Clearing debt?

Question

Since helping my buddy the other day she has another question for you
How can you clear debts that are unsecured apart from just paying them for 1,000 years ? are these tv things any good where they say that they can reduce payments and freeze interest?
I do not know the answer as i don't have any so i said i would ask you all

Answer 1

Citizens' Advice Bureau give exactly that - 'advice'; it's free and an excellent, up to date, accurate advice service. On top of that they actually write the necessary letters and deal with creditors.

Tell your friend to get an appointment.

Answer 2

Up till Feb of this year I was a Telephone based Debt collector. I left because I was fed up with hearing people tell me there troubles and not be able to help them.

The information that has been given here is generally really good. The CCCS is a great company to go with. The are a charity so therefore don't charge any money to there customers.

The most important thing when dealing with creditors is to be honest with them. They have given you their money in good faith and yes they are making money out of it but on the other hand you would of agreed to this. First hand creditors (the company you borrowed the money from) will be alot more sympathetic if you tell them straight away that you are having difficulty in making payments and they will more then likely try and help you out.

A couple of people mentioned that the CAB is good route to go down. I would personally discourage this. The CAB are mainly made up of volunteers to only work full time and are completely over worked. They can give you some advice on how to handle the mess. however they do not usually contact the creditors for you.

The CCCS will look at all your financial details and decide how much you can afford to pay back they will then set a Standing Order up for you and pay you creditors on a monthly basis.

I hope this helps and Good Luck!!

Answer 3

I don't know first-hand about the TV offers, but I'd check them carefully before I used them. If they ask for money upfront, I'd be very, very careful.

As to getting rid of debt - your buddy should do the adult thing and pay it off. He incurred it, he is responsible for it, he should take care of it like he promised. A contract is a promise, after all.

There are a couple of things he can do. First, list all the debts, how much is owed, the payment amount, and which ones are past due. Then sort them according to which are past due or not, and then by the balance in each group. Then pay the minimum amount due on each debt, except for the past due with the smallest balance. On that one, put every single penny possible towards it. Use other means to save some extra money for the payment, too. That means skip that extra pack of cigarettes today, brownbag instead of going out to lunch, ride the bus instead of taking a taxi. Forget the movie and beer with friends on the weekend, and think hard about using the extra time to get a 2nd job. That will be a big help in paying this off.

If it's a credit card that you're paying all the extra money to, he can contact the card company IN WRITING and tell them that he's trying to pay the debt off, and ask them if they can lower the interest rate. It's important that he do this in writing, not by phone or e-mail. They may wait until they see a couple of months of bigger payments before they drop the rate, so keep on even if they don't change it right away. Once this is paid off, write to the company again and ask them to close the account, and send verification that it has been paid. Then start over again on the next debt in line, until the overdue stuff is paid. Then do it all over again with the current debts.

Every 5-6 months, he should buy a copy of his credit report to see that all his hard work is paying off, and that the lenders are closing the accounts like you asked.

Good luck!

Answer 4

no, keep away from the Vorderman ads! Less money out, more money in. Make a few sacrifices - do you really need all those new shoes, big nights out or coffee on the way to work? Cut your expenditure if it exceeds your income. Cancel gym membership - chances are you have one and never go. Try uswitch.com to lower household bills. Then try and get some more money IE negotiate a pay rise or get another job. Pay the essential bills to keep a roof over your head and food, then negotiate with other creditors to pay off over time. Get a 0% credit card, divide your debt up into a set amount over the 0% period (6-9 months) and pay that amount back a month at a time and don't take any exotic holidays or buy flashy gadgets until it is gone.

Answer 5

the tv adverts dont give you the full story yes the help negotiate with your creditors to reduce your debt but alot of companys wont do this and so you end up paying the outside company an initial fee and theres nothink to stop the creditors from defaulting on the debt and you end up with a bad credit rating and ccjs

Answer 6

Look up the Consumer Credit Councilling Service they are a charity who will act as a negotiator between yourself and your creditors and come to an affordable arrangement for you. They are backed by both the Government and the banks, so creditors actually take notice of them.
http://www.cccs.co.uk/
Here is the link to their site and good luck, hope this was of some help.

Answer 7

citizens advice (debt advisor) they make the creditors an offer of £1. keep making the payments and after a few months the debts are more than likely squashed, providing u keep up to date on payments

Answer 8

If you go to a legit credit counselor they can get the debts consolidated and the interest rates reduced BUT they will most likely be required to forfeit their credit cards so they don't keep on running them up.

Answer 9

Get her to contact Citizens Advise ot CCCS (08001381111) before any of the "debt free in 5 yrs" companies. CA or CCCS will advise what she can do.
Hope this helps!

Answer 10

you clear them by paying them off

the tv adds are for IVAs which still pay them off over 5 years then write off whats left. but you have to get 70% of them to agree, and you have to have means to pay something each month