Has anyone pin pointed why the contract has gone tits up - been a while

[NotAllThere]

I'm sorry to hear this Wobblyheed. While reading your post I was reminded of a thread back in 2006 (!) that tackled this exact problem.

I'm resurrecting it as there may be ideas in there that could point a way out.

Serious Question - Contractor UK Bulletin Board

This. Think before posting please. We're a good bunch of people with a huge amount of experience. We are not responsible for the OP's mental health - unless we post stuff that is detrimental to it. So dont do that, ok?

[rocktronAMP]

We're better that.

1. Step Change https://www.stepchange.org/
2. Business Debt https://www.businessdebtline.org/ (the sister organisation of Step Change, who deal specifically about business LTD / Outside IR35 contractors, PSCs)
3. National Debtline https://nationaldebtline.org/
4. Christian Against Poverty https://capuk.org/
5. Islamic but you need check with them https://islamicdebthelp.co.uk/
6. Citizen Advice Bureau debt page https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/de...elp-with-debt/
7. Specific missed mortgage advice page from Shelter https://england.shelter.org.uk/housi...tgage_payments
8. Samaritans 24/7 https://www.samaritans.org/ - Call 116 123 for free
9. Finally Martin Lewis advice on debt is eye opener https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan/ useful reminder that the financial axe can fall down on everyone of us at an unexpected time.

All the best [Wobblyheed].

Keep your head up.
Positivity.





Speak to your mortgage provider directly; see if you can get a payment holiday 3-6 months. The gov/industry removed the Covid-19 policy at the end of 2022, I think. So you need ask directly, if they can give you a grace period. And the other thing, is to extend your mortgage term, e.g. 10 years left to, say, 12 or 15 years to reduce month payments. Worth a punt. But talk to the well-trusted debt charities and organisations in the above list as well.

[SussexSeagull]

What has changed in the 15 years I have been contracting is you used to apply for contracts on Jobserve, a percentage of which would lead to the agent getting hold of you. Some of them would lead to an interview. If you were being putting forward for the right types of contract you would hope to get through most of these interviews, certainly one in two. In essence it was a process that you kept on at that was influenced by economic circumstances at the time.

Nowadays I never think I am going to work again up to the point you are working again. It is difficult to tell exactly where the problem lies but agents used to be the target of our ire but they seem to be sharing that now with clients who seem incapable of deciding they need a contractor then actually getting it over the line.

I can almost guarantee you my next contract while come through a handful of agents I have an established relationship with. The days of being able to make a new connection to expand your network seeming gone.

[PCTNN]

3. Was getting back on my feet with some decent contracts and regrettably bought a bigger house last year with a small mortgage intending to pay off in 4 years. Idea was to sell after mortgage paid off, downsize and semi retire. You win some lose some

Easy fix.

You're 63 you don't need a big house. You sell it and depending on how much you sell it for you either

- if you don't get a lot of equity from the big house sale, you buy a cheap 2 bedroom flat mortgage free and put whatever is left in your warchest
- if you get a substantial amount of equity, you buy 2 flats, one you live in and one you rent out

Can you not get your SIPP now? How old is it you need to be? 57 is it?

[wettowel]

I sympathise with the OP.

I’m in a similar situation - I’m a highly experienced JS/TS dev and previously had no trouble landing the best gigs at the best rates.

Now it’s been 9 months sitting on the bench with no sign of any new work. The few replies or calls I get back from the agents usually are to tell me that the role has been either filled or postponed indefinitely.

I dislike the herd mentality of putting the blame on the “greedy contractor”, or “living beyond one’s means” - it’s an oversimplification and a very narrow perspective on the subject.

Could I have spent less, saved more? Sure. But I don’t think having a 4 bed family house or a big SUV is “splashing out”. When the money was coming in, I was able to meet those commitments comfortably and managed to save a few grand too. I always budgeted for the rainy day and tried to keep my commitments at about 70% of my income.

The issue is the irresponsible and clueless government, who we can thank for Brexit, IR35 reform, mishandling of the pandemic and printing money like crazy. Nobody could predict that.

