The last four months have been hard, and we are all struggling financially. I am not writing to get sympathy but to help others that are in the same position as what I am. I realise that I should probably have written this sooner, but I had to get the right angle for my blog article. Here is what I have learned in this experience:

You are in debt. – As soon as the lockdown dropped to 3, banks started sending messages and threats to people to repay the arrears or their accounts and other debts. I was one of those who lapsed on my credit card payments for the 3-months of lockdown. If this is you, keep reading.

Call Centres have no power 

When you get that call from the call centre person, remember, they are just the messenger. Pleading with them is like talking to a brick wall, and they are instructed to give you ultimatums, not workable solutions that will help you, right? Still with me… 

Here is what you do.

1.  Do not negotiate with the call centre; they have no power. Ask them to put a note on the system that you would like to speak to a senior manager. But do not wait for him/her to call.
2. Go on LinkedIn, find senior managers and directors of the bank or business. Some may have their emails listed on their profiles, but if you are not a paying member, you will have to go to google, or alternatively. 
3. You can search for the person on https://www.ceoemail.com, you can search by the company if you can not find names.
4. Write a letter stating your case with proposed solutions to as many senior members or directors as you can. Make sure they are personally addressed and make sure you cc the CEO in the letter. He will get your email multiple times, this ensures that you are not being ignored.
5. Make sure you write the letter in a friendly manner, if you have alternative solutions, state them. Make sure that you let them know that it would not be to your and their benefit to have you blacklisted or do a repossession. 
6. Give them two days to get in contact with you.
7. Most of the time, a senior member of the team will contact you, and you can then work on something beneficial for both you and the bank. 
8. If you do not get an answer, take your letter and post it on social media, boost the message for two days on one of the platforms, preferably Facebook. You will get an answer.
9. When you have an agreement, make sure that you write a thank you letter and name the person who has assisted you.

I have to warn you, if you do not have an excellent track record with your bank, you may not have an option to negotiate.

I did this, and my Bank FNB assisted me with a renegotiated agreement that worked for both myself and the bank. A lady called Celest helped me with renegotiating the terms of repayment to match my pocket. If not for Celest, I would have looked at moving to another bank. 

Try this and let me know how it worked for you!

#bank #indebt #fnb #capitec #negotiate #help #choice

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