 2012, then my second job added another 300 miles per week in September of last year. Oops...

 

some issue affecting my 2TB hard drive
boot up and windows cannot see the file format anymore
currently running Priform Recuva and its saying itll take 9 hours to recuva all my stuff ( music, some games ( FFX) aload of my old document files including photos of my late girlfriend )

I just hope they can all be recovered quickly... a lot of those files are irreplaceable

has to be the backup drive that has issues a week after the NAS drive took an unexpected sizzle due to a small child running + glass of juice + dog
a whole cup of juice straight in...causing spectacular blue smoke, both HDDs and the old Mobo dead

 

Store it up high(er), out of harms way?....

Bummer all the same.

 

I can understand loan for house payment, health or Smth... but to buy Xbox???

send from Deathstar via HAL9000

 

What the actual heck bro

I earn £900 a month / 35 hours

400 on rent
190 on insurance
130 council tax
30 on water
40 on electric
can't even afford gas (housewise)
Food about 60
Petrol 45
Virgin 30

Comes to the total sum of £925

wtff

I'm either living a lie or something is seriously wrong

 

Stop sacrificing virgins and you'll be £5 up

 

Are you allowed to do that to a child?

 

Today is last day that I will use my Logitech MX Revolution I have been using this mouse for my entire working life!

 

£130 Council Tax on a property that costs £400 to rent?

 

I was thinking that...

 

I can loan you the money if needed.

 

Cat died - sucks arse

 

You pay a water bill for a residential property? Huh, we don't have that here. Only business and agricultural water users pay a bill in NI. For the rest of us, it's included in council rates.

 

Yep and it's a touch pricey, especially in London!

 

Depends on the band but my flat is a band A and thats around 110 a month in tax.

If he lives alone he could get 30% knocked off for single occupancy though.

 

Yea I pay £50 month for water and all new property's are now on a water meter so it's a lot more expensive

 

Wow.... You must be using quite a bit - our bills were £150/year in the last house (3 bed detached, 2 people, some use on garden). Current house was rated rather than a meter so bill was over £700/year when we moved in but had a meter fitted so guessing we'll be roughly where we were at the last place.

EDIT: Maybe check the meter is just for your property - the chap who fitted our meter said it's quite common for the water supply to branch even after the stop tap so you end up paying for a neighbour too.