Trying to sort myself out..HELP!!!

[annmarie18676]

Recently I've been trying to sort my finances out and contacted the National Debtline. As I (thought) I knew roughly what I was doing they refered me to their site, ie template letters and budget sheet which works out payments etc, I did my budget sheet to send off with letters making an offer of lowered monthly payments and was waiting for a reply. Today I had a call from some snotty oik who informed me that he "personally" had not received my letter and was unlikely to in the future, so I explained what I have done ie using debtline templates etc. He now tells me there is nothing he will do with my account, interest is still going up and up etc until he receives a reference number from National Debtline themselves!!! They said I could do all the offers and stuff on my own and so I have never kind of registered with them to get one! Where do I stand with this, they have me very confused and to top matters I could'nt get through to the Debtline today at all! Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!!

[Overdrawn]

Hi annemarie, welcome to the BAG forums

 

If you have incurred charges on any of your accounts then the chances are that they are unlawful and you will be able to reclaim them.

 

I have no experience of the helpline which you refer to, however I am sure that other members will do and I am also sure that those members will be along to help you out asap.

 

In the meantime please make yourself at home. Familiarise yourself with the forums and what's on offer...a place full of support, advice and help from people in similar situations.

 

A good place to start is the FAQ's which is located here:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=5

 

Once again a big welcome from us all

[Don Quioxte]

Ann Marie hi you are in the right place.

 

Don't panic.

 

Ensure you make a note of ALL correspondence/communication you have with your creditors. that is the first step while we try to work on this. As the mere fact that you are attempting to resolve any issue, and are proactively approaching the companies involved actually puts you in a very very strong position.

 

You did more than the right thing by attempting to negotiate payments based on a budget sheet which you are willing to supply to your creditors. so well done.

 

what is important right now is that you speak to each of your creditiors and explain in no uncertain terms that you are having difficulties meeting their payments. Offer to supply them with a breakdown of your monthly income and outgoings (the budget sheet) either over the phone or via post.

 

Offer to make a payment that is reasonable and one that you can afford (there is no point agreeing to something with them that you cannot meet). If they then refuse this payment (which is unlikely if you are able to verbalise your difficulties and support them in a manner which your creditors understand and accept - do the following...

 

1. send them the payment that you have offered (whether they have told you it is not acceptable - it further shows you are attempting to manage the situation).

 

2. inform them, in writing that you are seeking independent legal advice fromt the Citizen's Advice Bureau and if you wish, debt counselling.

 

3. Contact your local CAB and book an appointment.

 

4. understand that there are many avenues, help, and assistance available to you. And that none of your creditors actually want to push you into a corner where they will likely receive NO money from you at all.

 

5. that is why communication, and your record of it is so important at this stage.

 

6. Continue to use this site, and forums to seek advice, and keep everyone posted as to developments.

 

7. PM me if you need more in depth guidance.

 

8. There is no number eight.

 

Good Luck

[annmarie18676]

Hi Overdrawn, thanks for your swift reply! Ive used the site for a couple of months now with sucess I may add! lol Really all I need to know is do I really need a reference number from the debt help people, I thought I was entitled to do it all myself and use their templates etc like they said, so therefore I had no need to register with them, I've made offers on what I can pay and sent it all off with my budget sheet (incoming outgoings money left over for debts etc) So really all I need from them is the agreement on whether they will accept the payment for now. Why is a reference number needed?? Its not hard to confuse me!!!

[annmarie18676]

Thanks so much Don Quioxte too!!! There are quite a few points you made there that I am going to follow up tomoro! Things always seem better in the light of day! I wouldnt care tho, im only needing a couple of months of lower payments as Im going back to full time employment asap!!! They dont make life easy do they???

[Don Quioxte]

im only needing a couple of months of lower payments as Im going back to full time employment asap!!! They dont make life easy do they???

 

8. That is exactly what you needto communicate to your creditors. I will bet my bottom dollar that they agree to your required lowered payments for a couple of months (tho angle for at least 4 just to give you some breathing space)

 

9. Nothin in life is easy. Except BAG.

[annmarie18676]

This topic was closed on 10 March 2019.

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