Request to write off a joint debt - letter by Citizens Advice
The Citizens Advice template letter to request a joint debt write-off helps consumers ask a bank or creditor to forgive debts when they are unable to pay due to financial hardship. It is part of Citizens Advice’s widely trusted library of open, lawyer-vetted letter templates.
Request to write off a joint debt - letter
[debtor name]
[debtor address line 1]
[debtor address line 2]
[debtor phone]
[debtor email]
[creditor name]
[creditor address line 1]
[creditor address line 2]
[letter date]
Your reference: [reference number]
To whom it may concern,
Account names: [account holder names]
Account number: [account number]
We are sorry that we are unable to keep up our monthly payments to your company. This is because:
We're on long term sick and unable to work. We have claimed benefits and are waiting to hear the outcome of our claims. Our situation is unlikely to improve.
We enclose a copy of our financial statement. This shows income and expenses for our household. You will see from this information that we are unable to make any offer of payment.
Unfortunately, our circumstances are unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future and we have no assets to sell to help clear our debt. We are therefore asking you to consider writing off our debt as we can see no way of ever repaying it.
If you are unable to agree to this, please explain your reasons.
Thank you for your help and we look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
[debtor name]
Enc: Financial statement copy
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