Very.co.uk debt

Si73

Hi, i am new here so just looking for a bit of advice.

I owe very.co.uk nearly £7,000, i was silly last year as in a bad situation and bought phones on buy now pay a year later and then sold them to keep myself and family going, all the interest has now piled up and the monthly payment will be around £450 once all the interest is applied.

I have reached out to Very saying i am going to struggle to pay, after working everything out i have told them i can pay £50 a month, not suprised but they have not accepted this.

What should i do now? just pay what i can and wait to they default me? Really don't want the interest to pile up to much.

They just keep saying talk to Stepchange, is there anything they can do that i can't as i have heard mixed reviews on Stepchange.

Thankyou in advance.

sourcrates

Hi,

Stepchange are a recognised debt charity, who post on these forums regularly in there own specific debt advisors thread.
They can be helpful if the client is having difficulty managing their financial affairs.

Of all the catalogue companies, Very are notoriously difficult to deal with, demanding unaffordable sums in monthly payments etc, and just generally being unhelpful.

You are not the first to fall into this trap, you won`t be the last, can I just ask you, is this your only debt, or do you have others ?

Because your answer will determine how this is dealt with going forward.

Si73

Hi

Thankyou for your reply.

I do have other debt but this is more under control and have been gradualy paying this off, however i have done the same with Argos and there monthly payment is £224, the Very payment is the big issue..

sourcrates

OK, I have closed your other post as its a duplicate of this one, we always find its best to just stick to the one thread.

You mention allowing this debt to default, if the current payment is not affordable, that can be a good strategy, they will most likely sell your debt on in the meantime as well.

Debt collectors/purchasers are always easier to deal with and will accept almost whatever you propose in payment.

You can also use the situation to your advantage, whilst paying a smaller monthly sum, saving up a full and final settlement fund can be advantageous, so the initial interest they add to the debt, can be negotiated away with a settlement deal, further down the line.

Lots of people use this strategy.

fatbelly

Agree with the above.

This isn't a good way of raising cash - as you've discovered.

However, these are non-priority debts so they fall a long way down the pecking order (food, utilities, rent, council tax etc) - if there's nothing left for them then so be it. Let them default and look at what strategy would be best for you: maybe a debt management plan (stepchange do free ones) or full & finals or even something else.

Si73

Thanks for your advice.

So how much hassle will i receive from Very when i let this default? Do you recommend i pay what i can afford or not at all while i wait for them to sell the debt.

Only took them 24 hours to put a freeze on the account after telling them my situation.

Thanks

rigare11a

Hi Si, 

 I can't comment on the default situation so will let the others come back to you on that 

I just wanted to chip in with my experience of Step Change. I got myself in to some issues with payday loan lenders etc many moons ago and I used StepChange to help me manage all the money I owed to different places from CC's to shopping account and of course the PayDay Loans. 

They were really understanding and knowledgeable and negotiated interest freezes as well as repayment amounts on the debts that I had. 

It might be worth having a chat with someone at StepChange, you don't have to commit to anything etc but could be worth investigating. 

Very are terrible so I sympathise I recently paid off what I owed them and closed that account down, they must be one of the most aggressive lenders. 

I hope you find a suitable solution 

Thanks 
Rigarella 

Si73

Hi Rigarella

Thanks for your reply.. i might seek advice from stephange, depending how hard very will be to deal with and what actions they may take..hopefully they will just default me and sell the debt on.

sourcrates

To be honest stepchange won`t be of much use to you.

All they will tell you to do is set up an affordable payment plan with Very, basic first step advice really.

You appear to know something of the collection process involved, if I were you I'd just wait it out till its sold on, then make your own arrangements whatever they may be.

If you had numerous debts then it makes sense to get advice, but just this and one other, well its not rocket science is it. 

Si73

Thanks Sourcrates

Yes have defaulted with a loan and credit card with lloyds, however they were understanding and had a payment plan with them until they sold both on.Debt collection companies have been fine to deal with.

After sending my expenditure/income details to Very they will not even accept my offer so as you say i will just sit tight and try and not get stressed over the phone calls and letters i will receive!

Dottydoolay

I was also a Very customer my advice pay them nothing ignore them and default otherwise they just keep adding interest on and hassle you non stop.
All well and good if they would be realistic and work with you but they absolutely won’t. 

They will eventually leave you alone and sell on to Lowell’s.