Surely this is too good to be true?

endoftheroad

Hi there,

I have Bipolar, was diagnosed in 2000. For the past year I have managed it without medication and am now progressing quite well. At a recent health review I mentioned to my Doctor about the debt I accrued 3 years ago during a particularly bad episode. My Doc said it was possible for him to write to my creditors and get my debts written off? He told me to contact the CAB and together we could take it from there...Im reserving my judgement before I get too giddy about this...has my Doctor just given me the lifeline I so desperately need to get on with my life??? Is this really possible??

Merlinexcalibur

It would depend. Upon certain factors. Is the condition so debiltating for example you have no hope of returning to work? Severity. Also, you would have to pay (as they are not free FAIK) your GP for a report of that nature.

My Doc said it was possible for him to write to my creditors and get my debts written off?

Wish mine was so sympathetic and helpful. And I also confess to knowing nothing about bipolar disorders. But my understanding is that to get a debt written off like this ... Well, perhaps a visit to CAB would assure you on this.

But this:

For the past year I have managed it without medication and am now progressing quite well.

If you've managed, then I don't know whether it would do any good. The letter you are referring to really in my understanding of it when things get so bad, it is either life threatening eg you have no hope of recovery therefore the debt would be written off because of that. But, again, you would have to pay your GP for this report/letter as it's extra to their medical responsiblities.

But anything from your mental health team (as I read quickly some of your old posts to get a better picture) may help as well.

Anyway, sorry can't help inasmuch as I like to but sure someone else here can.

Merlinexcalibur

However, found this for you with more helpful info on the insolvency website:


Letter Three

Request a write off of the full debt.

This is usually used when there is no available income and the personal circumstances are unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future. It is very important in this sort of letter to include full facts regarding the client, such as their age, medical condition, family situation, background, and any events that have led to the problem occurring.
It is worth pointing out in your letter that clients with some medical conditions would find it difficult to maintain a regular payment, and that if the payment being offered was very low, the administration costs of collecting the debt, would be higher than the payments received.
Beware if the client owns a property with equity available, or any realizable assets of value, as the creditor may decide to take court action instead of agreeing to the write off request.
Dear Sir/Madam
Re: (provide name address and reference number if known)

We are currently assisting the above client with their finances, and enclose a signed authority for your records.
Enter a paragraph explaining personal circumstances for the financial difficulties. You may also need to give reasons for any high expenditure on the financial statement, especially if this relates to their illness.
We enclose a financial statement prepared with the client, using realistic budgeting figures based on their current circumstances. This also shows the level of debt outstanding. You can see from the information that the client is finding it difficult to meet even their basic needs at this time. Thus we are unable to make a constructive suggestion as to how an offer of payment can be made.
In these circumstances we would usually suggest that the interest be frozen and payments suspended for a while, with a review of the finances at a later date.
However, in this instance as I have highlighted, the position now and for the foreseeable future appears bleak, with circumstances very unlikely to improve. Given the erratic nature of the client's illness, it is also doubtful that they would be able to maintain a regular payment, were any monies available. Give details of nature of ill health and how these debts are impacting on the ill health-enclose medical evidence if available.
Given these harsh circumstances we would ask that you give consideration to writing off the outstanding debt. We acknowledge that this is an exceptional request, but we feel that this course of action would greatly relieve the anxiety and distress that the simple existence of these debts are causing, especially as they cannot foresee a time when they will be in a position to pay.
We ask that you give this request your most sympathetic consideration, and thank you for your attention to this request.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully
Your Name
Your Job Title
Encs

Lensman_2

Merlin. You have gone (in two posts) from guessing the wrong answer and potentially blighting a poster's outcome to providing quality information that is entirely factual, accurate and appropriate. And lets the OP evaluate and make the decision for themselves.

I congratulate you on your transformation.

Please try to keep it up.

Jim

Merlinexcalibur wrote: »

However, found this for you with more helpful info on the insolvency website:


Letter Three

Request a write off of the full debt.

