M&S Loan issues default notice due to Corona Virus

smiffy015

So I rang M&S loans once the lockdown was put in place as I am in the 1st year of self employment and I no longer have an income. It is a substantial loan that I took out at the start of my business, my repayments are £300 per month, I asked if I could defer my payments for 3 months, until hopefully my business will be back up & running. I receive a letter today saying that they have suspended my payments for 6 months however that means I have defaulted on my loan, they will issue a final demand and tell credit agencies of my default which will remain on my credit score for 6 years!!! This will seriously affect anything credit wise in my future. I am now at a loss of what to do.. if this affects me for 6 years, I might as well just go for an IVA once this is all over. I am having to put food, gas & electric on my credit card, with no way of paying off even the minimum payment, I just dont know where to turn

[Deleted User]

You could contact them again and see what the least negative thing is that they could report in return for missing payments. 

However, under the circumstances, and with you being unable to even pay your credit card, defaulting early on will probably be better than repeated missed payments and will save you a lot money in interest.  Default on the card as well, to keep things on the same timeline.

Willing2Learn

smiffy015 said:

I am having to put food, gas & electric on my credit card, with no way of paying off even the minimum payment, I just dont know where to turn

If it were me, I would start by completing a Statement of Affairs (SOA).  I could then post my completed SOA on the main DFW discussion board for advice, guidance and support. 
https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php

Edit:  I forgot to say, I would also be making an online application for Universal Credit... 

tonyhender

Do you own any asset like property?

JReacher1

I believe M&S have made a mistake. 

I work for a similar company and the FCA have issued industry wide instructions that no customer can have their credit file harmed by a financial issue caused by COVID-19. For any customer in financial difficulty because of COVID-19 we have to report their credit status as the status it was back in February.