Advice needed on reducing debt repayments

Khynds

Hi guys,

I am new to this site but what I have found so far has been really helpful. In September last year I made the decision to stop burying my head in the sand and face up to my debts. I initially set up repayments which were affordable due to there being constant overtime at my job. This over time has since stopped and I am approximately £500 down each month and although I am consistently making the repayments each month, I am really struggling financially now.

I haven't used a debt management plan, I contacted each company individually and offered an arrangement. I now want to try and reduce these monthly repayments but I am not sure they will accept, any advice on how to go about this would be appreciated. I do feel so much less stress now that I am repaying them but now my circumstances have changed and I am beginning to find it hard to manage my finances again.

Thanks so much!

Tixy

Hi and welcome to the forum

There are lots of people who self manage their own debt management plans and there are a couple of useful websites where you can obtain advice and access to sample letters etc.

Essentially if you need to reduce payments to your creditors and pay less than the contracted amount the best tips are to treat all creditors the same and to keep them informed.

It is usual to complete a budget (monthly income & expenditure aka a statement of affairs) to demonstrate that you cannot afford your debt repayments but that you are paying them all you can afford and that you are splitting your payment between your creditors pro-rata based on the balances.

These links may also help -
https://nedcab.cabmoney.org.uk/dmp.asp
and
https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/29%20EW%20Debt-management%20plans%20%28DMPs%29/Default.aspx