NatWest letter threatening debt collectors, help!!

sillylittlejill

Hi

I have been sent a letter by my old bank NatWest. I owe them £480 and haven't got a spare penny to my name. I have written two letters to them but havent sent them recorded delivery as its just too expensive. Will be sending them a letter back via recorded delivery today but not sure what to say as I can't afford to give them anything. I literally have £1.05 in my purse!

What do I do? They say that they have tried to contact me repeatedly but have only done that once at my old address which is when I sent them a letter explaining my circumstances and told them my new address. That was around a fortnight ago and I haven't heard anything.
What do I say in the letter?

Im quite scared now, they are mentioning courts and asking me to send the card back cut in half!

HELP!!!!!!


xxxx

sillylittlejill

please guys, I really need some advice!!

oxenryd

I'd try phoning them and enter into an arrangement with them as in paying off a small amount each month. If they do come to an arrangement with you, please please please don't miss a payment as it's normally if you miss a payment (for whatever reason) you're stuffed.

Hope you get it sorted.

Ps: Your card will probably be cancelled anyway.

Mrs_Ryan

I've got a 'managed overdraft' with them for a similar sort of amount - they were quite accomodating to me actually.

Give them a ring - see what they say.

7sefton

Or visit them in-branch? That's free if you're unable to afford postal/phone costs. You really need to talk to them asap, as that's the only way to calm things down. Good luck.

Crazy-Daisy_2

Yes, I think the important thing is not to ignore it. Definitely go into the branch and possibly take information with you to show what you'd be able to afford to repay (do you have income/outgoings budgeting sheets or similar?)

Merlinexcalibur

Hello, I'm new.

I wouldn't phone. The first reason being you are just spending money doing so. The second being you have nothing in writing from a phone call. It's always wisest to write. This is something I had to learn to stop doing a while ago. You have no protection on the phone. The other thing is they record calls. The other they will attempt to make you pay more than what you can afford. As someone has mentioned get a financial statement drawn up. I would suggest someone like the Consumer Credit Counselling Services who can help you do this. They are also free phone, being a registered charity for people in debt. The reason behind that is they prepare such statements using the BBA British Banking Association stamp and are prepared to a guideline of budget needs per month and what your disposable income is after all those. In other words what YOU can afford not what the bank/collections agency/anyone else says you HAVE to pay. It could also help at a later stage if, God forbid anything should go to court and you can show that you have got help and made approaches to negotiate with the bank based on what you can afford in black and white. With a phone call, you don't have that protection nor a physical paper trail which can be followed and is a legal record. And, having CCCS on any correspondence can help as they are well recognised amongst the financial institutions in the UK.

Just offering some suggestions. But I wouldn't phone. Write. It's cheaper and you are more likely to get a response. You probably know all this anyway so you can tell me to get lost if you wish. But I am in the same situation you are right now and I know how terrifying it can be. That is, until you begin to realize there are places/people out there who can take the pressure off. And, more importantly, offer you support.

Costus

I agree with pretty much everything Merlinexcalibur has said in the previous post.

I have alot of experience of debt collectors, courts and bailiffs, as i have recently made myself bankrupt. So trust me i've been through all the nasty letters and phone calls etc.

Firstly Natwest cannot have what you haven't got.

Do not ignore the debt, things just get out of hand if you do.

DO NOT agree to payments that you cannot afford to make, they won't go bust for the £480 that you owe them.

They may threaten all sorts on the phone to you, effects on your credit rating, debt collectors, courts, etc, in realty the only thing that is likely to happen will be a slight effect to your credit rating while you owe them the £480, that may sound terrible but it won't be anything drastic, as long as you pay them off eventually there will be no real lasting effects on your credit rating, even if you pay a £1 a month, if thats all you can afford.

Natwest will not send anyone to your door, it would cost them more than the debt is worth, if by chance you ever debt collectors to your door don't let them in and tell them to go away anyway you see fit, debt collectors have about as much power as your paperboy, bailiffs are the only people with any power and they have strict guidelines which to follow, bailiffs will only turn up if you ignore a county court judgement, and you will know if you get one of those as the papers will be sent to you directly from the courts, if you do get a CCJ its very important not to ignore it.

They CANNOT make you bankrupt for £480, the minimum amount someone can be made bankrupt is £750.

To put things into perspective we owed a total of £50,000 worth of debt on credit cards and loans, we were paying £1 a month to each of our 9 creditors for 15 months, and yes we recieved all the nasty calls and letters, but at the end of the day thats all we could afford.

Not once did we have anyone turn up at our door asking for money or being threatening to us, i got 1 court appearance, i disputed the silly monthly amount barclays were asking for and continued paying them a small amount each month by court order until i went bankrupt.

Please don't worry about your debt, whilst i can understand your anxious, talking to someone like the CAB or The National Debt helpline, (number in the phone book) will definately help put your mind at ease.

Hope this has helped you in some way.