# Help All i want to do is eat



## easynow (Mar 27, 2009)

I moved to cyprus 3 years ago and i had a internet based company that was making a lot of money , slowly the money iw as getting from the company was going down . i got left here by the ex who took the kids aswell left me in debt so i still not been able to go back to the uk to visit

i met somone new who is great a dream women so you would call and we set up a company together everything was going well untill december clinets stoped paying us , people signing contracts with us but not paying the final amount . 

i had enough of this place at present we have no money no food or clean water no car , iam wirting this message from next doors wifi , 

in Cyprus they let you die if you have no money 

Please dont come here the uk sounds like a dream to me now even if i go just to fall back on the benefits . i now have no home int he uk not seen my kids for over a year and we will be sleeping on the streets very soon .

all we have done is try try and try please people dont pay what they owe in cyprus they dont care 

iam owed over 6000 euros from cleints all around cyprus and they dont pay they pay the deposit and then mess you around for the money somtimes it costs us more money to chase them

iam near total mental breakdown this country is killing me , 
how can a country let a human being go without clean water ? 
how can they let there people starve ?

Top line is they dont give a s00t at all please come on 
EU MEMBER ONLY WHEN IT SUITS THEM 

PLEASE NO ONE COME HERE ITS HELL ON EARTH DONT belive the story s your here about how good it is


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

easynow said:


> I moved to cyprus 3 years ago and i had a internet based company that was making a lot of money , slowly the money iw as getting from the company was going down . i got left here by the ex who took the kids aswell left me in debt so i still not been able to go back to the uk to visit
> 
> i met somone new who is great a dream women so you would call and we set up a company together everything was going well untill december clinets stoped paying us , people signing contracts with us but not paying the final amount .
> 
> ...



I am sorry to hear things havn't worked out for you.
However not everyone has such bad luck here. Most of us are very happy and managing to make ends meet here.
You cannot blame the country for the fact that clients havn't paid you.
What sort of internet business did you have? Did you make sure that you did all you could to ensure you were paid for your services?


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

By the way as you had your own business I assume you were paying social insurance. If you were then you are entitled to some unemployment benefit if your company has failed.

Veronica


----------



## easynow (Mar 27, 2009)

i did everything took deposits run everything by the book everything was all legal and above board as for social insurance takes atleast a month and they going give a whooping 400 euros only for 6 months my bills and loan payments are above 500 a month 

this country has fallen apart


----------



## Arranexpat (Aug 17, 2008)

The UK doesn't pay out massive benefits! And any benefit takes at least a month to claim too. Full unemployment benefit, if you've maintained your national insurance contributions would be in the region of £60 per week. They don't pay mortgage payments and only pay the minimum local rent for a very limited time if you do manage to get housing benefit, which take at least six weeks just to ge a decision and no one would pay your debts there either. There are people in terrible trouble in the UK too. I hope things pick up for you. You may be better looking at bakruptcy. Don't let debt destroy you.


----------



## yummymummy150 (Sep 8, 2007)

sorry to hear things went bad for you here but dont blame it all on cyprus .
there are meny in the same boat in uk, We never know what is in front of any of us .
Tricia


----------



## carantay (Mar 2, 2009)

What an awful shame easynow. Have you tried the personal
approach to the people you are owed money from? I know
it's not the answer but tell them that you need at least a
fraction of the money they owe you if not all, at least this
way you will be able to have some cash to tie you over.
Unfortunately a lot of our friends have tried to make a
living running businesses here when not all have succeeded.
With the competition stakes very high and a lot of replica
Trades on the island things can become quite difficult for a
lot of people. I for one was an accountant in the uk, now
I sell products at a twice weekly carboot/market to make
a living which gets me out meeting people and also a lot
of stall holders have had work offers from the public whilst
trading. So please don't feel that cyprus is all bad and don't
feel alone in your situation many many have gone through
the same and picked themselves up again so chin up.


----------



## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

Cyprus did not lure you here, break up your marriage, separate you from your children and ruin your business. Many people come here and have their dreams shattered by the realities of living in a recession in a country that, for better or worse, is different from home. I do hope that you can find a way through the debris and start to rebuild your life, but to paint the whole of Cyprus as an uncaring and malevolent society is unfair.

Perhaps the biggest difference between Cyprus and the UK is that it is still a country dominated by family ties and connections (a good and sometimes frustrating aspect of life here). Support comes from the extended family networks that help when members get into trouble or need help - the social security system is not geared up to support people in the same way that it is in the UK (and as others have pointed out and in my own experience of the support network in the UK for disabilities, it is about as much use as mahogany frying pan). If you fall beyond a family network as an outsider, life can be bleak. I hope that others within the forum support network can help - the suggestion of declaring bankruptcy might be worth following up.


----------



## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

easynow said:


> i did everything took deposits run everything by the book everything was all legal and above board as for social insurance takes atleast a month and they going give a whooping 400 euros only for 6 months my bills and loan payments are above 500 a month


Hi, 
I am sorry to hear how badly things have gone for you. You sound really desperate.

I'd like to suggest that you do two things straight away. 
Firstly, contact the British High Commission in Nicosia. Explain your situation honestly and in full and ask if they can help. The role of British Embassies worldwide is to help British Citizens who get into trouble. I don't what they can do but they should be able to do something. You are not the first to get into trouble abroad and will certainly not be the last, I am sure they will be able to do something.

