catalogue help

needabiglotterywin

sorry if its been posted once or twice before, but is there anyway i can get them reduce the payments? they want £83 and £53 this month, i really cant afford it what with the other messes iv got my self in,also id like to end my phone contract early as i cant afford that either, is there any way? sorry if they are stupid questions, dont know who else to ask

RAS

Hi

it is difficult to help you based on such limited inforation.

Can you post up your statement of account so we can see what the problem is?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

If you really cannot pay, then you may need to contact one of the debt charities and get them to help you, but this will affect your credit rating.

LilDevil

Firstly, stop all phone contact, if they ring up, tell them you are not prepared to discuss the matter over the phone and to contact you in writing instead.

Write them a letter explaining that due to some recent financial difficulties, you are unable to make the payment requested but would ask if they could:

1. Accept a monthly payment of £XYZ (whatever you can afford) for the next 6 months
2. They freeze all interest for this period.
3. That they do not call you regarding your account, but contact you by mail instead.


If they call you regarding this, tell them that you have already informed them both verbally and in writing that you are not prepared to discuss the matter over the phone and to please put anything in writing.

If they write back saying that your payment plan is not acceptable, tell them that you are very sorry but you cannot make any payments other than the one indicated in your letter dated XXX (enclose a copy of the letter).

If they're anything like Next, they will constantly call and send letters telling you that they cannot accept your proposal. Just keep writing back saying you cannot pay anything over what you have proposed - if they keep calling, make reference to the fact that you have asked several time for them to stop calling as it is harrassment and as such you will seek legal advice if they continue to call.

They may threaten to pass your account on to a DCA, tell them this is fine as you are sure they will accept your payment proposal. If you still get letters asking for more money with still more threats of DCAs tell them to stop procrastinating and actually refer the account over.

I did all of this with Next and after the final letter telling them to actually go ahead and pass my account over, they sent a letter accepting the payment.

Another word of advice, while all this is going on, make the monthly payments for the reduced amount as it will show that you are keeping your end of the bargain.

Hope this helps.

LilDevil

Also forgot to say, send letters like this to all your creditors with the minimum amount you can pay - you may adjust the amount depending on who you think should get the most/least.

Most companies are usually willing to accept the payment as they can see that you are making an effort to solve the problem.

You can then review your situation in 6 months and you may find that either your normal payments are reduced or you can start paying a bit more.

mcjordi

cca them first no cca - no payment see posts on requesting cca's

juliedawn_2

Call them and see what they suggest,they should help as i've had this situation before.good luck.

In_Search_Of_Me

I really would ring one of the debt charaties for advice. If your finances are bad enough not to afford mnimum payments then the sooner you get some advice the better. If you post your SOA people can help see where you can cut back but I would get some advice before defaulting on any payment...as a minimum you should always send a £1 token payment but CCCS can advise you further. Meanwhile you need to not buy anything else from catalogues....hope that helps. Hugs for you & try not to panic but methodically sort this out & you'll feel 100% better when you control your finances rather than them controlling you!

needabiglotterywin

hi, thanks for your replies, sorry if i seemed ignorant, i actually forgot i wrote this thread doh, found it through searching my posts! i managed to get through that month, i sold my drum kit... really sad. Kays catolog is really getting me down, i paid my monthly statement as it said by the 05/05/08 and iv checked my account they want another £85 by the 31/05/08 i owe £579 on that account once iv got it down to zero im making myself a £50 limit, iv learnt the hard way

GeorgeUK

How's your credit history? Any late payments, defaults or CCJ's?

If you think you could apply for a creditcard and be accepted (you can usually have 3 credit checks within 6 months before your credit score is affected) i suggest you look at some cards such as virgin money that will allow you to do a "Super balance transfer" at 0% for 15 months.

needabiglotterywin

hi george:O) My credit history should be hot, but its not, this i blame natworst for.. they constantly got me to apply for there credit card, being turned down every time, god knows how many times iv tried in the last 6 months. i didnt understand about marks against your name then, like i do now. so i think its damaged my history. iv tried to apply for a loan, about 3 all turned down. apart from natworst, they said i could only get a loan to pay there over draft off!!!(£1450) with an extra £350 to spend on what i like. i think they've a lot to answer for. i tore up the contract.. sorry for the waffle, it feels better writing it out!

GeorgeUK

ok then, don't apply for any more credit in the next 6 months. When you ask for a catalogue, this sometimes results in a credit check too so watch out for that.

Do you know the interest rate you are being charged for your debts? Best to pay the minimum on all but the one with the highest APR. Do you have a CC right now?