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Temporary repayment plan. What is it?

If your situation changes and you can’t afford to pay your debts, you’ll need to arrange a temporary repayment plan with your creditors.

A temporary repayment plan is when you make a small payment to your creditors to show them that you want to repay your debts, but at the moment, you can’t afford to pay them anything more.

Token payment plan

If you know your situation is going to improve we can set up a token payment plan (TPP) for you. With a token payment plan you pay £1 a month to each of your creditors until your situation improves enough so you can pay them more.

 

Find out more about token payment plans

How does a temporary repayment plan work?

Firstly, you need to work out a budget to see how much you can afford to pay towards your debts. When you’re working this out, you need to make sure that you always pay for your essential costs, such as mortgage or rent, food, electric and gas, first.

Once you’ve done this, any money you’ve got left over can be shared between your unsecured debts. You may find that you’re spending more than you've got coming in and have nothing left to pay your debts. In this situation you should make a small payment of £1 to each of your debts.

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Will a temporary repayment plan affect my credit file?

If you’re making reduced payments towards a debt, it can impact your credit file and this could make it difficult for you to take out more credit.

What to do if you’re struggling to pay your debt

If you’re struggling to pay your household bills or debts, the best thing you can do is get some debt advice. Our online debt advice tool will provide you with a tailored budget and debt solution, to help get your financial situation back on track.

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What if my creditors won’t accept the reduced payment?

Make your payment anyway. Whatever amount you send, by law your creditors have to accept the payment and credit it to your account.

How do I make a smaller payment to my debt?

The best way to make a reduced payment is to set up a standing order using your creditors account details, send them a postal order or if you get a payment slip from them you can use this.

Will my creditors stop my interest and charges?

Some creditors may agree to stop the interest and charges. But, they’re under no obligation to do this and may decide to continue adding them.