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  • Hi,

    I’m in the process of clearing some old debts. In October I agreed to pay £1000 as a final settlement for an old car loan, payment I made on the 31/10.

    It meant that this November being very tight, no expenditure accept for essentials and I’ve taken a weeks leave to cut out train travel costs.

    Anyway on the 25/10, Lantern UK/MMF emailed out of the blue offering me a ‘spooky’ settlement offer of £62.50 on a £250 debt but it expired on the 31/10. I couldn’t afford to make the payment but I emailed them back offering to settle at the end of November.

    Anyway, this week I managed to sell a couple of bits on EBay and riaised £84, literally everything I have until Friday... I contact lantern and made the offer of £63 but the declined, I explained my situation but they kept saying the offer expired, I then offered £84 but they still declined.

    They said the offer now is a 40% reduction (£150) which is available today only, which I can’t afford.

    I’m reluctant and I’d struggle in a Christmas month to pay the full £250, if they were willing to accept £62.50 initially... how can it expire?

    I have two larger debts (419 & 338) to clear and in the process of doing so, the break from Lantern would have really helped

    The debt itself drops off my credit file in Feb next year, so I really want to avoid getting a CCJ and extra costs.

    Any advise on what to do, would be great

    Thanks
  • wigglers
    wigglers Posts: 151 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi I have various cards on 0% deals totalling £9081 most recently £5000 on 24months 0% for 0 fee.. and am 2k into a 3k overdraft, everytime I'm paid it's negative.. and £2300 will be not zero percent in Jan, and £1870 won't be 0% in May.. coming into our house is £2200 and about £1800-1900 is bills. I am rubbish and keep paying just the minimum I can't afford to pay more so the theory is good just can't put it in to practice so. Not getting anywhere I was offered a loan with my bank at 7.7% I'm losing £40 a month on overdraft interest alone. But I've always been told don't get more debt but what I'm thinking is if I can get the loan spread over another year payments will go down and it will come straight out.. So will actually be cleared apart from the. Loan.. It's stressing me out as we have 2 kids and need to give them a decent childhood but I'm not sure what's best.. The loan will be 7.7% so £910 interest but least it will be being paid off or shall I go through a iva I don't know what's the best thing.... Help please
  • StepChange_Allen
    StepChange_Allen Posts: 352 Organisation Representative
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts
    Gooner5000 wrote: »
    Hi,

    I’m in the process of clearing some old debts. In October I agreed to pay £1000 as a final settlement for an old car loan, payment I made on the 31/10.

    It meant that this November being very tight, no expenditure accept for essentials and I’ve taken a weeks leave to cut out train travel costs.

    Anyway on the 25/10, Lantern UK/MMF emailed out of the blue offering me a ‘spooky’ settlement offer of £62.50 on a £250 debt but it expired on the 31/10. I couldn’t afford to make the payment but I emailed them back offering to settle at the end of November.

    Anyway, this week I managed to sell a couple of bits on EBay and riaised £84, literally everything I have until Friday... I contact lantern and made the offer of £63 but the declined, I explained my situation but they kept saying the offer expired, I then offered £84 but they still declined.

    They said the offer now is a 40% reduction (£150) which is available today only, which I can’t afford.

    I’m reluctant and I’d struggle in a Christmas month to pay the full £250, if they were willing to accept £62.50 initially... how can it expire?

    I have two larger debts (419 & 338) to clear and in the process of doing so, the break from Lantern would have really helped

    The debt itself drops off my credit file in Feb next year, so I really want to avoid getting a CCJ and extra costs.

    Any advise on what to do, would be great

    Thanks


    Hi Gooner

    Thanks for posting.

    Companies don't have to offer settlements at all, and are perfectly within their rights to change or withdraw offers at any time, so there's not much you can do about that.

    I certainly wouldn't recommend putting yourself in other financial difficulty for the sake of trying to settle a particular debt. If you'd like some advice on sorting these debts out as a whole, we can help you free of charge.

    You can either register over the phone or via our online Debt Remedy tool, details can be found here: www.stepchange.org/Contactus

    I hope this is helpful.

    Allen
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy.

    Don't be afraid of getting debt advice. We'll help you take one more step towards getting help with your debt.
  • StepChange_Allen
    StepChange_Allen Posts: 352 Organisation Representative
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts
    wigglers wrote: »
    Hi I have various cards on 0% deals totalling £9081 most recently £5000 on 24months 0% for 0 fee.. and am 2k into a 3k overdraft, everytime I'm paid it's negative.. and £2300 will be not zero percent in Jan, and £1870 won't be 0% in May.. coming into our house is £2200 and about £1800-1900 is bills. I am rubbish and keep paying just the minimum I can't afford to pay more so the theory is good just can't put it in to practice so. Not getting anywhere I was offered a loan with my bank at 7.7% I'm losing £40 a month on overdraft interest alone. But I've always been told don't get more debt but what I'm thinking is if I can get the loan spread over another year payments will go down and it will come straight out.. So will actually be cleared apart from the. Loan.. It's stressing me out as we have 2 kids and need to give them a decent childhood but I'm not sure what's best.. The loan will be 7.7% so £910 interest but least it will be being paid off or shall I go through a iva I don't know what's the best thing.... Help please


    Hi Wigglers

    Thanks for posting.

