Repayment Difficulties

Financial Challenges

It can be very difficult and traumatic when your circumstances change and you find you are in financial difficulties. This may have happened if you lost your job, you became ill, marital breakdown etc. Don’t think that you are alone. There are a lot of people today who experience money problems. There are some signs that may tell you that you may be getting into trouble with your finances:-

  • You only pay the minimum off your Credit Card each month.
  • You do not have any savings to fall back on.
  • You do not honour your loan repayments as agreed i.e. every month or week.

Steps you can take to get you back on track

  • Assess your situation – don’t panic. Talk to your Lender(s) early and by doing this you may stop your situation getting out of hand. Think about making some cutbacks e.g. on the”extra’s” you buy that you don’t really need.
  • Budget – plan and write down how much income you expect to have and how you will spend it. Print off our Budget Planner, fill in your income and expenditure and it will then show you what’s left at the end of the week/month.
  • Deal with the debts – learn how to prioritise your debts and decide how much you can allocate to pay each one.
  • Paying your bills – try to find the most convenient way to pay your debts. Keep the bills money totally separate from your household money, to avoid “dipping in”.
  • Check your entitlements – Make sure you are claiming all that you are entitled to. You may be eligible for tax relief, income supplement, and social welfare.
  • MABS – Money Advice & Budgeting Service. If you have a lot of debts why not contact Mallow MABS office on 0761072440 where they will give you free confidential and independent advice. Contact their office to make an appointment.
  • Let’s talk your money booklet – the Irish Examiner newspaper brought out a booklet in Feb 2011 which was sponsored by the Irish League of Credit Unions. There is a lot of helpful information and tips regarding your mortgage, insurance, credit cards, cutting back, budgeting and much more.

People that can help

Contact the Direct Line on (022 ) 21121

 MABS
MABS offer free confidential and independent financial advice. Many other debt advisory centres charge a monthly fee, and often your first payment goes to pay for their services and not to your creditors.   If you click on the link below, you will be taken to the MABS website page with all their publications to help you. Have a read through the leaflets, Contact their local office or their national helpline number:  MABS Helpline 1890 283 438
http://www.mabs.ie/publications/leaflets.html   ~ FREE HELP IS ONLY A CLICK AWAY

          THE PATH TO MONEY MANAGEMENT AND DEALING WITH DEBT
             – Click here to be taken to the MABS website page on dealing with debt.

Contact your lender as soon as there is a problem

First of all prioritise your debts. This means write down your most important debts i.e. your Mortgage, Credit Union, Hire Purchase etc. Failure to repay your mortgage payments may result in you losing your home. Hire purchase arrears may result in your car being repossessed. With personal loans and smaller bills you can come to some arrangement on what you can afford to pay.

1. Work out a Budget – Click here to print off our Budget Planner.  Sit down and work out a weekly/monthly budget based on your net income and do take Children’s Allowance and all other Income into account, including your partner’s income. If necessary, do a spending diary i.e. write down every single euro you spend for a week or two and what you spend it on? You would be surprised where you can make changes when you see it in writing!

2. Make an offer When you have worked out what you can afford to pay, send a letter to each Creditor quoting account reference number(s) and stating what your circumstances are and how much you can afford to pay. Make sure that you can realistically afford this amount and stick to it. Tell them when you will start making these payments. With regard to your Credit Union Loan, phone our Credit Control Department on their direct line: (022) 21121  where our staff will assist you in a friendly and helpful manner.

3. When you get a reply from your Lenders write to them confirming that you have received their correspondence and that you will stick to your agreements if they have accepted your offer. If not, do not delay in contacting their Credit Control Department to discuss the situation further.

4. Help and advice for dealing with Lenders/Creditors make sure you are prepared and have your homework done with regard to your income, your bills and what available funds you have to offer. Make sure that you know what the smallest amount you can offer is. If your Creditor is demanding further payments, state that you have done your figures and this is the amount that is available. Be polite, open and honest about your situation. If you reach an agreement, ask for it in writing and explain that if your situation changes, you will contact them and renegotiate your repayments with them.

NOTE: Mallow Credit Union Ltd., issues this information as general information and it should not be relied on in relation to a specific issue without taking appropriate financial or professional advice

Credit Rating

Remember that getting into arrears with your Bank, Credit Union, Mortgage, Credit Cards etc., can affect your credit rating and make it difficult to get loans in the future. You can be taken to court for defaulting on loan repayments and your home/car could be repossessed. The Credit Bureau holds information about borrowers and their loans for 5yrs after a loan is closed.

Irish Credit Bureau

Mallow Credit Union has joined other Financial Institutions e.g. Banks, Credit Card Companies, Car Finance Companies etc., to share information. We carry out Credit Checks as part of our Loan processing. These checks show your repayment history on Bank Accounts, Credit Cards and other Credit Agreements. Check out the Irish Credit Bureau website on www.icb.ie for more info. You can order a Credit Check on yourself through their website.