This is usually used when there is no available income and the personal circumstances are unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future. It is very important in this sort of letter to include full facts regarding the client, such as their age, medical condition, family situation, background, and any events that have led to the problem occurring.
It is worth pointing out in your letter that clients with some medical conditions would find it difficult to maintain a regular payment, and that if the payment being offered was very low, the administration costs of collecting the debt, would be higher than the payments received.
Beware if the client owns a property with equity available, or any realizable assets of value, as the creditor may decide to take court action instead of agreeing to the write off request.
Dear Sir/Madam
Re: (provide name address and reference number if known)

We are currently assisting the above client with their finances, and enclose a signed authority for your records.
Enter a paragraph explaining personal circumstances for the financial difficulties. You may also need to give reasons for any high expenditure on the financial statement, especially if this relates to their illness.
We enclose a financial statement prepared with the client, using realistic budgeting figures based on their current circumstances. This also shows the level of debt outstanding. You can see from the information that the client is finding it difficult to meet even their basic needs at this time. Thus we are unable to make a constructive suggestion as to how an offer of payment can be made.
In these circumstances we would usually suggest that the interest be frozen and payments suspended for a while, with a review of the finances at a later date.
However, in this instance as I have highlighted, the position now and for the foreseeable future appears bleak, with circumstances very unlikely to improve. Given the erratic nature of the client's illness, it is also doubtful that they would be able to maintain a regular payment, were any monies available. Give details of nature of ill health and how these debts are impacting on the ill health-enclose medical evidence if available.
Given these harsh circumstances we would ask that you give consideration to writing off the outstanding debt. We acknowledge that this is an exceptional request, but we feel that this course of action would greatly relieve the anxiety and distress that the simple existence of these debts are causing, especially as they cannot foresee a time when they will be in a position to pay.
We ask that you give this request your most sympathetic consideration, and thank you for your attention to this request.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours faithfully
Your Name
Your Job Title
Encs

Merlinexcalibur

Merlin. You have gone (in two posts) from guessing the wrong answer and potentially blighting a poster's outcome to providing quality information that is entirely factual, accurate and appropriate. And lets the OP evaluate and make the decision for themselves.

Hmm. Actually, I do know the ins and outs of this, I am not very confident. Perhaps that is why there is a misinterpreation of my intentions. I always am helpful and there has been no 'transformation'. So, I wasn't guessing but thinking through things. Fact is I know a few things about mental health and what a GP can and cannot do. Where things like this are concerned. I could ask my friend who is an ex CPN for example but I don't want to waste her time by asking. And I certainly wasn't guessing where the GP fee was concerned, either. That is fact. You always have to pay for a GP letter but some may (some not all) not charge a fee; it may be discretionary.

Now, as you don't know my full circumstances for example and why I lack in confidence, I shall leave it there. Basically, you don't know me in life or anywhere else. To reach such an assumption. Nor do I care to bother explaining myself to someone I don't know online. And most of what I post was passed onto me from another consumer forum so if anything I post is wrong then so too was the advice given to me there, too. I can also draw on a wide range of experiences in life but, again, because I am very lacking in confidence (for a really good reason; having been kicked from here to eternity the last few years I wouldn't wish on anyone) but because I lack in confidence I often do not communicate very well. And the other factor being I was terrorised in my home early Friday morning by someone trying to break in and I am still severely shaken up by it.

But the more I see of this now, the less I want to help people anymore. Which, as anyone who knows me in real life knows would be a complete betrayal of what actually I am all about. But, anyway, the more I see the less I want to offer my time freely now. If only some knew what some people had to go through in life that may have made them want to offer help to others.
And I am wasting my time here. Some only see what they want to see.

SouthCoast

Some information from MIND:


http://www.mind.org.uk/money/

brummiebabe

Just to say..I'm a CPN, and I've known this be done in some cases - where the over-spending/debt has happened as a direct result of elated mood - one guy went a bought a bright yellow brand new car that he couldn't afford...but they managed to get it sorted & he returned the car. It's certainly something that the CAB can help with - but you'll need the support of the Psychiatrist etc - to prove you were unwell at the time.

Good luck!

endoftheroad

Thank you so much everyone. ALL comments very welcome and very constructive.
My Doctor and I chatted at legnth about this, I didnt ask for it,as I didn't know it was possible... I will make an appointment with CAB and local MIND and take it from there.

Many thanks

fatbelly

I think the question may hinge around whether you had the mental capacity to enter into an agreement when you were going through 'a particularly bad episode'

There are lots of useful resources out there and I discovered a page on the MAT site that provides links to hem:

http://www.moneyadvicetrust.org/section.asp?sid=12

endoftheroad

Hi Just a bit of an update,

Finally got stuff together and went to CAB who as ever were pheomenal, just got to wait and see now.

Thanks again

fatbelly

Hope it works out - let us know how you get on.