Paying in monthly installments

Deloria87

We are about to start calling through all of our creditorsand making payments on a monthly basis as we have literally been avoiding thisfor about 12 months. Since last May we have paid £8,395 off and we have £4,881to pay to be debt free apart from my overdraft but that’s still at 75% interestfree so I’m not instantly stressing about that one and I'm planning on leaving some each month in there to shrink it anyway.

If we show them that we can literally ONLY afford £20 permonth to each creditor do they HAVE to accept that as payment? I’ve triedbefore I think it was with Equita but I don’t remember which debt it was butthey asked for £90 at that very minute then £60 a month which I really couldn’tafford at that time so I’m very dubious of calling and stamping my foot tillthey settle with £20 a month! I’m aiming to pay everything off by December (mydue date!) but I will also have final bills from a house I’ve just moved fromto be paying off as well which might put up my outstanding bills a little bit.
Any help/advice would be REALLY appreciated, I'd like to be completely debt free by December which should be more manageable now my partner lives and works in the same city instead of 200 miles away now!

FireWyrm

Creditors are generally under a common misconception that you answer to them. The truth is that you do not. If £20 per month is a fair and equitable split among your creditors, than that is what they will have to accept. You do not need a specialist company to 'negotiate' for you (often at a hefty price) and neither do you need to submit to your creditors threats. All you have to do is send them a letter stating what you will pay, when you will pay it and what frequency. You can also request further correspondence in writing etc. They will bleat, whine and generally spit their dummy out, but at the end of the day, it is what you can afford and no court will demand more of you. Keep a cool head, dont argue and simply do as you have told them you will.

One final suggestion is to keep meticulous records of who you have paid and how much. These companies often sell debts multiple times and there is a disturbing trend of people being pursued by multiple companies for the same amount. Be very clear who you are paying and how much is still outstanding. It is your right to have a written statement of account from each creditor and I would suggest you request this information in writing as soon as you can to get a good understanding of where you are and where you want to be.

Deloria87

So say I requested a statement now, they sent it to me then I agree to start a payment plan around my payday (eom)? Would that be reasonable? Is this usually when they'd ask for a breakdown of ingoings/outgoings? I'm likely being dense so I apologise but this all confuses me a lot.

Thanks

FireWyrm

You are under no legal obligation to supply a statement of affairs to them and I'm famous for telling posters on here that I believe it is impertinent of the creditor to even ask. Frankly, I would never supply that information because it is confidential, potentially a security risk and frankly, none of their business. They on the other hand are obliged to supply you with a statement of account showing how much you owe, any payments made along with dates and relevant account reference numbers at the very least.

Your letter should be clear and concise. It does not need to include full details of your income and outgoings. As long as you can prove (to the relevant authorities who DO have a right to inquire) that you are tackling the debt in a timely and fair manner according to your resources at the time - there is F***k all that the creditor can do about it realistically. They may however attempt to take you to court (where your evidence comes in, so dont lie to yourself) but you will have plenty of warning of that. If you do have a realistic plan as you state, you'll have paid this off long before it gets that far.

Your credit history however is fair game and they will default you. Just kiss it good bye and move on.

Deloria87

Yeah I've already done that Hopefully I'll be able to improve it over time (somehow) but I know right now that my credit history is awful.

Thanks for your help; plan of action for the weekend - letter writing! whoop!!