Debt payment help please

povertystriken

Hi,
I have used this site and forum over the years for the excellent help and advice given but I have never posted before. I will try to keep this short and simple.

I got into financial difficulties last October after losing a great deal of my income. Fast forward to today and I have several credit cards, catalogues, one store card, one unsecured loan and arrears with utilities, car payments and council tax. Most of these have been passed to debt collection and I now no longer answer my phone as they are impossible to deal with (it doesn't help that I usually end up breaking down!). Only one card and my car company have been reasonable.

The good news is I will be receiving some money in June. It won't be enough to pay all my debts and arrears with all the charges they have accumulated. For example one debt has nearly doubled because of collection charges. I am not trying to get out of paying, I want to pay for goods and services that I've used as that is only fair but I want to end this with the money I have coming soon, so what I want to do is offer each company some money to settle the debt. I hope that makes sense.

The problem is I just don't know if this is possible or how I go about it. I would like to write to each one and offer them X amount to clear the debt, but how much do I offer each one? Will they accept it? I want so much to clear everything and start afresh (and not be afraid of the telephone)

Thanks in advance for your help and support, and for giving up your time for me

BILLIE

Dear PS - I am not an expert but didn't want to read and run - someone will come along with the advice you need. But it might help if you either post up an SOA (Statement of Affairs) or a list of debts, the amount owing, interest % etc., also how much you think you will be getting. I know from experience that not all companies will accept a full and final offer. Hope that helps a little, but as I say someone will come along with some advice. Good luck. Billie x

povertystriken

Hi Billie, Thanks for your reply. I haven't done a SOA because I don't think it's relevant here. I can't do the list because I don't have the information at the moment, I am going to have to call round the original companies I had the credit with and ask them who it's with now, then call/write (I don't know which one is best) to them and ask for the balances and what is being added and how often. Hardly anyone is writing to me and I don't answer my phone anymore. I don't want to to sound pathetic but I'm really not strong enough to phone the debt collection companies until I feel confident that I can offer them something with a chance of being accepted. I even have a feeling that some won't give me the info. I need but will instead tell me things like they need a payment first etc. Also what the balances are now may not be what they are in June. So, without the figures for now, what do you guys think?

katydo12

Have you tried talking to Citizens Advice? I've heard that they can help with problem debts and they will be able to give you impartial advice on what you can and can't offer to creditors.
Hope you get sorted soon.
Katy

povertystriken

Hi Katy, I did back in the beginning they weren't great, I think they are completely overwhelmed at the moment. They suggested the usual, giving income and expenditure statements. I got more help from this site and others like it. I tried offering monthly payments as percentage of debt in relation to income, then I tried offering everyone £1 a month. I got no where. I can't find any help specific to the above, everything is about monthly payments, I just want to pay it off, but at a reduced amount, I just don't know how to go about it or how much to offer. Perhaps there is a similar way of working it out? I'd also like to know if it will work.

z1a

If you owe more than £15k and have over £5k coming your way, it may be worth investigating a "Fast track" IVA.
I did this a few years ago through Grant Thornton. As a ballpark figure I was told that most creditors would accept anything over 30% of your debt as a full anf final settlement,
Fortunately I could remortgage and raise £32k towards the £80k that i owed, all but 1 out of 13 creditors accepted (MBNA didn't).
as long as 75% (by value) accept, it would go through.

Good luck however you go about it.

BILLIE

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but you are fragile but also sticking you head in the sand. Contact a creditor one at a time if needs be, by letter and ask for a statement. They will then let you know if it has been passed to a collector or not. By not listing you are not admitting what you owe. Leave until June and before you know it you will have spent the money without having paid off any of the debts. You need to have a plan in place and to do that you need to have a list of who you owe what. I wish you luck, but don't think you will get advise on here unless you are more forthcoming. Billie x

povertystriken

Thanks z1a, I'm in Scotland so don't think I can do an IVA. But thank you so much for your post, it's good to know that nearly everyone accepted your offer of 30%. It's funny MBNA were the only ones not to accept it, they have been great with me, very understanding and helpful, I wish everyone was like that. Thanks for the luck as well

Billie I am not sticking my head in the sand at all, I have said that I need to contact everyone and I am on a website asking for advice on how to deal with it, couldn't do that if I was underground could I. Am can assure you I am not denying anything lol The reason I am asking now, in April, is so I have time between now and June to do what I need to so that come June I can make the payments without delay. I am offended and insulted by your post actually, I don't get what you mean about forthcoming at all, I think you are quite strange.

z1a

"It's funny MBNA were the only ones not to accept it, they have been great with me,"

Maybe they were hoping that another 1 or 2 creditors would decline, as it happens nobody else did - their loss - the other 12 got MBNAs share.

z1a

P.S. - I was just in the furtunate position that I had £32k equity, much less and i couldn't have done it - any more, and I would have had to have remortgaged up to as near as my debt as I could.

povertystriken

Yeah z1a I think we are both lucky that we are/were in a position to have the opportunity to clear our debts. The last 7 or so months have the been hell, I really don't know how anyone copes with it. It's so frustrating as well but the end is in sight, hopefully!