Debt Remedy

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Tackling your debt / cont. Don’t be pressured to make higher payments than you Priority debts Mortgage Rent Council Tax or Rates Magistrates Court Fines Tax, VAT or National Insurance County Court Judgments Child Maintenance Gas, Electricity or Other Fuel Hire Purchase Telephone Result of non-payment A visit from bailiffs, deductions taken from your salary or imprisonment A fine, deductions taken from your salary or imprisonment Paying what you can afford Your budget shows to what extent you can manage day to day living costs and priority debts. What’s left over is what you can pay to your non-priority creditors. Do not use the money set aside for your priority household bills to pay your non-priority creditors. Falling behind with your mortgage has far more serious consequences than falling behind with your credit card.
Actions that creditors might take It’s only natural that your creditors will want to try to persuade you to continue or even increase your payments to them. By knowing your rights and responsibilities, you’ll be better prepared when they do contact you. And if there’s anything you’re unsure of, you can always call us for practical advice. If you are behind with your payments, your creditors might take a number of different actions to recover the money owed to them. You need to be prepared for the time when your creditors might increase pressure. Default notices Usually, if you are two to three months in arrears, your creditor will send you a default notice. (A default notice is the last chance you have to clear your arrears before they end the original credit agreement.) At this point you can still arrange to make a reduced payment. If they accept your offer, they are still likely to send you a letter ending the agreement. You are still responsible for paying the debt in full even if the original agreement has ended. When they have ended the agreement, your creditor can use a collection agency or solicitor to help them recover the debt. It’s not a crime to be in debt Actions solicitors and debt collection agencies might take If you receive a letter from a solicitor or debt collection agency, don’t panic, but don’t ignore it. Any letters that you receive might be threatening and mention court action. But don’t panic. Solicitors and collection agencies have no more legal powers than your original creditor to force you to pay. Home visits are rare. <strong>Debt</strong> collectors are not bailiffs, and you don’t have to let them into your home. In the rare event that a bailiff does call, you can still offer a reduced payment and show your budget and list of creditors. If you get a court letter, try not to worry. You can still offer to make a reduced payment to the creditor (based on what you can afford) by completing the details on the forms they send you. The creditor will then accept or reject the offer and work with the court to decide what payment you should make. If you need any further help, just give us a call on 08442 641 919 and we can talk you through what happens and what you should do. Harassment Creditors and their collection agencies are allowed to make reasonable contact to collect the debt owed by you. If they call or visit you at work or call late at night, this is harassment, and you can complain to trading standards. Their details can be obtained from www.tradingstandards.gov.uk.
Page 1 and 2: Your Personal Action Plan From the
Page 3 and 4: Section 1 Your financial situation
Page 5 and 6: Section 1 Your financial situation
Page 7 and 8: Section 2 Your debt solution If you
Page 9 and 10: Section 2 Your debt solution We als
Page 11 and 12: Whatever your debt problem, we can
Page 13 and 14: Improving your financial situation
Page 15: Tackling your debt Ideally, everyon
Page 19: “ After going through my budget w

Debt Remedy

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