Can creditors write off debt?

B17Fan

Just a quick question on behalf of my dad, he has a number of creditors and I know a few have written to him in recent times, offering settlement figures. I don't know all the ins and outs of how much he owes or how many creditors he has, but he has agreements with them to pay £2 a month. My question is, the companies which have written about settlement figures, are they more likely to consider writing off the debts totally? Seeing as they are offering to write off a portion of the debt, would it be worth writing to ask? There's barely enough money left for daily expenses...such as weekly food shopping,fuel etc...so any advice would be most welcome 

fatbelly

If it's a hopeless situation and the £2 per month won't clear the debt in his lifetime then they should be encouraged to write the debt off. There's a standard letter on National Debtline.

B17Fan

fatbelly said:

If it's a hopeless situation and the £2 per month won't clear the debt in his lifetime then they should be encouraged to write the debt off. There's a standard letter on National Debtline.

Would that apply if any of the debts had ccjs?

sourcrates

It depends on your dads circumstances, if he doesn't have the means to make payments that will clear the debts within a reasonable timescale, then he should write and tell them so, mention any health conditions, or other relevant information as well.

Just because legal action has been taken, it doesn't make the debts any more affordable, these things are decided on a case by case basis, so the same advice applies.

It would help if we knew how old these debts were, if they have been sold on at all, whether at any time there was a period of 6 years or more where he didn`t pay anything, has he challenged the enforceability of any of them, which debts have had legal action taken ?

Its never as simple as a yes or no answer, there are mulit faceted ways to deal with bad debt, but it helps if your armed with as much information as possible.

B17Fan

sourcrates said:

It depends on your dads circumstances, if he doesn't have the means to make payments that will clear the debts within a reasonable timescale, then he should write and tell them so, mention any health conditions, or other relevant information as well.

Just because legal action has been taken, it doesn't make the debts any more affordable, these things are decided on a case by case basis, so the same advice applies.

It would help if we knew how old these debts were, if they have been sold on at all, whether at any time there was a period of 6 years or more where he didn`t pay anything, has he challenged the enforceability of any of them, which debts have had legal action taken ?

Its never as simple as a yes or no answer, there are mulit faceted ways to deal with bad debt, but it helps if your armed with as much information as possible.

I'll ask my dad more info tomorrow. I know most of the debts are well over 6 years old. He's never had a payment break...always paid them. I don't know if most or all of the debts have been sold on...most have I think. He'll never pay off the debts in his lifetime. And he's due to retire next year, but I don't know how he'll afford to pay his creditors when he retires. I just want to help in any way I can 

fatbelly

If there's a ccj can the question is can this be enforced? e.g

If he has assets - bailiffs

If he works - attachment to earnings

If he has savings - 3rd party debt order

If he owns property - charging order.

If none of these things then the creditor needs to know.

B17Fan

fatbelly said:

If there's a ccj can the question is can this be enforced? e.g

If he has assets - bailiffs

If he works - attachment to earnings

If he has savings - 3rd party debt order

If he owns property - charging order.

If none of these things then the creditor needs to know.

In answer to your questions...
Assets would only be a car, as his house is housing association. But he needs his car for work.
So yes, he has a full time job
No savings

I thought a ccj could be enforced, as it's a court order. So a legally binding agreement?

B17Fan

Another thing is, some debts are in a joint name with my mum. She has a lot of health problems, so can't work. That would surely be a good reason for trying to write some debts off?? With a single income, it's a lot of strain to get thru each month 

sourcrates

Put it all in the letter as mentioned before.

You can’t enforce something if there are are no assets to be recovered can you, you can have all the court judgements in the world, but if there is no money, the judgements are not worth the paper they are written on.

B17Fan

Can I ask what would be classed as assets? My parents both have a car. Not on finance. My dad needs his for work. Would they take things like your tv or computer?

fatbelly

A bailiff can't force entry except in a narrow range of circumstances so 'no assets other than essential household goods' is a useful phrase. However an owned car is usually visible and the question would then be how much it would raise at auction.

So yes it could be an asset