DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN PROPOSAL LETTER
IMPORTANT LEGAL, JURISDICTION AND FORMALITY WARNING
This fictional letter is a worked educational proposal, not legal advice, an admission that every balance is accurate, an affordable-payment certificate or a binding debt solution. It assumes unsecured consumer debts owed by a resident of England and Wales. A debt-management plan is an informal arrangement unless each creditor agrees otherwise; it does not write off debt, stop interest, prevent enforcement, suspend limitation, or prevent a creditor from taking lawful action. The sender should obtain free independent debt advice before making a proposal, stopping payments, prioritising debts, offering a lump sum, or considering an administration order, individual voluntary arrangement or bankruptcy. The figures and names below are fictional.
Date: 12 November 2026
To: Recoveries Department, Northbridge Card Services Limited, 2 Exchange Square, Leeds LS1 2RX Email: recoveries@northbridgecard.example.test
From: Imogen Felicity Shaw, 8 Rowan Bank, Leeds LS8 4QY Telephone: 0113 555 6702 Email: imogen.shaw@example.test
Account: Northbridge credit card ending 2046 Account reference: NCS-2046-781
Subject: Sustainable debt-management proposal and request for temporary arrangement
1. Purpose of this letter
I am writing to ask Northbridge Card Services Limited to consider an affordable payment arrangement while I obtain ongoing debt advice. This is a request for forbearance and an informal plan; it is not an admission that the balance, interest or charges are correctly calculated. I ask you to mark the account as subject to a proposed plan, place collection contact on a reasonable written-only basis, and suspend additional default charges while you assess the proposal. I will continue to deal with any urgent legal notice and will not assume that this letter prevents enforcement.
My financial difficulty began when my employer reduced my contracted hours after a loss of work at its Leeds site. My net monthly income fell from £2,430.00 in February 2026 to £1,860.00 from May 2026. I also paid £1,140.00 for essential boiler repairs in June, using credit because the boiler was unsafe. I have now found part-time weekend work beginning 1 December 2026, expected to add £240.00 net per month, but that income is not included in the proposal until it is received consistently. My partner, Jonas Peter Shaw, has separate income and debts and has agreed only to contribute the household share of living costs; he is not a joint borrower or guarantor on the Northbridge account.
2. Verified account position
The Northbridge account opened on 8 February 2022. Your statement dated 3 November 2026 shows a balance of £4,286.70, consisting of £4,112.00 principal, £134.70 contractual interest and £40.00 late-payment charges. I made payments of £125.00 on 5 August, £100.00 on 5 September and £75.00 on 5 October 2026, totalling £300.00. Those payments are shown on the statement and are not included again in the balance calculation. I do not presently dispute the statement total, but I ask that you confirm the balance and all continuing charges before accepting a plan.
For clarity, my proposal is not based on paying £4,286.70 in one year. It is based on an available household surplus of £180.00 per month, divided fairly among unsecured creditors. If Northbridge accepts £91.00 per month and freezes interest and charges, the stated balance would take approximately 47.1 months to clear before allowing for rounding and any later adjustment. I understand that the exact completion date depends on the balance, allocation and whether all creditors agree. I do not promise that a plan will be completed by a particular date unless we later sign a detailed agreement.
3. Household income
The following is my realistic monthly budget for November 2026:
* net salary from Westmere Library Services Limited: £1,860.00; * Child Benefit for my daughter, Lily Mae Shaw, paid to me: £102.40; * regular contribution from Jonas toward rent and utilities: £420.00; and * total current household receipts used in this budget: £2,382.40.
The weekend work is deliberately excluded because the first shift is not until 1 December 2026. If the £240.00 net income is received for three consecutive months, I will review the budget and notify creditors. The Child Benefit is used for Lily’s food, clothing and school costs in the expenditure below and is not treated as disposable money available to Northbridge.
4. Essential monthly expenditure
My current household expenditure is:
* rent for the home: £895.00; * council tax after the applicable reduction: £142.00; * gas and electricity: £168.00; * water: £39.00; * broadband and one basic mobile plan: £54.00; * food, toiletries and cleaning supplies for two adults and one child: £410.00; * travel to work, school and medical appointments: £178.00; * contents insurance: £18.00; * clothing and footwear: £55.00; * school meals, supplies and activities: £92.00; * prescription and health costs: £28.00; * essential boiler-repair repayment to a family member: £60.00; * car tax, maintenance and fuel reserve for necessary travel: £65.00; and * reasonable contingency for irregular essential costs: £83.40.
