How to approach payday loan companies w/regard to payment plans?

Dorsey

Hi there, sorry for another generic query but I was struggling to find the exact advice in the search engine.

I was, for a long-time, a compulsive gambler and ran up stupid debts on pretty much every available source. However, I've been in therapy and "clean" since February, and have been tackling all of my debts one by one. Rent's up to date, friends have what I owe them back, credit cards are back under their limit, and there's an agreement with a DCA to repay an overdraft month by month to them.

However, there are still two payday loans looming over me: £1080 with Quickquid and £550 with WageDayAdvance. Now, currently, i'm just paying off interest each month with these two and making a dent of slim-to-none into them each month. Having gone through my finances, even with my expenditures towards paying off other debts, I still have between £450 and £600 each month left over, so, really, I could pay these loans off in three to four months if I could just get a "breather" from them.

Now, from reading around, I know that QQ are very aggressive towards people trying to organise payment plans with them unless it's over very short periods of time. My idea was to email them and offer them payment over, say, five months and "allow" myself to be argued down to a three month pay schedule (which I would be able to meet with a bit of belt-tightening).

Now, how do I go about this? Email? Phone? Letter? Do I default first and wait to be contacted by them? I've read about problems with certain payday loan companies setting up unauthorised direct debits. Is this something I should worry about?

(reposted from the wrong forum)

wayne99

quick quid would want the debt cleared in no more then 4 payments, i know this as i have been there and done it lol

i spoke to them over email about it, and yes they were a pain in the back side, they started asking for 2 payments to clear, i had to wait a further 30 days after the payment was due for it to be passed to there collections dept, who then offered 4 payments to clear, i tried 6 but they stuck to 4 the whole time.


wage day advance i couldnt comment on, if you discuss it on the phone with them make sure you ask for everything to be backed up in writing, and before the payment is due or before you even phone them make sure you cancel your debit card and any direct debit you have setup with them, so they cannot just help them selves and take as much as they like, just tell your bank you have lost the card.

once you have your new debit card do not give them the details for it, only offer repayment via direct debit or standing order.

Dorsey

Thanks for the response.

Yeah, I'd heard that about QuickQuid, but I think four, or even three payments at a scrimp, would be manageable for me after a month's breather.

WageDayAdvance I think I could manage on my own with enough breathing space, there may be a little "roll over and save" with them but it shouldn't be too damaging to me.

I don't have a debit card, these debts come out of my account via standard direct debit. Now, the problem, for me, is they come out before my rent does (on the exact day of my wage's coming in, rent comes out on the 1st of the month). I've decided that defaulting and dealing with QQ is the right path of action. If I go into my bank and cancel the direct debit to them, they cannot take any money out of my account until I authorise them to. Is this correct?

Tixy

I have heard of cases where companies managed to get the DD re-instated as you still owe them money - not sure that it would happen but its worth being aware of this just in case.
Do you have time before payday to get your wages redirected by your employers to a different account just in case?

Dorsey

I get paid on the 27th of the month, and I do have a cashbuilder account on the side that's (sadly due to my financial dumbness in the past) empty. I could use that as a parachute acct for a few months while all this is sorted out?