Help me please

sourcrates

KirstyO wrote: »

It sounds harsh but the companies that you owe money to don't really care about the circumstances.

If it were me, I couldn't cope with the guilt that comes with unpaid debt. It has almost broken me once, and I believe would do it again if given the chance. I would have to suck it up, pay it off and feel that weight lifted off my shoulders.
K

Your first sentence is indeed correct, but you should never feel guilty for having debt.

Especially debt accrued from a bad relationship, small debts such as this are often chased harder than larger debts, not sure why this is.

You really have to understand how debt collection works, and how companies deal with bad debt, these debts will have been written off by the original lender long ago, they may of been sold on, the original creditor having claimed tax relief on them, so now they only exist on a DCA's spreadsheet, and they will either decide to pursue them, or decide it's not worth there while doing so.

Guilt dosent really come into it, it's purely a buisness transaction, that's the way the world works.

KirstyO

I understand what you're saying sourcrates, and I know that lenders see it as part of what they do. I'm just making the point of how I personally responded to being in that position. I think it was the first time in my life that I actually felt responsible as an adult, but I also felt really bad about it.

sourcrates

KirstyO wrote: »

I understand what you're saying sourcrates, and I know that lenders see it as part of what they do. I'm just making the point of how I personally responded to being in that position. I think it was the first time in my life that I actually felt responsible as an adult, but I also felt really bad about it.

And that's fine, I wasn't having a dig, there was a time I had similar thoughts, until I needed help, and the response was to engage debt collectors from 1st credit, who were total barstewards back before they had there knuckles rapped by the FCA's forerunner the OFT.

Let's just say it was a steep learning curve for all concerned.

EssexHebridean

Kirsty's post says rather more eloquently what I was trying to get at in what I said previously. I would feel the same as her - having accrued debt in the first place - even if only in a part share, not paying it off when I know there was some way I could have done would have torn me apart. I appreciate that doesn't apply to everyone, but it certainly does to some of us - Kirsty and I are the proof of that. Given the choice between the hardship of paying off my debt some years ago, and having the fact that I'd NOT paid it hanging over me for the rest of my life, I'd choose to pay off again every single time. For me, personally, the psychological effects of not doing so would have had too much of a negative effect on my life - and this is something that should definitely be taken into consideration when people are looking at being in that situation. If you decide 5 years down the line that actually, you wish you'd paid it after all, it will open a whole new can of worms to try to go back to do what your own head is telling you is the right thing for you as an individual to do.

Sanctioned_Parts_List

sourcrates wrote: »

small debts such as this are often chased harder than larger debts, not sure why this is.

Return on investment.

Small amounts are more likely to be repaid than larger amounts and the fees for e.g. writing letters represent a greater percentage of the initial value than they do for larger values. So small debts are profitable debts.