    I appreciate you giving some background to your situation there. Consolidation loans can work, but they must be affordable and there should be a clear plan of how the debt will be paid back. We speak to a lot of people that have tried moving debt around and it often just results in more debt, and many of those people wish they'd come to us for advice earlier instead.

    We provide free advice and are able to assess which solution(s) suit you best once we have a full budget and list of debts in front of us.

    You can either register over the phone or via our online Debt Remedy tool, details can be found here: www.stepchange.org/Contactus

    We look forward to helping you.

    Allen
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy.

    Don't be afraid of getting debt advice. We'll help you take one more step towards getting help with your debt.
  • Hi just after some advice please.
    I have my DMP documents printed off and ready to send off to SC.
    My creditors list nearly complete to send also BUT question is if I send my documents now would there be any chance to defer payment until January payday?
    I have a car MOT due as well as expenses of Christmas (very small gifts this year) and don't want to make the agreed DMP payment and leave myself struggling in December mainly the MOT that's worrying me as I know there's a few bits that need sorting.
    Any advice would be welcomed.

    Started 2019 with £22,5000 debt - March 2021 Debt free - stick with it people I did and now never felt better
  • so my son fell ill due to an accident and needed hospitalisation and a period of recovery which sent me into a bit of a spin. Following that I failed to make one on my repayment plan which I had with them, which was charging no interest, then two etc. Now they are adding interest back on to the account and charges.

    I have since received numerous letters which remain unopened, but have plucked up the courage to open one that arrived at the weekend. It says that the default has been registered and I now owe the whole outstanding amount of £10k. I can't obviously pay this.

    The letter mentions that this may go to a debt collection agency for them to deal with. Will they add charges or will it become a repayment only until the balance is cleared. My state of mind is such that whether the default is registered for 6 years or not, I can't help that. I couldn't afford to keep up the repayments of approx. £250 a month, so I really had no option.

    Anyone got any advice? I have other debts on cards, have a reasonably well paid job but have a large family to support.

    Thanks.
  • Hi I need help with a dro
  • I’m in debt by a total of around 12000 which doesn’t sound too much but I have absolutely no money spare at the end of the month!!! I’m self employed taxi driver and would like to appl for a dro. I have a car on hp which I use for work and also have another car to the value of 1500 which my wife owns. This would be a single application by myself as these debts are mine. I suffer with anxiety and it’s really getting me down and don’t know where to turn. I have money from my wife going into my accounts aswell as my money and it’s up the wall I would know where to start all I know is I’m broke it’s nearly Xmas and I’m lost please can someone help
  • StepChange_Kirsty
    StepChange_Kirsty Posts: 180 Organisation Representative
    Hi there,

    Thanks for your post.

    At the moment the earliest date when can set up a debt management plan (DMP) is 1 January 2019. If you need to start your DMP later than this I would just recommend adding a covering note to your paperwork to explain why it would need to be delayed.

    When your plan is set up we will send you a welcome pack confirming the date your DMP is due to start. If the date we suggest is still not suitable just give us a call and we’ll be able to amend this for you. We’ll include the telephone number to call in the welcome pack.

    I hope this helps.

    Kirsty


    Hi just after some advice please.
    I have my DMP documents printed off and ready to send off to SC.
    My creditors list nearly complete to send also BUT question is if I send my documents now would there be any chance to defer payment until January payday?
    I have a car MOT due as well as expenses of Christmas (very small gifts this year) and don't want to make the agreed DMP payment and leave myself struggling in December mainly the MOT that's worrying me as I know there's a few bits that need sorting.
    Any advice would be welcomed.
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy.

    Don't be afraid of getting debt advice. We'll help you take one more step towards getting help with your debt.
  • Hi SC Kirsty.
    Thanks for your feedback.
    As my regular payday is 17th of the month the 1st Jan would be impossible.
    Am I best to send papers back and advise of this or wait until that time and try myself to keep creditors at bay?
    IF I sent back would work start in the DMP prior to payment etc what I mean by that is would SC write to creditors with offers before I have even paid ?
    Hope I am making sense
    Thanks.

    Started 2019 with £22,5000 debt - March 2021 Debt free - stick with it people I did and now never felt better
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