Debt Collectors- Anyone any advice ?

dibbles

Hi, Was laid off last year and am a separated parent of 2. Situation like so many people! and used my credit card to pay 2 months mortgage and it was then maxed.
I couldn,t afford the minimum payment and made an arrangement with company to pay a certain amount every month ,which I did. They could only do this for 8 mths and then I either had to pay up or the debt was passed on to debt collectors.
I now have a part time job but only barely getting by due to the mortgage. The debt was passed on to debt collectors who sent a letter yesturday asking me to get in touch.
Has this happened to anyone ,concerning dealing with debt collectors. Will they be banging on the door ??? I can only pay a little a month , will thay accept that ???

Please , any advice of debt collectors will be helpful!

LevelSpirit

dibbles wrote: »

Hi, Was laid off last year and am a separated parent of 2. Situation like so many people! and used my credit card to pay 2 months mortgage and it was then maxed.
I couldn,t afford the minimum payment and made an arrangement with company to pay a certain amount every month ,which I did. They could only do this for 8 mths and then I either had to pay up or the debt was passed on to debt collectors.
I now have a part time job but only barely getting by due to the mortgage. The debt was passed on to debt collectors who sent a letter yesturday asking me to get in touch.
Has this happened to anyone ,concerning dealing with debt collectors. Will they be banging on the door ??? I can only pay a little a month , will thay accept that ???

Please , any advice of debt collectors will be helpful!

Talk to MABS. Debt collectors can more or less be ignored and MABS will help you come to an agreement with who you owe money to.

amiable

LevelSpirit wrote: »

Talk to MABS. Debt collectors can more or less be ignored and MABS will help you come to an agreement with who you owe money to.

Very good advice. Get in touch with MABS asap.

dibbles

Thank but I tried everything with the company and they said they could no longer accept the reduced rates. If I have already received a letter from the debt collecting company saying they now own the debt does this not mean that the credit card company no longer are involved ??

chris85

I would not go with the advice to ignore them as if its gone to them its at the stage where the bank feel it wont be paid and their avenues have been exhuasted and the conditions of the CC means they can pass on to debt collectors.

Most likely they dont own the debt and are just managing it for the bank as not much debt gets bought here, especially in the last couple of years.

But if MABS are involved and the debt collectors wont accept the reduced payments then not much you can do. If they do seek a court order for payment it will be shown mabs have tried to get payments accepted.

Request they deal with your money advisor only and leave it at that.

amiable

Have you actually contacted MABS about this and explained it all?

LevelSpirit

Once MABS are involved the debt collectors will disappear. These people live of fear. They have no power whatsoever over you apart from fear.
MABS will help you come to an agreement with the credit card company. They will even get the interest frozen for you.

foggy_lad

dibbles wrote: »

Thank but I tried everything with the company and they said they could no longer accept the reduced rates. If I have already received a letter from the debt collecting company saying they now own the debt does this not mean that the credit card company no longer are involved ??

try MABS seriously it is the way to go, they will help you plan all your finances if you want or feel you need that help, they are very good (and absolutly 100% confidential!!) and can write to the CC company for you and they will probably be able to get a better repayment deal than you could by dealing with them on your own.

dont worry too much about debt collectors they just work on the fear of them showing up at the door etc etc, but dont ignore the situation either.

calex71

Hi, OP not sure if this will apply to you as I was renting, didn't have a mortgage.

However when I applied for a rent supplement and was filling in the forms and the welfare officer came to visit me, he asked had I incurred any debt as a result of being unemployed and having to pay rent, that I could prove ie used a credit card to pay my rent, and that there was a reasonable limit to this they would help with.

Not sure what if any help if any is available if you have a mortgage ie an equivalent payment to rent allowance? , but it may be an idea to speak with your local community welfare officer, he or she will be based in the local health center. Ones I have dealt with have been very sympathetic but very direct and straight forward in explaining the help they could offer me and couldn't. No messing around which I appreciated.

Also as said make MABS your 1st thing to do in the morning, the sooner you see them the sooner you will have some of the pressure and stress lifted off you. Good luck.