Help Mercers Debt Collection Agency

Mark0504

After being unemployed for 12 months and using my savings to pay bills, I can no longer manage my minimum payments on my commitment. I contacted CCCS and they advised me to write to my creditors and offer a Temporary Payment Agreement over the short term to show willing.

This I did and I heard from all of them except Barclaycard. Everyone else wanted copies of income and bank statements to confirm my position and that they would freeze interest and charges. Barclaycard have passed my debt to Mercers, who are owned I believe by Barclays and they are telephoning non stop asking me to pay the outstanding amount.

Having explained to them that if I could do this I would have done already. I have today received a letter from them saying if I do not pay the amount by 10th March they will take action to get the full balance paid and I do not have £9,500 never mind the contractual minimum payment. I thought if a TPA was sent in they could not do this, what can I do!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated as soon as possible.

Tixy

Hi Mark, they can still do this and could even decide to take court action at anytime against a creditor, once payments are missed. Any repayment arrangement you agree is informal. But its likely this is just a standard letter - is it headed up as a default notice? if so they have to legally send this before they can register a default on your credit file.
They certainly won't actually be expecting you to pay the money back in full.

Mark0504

Hi Tixy,

Thanks for this, the letter was headed Default Notice. I hope to be able to get back to paying the minimum amounts soon as I have been short listed for 2 jobs and I am hopeful I wil get a job offer. I only need to get back on my feet over the next few months.

Tixy

Yep - its just a standard legal letter then, it does mean the default will go on your credit file and be there for the next 6years which will hamper you getting new credit. Unfortunately defaults are usually inevitable when you cannot meet minimum payments for more than a couple of months.

Good luck with the jobs.