Circumstances have changed, is it possible to reduce monthly repayments?

[cookie2013]

Hello all!

 

Looking for some advice please...

 

I moved to S.E. Asia 18 months ago, and to date have been managing to make the monthly repayments of approx £400 GBP on my debts.

 

My situation has now changed as I am 5 months pregnant, and health insurance will not cover any of the hospital expenses which I will have to pay in full. Plus the ongoing expense of raising the baby. As such, I would like to know if it is worth contacting the banks to see if they would let me reduce my repayments to something more manageable on an Asian income?

 

I have a credit card with HSBC approx £50 per month

A personal loan with Tesco approx £200 per month

Overdraft with HSBC approx £100 per month (will be complete in March)

Plus approx £50 per month misc interest, student loans etc

 

The credit card and Tesco loan are my main concerns, especially as over £40 per month is to pay interest on the credit card.

 

Please understand that I DO want to repay these debts, just at a more manageable rate.

 

Thank you in advance for any advice

[unclebulgaria67]

If you are not planning to return to the UK, then I would suggest that you write to all UK creditors with proof of your Asian address and advise them that you are unable to maintain payments. Advise them of your circumstances, so they can see why this is the case. I am not sure it is worth maintaining any payments, as by the time you have factored in exchange/transfer costs, it won't even cover any interest they are still adding to the accounts.

 

You may want to continue payments from a moral point of view, but you would have to ask yourself what benefit this would be to you. If you are planning on returning to the UK within the next few years, it may be worth it. But these banks will not really be bothered, as they will at some point sell the debts onto debt collection agencies, unless they are likely to be paid off within an acceptable period ( say 2 years). Banks don't like holding debts on their books for too long and will sell them on.

 

If you want further advice, perhaps you should speak to Stepchange the UK debt registered charity, who can chat through your current circumstances, what your plans are for the future and you could work out what to do that would be for the best.