The first thing to understand is that there is categorically no guaranteed way to get interest frozen.

Each of your creditors has the right to refuse any change in the details you initially agreed.

Therefore, all you can do is ask. Given that this is the case, it follows that your success depends entirely on what and how you ask. It will also be considerably influenced by how you have presented your case generally in the other steps in this series, and by the relationship you have with each creditor.

In the first in this series, on how to deal with your creditors, you will remember that we pointed out that you are not actually dealing directly with ABC Finance, or XZY Credit Card, you are dealing directly with another human being who is representing the entity which is your creditor.

Any request to freeze interest should logically accompany your proposal to reduce payments.
You will need to compose your own request, in order to fit in with your other material, but here are some pointers.

Remember that your letter with its request to freeze interest will be dealt with by a human being. Make sure that your letter "talks" to that person nicely.

Present a good reason why that person should consider your request.

It might help to point out that, bearing in mind these reduced payments are all you can afford, it would be helpful if all of each payment could be applied to the capital outstanding.

If interest continues to be added, with reduced payments, your debt will take a long time to clear. Point out that you are keen to clear the debt as soon as possible.

A great option is to let a Certified Debt Arbitrator handle the delicate negotiation on your behalf.

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First, make a list of your creditors (NOTE: you should only attempt to re-negotiate payments on your UNSECURED debts if you wish to avoid the risk that an item upon which a debt is secured could be re-possessed)

Add to this list the outstanding balance owed to each creditor. It is essential that you are accurate with this balance. You should find the balance on the most recent statement from each creditor on your list. If you cannot find a balance figure, call the creditor or write and ask for a current outstanding balance. Only when you have an accurate outstanding balance for each creditor on your list can you proceed to the next step.

From your financial statement (prepared in the last of this series), subtract the total of your outgoings from the total of your income. The resulting figure is your disposable income.

You need to divide the disposable income figure amongst your list of creditors in proportion to the outstanding balance owed to each. This is why you need an accurate balance before you start. Otherwise, your creditors will not accept your proposal.

When you have done this, write a letter to each creditor quoting your name, address and account number, offering to pay the amount you have calculated for that creditor.

You will need to include a copy of your financial statement with each letter, and you will need a valid explanation for your hardship, which now prevents you from paying the full amount agreed initially.

It is not difficult to see that the success of your proposal will depend on how well you have put together your financial statement. The amounts you have claimed for each item of expenditure will need to be acceptable to your creditors. Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule I can give you for this. it is entirely dependent on the combination of your circumstances, which is unique for everybody.

If one or more of your creditors rejects your proposal, they will probably indicate why. It will then be necessary to re-jig your financial statement and re-send it to all creditors with a new letter. Certainly this can be time-consuming and tedious but there is no easy answer to this.

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Here is how to prepare a financial statement, for the purpose of negotiating reduced payments with your creditors.

Secured/Unsecured debts.
Before we get into the substance of this, let's ensure we are clear about the significance of secured debts.

If the debt is secured, there is a risk that the item upon which the debt is secured could be re-possessed, if payments are not maintained. One of the most common forms of secured debt is the mortgage -- which also typically represents a very large debt and therefore a potentially very large problem.

There are two important points to note concerning secured/unsecured debts and attempting to reduce payments.

1. any creditor who is owed a secured debt has no reason to accept reduced payment. The creditor, in nearly all cases, would rather re-possess the item upon which the debt is secured

2. The borrower must be aware that, in the case of a secured debt, any change in the agreed payments carries a risk that the item upon which the debt is secured could be re-possessed, unless the creditor agrees in advance to accept the change. Thus, in most cases, it is only unsecured debts which offer the chance of a potential reduction in payments.

Right, on to the financial statement.

The following are the items you should list, where applicable, in order to present your total income and expenditure. You should calculate and enter a monthly figure for these items.
You might like to copy and paste the following items into your Word Processor/Spreadsheet/Text Editor for printing out.

INCOME

Wages Salary (after all deductions)........................
Partners or second salary (after all deductions)...........
BenefitsUnemployment...............................................
Maternity..................................................
Sickness/Invalidity........................................
Child/One Parent...........................................
Retirement.................................................
Income Support.............................................
Family Credit..............................................
ContributionsMaintenance................................................
Lodger/Dependants..........................................
TOTAL........................................................

EXPENDITURE
Rent/Mortgage................................................
Rent/Mortgage Arrears........................................
Second Mortgage..............................................
Endowment/Mortgage Protection................................
Child Maintenance............................................
Life/House Insurance.........................................
Tax..................................................
Water Rates..................................................
Gas..........................................................
Electric.....................................................
Telephone....................................................
Clothing.....................................................
TV Licence/Rental............................................
School Meals.................................................
Meals at Work................................................
Car Tax/Insurance............................................
Travelling Expenses..........................................
Spending Money...............................................
Total .......................................................

You should ensure that this total expenditure figure is sufficient for your needs, and that no items of expenditure can be considered excessive. Obviously, total expenditure cannot be MORE than total income.

Your income figures will need to be proven by a copy of a recent payslip.

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However far you are along the road of financial/debt problems, the same principles apply to dealing with your creditors.

However rude, intrusive, threatening the correspondence/telephone calls FROM your creditors, your correspondence/phone calls TO your creditors must be:

* Calm
* Brief
* Factual
* Relevant
* To the point

You must create the impression that you are efficient, knowledgeable and trustworthy. The person dealing with your correspondence is merely doing their job, which is acting on behalf of their employer -- to whom you probably owe money. This person probably has the opposite point of view from you, but it is not personal and you must not let it become so.

Just as you would, this individual will respond better to a person who appears to be calm, and believable, and know what they are doing.

How can you appear calm and believable, efficient, knowledgeable and trustworthy, when you possibly owe more than you can afford and have probably made past mistakes? The answer is that your past history is less important to the person dealing with your account than your present attitude and what that promises for the future.

That is not to say that what you have done in the past has no relevance, or that you can go on to make promises you don't keep - far from it. However, if you acknowledge your current problems, explain your past mistakes if required, and most important of all, do everything you say you will do from now on, you CAN improve your relationship and situation with your creditors.

If you react with anger, if you are agressive, if you fail to keep your promises, you will merely make your problems worse.

Be calm, be prepared, and make these all-important first steps work in your favour.

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