Advice on what I could do next?

binaryuniverse

Hiya, late last year I lost my job from unfounded accusations (and it's something I've started a tribunal claim with) and moved back in with my mother with the plan to do a university degree. Unfortunately, despite me applying for loads of things, it's almost impossible to find a job. Whether this is down to the reference from my previous company (I worked with them for 10 years and it was my only job after leaving school) I have debts of around £6700 and have been trying to pay what I can month in, month out from what I had left but have now got to the point where I have no money left at all, and unless my tribunal is successful, not expecting any to come in either.
All my accounts are under debt management plans but even with the current payments I can't afford them.

So my question is, where do I go from here? What can I do until I am back on my feet and have found a job?

Tixy

Hi

If you don't have any money coming in (or just have benefits) then its quite normal to just pay each creditors a token payment of £1 per month.
What is the current situation with your creditors? have you had help setting up reduced payments from one of the charities or did you do it yourself indivdually with each creditor?
I would write to your creditors, explain you are unemployed and are unable to meet the repayments and can only afford a £1 token payment until your circumstances change.

If any of your creditors have not yet entered a default on your credit file then they almost certainly will if you do this but it sounds like you have no choice for now. But I know tribunals can take ages to go through and as you have said without knowing for certain it will be successful you can't really offer anything more to your creditors.

There is a template letter you can use.... (will post shortly)

1 High Street,

Newtown,
Kent
R21 4RH

October 28, 2010

The Loan Company
Company House,
Church Street,
Newtown,
Kent,
R1 7HG

Dear Sir/Madam

Re Account No/Reference No:- 000000000000000

Since making that above agreement with you, our circumstances have changed.

We cannot now afford to agreed monthly payments because ... [your paragraph added here]

We enclose a Personal Budget sheet which shows our total income from all sources, and the total outgoings of
our household. As you can see we have no money left to make offers of payment to my creditors.

In view of our circumstances, would you please accept a token offer of £1.00 per month to be reviewed in six months. If interest or other charges are being added to the account, we would be grateful if you would freeze these so our debt does not increase.

Should my circumstances improve we will contact you again.
We would be grateful if you would send a [paying-in book] [standing order form] to make it easier to pay you.

Thank you for your assistance. We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully

Mr A N Other

binaryuniverse

Thanks very much for that. I had done all the hard work of arranging the plans and the like myself. I have done my best to keep up with the payments but its now become impossible. I've been forced to move back in with my mother who is a pensioner so it's not as if she could help me out at all with paying this off.

My only normal outgoings are these payments and my phone bill contract which doesn't end til mid 2011. So how exactly would I put that into my letter. Do I simply state I am living with a parent who is on a pension?