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debtrider
Junior Member
494 Posts |
 Posted - 16 June 2008 : 08:25:25
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I have always paid my creditors on time but this has been robbing peter to pay paul on occasions. The odd time when have missed payments have been through forgetting, and when I have received a call from the creditor I have broken out in a cold sweat with worry, and paid them straight away. I am still paying my creditors but will have to stop eventually with a view to going bankrupt. I am not looking foward to the calls and trying to explain myself "I am not very good liar". I am also self employed and have been told by one the experts that I will be able to continue trading because of the nature of my business. So in this case when I stop paying creditors I will be getting calls from them and also getting calls from potential clients. What I am saying is I cannot stop answering the phone because I may lose business, and if I am talking to creditors I may lose calls from clients. Unfortunatley my business number is the same as my home number. Is there any way I can minimise or stop calls to my home phone from creditors. I don't know if I will be able to cope with the stress of creditor calls and trying to run my business at the same time. I am more worried about this than going bankrupt. I would be grateful for any suggestions from everyone.
debtrider |
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Ian Richards
Junior Member
United Kingdom
296 Posts |
Posted - 16 June 2008 : 09:13:13
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I'm new to the forum but i would still like to offer some help to you. How long do you think it will be before you intend going BR? I think the best way for you would to put yourself into a DMP (Dept Management Plan) This is where you work out an amount that you can afford to pay them all on a monthly pro rata basis. Each creditor is paid on a % of what they are actually owed, i.e. If you owed 20k in total to 10 creditors then the highest creditor would get the biggest percentage and the rest divided down to the lowest creditor. There are lots of people in debt in DMP's and its a sure way of taking the immediate pressure away from you, and would still allow you to run your business from your home phone. You could either do it by yourself or instruct a DMP company to do it for you. It will stop the creditors harassing you. However if are you looking to go BR within the next two months it would hardly seem worth it as it does take a couple of months for everything to calm down.
Best of luck
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m and v
Average Member
United Kingdom
760 Posts |
Posted - 16 June 2008 : 09:48:12
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Hi Debtrider - I think once you have told each of your creditors that you are going BR on x day then they will stop hassling you. There's no point in them chasing you for money after that point.
You don't need to get into a discussion about paying them. Tell them you are going BR - what date and that there next contact will be from the OR.
Keep it short, polite but be firm.
One previous forum member had her creditors phone numbers programmed into her house and mobile - so she could select who she spoke to and didn't.
(You need to subscribe to call minder for your landline)
You could back this up with a letter to each with your BR date and include a line asking for them to please not contact you by phone in the future.
Once you are BR then the OR contacts all creditors and should be the last of creditor hassle.
Keep your chin up....it's only a short period of time in the scheme of things.
Vicki x |
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mst
Junior Member
254 Posts |
Posted - 16 June 2008 : 10:32:46
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Hello debtrider,
I, like you, have always paid my creditors on time. At some point today all of my creditors will be receiving the same letter from me that states that I am willing to make pro-rata payments to them based upon what I can afford and not what they require.
I have asked for them to freeze interest and charges but I do not expect that even though I have always made my payments on time they will take this into account when pressurising me for payment. I think that by sending them my Budget sheet and detailed reasons why I cannot afford to pay what they want, together with the offer of a payment albeit not the full amount, the onus is on them to respond in writing rather than hassling me on the phone. Maybe this is something you can consider?
Maybe some of the more knowledgeable members of this forum could confirm I am right in thinking that if you offer some form of payment that this will result in creditors being less pressurising?
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m and v
Average Member
United Kingdom
760 Posts |
Posted - 16 June 2008 : 10:39:58
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Hi mst - yes and it seems as soon as they know you are definately going BR and have a court date they give up on hassling you. You may get the odd one who will try but it's a pointless exercise for them. You can give them your BR number after court or leave them in the hands of the OR from then on. Any hassle after you go BR needs referring straight to the OR.
I know that the end of creditor hassle is such a relief - no more letters, phone calls - you can start to live again.
Vicki x |
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debtrider
Junior Member
494 Posts |
Posted - 16 June 2008 : 11:04:16
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Thank you for all your replies so far.
There is no point in me entering into a debt management plan as I intend going bankrupt in a few months anyway. Looks like I will have to put up with the creditor hassle until I am ready for bankruptcy. What's the worse that can happen if I don't pay me creditors for a few months?. I will probably do as suggested and store the numbers in my phone and ignore them if they come up. I will also inform my creditors by letter that I cannot afford to pay them at the moment, so I will not be completely ignoring them, just don't want to talk to them on the phone.
Debtrider |
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m and v
Average Member
United Kingdom
760 Posts |
Posted - 16 June 2008 : 11:09:11
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I know exactly how you feel - you end up talking to someone in a creditors call centre who has made 50 calls that day all chasing money. They are doing a job but seem to lose all sense of what is realistic for you.
Just tell them you are going BR, you are not paying the full amount (offer a token payment of £1 maybe) and that their next contact will be from the OR. Keep it short and be firm - don't let them bully you.
Have you got an answerphone - maybe that way you could let them leave a message if you don't recognise the number and then return calls to your customers?
Vicki x |
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JulianDonnelly
Junior Member
United Kingdom
325 Posts |
Posted - 16 June 2008 : 11:13:33
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Hi Debtrider,
If you are going to wait a few months before going BR, then a DMP is definitely the way to go. It will not only stop the phone calls (even if you tell the creditors, it is likely they'll keep phoning anyway), but also stop legal action (CCJ's, bailiffs etc).
Regards
Julian Donnelly
Spokesperson for www.Bankruptcyhelp.org.uk |
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Telephone creditor hassle
