debt

[vinrex7]

I live with my parents, and owe barclaycard �140. which has been passed to a debt managment company. as i am unemployed i have phoned them to offer a monthly payment. but they refuse and say if i don't make payment in full they will call at the house. can they do this?

[southerngirl]

I don' t think they can get away with that. It is bullying. I think they are testing you out to see if you will come up with the full amount.

If it was me, I would go to my local citizen's advice bureau and advise the debt management company that since they are not prepared to accept a monthly amount you are obtaining professional advice and will get back to them. Advise them in writing and re-iterate your willingness to pay a monthly amount. No court in the country would back the company if you are not avoiding the debt and are taking steps to pay the amount off. Send the letter to the company by recorded delivery so they can't say they haven't received it and keep the recorded delivery slip in a very safe place. Don't be intimidated by the company. They can't take off you what you don't have and they can't take anything from your parents house that is not yours, so don't worry. Remember that debt companies buy the bad debt from the original company and get to keep anything they get back, so you can see why they are not willing to accept a monthly amount!!

[Ethel]

If the lender has passed the debt to a recovery company it must have exhausted all other avenues.

They must have been trying to get some payment from you for quite some time without success.

The company can and will call at your home. And the charges will mount up.

Make an appointment at the CAB as soon as possible.

And confide in your parents.

[Catso]

Debt collection companies aren't very nice :(

They're pushing you to see if they can get the whole debt out of you, early on. It's just a procedure, don't panic!

If you really can't pay it, don't worry. As southerngirl says, go to the CAB, they deal with this sort of thing all the time and doubtless have a standard letter you can send off to the company. If you haven't got the money, it's perfectly reasonable of you to offer to pay it off monthly. They will almost certainly accept you offer, perhaps after a little more blustering.

If you've made this offer and they are then daft enough to try to take you to court or something, its them that will looked upon unfavourably, not you.

[Loosehead]

What ethel said, why let it get to this stage? the minimum payemnt for �140 is about �5 a month. Now they've lost patience and passed it to a debt collection agency, they will add their charges. The debt will be 10 times as big very quickly. The old Ostrich routine never works.

[Catso]

Goodf point, ethel. vinrex7, why didn't you just pay the credit card monthly? And how long have you had this debt?

[vinrex7]

i have a lot of debts, which i am paying monthly, this being the smallest i thought it was the least important

[Catso]

Well, as ethel says, you seem to have upset them!

Just let them know what you propose, I suppose they'll try the 'heavy' again, but I'm sure they'll accept a reasonable offer to pay.

[themas]

It sounds like normal threat tactics which wouldn't be carried out. But if they do come to the house they have no powers - they are not bailiffs and cannot come into the house without being invited in. They cannot take any of your goods. Just tell them (at the door) what you have offered as a monthly payment and ask them to go away.

You should write to the debt collector with a reasonable monthly payment offer backed up by a financial statement of your income and expenditure (including all the other debts you are paying off). Tell them you will pay the amount you offer each month whether they agree it or not, and then do so - keeping proof of each payment.

It is generally the case that interest and charges stop when debts are referred to debt collectors, so hopefully you won't be troubled by this issue.

[deeboy]

http://www.oft.gov.uk/Codes/Consumers/default.htm

Office of Fair Trading has set down guidlines for creditors when they deal with debtors..read it very handy indeed.