The total monthly expenditure is £2,287.40. The current receipts of £2,382.40 less £2,287.40 leave £95.00, not £180.00. From 1 December, if the weekend work produces the expected £240.00 net and no essential cost rises, the projected surplus will be £335.00. I am not offering the whole projected amount because income is uncertain and a budget without a contingency would fail at the first unexpected bill. Until the additional £240.00 income has actually been received consistently for three consecutive months, the total fund for all unsecured creditors will be £95.00 per month: £50.00 to Northbridge and £45.00 divided among the other creditors. The first Northbridge payment will be £50.00 on 20 December 2026, with the £45.00 balance of that monthly fund offered to the other creditors. After the third consecutive month in which the £240.00 income is actually received, the fund will increase to £180.00 per month, beginning on the 20th of the following month, with £91.00 to Northbridge and £89.00 to the other creditors. I request a temporary reduced payment arrangement until that condition is met.
5. Pro-rata offer
My other unsecured creditors and their balances, based on statements dated between 1 and 8 November 2026, are:
* Northbridge Card Services Limited: £4,286.70; * Eastborough Retail Finance Limited, account ending 7721: £1,933.30; * Cedar Mobile Bank plc overdraft, account ending 0912: £780.00; and * Wolds Personal Loan Limited, account ending 3105: £3,000.00.
The total unsecured debt is £10,000.00. Northbridge’s pro-rata share is £4,286.70 divided by £10,000.00, or 42.867%. While the temporary £95.00 fund applies, I propose £50.00 to Northbridge and £45.00 divided among Eastborough, Cedar and Wolds under their separate arrangements. Once the additional £240.00 income has been received consistently for three consecutive months, the £180.00 fund will begin on the 20th of the following month: £91.00 to Northbridge and £89.00 in total to the other creditors. A purely mathematical pro-rata allocation of the £180.00 fund would be £77.16 to Northbridge, £34.80 to Eastborough, £14.04 to Cedar and £54.00 to Wolds, but the proposed £91.00 and £89.00 split is a practical arrangement requested because Northbridge has made repeated collection calls. It is not a claim that Northbridge has priority, and it will be reviewed if the budget changes.
The first payment to Northbridge will be £50.00 on 20 December 2026, alongside the £45.00 total offered to the other creditors. I will make the temporary £95.00 fund available on the 20th of each month until the £240.00 income has been received consistently for three consecutive months. The £180.00 fund and £91.00/£89.00 split will then begin on the 20th of the following month, subject to the household essentials remaining affordable. I request that interest and late-payment charges are frozen from the date you accept the arrangement. If you cannot freeze them, please state the rate, daily accrual and effect on the projected duration before deciding whether the offer is acceptable.
6. Documents, vulnerability and contact
I can provide payslips for August to October, the benefit statement, rent statement, council-tax notice, utility bills, food and travel schedule, repair receipt, creditor statements and a completed income-and-expenditure form through a secure channel. I will not send unredacted bank records or identity documents to an unverified email address. Please tell me the secure upload process and the specific documents needed.
I have anxiety that becomes significantly worse when calls are repeated during work or in front of my child. Please communicate in writing by email or post and allow at least 14 days for a response to a non-urgent request. This is a request for reasonable communication, not a request to conceal my address or avoid lawful service. If you require a telephone conversation, please offer an appointment between 18:00 and 19:30 and identify its purpose.
Please provide a current statement showing principal, interest, fees, payments and the contractual rate. Confirm whether the account has been assigned, whether a default notice has been issued, and whether any court judgment exists. I have not received a claim form or judgment in relation to this account. If formal proceedings are already contemplated, send any required notice in the legally prescribed manner; do not treat this proposal as consent to informal service.
7. Requested response and safeguards
Please acknowledge this proposal within 10 days and give a written decision by 2 December 2026. If accepted, please state the payment date, destination, account status, interest and fee treatment, review date, consequences of a missed payment, and whether collection activity will be paused. If rejected, explain the affordable payment you require and the evidence for it. I will not treat silence as acceptance.
I will seek advice from a free debt adviser about all available options. I understand that a debt-management plan can be unsuitable, that a creditor may refuse it, and that payments can be applied in ways that do not match my assumptions. I will not stop payments on any priority debt, cancel a direct debit or rely on this letter to prevent enforcement without advice. Nothing here asks Northbridge to waive a legal right or represents that the account is statute-barred. Any future agreement should be in writing and should not include a new admission or security unless I obtain advice.
Please preserve the account statements, call recordings, payment records, notices, affordability correspondence and any assignment documents. Please address correspondence to 8 Rowan Bank, Leeds LS8 4QY and imogen.shaw@example.test.
Yours faithfully,
Imogen Felicity Shaw
Signed electronically by Imogen Felicity Shaw on 12 November 2026