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It's always a good idea to
talk to the people you owe money to. If you
ignore the problem it will only get worse
- you may find that you are paying extra interest
and your debts are just getting bigger every
day.
Most creditors try to be understanding
and if you tell them why you are unable to
pay then they will usually be willing to reach
a compromise. You could ask them to freeze
the interest on your payments or accept a
reduced payment for an agreed period of time.
Phone them or use the standard letters below
to write to all the people you owe money to.
Explain your situation and include details
of your income
and expenditure to back this up.
If
your offer is refused
Sometimes some of your creditors
may refuse to accept your offer of payment
and ask for more. This could be for any number
of reasons from not agreeing with an item
of your expenditure to the account being handled
by someone who has not been trained in dealing
with people in financial difficulty. Sometimes
they can be just unreasonable!
If they are demanding more
than you can afford you will be unable to
meet their request. It would not be fair to
pay them more than your other creditors. Pay
them the amount you have offered anyway and
keep telling them that this is all you can
afford. Always pay as much as you can afford
- even if it is as little as £1 a month.
If you need
further help dealing with creditors, contact
one of these free advice agencies.
Payplan - The Free Debt Advice Agency
Freephone 0800 917 7823
Email: help@payplan.com
Web: www.payplan.com
Citizens Advice Bureaux - www.nacab.org.uk
National Debtline - 0808 808 4000
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