How to explain non-guaranteed overtime income to creditors...

Jonny_Red

Hello all

Following on from my first post and the good advice that people were kind enough to offer I'd like to ask a couple of other questions to help me figure out how I should best deal with my current predicament.

My first question is about my income... specifically overtime which I'm not guaranteed to get but I think (hope!) I should be able to over the next few months at least. I want to be as honest as I can with my creditors (and pay off my debts as soon as possible) but how should I communicate this to them in my letters explaining that I'm unable to meet the repayments that were agreed when I took out my loan? I know what my basic salary will be every month but I honestly don't know what I'll have coming in from overtime (as you'll see from my earler post, my basic salary covers my bills pretty much).

Secondly, I'm wondering what I can/should begin doing to try and repair the damage to my credit rating. I've always had a good credit rating and its only now that I've fallen on hard times and am unable to meet the repayments on my debts.

Any advice/comments on the above would be very much appreciated.

Cheers all



Jon

smartiedriver_2

Hi there

RE your first question, the non-guaranteed income, I would write to them and basically phrase it just as you have on here. State your guaranteed hours and income, you could even enclose a copy of your contract if needed.

Then go on to say in your line of work, there is sometimes the opportunity to work extra hours for paid overtime at a rate of £XXX per hour.

You MUST state, very clearly, that this overtime is neither guaranteed nor regular, and therefore you cannot include it in your income.

If you have an IVA etc your agreement may say you have to put a certain percentage of any overtime/bonus into the arrangement, in which case you should confirm your understanding and willingness to comply with this point, in your letter.

As for repairing your credit rating, using and repaying in full a small credit facility will help with this.

Good luck.