WHAT IS IT? AND SIX TIPS ON HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM GETTING ONE
A lot of people who enquire about our services are already exploring the option of a Part IX Debt Agreement (known as a Part 9). If you have looked at our website, you will see that it is not a service we offer. Why? Because I firmly believe that there is another way. Rather than locking yourself into a Part 9 which is an act of bankruptcy (part XI of the Commonwealth Bankruptcy Act 1966), and the conditions and impacts it imposes on your life, I know there are other solutions that really work and I am utterly committed to helping others see this.
I want to share with you something that happened to me, and the similarities I see between this the Part 9 option. Three years ago I was attending a court hearing for a company I was working with at the time. For five long days, I sat with my head resting in my hand, listening to argument after argument, trying to keep focused and attentive. Pushing my head forward on my hands in a desperate attempt to hear the judge who I could have sworn, was whispering.
Unbeknownst to me, hours upon hours, on a wooden bench seat in that posture was putting enormous strain on my back and neck.
In the following weeks, the pain in my neck and arm got worse and worse. The pain started to take over other areas of my life, I couldn’t sit or stand for long periods of time, I couldn’t drive, I didn’t even feel like I could parent properly. I turned to medication to try and ease the pain, but as the pain grew stronger, so did the medication. The pain in my neck was literally dragging me down into a hole I couldn’t get out of.
I followed the standard path and asked my doctor for a specialist referral. The specialist told me that a disc in my neck had ruptured and that the fallout was damaging the nerves down my arm. He told me the ONLY option I had was to operate – by making an incision in my throat and going in through the front!
I was stunned. I couldn’t believe that the ONLY way to fix this problem was to literally slit my throat! But I knew I had to do something, I couldn’t go on, the pain was excruciating, so I agreed. The only thing that stopped me from doing it there and then, was a 3 month wait list.
Feeling dejected, hopeless and that my only option to address one problem was to potentially create another, I began to wonder… was this all – an existence that was a half-life, full of pain, medication and reduced function, or drastic surgery, the effects of which I would feel for years to come, possibly forever? Let alone the ugly scar I would be left with. It didn’t seem like much of a choice. In fact, something in me refused to accept that this WAS my only choice.
Seeing no hope for the future and no way out I buried myself in the covers and cried.
Medicated up to the eyeballs, curled up into a ball, wanting it all to just go away. Honestly, at that moment I didn’t think I could go on.
Amazingly for me, the love and generosity of a family friend brought the answer. Finding me in that curled up state, he stepped in, took control and found me a different specialist immediately, someone who dealt with people, not just problems, who didn’t just try to fix the problem without factoring in the impact on the rest of my life and future. Within 48 hours I was in much less invasive surgery, less complications, less risk, less negative impact on my future and all without slitting me open at the throat!
So why am I telling you this?
Well, when I look back at that time, it reminds me of the conversations I’ve had with so many, in pain and completely overwhelmed by their debts, who feel they can’t go on much longer and just need “something” to make it all go away, even if it restricts them down the track.
It reminds me of how I felt when I was in debt, when a Part 9 Debt Agreement was offered to me disguised as a consolidation loan, and how for me, although it didn’t feel right, I was SO tempted to take it, just to try to stop the downward spiral and emotional turmoil I was in.
I see such a strong a parallel between that awful surgery option and a Part 9 debt agreement. Neither was a great solution, in fact neither was really a solution at all, but when they were both offered I was so desperate to get out of my current situation that I seriously considered both. How different would my life have been if I had actually taken either path?
Taking a moment to consider the first surgery option helped me to find another way, a much less invasive and impactful way. Refusing a Part 9 did the same. If I had taken the Part 9, I would never have learnt all that I have about working with creditors, their needs and requirements and Debt Angel Solutions would never have been born. This knowledge has helped bring about amazing results for so many and will continue to do so for so many more.
Part 9 Debt Agreements may offer what seems immediate relief from an impossible situation, but they lock you in to a rigid payment plan for the long term. They are a binding agreement between you and your creditors, where you still often have to cough up a lump sum and further payments to meet for the duration of the agreement. They appear on your public record, your credit report and could even have an impact on your career. They come with a whole bunch of potential future risks, much like my first option for surgery on my neck, but as with my neck, it pays to see what else is possible and look for alternative solutions.
If you are considering a Part 9 debt agreement, or experiencing the effects of unmanageable debt, or even just in a debt spiral we would really love to talk to you. Call us for a free no obligation chat and we will take you through your options and help you see that there is another way.
