National Debt Helpline

[mmain]

Hello my husband and i are struggling to pay our crdeitors each month. We have contacted the national debt line and have been advised to set up a debt managment plan with them.

I understand its not legally binding and some creditors may refuse our offer. What happens if they did this?
Also has anyone else delt with these people at national debt help line?

Thank you

[andy-hughes]

All any creditors are looking for is confirmation that you intend to pay them.

The worst thing you can do is ignore them, because although you might be scared of the consequences, they simply lump you in with the raft of people who have no intention of paying, and their debt recovery machine lumbers into action - usually with legal consequences.

Almost any creditor would be happy to accept a payment proposal for two reasons - one, it shows that you intednt o pay your debt, and two, it saves them from starting up that machine, which is time-consuming, expensive, and may not result in recouping any money at all.

So, contac t your creditors, own up to your problems, offer then a rerpayment plan you can afford and, most importantly, stick to it. That shows intention, responsibility, and a genuine intention to get your situation sorted out.

Good luck.

[alan30]

It depends on your level of debt as to what the best way forward is. Some years ago my wife lost 2 jobs following 2 car accidents and we got into difficulty. We went to a local adviser who ripped us off. We then went to

http://www.payplan.com/

and they sorted everything out with no up front fees. Many debt help companies now seem to want an up front fee which defies logic if you are in financial difficulty. Some local councils offer help as do Citizens Advice but be prepared for a long wait. If you have a large debt and/or a lot of creditors go to someone like above. They fielded all nasty call centre calls and letters and they knew how to determine disposable income allowing sufficient for food clothng and even going on holiday. You can do it yourself but you will end up dealing with many different people and they will squeeze as much out of you as they can and you may not have enough left to live on. We were chased by one creditor three years after a full and final settlement due to a computer error selling a debt on to a recovery firm. The debt recovery company wouldn't listen to me so I rang Payplan and within ten minutes had a call back to say the debt company would not be chasing me as it had been sorted out over the phone. Peace of mind means a lot in these situations.

[Katy loo]

Myself and my husband wenton a debt management programme with Harrington Brooks.....the worse bit is having to ignore your creditirs and have someone act on your behalf because you do feel like your getting into deeper trouble. All but one of our creditors stopped the interest and they all were obliged to agree to what we could afford to pay per month. We eneded up with good credit afterwards which I was quite suprised about. It will take about 6 months though for you to feel better and the letters threatening to take you to court to end.

[mmain]

Hello

Thanks to all that gave me an reply. My hubby and i looked around and found this service to be free. It is already scary for me as i have always paid my bills. Im sceard of what will happen in the mean time while the debt plan gets set up.

Im sending the paperwork off tommorow morning.
Any one else who can give any advice/expierence i would greatly appreciate it!

[myvesta-sean]

Depending on the level of debt that you have and how much you can afford to repay each month an OVA may be a more suitable strategy than a debt management plan. The Myvesta site has lots of information about all of the options.

http://myvesta.org.uk/media/video/iva/
http://myvesta.org.uk

Best of luck!