CONTACTING YOUR CREDITORS & CALCULATING OFFERS
Step 1: First you will need to sort out all of your priority and non-priority debts
Step 2: Record them on the creditor checklists provided (example below).
| No. | Creditor's Address and Account Number | Holding Letter or Telephone Call Date | Creditor Reply Date | Account Balance £ | Financial Statement Date Sent | Offer Agreed Date | Miscellaneous Comments and Information |
| NP 1 | Any Loan Ltd. Anywhere Street Anytown Anyshire AA1 1AA Account No. 12349876 |
02/03/07 | 16/03/07 | £5,000 | 19/03/07 | 03/04/07 | Agreed for 6 months |
Step 3: Contact your priority creditors (if any) and agree realistic payment arrangements where possible. (Record details on your checklist)
Step 4: Write to all of your non-priority creditors (holding letters) and allow time for a reply. If a creditor does not respond within approximately 21 days, you should telephone them or assume the latest balance available. (Record details on your checklist)
Please note that if you have a debt with a Bank or Building Society into which your income is paid (wages, benefits, pension), you will need to deal with this differently. The reason being that you may face problems with them taking monies from your account (without your permission) to bring any credit card, loan, or overdraft up-to-date. This could result in no money being available to you for essentials and priority creditors including any direct debits and standing orders.
In this situation, the best advice would be to open a new basic account with a Bank or Building Society not associated with any of your current creditors. If you do change your account, you must make sure that any priority payments such as mortgage, rent, council tax, insurances, utilities, or TV license are transferred or paid manually. After all income payments have been confirmed in any new account and priority payments re-arranged, you can now include any relevant creditor in your plan. Please contact the bureau if you need further advice on this issue or if you require a list of banks and building societies.
Step 5: When you have received / assumed all your non-priority creditor balances and recorded them on your creditor checklists, you will need to complete your personal budget sheet (financial statement) provided.
It is essential that your Financial Statement clearly shows your total income received and total outgoings. You must include all income (wages, benefits, pensions, etc.) however if you work overtime, we would only advise that you include this if it is guaranteed.
You may wish to look into ways of increasing or maximising your income. For example, check your benefit and tax credit entitlement, contributions from other household members (board, etc.), renting rooms, other part-time jobs, etc.
Next: Calculating and Making Offers to Non-Priorities