Financial Control
By E.O. Azucena

When R. Mendoza, a self-identified genderqueer, cancelled the credit card she was issued by “this international bank,” she recalls, “I only owed them P11,000+.”  She was supposed to “get a payment scheme, mainly because I was unable to pay the whole amount I owed in a lump sum.  But after initial agreements with the collecting agency, I stopped hearing from them.”  A few months later, she received a demand letter from a different collecting agency, “so I forwarded them the communiqué I had with the (past collecting agency); again, I was told they’d give me a payment scheme I can manage.”  Failing to hear from them again for months, R. Mendoza followed up – to no avail, as she didn’t hear from any of the two agencies.  And then “a few days ago, I heard from another collecting agency, this time suing me for non-payment.”

In the letter she received, R. Mendoza was demanded to pay the P11,000+ she owed the bank in two days, else, in a scheme made for her, pay in staggered instalments P24,000+ in three months, P50,000+ in six months, and P80,000+ in a year.  “Failure to pay means being sued,” the letter she received states.

“Where did they expect me to get P11,000+ in two days?  For that matter, I couldn’t even afford to pay P11,000+, how did they expect me to pay P80,000+?” R. Mendoza says.

Spend-happy GLBTQIs are in the same boat as R. Mendoza, unable to pay what they owe, even if they want to do so.

According to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), taking control of one’s finances – even when already deep in debt – is in one’s hands.  In ThisIsMoney.co.uk, it gives out tips for clearing debts.

Firstly, “don't panic,” CAB states.  But this doesn’t mean that one should just ignore the problem, too, as “it won't go away,” aside from the fact that “(you, simply, do) not “ignore court papers.”  Meaning, there is no need to rush out and borrow money (thereby adding to debts already escalating) to pay existing debts because of fear from sanctions from collecting agencies; but, instead, start making a plan of action to remedy the situation.

Secondly, sans taking out extra credit (“Which will only get yourself in worse trouble,” CAB states), “Talk to your creditors and let them know you are having problems.”  At least theoretically, the creditors would understand personal circumstances – they are just as interested for the debt to be paid, as the one with debt is in paying it.

Thirdly, prioritize.  “Don't pay off the person who is shouting the loudest, but pay the most important ones, like mortgage or rent, tax, and gas and electricity.  Otherwise you will be in danger of losing your home, having your gas and electricity cut off, or ending up in court and possibly prison,” CAB states.
Fourthly, those in debt should realistically assess their financial situation.  “Look carefully at your spending and see if there is anything you are able to cut down on, but don't be over ambitious or you will not stick to it,” CAB states, adding the need to “work out how much you can realistically afford to pay.”

And lastly, do not head to schemes promising easy solutions to credit problems – there aren’t any.

R. Mendoza is, yet again, waiting to hear from the third collection agency, after she coordinated with them her inability to follow the scheme they made for her.  “Hopefully, this time around, everything will already be fixed,” she says.  “It’s not like I enjoy being in debt, you know.”