Leased car - Can't meet payments

Crease2000

Hi, I have a rather distressed friend visiting me later today. He leased a car a couple of years ago, I believe the lease still has another couple of years left.

He was an employee of Woolworths, so no doubt you can guess the rest as he hasn't yet been able to secure a new job. He's in a depressed state and receiving letters and phonecalls from the car company are obviously understandable, but are not helping his mental health when he's tried to explain his financial situation.

Anyway, he's drafted the following letter which explains more and has asked me to take a look. I know that I need to smarten it up for him, but I'd be grateful if anyone could offer any advice of anything useful I could add to it, or with regards to his whole situation?

I'd be very grateful for any advice. Thank you:
___________________________

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I write in regard to the above mentioned vehicle which I leased from you on the 4/4/2006.

Due to circumstances beyond my control and being unemployed now for 6 months I regret I am unable to continue to meet the payments. I have used the last of my savings and have no assests, trying to pay both the loan off and other payments hoping that my circumstance will have changed.

I am currently seeking legal aid advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau on this and other outstanding financial problems.

At present I understand you are asking me to pay a minium of fifty percent of what it outstanding on the lease. I regret at present and for some time in the future I will not be able to do this as my only income in is currently £64.50 my Job Seekers Allowance and this is only until the beginning of July where I am not certain of what money I will be receiving.

Under advice from my legal aid, I am wrting to inform you of this and have cancelled my Direct Debit for not wanting to suffer bank charges on top of my other problems.

I am willing to make a small payment once a month to you of £5.00 and also understand that the car will be taken away.

At present it is tax, insured, has a fully MOT and in a drivable condition.
The Car has been emptied of my any items i had in there.

Yours Sincerely

skylight

Letter seems fine.

But I guess the question is, what is your friends overall goal? Do they want to wait and see what happens and pay what they can, or are they looking to go BR and start again at a later date? If he has spent the last 6 months using his savings for debts and looking hard for work then he needs to call it day at some point - he has tried hard and its not worked, no-one can knock him for that.

Crease2000

Thank you.

Ultimately what he wants is for them to get off his back. He accepts that the car needs to be taken away, - he can't afford to run it anyway.

It's understandable that they want him to honour the contract he entered into, but how they expect him to do that when he's on JSA I really don't know?