DMBM803020 - Time To Pay: reviewing proposals: other sources of funds

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Raising funds

Before a customer approaches us for time to pay (TTP) we would generally have expected them to have attempted to raise the money to pay their debt.

For individuals, this could involve approaching a bank for a loan or asking friends and family if they can borrow money(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000). We do also accept payment by credit card (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000).

For personal debts it is unacceptable for us to insist that a customer has made every effort to secure a loan before agreeing TTP. This practice would contravene Financial Conduct Authority debt collection guidelines, which we are expected to follow.

This guidance is only applicable to individuals; and in the cases of business debts we would expect businesses to have considered approaching their bank and discussed borrowing facilities before approaching HMRC for TTP. In some cases we will require the customer to send us a letter from their bank clearly detailing their current banking facilities, see DMBM802220 and DMBM802230.

Businesses can raise finance by a number of methods, including:

  • loans and overdrafts
  • share capital
  • director’s loans
  • debt factoring and invoice discounting
  • sale and leaseback
  • venture capital.