Secondly, contact your mortgage lender and ask they to allow you to defer or reduce payments whilst you get your affairs into order.

Lastly please come back and tell us how you are getting on. It would be most useful for all of us to learn what happens in circumstances like this in Cyprus and how the British High Commission can help.


----------



## easynow (Mar 27, 2009)

what happend this week which i didnt add was horrible . i finaly got to see one of my clients that owes me money , i told him the situtation and that i have been trying to live on organes off the trees as he hasnt paid me . come back next week and ill try to give you 50 euros 
this is from somone who owes me in excess of 600 euros that was owed since december.

i make a promise to every one that if i get through this i will open up a charity to help people in simalar situations

brittish embassy not intrested as my father is part cypriot although he wasnt even born here !

it seems the hole is just getting deeper and there is no way out , it hurts for me to take money from people iam normally the giving type i hate taking hand outs from individuals but iam scared that it might get to the stage where i have to beg just to keep alive


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

easynow said:


> what happend this week which i didnt add was horrible . i finaly got to see one of my clients that owes me money , i told him the situtation and that i have been trying to live on organes off the trees as he hasnt paid me . come back next week and ill try to give you 50 euros
> this is from somone who owes me in excess of 600 euros that was owed since december.
> 
> i make a promise to every one that if i get through this i will open up a charity to help people in simalar situations
> ...



Perhaps you should post on the Cyprus jobs forum to try to find a job.
In fact have you even bothered looking for work to see you through this bad patch?
No one is going to give you handouts. There is a saying, God helps those who help themselves.
While we are all sympathetic to your plight only some determined effort from you can turn things around.
What sort of jobs have you done in the past? What would you be capable of doing or willing to do?
Post on the job forum and see if you get any response.


----------



## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

easynow said:


> brittish embassy not intrested as my father is part cypriot although he wasnt even born here !


I am surprised about this. If you are a British Citizen and have a British passport then your Father's origin should have no influence on the situation. Did you actually go and see them? Maybe they didn't fully understand your position.

On the other hand, if your father is part Cypriot then do you have relatives here? As we have often observed, the family connection in Cyprus is very important. Maybe you have relatives that can help? Sadly, pride has to go out the door in this situation.


----------



## easynow (Mar 27, 2009)

iam a software developer online and offline , + web design , i never want to ask for chirty but if any one knows any one that needs anything please let me know 

i know somthing int he passport says that iam of dual nationality , as i carry a cypriot sirname 
i dont even speak greek


----------



## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

easynow said:


> iam a software developer online and offline , + web design , i never want to ask for chirty but if any one knows any one that needs anything please let me know
> 
> i know somthing int he passport says that iam of dual nationality , as i carry a cypriot sirname
> i dont even speak greek


Go to the classified section at the bottom of t he forums. There you will find the jobs forums.
You can put a post in The Cyprus jobs forum asking if anyone has a vacancy for the sort of thing you do.
However I would also suggest that you should be willing to do anything which might earn you some money until you are able to find a job you are happy with.
You cannot ask for jobs in the main section of the forums so you must go to the jobs sections.

Veronica


----------



## johnsymonds (Sep 3, 2008)

This is a very sad story and easynow has my sympathy. It is horrible when the dreams turn into nightmares. 

Unfortunately, the general circumstances of this story are not unique and it serves to highlight a number of issues which are important to all people emigrating from UK. We might complain about UK but it is still home and we understand how the systems work and usually have some sort of support network in place, if not friends and close family then benefit systems etc.

Once you get away from the environment that you have grown up with, you must expect things to be different and probably more difficult, particularly bureaurocracy and local customs.

If you need to earn a living in order to come to Cyprus and live then there is an added requirement in planning and forethought, plus an added risk that it will not work out in the long term.

Anyone in that situation should plan to retain their property in UK and rent it out rather than burn the bridges and sell up. They should plan to rent in Cyprus for at least 1 or 2 years so they have seen all the seasons through and either established themselves or decided to return to UK. They must plan to bring enough cash with them to live for a reasonable period without additional income and put aside an emergency reserve to get them home again.

This is not defeatist, its common sense.

Of course, one cannot plan for personal problems and relationship break up which is in itself heartbreaking but financial problems exacerbate relationship difficulties and the sort of planning suggested above can go some way to mitigating against a final split.


----------



## BabsM (May 24, 2008)

easynow said:


> i know somthing inthe passport says that iam of dual nationality , as i carry a cypriot sirname
> i dont even speak greek


I doubt having a Cypriot surname has given you dual nationality! Its probably to do with heritage. But that explains the lack of help. If you carry dual nationality then the Embassies/Consulates don't have the same obligations as if you had a full British passport.


----------



## RonJeremy (Sep 17, 2009)

I myself is interested in cyprus just for my internet business (the country has awesome tax laws!!!) but so dissapointed that there's so little info about that part (i.e. programmers, webdesigners etc moving to cyprus) and now that I finally found a topic on it it's about someone going broke so that he has to sleep on the streets 

Not that I think it will happen to me, or that it has anything to do with the country, just a strange coincident.


----------