The real problem is that even though I budgeted for the lean times, by assuming that I might one day be forced to take a perm job or accept a lowball rate of £250 or something like that, in my wildest dreams (nightmares?) I have not anticipated that the demand for the JS developers will fall down to an absolute NIL.

There simply are no jobs. I have already accepted the reality of much lower rates and having to go back to the office, but there are no jobs for senior JS devs. And those few that are available are snapped in minutes.

I have depleted all my savings (thanks to Covid and now being on the bench) and despite trying to stay positive, I am facing similar problems as the OP - I have been relying on credit cards to buy food as I need the cash to pay for the mortgage. Have sold two cars and might need to start selling my belongings soon. Then the house.

I just don’t understand how come nobody needs JS developers anymore. I don’t understand how this whole drama goes completely under the radar. There is a lot of us highly-skilled jobless people and we are the ones that used to stimulate the economy by buying homes, cars and consumer goods. We were the ones paying for Covid spending spree, and despite to what the haters will say about us, we were bringing a lot of tax to the HMRC. I usually paid about 30-40k in various taxes, and this year I will pay a big fat 0. Thanks, Rishi and the team.

Once I am forced to sell my house and emigrate to Germany or some other better country, who is going to bail out the UK economy? Permies on their 50k salaries? The people on benefits? The billionaires?

Im not desperate (yet) but I am scared and frankly do not know what will happen in the next few months.

[JustKeepSwimming]

I dislike the herd mentality of putting the blame on the “greedy contractor”, or “living beyond one’s means” - it’s an oversimplification and a very narrow perspective on the subject.

I agree. Contractor or permie, there is only so much risk you can reasonably mitigate. Everyone will have times in their life, like having kids or moving house etc where you have to extend your finances beyond what you might feel comfortable. We are hearing people out for 9+ month and counting, that would be bad enough, but also facing 35%+ higher costs.

This isn't a normal market downturn.

[56samba]

Speak to your mortgage provider directly; see if you can get a payment holiday 3-6 months. The gov/industry removed the Covid-19 policy at the end of 2022, I think. So you need ask directly, if they can give you a grace period. And the other thing, is to extend your mortgage term, e.g. 10 years left to, say, 12 or 15 years to reduce month payments. Worth a punt. But talk to the well-trusted debt charities and organisations in the above list as well.

This. Ive always used mortgage payment holidays annually, while rates were so low it was worthwhile as I always intended to downsize. Extend the term and take payment breaks, if its a new mortgage you might not be able to take breaks yet, mine needed 9 or 12 months of payments first, also extend the term.
Also is it possible to rent out a room, or even two? I had a lodger, you can take in 9k tax free pa, and if you arent earning anything, maybe also use your personal allowance for tax free rent. These things helped me pay for a stupid big house in London I didn't need, which in the long run turned out to be a great financial advantage, once I downsized.

[wettowel]

Thanks.

You’re right - our mortgage jumped by £820 and overall other regular costs have gone up totalling about £1500 more than what we used to pay pre-pandemic.

So not only I am being denied the right to work (even as an employee!) but through no fault of my own I am being ripped off £18,000 per annum. That basically eats my partners entire salary.

I really don’t know how this will end. Have two kids, a dog and a cat, and pretty much they all depend financially on me. I’ve made all the right choices, played it safe as much as I could and now I’m facing bankruptcy. Not to mention that I spent the best years of my life working, telling myself that I will reap the rewards once I retire early. Have missed my kids firsts because I was stuck at work firefighting somebody else’s problems. And now I’m thrown out like a piece of trash that nobody needs anymore.

[JustKeepSwimming]

You need to speak to a debt specialist. The fact you're still fixating on bankruptcy as an inevitability when that is so far down the road implies you haven't. You're an SME, you know as well as anyone that there is a time and place to seek SME input, in this case a debt specialist, and the time is now.

[wettowel]

I think you have mistaken me for the OP. I know bankruptcy is quite far down the line, but the outlook is bleak nevertheless. Thank for your concern though, it’s reassuring to know that not everybody hates contractors