If you’re struggling with debts, it can be a worrying time, especially if you don’t have the finances to pay them off quickly. Creditors can pass your debts on to a debt collection agency (DCA) if you have long-term arrears or haven’t responded to default notices.
If it goes to the high court they can send officers to your house to collect items of furniture or anything that is of value. They will start by taking an inventory of everything in your property and its value so an Inspection app would be very handy to list everything in one place. This is a similar idea to property owners use to survey their homes before or after someone moves in or out. Just check out sites including https://propertyinspect.com/
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This can make the situation even more stressful, and you need to understand
exactly what a DCA is and how you should work with them to sort out your debts.
It’s important to realise that you’re not alone, with the Citizens’
Advice Bureau dealing with almost 4,000 new debt queries
every day in the fourth quarter of previous years, but you do need to get the
situation under control.
What Do Debt Collection Agencies Do?
DCAs take over the collection of debts from
creditors when they haven’t managed to get payments or organise a payment plan
with the debtor. There are two ways in which they can work for the creditor: in
some circumstances, the creditor will have sold the debt for a smaller lump
sum, or the agency will simply be collecting the money on their behalf.
Dealing with a Debt Collection Agency
It’s essential that you realise a DCA doesn’t
have any more powers than the original creditor, and they are not bailiffs.
They will generally make contact via the phone or post, but if they visit your
home you do not have to let them in.
Receiving a letter from a DCA
is worrying, and they may state they’ll take you to court or send an agent to
your property if you don’t respond, but they cannot mislead you or lie about
the action they can take. It’s unlikely that they’ll start court proceedings if
you state that you’re trying to sort out your debts, such as through an IVA.
Almost 40,000 IVAs were issued to individuals in previous years.
The most important point to remember is not to ignore the agency, as the
situation isn’t going to go away. You should take action as soon as possible.
The sooner you contact the DCA and arrange how you are going to pay off the
debt, the sooner the situation will be resolved and the more amenable they are
likely to be if you arrange to make the payments you can afford.