Debt advice

dvndb

Hi, I need some advice regarding my debt. A few years ago i took out 2 credit cards (small limits of £250 and £500 pounds) and i quickly maxed them out then defaulted on them as well as on a different loan (which was initially £1000 pounds) . I then went to university abroad and basically left it all behind, didn't take any other credit but didn't pay this off either. I checked my credit file today and it shows i have defaulted on 3 credit agreements over the past 3 years. I was irresponsible and now i want to do something about it and pay it off. As you can imagine my credit history is dreadful because of this. I don't pay any bills at the moment as i live with my parents, and now have a good job. My question is, how do i go about paying off this debt seen as it is defaulted? I was thinking to go to a solicitor, the original loan of 1000 pounds now stands at 2500 so i owe over 3000 pounds in total to various companies. I am prepared to pay it off gradually even though i know it won't make a difference to the default status. I am ok not taking out any credit for the next few years as i can manage from my salary but i would like to repair the damage i have done in the past.
I would be grateful if anyone could give me any advice on how to do this, is there some kind of company that deals with such matters? I might sound naive but i would really appreciate your help.
Thank you

humblepii

Well done for finally facing up to things and deciding that you want to pay off your debts - that's a huge step taken already! :beer:

Afraid I can't help with practical advice but just wanted to say welcome, and bump your thread up a bit so someone much clever than me might spot it.

GeorgeUK

As you have looked at your credit report, it probably won't be long until some Debt Collection Agencies (DCA's) write to you. When you access your credit file, you need to give your address so this may have been flagged up to anyone looking after those debts.

There are a few things you can do. You could go to one of the free debt charities (CCCS or Payplan) to set up a Debt Management Plan (DMP) - they would arrange with the creditors a monthly payment amount and your debt would slowly reduce by this amount. If the debt is still owned by the original creditors, they may also stop interest and charges.

The debt may have been sold on to a DCA (for a few p in the £). They would still be looking for you to pay it back, but would be profitting by however much extra they get from you above what they paid for the debt.

What i would do is save up until someone contacted you. You may be able to offer a reduced amount as full and final settlement of the debt - do not accept a partial or short settlement. Only make payment if they write to you stating that you will not be pursued for the remainder - there are templates on the board should you need to write making an offer.

The rough guide depends on whether the debt has been sold on or not.
Original creditor 50%-75%
Sold to DCA 25%-50%

I would save until you had about 75% of the required funds and then try to write with an offer of payment. I take it the debts are not 6 years old and statute barred?