Re-negoiating repayment agreement question?

Tinky_Winky_2

Hi, I’m new to this forum and would love some advice.

I took a loan out several years ago which was passed to a third party due to non payment. They lost track of me for just over a year and the reason I couldn’t pay was over commitment with credit. Last Autumn I finally managed to repay all my credit cards and settle accounts. And then I got a letter from these guys asking for £8K. The loan was only for £5K and they were still adding interest. I went to my local CAB and through them agreed to pay £100 per month and they even froze the interest which was good. Then earlier in the year I had to reduce my payments to £30 as my wife did not have a regular income and I had to pay for everything. I usually pay them over the phone and pretty much every time I speak with them they ask me whether I can make a full payment or settle the account. I can do neither. They even asked if I could borrow money off anyone else??? It seems even though the situation has not changed they still insist. The last payment was at the end of August and now they want another income and expenditure sheet.

Now the truth is my situation has changed but not financially for the better. Next month I am returning to Uni and so need to quit my job. My wife has managed to get work but she’s the only one who’s going to be bringing anything in. We can still just about manage to continue with the £30 but now I’m paranoid that such a drastic change in circumstances will prompt them to hassle me further for the two years I’m studying and demand proof of my spouse’s income and details of what and where I’m studying. I don not want to share this information.

Now do I just tell them that everything is the same and send them a similar sheet that I sent earlier in the year and also not revealing my new address? Or do I tell them the truth? I want to continue making payments because I will need to apply for a career development loan but I really cannot afford more than £30 and even that’s a push.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks

ILW

I cannot see them being that impressed if you tell them you have voluntarily made yourself unemployed whilst owing them money.

[Deleted User]

Sorry - I'm a bit confused.

If you are in debt, owe a lot of money and can barely afford repayments, why are you quitting your job (and thus reducing your income) and returning to uni (which costs more money)?

Uni is all well and good, but I'm not sure how sensible that action is from a financial perspective, short term.

Tinky_Winky_2

I can see your point. This is a Drama School however. I may not get this chance ever again as I have had to audition for three years. I'm not exactly a spring chicken either:)

[Deleted User]

Tinky_Winky wrote: »

I can see your point. This is a Drama School however. I may not get this chance ever again as I have had to audition for three years. I'm not exactly a spring chicken either:)

I'm sorry to be harsh, but you seem to be in cloud cuckoo land if you think the action you're taking is rational.

You're indebted to a high level and you're expected the lender to put things on hold because you want to go to drama school?!

Regardless of whether it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the lender isn't likely to look favourably on what you're doing: voluntarily reducing your income and claiming you can't afford to pay them.

Furthermore, as someone who works in the entertainment industry, vast swathes of drama school graduates suffer hardship and frustration because the nature of their industry requires endless auditions with little chance of work.

I don't want to be rude, but if you think quitting your job to go to drama school is a good idea when you have so much debt, it's worrying.

[Deleted User]

And sorry to jump in again here, but if a payment of £30 a month is stretching you, is going to drama school a good idea even without the debt!?

Tinky_Winky_2

So what you are saying is: I should decline the offer of my well earned place at Drama School and continue to work in a very low paid job which does not offer much of career path so I can continue paying a pittance every month.

At least by studying I can continue to pay the amount I have been paying for the last half a year and also train in an industry that I actually have some interest in working in.

I am well aware of the problems that Drama School graduates face but even if I don't earn a living as an actor the very fact that I actually have an education will put me in a much better position of gaining some meaningful employment.

Tinky_Winky_2

So what do you suggest? Just carry on wasting my life away without trying to do anything because of a stupid decision I made a few years ago to get a loan?

[Deleted User]

Tinky_Winky wrote: »

So what you are saying is: I should decline the offer of my well earned place at Drama School and continue to work in a very low paid job which does not offer much of career path so I can continue paying a pittance every month.

At least by studying I can continue to pay the amount I have been paying for the last half a year and also train in an industry that I actually have some interest in working in.

Look, I'm not out to get you here; I'm just trying to point out some fundamental truths.

You took out a loan for an amount of money. You then couldn't afford to keep up repayments, so you came to an arrangement. You then couldn't afford those repayments, so you went down to £30 a month, which is very little.

I'm just questioning whether - given your financial difficulties and how you've downgraded your payments twice - your view that studying at drama school is going to change your situation for the better is a good one?

If you're in a crap dead-end job, consider getting a new one? What's drama school going to give you? More debt (possibly) and an opportunity in the creative industry, which is notoriously uncertain? Are you likely to get a better job at the end of it? Possibly? Probably? Unlikely? You don't know. And - of all the courses to study - it's arguable that drama school is the best route to a better income.

I'm not trying to ruin the idea or criticise you, but please just look at what you're doing! You've racked up debt and have had to be bailed out twice. And then, when you're paying people back, you voluntarily disadvantage yourself to 'chase your dream' which is an inherently selfish thing to do.

I doubt that your lenders would be very happy to find that you've quit your job when they review your agreement at the end of the year.

[Deleted User]

It might be worth you posting in the debt free wannabe forum too, as if you only have £30 spare at the end of the month I'm sure they will be able to help you squeeze more out!

Tinky_Winky_2

I can see what you are saying. I do appreciate that what I am suggesting hardly seems rational. So thank you for taking the time to respond.

Right, I will probably be able to pay more than £30 per month within a few months. My current job will be held open for me so I can work through the holidays to get some extra cash. At the end of the training, I have the option of going back to tide me over until I find something else. Whether it’s acting or not. I’m not expecting to leave college and go straight to the RSC. I am aware of how difficult the industry is (I really am not as naïve as you think I am).

My point is that at present my situation has not changed in the sense that all I can afford to pay is £30. we have had to move cities for this and my wife was very fortunate to get offered a permanent position. There is no guarantee this would have happened back home. So in effect, financially I am in the same boat but with a chance of actually working towards something I love. All I wanted to know was whether I should tell them my employment circumstances are the same or whether I should tell them the truth. Judging by the response I’m getting here I’m seriously considering not doing the latter.

And I may sound like an idealistic fool here, but having this opportunity: why wouldn’t I take it? I know a lot of people who look back on their lives with regret and misery and it certainly looks a lot more depressing than a little debt.