Advice / Debt advice

KYC's top tips

• Don't ignore it!!! The hardest thing to dealing with your debt is facing up to the problem.
• Keep Creditors informed. Things will get worse if you mess then around - Be honest with them.
• Remember Creditors are always open to negotiation. Don't agree to payments that you really can't afford. It's just gonna make to problem worse when you can't meet the payments.
• Be realistic. Don't make unrealistic offers to repay. The creditor will think you're not serious about addressing the issues.
• Don't let creditors intimidate you. They will try to scare you in to paying.
• It's always better if you get someone else to negotiate with creditors on your behalf. Go to an advice centre that will do this for free.
• BEWARE. A lot of companies are in the business of making money out of your debts. Be very cautious of Consolidation Loans (a company gives you a loan to pay off all your other debts) Debt Companies (where a company takes over negotiating and paying all your creditors on your behalf and charges you on monthly fee dependant on how much you owe - they will charge you a handling fee which may be very high and they do nothing for you that you can't do yourself or that a free advice centre can't do for you). Always get independent advice before you decide on either of these options.
• Don't wait until you get the debt collectors round. Confront the problem before it gets this far.
• Don't let the debt collectors in!!! Only licensed bailiffs with a court order are allowed to enter your home. If in doubt only let them in if they are accompanied by the police. If you've been given notice that they're coming and they know you own a car don't park it outside of your house to be towed away - Park it in a garage or around the corner.
• Bailiffs can't take anything you don't own including items on Hire Purchase.
• Remember, when Bailiffs call they will take what they refer to as 'Walking Possession', this means that whilst they won't actually remove your possessions they will acquire legal ownership of them, and they will arrange a time to return and collect the goods.

Catalogue

Catalogue debts are regulated by the Consumer Credit Act and as such the creditor must have a Credit Agreement signed by you to enforce the debt. Ask them for a copy. If it's a catalogue they probably won't have one and you won't have to pay. If you don't pay the creditor will not be able to take any court action against you but beware the can give you a bad credit rating. Get some advice before trying this.

There are lots of ways to deal with debt and many ways of negotiating with creditors don't try and do it all on your own. There are lots of really good free services that specialise in debt and money management. Here are some:

Credit Action
www.creditaction.org.uk

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service
www.cccs.co.uk
Free phone 0800 138 1111

Debt Help UK
www.debthelpuk.co.uk

National DebtLine
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
Free Phone 0808 808 4000