Debt, dissapearence and the great plan

JohnDoe321

Hi, So this is a two part post, the blurb of how and why, and the second part of facts and action!

The blurb:
So, up until 2013 I was doing ok, manageable debt. Small credit card that I was paying off every month with the end in sight for clearing the two cars we own. (I'm married) So disaster hit my health and the next year was a roller coaster, for the most part we kept on top of things, but towards the end of 2014 two things happened, someone wrote off my wife's car, and I suffered some big time depression(was given some great drugs for this) and some other fun emotions (buy all the things behaviors). and before I know it I've gone and bought a new car for her and my cc was like.. here take my money! Things escalated quickly, and i'm all of a sudden in £20k of debt and have an "eff it all" attitude. I left the country start of 2015.. soo... yeah.. Fast forwards and I'm coming home to a good job. How do I manage this transition back? I want to pay it back.

The Facts
£20k ish debt in start of 2015, went no contact with lenders.. and left the UK. Coming back and want help to manage how this happens,

Current plan is to come home with some money and use that as a lump sum to pay off some high interest stuff and act as a gesture of goodwill type thing to show I am now serious about this. Then just pay back as much as possible as quickly as possible. Ideally I'd like to set up some sort of agreement to pay back X amount per month with the option to overpay as available.

Thoughts? Opinions? Judgement?

enthusiasticsaver

So you left the country in 2015 and just had no contact with lenders? Only thing you can do is contact them and offer to repay whatever you can afford and hope it is accepted. Have any of them taken legal action to recover the debt?

National_Debtline

Hi John and welcome to the forum.


Essentially the background to the debts won't matter too much now. From a creditor's point of view, what matters is what you can propose and how that proposal stands to benefit them.


Depending on what sort of lump sum you can raise, you may be able to negotiate reduced settlement figures to close some/all of these accounts. If you've been AWOL for a year or more, there is a good chance that these accounts will have found their way into debt collectors' hands in the meantime. This could actually mean that you have a better chance of being offered a discounted settlement figure than if the debts were still with the original lenders.


Alternatively, I guess you'd be looking at negotiating a debt management plan - DIY-style or perhaps via a debt management charity (avoid the fee-charging sector!), with or without that lump sum downpayment at the start. You can do a broad comparison of various debt options at:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/35%20EW%20Options%20for%20dealing%20with%20your%20debts/Default.aspx


Dennis
@natdebtline

JohnDoe321

Enthusiastic saver: I don't know yet, is there a good way to find out?

NationalDebtline: Thank you for the advice, I will definitely look at the debt management plan. I know the backstory is of little importance, but I dunno, I thought it might add context.

There is some difficult talks to come.

Thanks!

Muttipops

Back story adds context to us, but creditors are not that interested, they just want repaying!


Would be good to see a breakdown of your debts and the lump sum amount you are intending to throw at them, to see if any advice there would help about how best to go about it. Also, new salary net income.


Glad to hear your life is back on track. £20k will not wreck your life and I am sure that soon a good plan will be in place.