Debt Payments Dos and Donts

There are things that you must do and things that you must not do, if you find yourself in debt. If you find that you are slipping into debt and are having trouble making the repayments on a loan, credit card or catalogue, the first thing to do is to contact the companies you owe money too – as soon as possible.

Early contact with your lenders about your situation could save you a whole lot of trouble later on. Let them know that you are struggling to meet the repayments, and ask them if you could come to some kind of arrangement to pay off the debt over a longer period of time. Or even if they could lower the repayments that you have been making, it would be a big help.

Many lenders appreciate early contact with customers who are struggling. They would normally come to a financial arrangement that would suit both the lender and the customer. The one thing that customers must never do however, is to hide the problem away, and pretend that it does not exist.

By hiding away bills, and/or ignoring telephone calls from lenders, you are simply adding to your problems. Lenders do not appreciate having to beg to get back what has been borrowed, and they will rigorously seek repayments in full. Another thing you must never do is falter on your arrangement –  once arrangements have been made with the lenders to repay back what is owed.  Those repayments MUST be met on the arranged day and date. Miss one payment however, and you will be liable to pay back the whole bill in full – plus, any interest.

Continually ignoring letters and phone calls could result in the lender passing on your debt to a debt-collecting agency, who will act on behalf of the company – or companies – you owe money too. Debt collecting agencies are rigorous in getting back payments that have been missed, and will not give up. What happens next is that all correspondence – in reference to a particular debt – would be through the debt collecting agency, who will collect the money on the company’s behalf.

Obviously such agencies receive bonus payments for every debt that they recover, so it is in their interest to get back every penny/cent that is owed. Agencies would normally issue you with a payment book or card, or if you prefer to pay off the debt in full, then, full and final payment can be made by direct debit through your bank.

However it has to be noted that once you slip into debt then your name will be ‘blacklisted’. That is to say that you will not be able to apply for any more credit, or apply for a catalogue, or put a down payment on a car, or house you may have your eye on. Your ability to apply for credit would be severely hit until all of your debt is cleared.

If you are having trouble with debt, and you prefer not to speak to the companies directly then there are organisations that will speak to them on your behalf. ‘Debt Relief USA’ is just one of many organisations that will offer their services to you. You could have credit card debt, tax debt or student loan debts, whatever the debt you have they will be willing to help.

Of course, there are many companies within this market that will only be too willing to take advantage of people who find themselves in a financial predicament. Such companies give the whole genre of debt consolidation, a bad name. However, suffice to say that Debt Relief USA are NOT one of those companies. Click on the link below to find out how much Debt Relief USA can help you, if you are in severe financial trouble.

They will answer all of your questions you may have about your debt. Questions such as whether or not you can consolidate your debt into one payment? How much the service will cost you? What will happen if you miss your monthly debt consolidation payment? When contacting such agencies for help, makes sure you have all of the relevant documents they will need. This will include all incomings and outgoings, what you spend on food and clothing – as well as heating.

Once they have worked everything out, and come to the final amount you are left to live on, from this they work out how much you could reasonably pay back to the companies you owe money too. Once they have sorted out this information, they will then contact the relevant companies, and speak to them on your behalf. If the company agrees to lower the payments as well as stretching out the time you have to pay, then a contract is drawn up. You must not break this contract, for in doing so you will then be liable for the full amount of debt accrued – plus any interest added on.

The bottom line is this: that once you have made arrangements – either through yourself – or through a debt consolidation company acting on your behalf to pay off your debtors – then that arrangement has to be adhered too. Any wavering from the agreement made will see you having to pay the debt in full. If you still do not pay, then you could very well find yourself up on court, where most likely you will have to pay not only the outstanding debt, but the court costs too – should you lose.

Finally, what will go in your favor is contacting your debtors as soon as you feel you are in trouble. They will appreciate this and will most likely come to a mutual decision as to how best you can pay off your debt.

Never hide your debts. Never pretend that they do not exist, as the problem will not go away but instead escalate. Your debtors will not appreciate you ignoring their phone calls or letters, and they will most likely seek reimbursement through either a ‘Third Party’ debt collector [acting on their behalf, or through the courts]. Either way, your financial standing will take a hit, and your name will be blacklisted, until you have paid the full amount you owe. This will rule you out of applying for credit with anyone else, until the debt/s are paid off.

Keep your debtors informed at all times as to your ability to pay the amount you owe. Again, they will appreciate this and will help you as long as they see you are trying to pay. They will most likely offer you a longer time to pay, and will cut your monthly repayments down to something that you can afford each month.

Obviously this will take you longer to repay not only the original amount, but if it is a credit card then you will have to pay the APR [Annual Percentage Rate too, on top. Never arrange to pay and then abscond, obviously this is looked upon very seriously by the companies you owe money too, and again, the courts could be brought in. Never use a false name in order to apply for credit, as this is known as identity theft. This carries a prison sentence and is a very serious crime [fraud].

If you need help in paying back what you owe then any number of agencies will contact your debtors on your behalf, They will come to some kind of financial arrangement that will suit all parties. Break this arrangement, as explained above, and you will be liable for the full payment of the money you owe.

Never be afraid to ask for help if you feel you are in financial trouble. Companies such as Debt Relief USA are there to help you – not to hinder you. Click on them today and see what they can do for you. If you live within the United Kingdom however, then any number of Citizens Advice Bureaus will help you, free of charge. They will contact the relevant companies on your behalf, and come to an arrangement with them, as to how much you can reasonably pay back. 

Again, you must have all the relevant paperwork, [bills, and letters from the company you owe, and so forth. It is only from such information that the Citizens Advice Bureau will be able to help. They need to see how much money is coming into your home, and how much is going out. From the amount left they can work out how much you can pay back with what is left.  Any breaking of this arrangement however, will see you having to pay the amount you owe, in full.