I have something similar with Halifax. I owed them 7,000 euro when they exited Ireland. I have paid them by direct debit each month since so that I now owe then 4,600 euro. Payments are bang up to date.
However, I will lose my job later this month and get some redundancy money. It is not enough to cover all my non-mortgage debts (of 30k) but nearly enough. I accept that I should pay my debts but must ration the payments out of the redundancy across 5 creditors and need to keep a small bit of rainy day money in case I don't get a job.
Has anyone any advice as to how to approach Halifax to settle at any discounted value to what I currently owe them?
Hi Poor Soon,
My advice would be to debt manage your current debts by entering into a DMP until such time as you know how much you are going to receive through redundancy. By doing so, you can inform your creditors that you are being made redundant in the near future, and that the plan will only be in place for a short time until you receive the redundancy payment.
There are a few reasons for this. First of all, do you know for sure how long it will take for you to receive your redundancy - you could be sitting in a few months time unable to meet your normal monthly repayments, so you should do an income and expenditure based upon your income immediately after your normal wage ceases, and include any income you would subsequently receive by way of benefits/jobseekers etc. It may also take a while for your entitlements to come through.
Check also if you are entitled to FIS (if your wife is earning etc - don't know your circumstances), mortgage supplement, etc. It will all help, and it's amazing how many people do not put in a claim, because they are unaware of their entitlements.
Secondly, by offering your creditors a token payment until such time as the money comes through, you will maintain a decent relationship with your creditors in the interim until you can make each of them a full or partial settlement offer. Be advised, if it is a partial settlement, it will adversely affect your credit rating for the short to medium term, but it means the debt will be setted for substantially less than the full amount. 'Partial' just means that they have accepted a partial but final repayment, but will not then pursue you for the balance.
By going into a short term management plan, this will also enable you to maintain your mortgage repayments and your normal basic household expenses, which is your main priority here. Being proactive and dealing with things early means that if there is a delay in the redundancy payment coming through, you have prepared for it by making smaller payments to your creditors and not crippling yourself trying to maintain the higher payment levels.
Hope this helps
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