What if I offered to just pay half?

zappafan_2

Hi all, am new to the forum but have been a regular on the site for a while.

Basically, Ive gotten myself into a bit of a mess with credit cards & have friends that have had IVA's, who are now debt free & seem to have all of their money for themselves! However, I dont like the idea of being stuck to a particular payment for FIVE YEARS & then having the subsequent affect on my already terrible credit report! So I was wondering, what would happen if I just told the creditors that I cant afford to pay them & offered them half? I have also had friends that have done this & succeeded - obviously, my credit rating will take a huge knock but will it last for five or so years like it would if I did an IVA?

Any ideas? Also, would love to know if anyone has done this!

Many thanks

Jim

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

you only get if you ask , when i was in debt i tried all i asked for a final settlement figure , i asked if they would consider writeing any off , basicaly i found out aftr paying them a above only a little token payment most came to me with a final figure just to get rid of it like said ask put all ideas to them they can only say no be as cunning as a fox lets face it they are .

lauradora

I did the same. I was thinkiong exaclt the same way as you, I didn't fancy being stuck in an IVA either so I basically did the same thing but myself. This site and the national debtline site have all the template letters you need for it. If your not scared of paperwork then its pretty easy enough to do yourself.

zappafan_2

Cheers Ranger, thats what I think aswell - the only thing Im worried about is how long my credit rating is likely to be affected for. If I decide to get a mortgage or something next year, am I going to be turned down because I do this now?

zappafan_2

Lauradora - thats amazing to hear that you've actually done it & succeeded & thanks for the links!!!! I'm well up for doing it, as I said though, my only reservation is whether its going to be worth it in terms of ruining my already bad credit rating - and for how long? I dont care if its just for a year or so but if were talking years, then maybe Im better off with a plan B?

lauradora

As long as you keep in touch with all the companies you owe money to it shouldn't affect it too much. If your making token payments it keeps them quiet as long as they are regular and eventually go up.

stapeley

hi sounds as if you would struggle getting a mortgage any way . Are the debts with collection agencies , what the situation ? Your bad credit history stays on for six years .

zappafan_2

Even after you've told them that they can only have half their money back?!! I would have thought that it would be account closed & dont ask for any more credit from us ever again!! Is that what happened with you after you settled or were they understanding when you said 'hey, guess what, Im not skint anymore now, can I have some money'?

zappafan_2

Hey Stapeley, yeah, I wanted to get another 0% card to move some of my balances to & I got rejected so I'll guess that my rating is pretty shot now anyway! Just wondering really if by doing this, I'm actually gonna be shooting myself in the foot in the long run rather than figuring soemthing else out...

Merlot

zappafan wrote: »

Lauradora - thats amazing to hear that you've actually done it & succeeded & thanks for the links!!!! I'm well up for doing it, as I said though, my only reservation is whether its going to be worth it in terms of ruining my already bad credit rating - and for how long? I dont care if its just for a year or so but if were talking years, then maybe Im better off with a plan B?

Welcome to the DFW board, I am pleased you came over from the other board.


Surely, that depends on the amount of debt, and for how long you are going to keep paying half of the minimum payment. Why don't you post an SOA (incomings and outgoings) and a list of your debts/balances/aprs etc, so we can have a look at it for you.

If you don't wish to do that, then look at this website, its the CCCS, http://www.cccs.co.uk/, a debt charity, it has loads of useful info on there, and you could even call them (its free) and ask them for there input too on your situation.

Merlot.x.

lauradora

Merlot wrote: »

Welcome to the DFW board, I am pleased you came over from the other board.


Surely, that depends on the amount of debt, and for how long you are going to keep paying half of the minimum payment. Why don't you post an SOA (incomings and outgoings) and a list of your debts/balances/aprs etc, so we can have a look at it for you.
.

thats more like it it depends where your debt is. The thing to remember is people will always want to lend you money because it makes them millions!!

Post your SOA and it'll start coming together.