Token Offers

A token offer is a payment of £1 or £2 a month to each creditor as a gesture of goodwill. This is to show you are not refusing to repay your debts just that you are not in a position to do so at present. You can do this by writing to each of your creditors explaining how your current circumstances are preventing you from repaying your debt. Your creditors will need to agree to this and some may not consent, but you can not give them money you haven't got. This may sound obvious, but many people are coerced into making payments they simply can not afford.

When making token offers we would advise opening a new bank account with a company you do not owe money to and use this account to have any monies paid into. The reason for this is that if your hold credit with the company that you bank with, they can remove funds from your account without permission in order to pay off the debt. Check who owns each of your debts to ensure this does not happen leaving you short for the costs of everyday living, as the creditors are well within their rights to do this.

Most creditors will reject your initial offer and threaten court action as standard and they are within their rights to take people to court. Realistically, in many cases creditors would much rather make a repayment arrangement with you rather than go to court.

We have blank examples of the kind of letters you would send to your creditors requesting token offers, which can be found on the "downloads" page, by clicking on the links under "Token Offers". If you need any assistance completing this, please call us on 0800 917 4607 and we will be happy to help.

We should stress that this is only a temporary solution to allow you some time until your circumstances improve or you find a long term solution. You should be aware any missed payments will be noted on your credit file.