Extenuating Circumstances

n00blit

Hello,

I have known of a person who has completed a Mental Health Evidence declaration form and submitted it to his creditors and had most of his debt written off.

Fortunately I do not have such an issue. However I do have physical issues that are preventing me from working and the amount of debt I am in it is unlikely that I will be able to pay this off before my death.

I am not terminally ill but due to my age and the large amount of unsecured debt I have I probably wont be debt free until I am 105.

Is there a similar form or something I can do to evidence my medical problems and try to write off my debt or at least have it reduced?

I don't want to go down the rout of an IVA or Bankrupcy. I have been on a DMP for almost 10 years now. Just wondering if there is anything else I could do.

Thank you for reading and I would appreciate your support.

sourcrates

Hi,

How much do you owe ?

It may be difficult to go down the road you are suggesting, have you contacted one of the free debt charities and asked this question ?

That would be my first step, i imagine you would first need a letter from your GP detailing your medical condition, but even that wont stop them chasing the debts, they could still take legal action and get something out of you, as i assume you must have some kind of benefit income ?

Why have you dismissed bankruptcy out of hand ?

I would of thought that was the easiest route for you to take.

Kim_13

Another route would be to negotiate full and final settlements, but it does not appear that you would have a lump sum to offer in order to do this.

n00blit

Bankruptcy is not an option for me as I would loose my home.

I am sure I would need something from the GP. But is there anything like the Mental Health declaration form. Because that seems like an official way to evidence your issues with mental health and asks specific questions.

I don't know what kind of information I would need from my GP to send to creditors to show that I am in this kind of state.

-taff

Are you disabled and claiming benefits? If you are, I'd probably send them a copy of whatever identitifes that and tell them you're reducing the paymnets on your DMP.


If you aren't ever going to pay it off, I personally, would only pay what I could resonably afford. Which in effect would be very little.

fatbelly

Sometimes it's about identifying the least worst option. For a homeowner with little surplus income (over and above the mortgage if you have one) this might be a dmp

However, there's no reason not to try for write-offs. ND have a sample letter here

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Write-off-the-debt-%28sole-name%29.aspx

and

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Write-off-the-debt-second-request-%28sole-name%29.aspx

patman99

n00bit, you do have your DMP with one of the charities dom't you?.

I only asks, as you seam to have been on yor DMP for 10 years, yet appear to have a massive way to go.

If your DMP is with a fee-charging company, then cancel the agreement and go with someone like Payplan or Stepchange as this will help you.

There is nothing wrong with cutting back on what you pay through your DMP in order to save a lump sum to try to clear one of your smaller debts via a full & final settlement offer.

No one has suggested it, but if you have not done so already, try sending each of your creditors a 'prove it' letter. This basically asks them to prove they have title to collect the debt. It might be that the DCA currently chasing the debt may well not be in a position to legally collect the debt.

It is worth the price of a stamp to find out.
Sourcrates appears to be well versed in how this works, so would be worth Pming him.

Mrs_Ryan

I have had about 95% of my debt written off permanently- with the other 5% of creditors agreeing they will not attempt to collect.
I have multiple severe mental and physical disabilities including cancer. I took advice from National Debtline who advised me to seek write off- I sent copies of medical evidence and most of the debt collection agencies were pretty efficient. Bear in mind I had 26 debts totalling about 20k stemming from when I was working (I've had a lot of stick off people on here who assumed I had ran up these debts while on benefits which in fact wasn't the case- I had a good well paid job and One cancer diagnosis later and I'm up the proverbial creek without a paddle as I've been left with severe and enduring mental and physical disabilities meaning I'm not fit to do my job or any job)
I successfully managed to argue one account shouldn't have been allowed to be opened because of my state of mind at the time (I was in a very bad way- not going into details but I couldnt know what I was agreeing to) and one company wrote off my payday loan as I took it when I was in the middle of a total mental breakdown.
There was however no one form that covered everything- different companies have different rules on things.

FBaby

My understanding of the Mental Health declaration is being able to evidence that your debts have been accumulated due to your MH issues affecting one's ability to be aware of the debts mounting and its future impact, ie. through delusion, severe depression, compulsive behaviour etc...

It's not about writing it off because you are on benefits and will likely be paying it off for a very long time. Otherwise, what would stop anyone not working going on a massive spending spree knowing that it doesn't matter because they could have all written off by providing evidence of not being able to work.

fatbelly

The rationale behind the Debt and mental health evidence form is here

http://malg.org.uk/useful-info/mental-health-and-debt-guidelines/

The OP admits that they 'do not have such an issue' and asks 'Is there a similar form or something I can do to evidence my medical problems'

That's a sensible request and it's always worth having a go. Even so, I agree with sourcrates that 'it may be difficult'.