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where should I put the money...
nolongerindenial
Posts: 1,041 Forumite
I am selling my car and will have £1500 available to pay off other credit accounts once the payment has been made to clear all outstanding finance.
Now I have defaulted and had problems paying all of my debts off in recent months, and have been considering what my best option is.
Credit Card Balances
Alliance & Leicester: 3 months Behind ~£2500
Egg: Up to date, but account on repayment only: £1088
Santander: Up to date, £350-400
Natwest CC: 2 months Late: £320
Lloyds Overdraft: 2 months Late: £268
Natwest Overdraft: £953
Natwest Overdraft: £2153
Now all payments have been late at some point, so all companies know we are not in the best condition financially and are fighting.
What I want to do in an ideal world, is take the £1500 I have and reduce the number of Direct Debits leaving my bank (a bank charge would throw further financial uncertainty into the mix, and at £25 a throw, is worse than monthly interest) through full and final settlements.
Ideally I want to get at least £2000 worth of debt paid off with this £1500, using Full & Final Settlements as the tool to try and get some of the debt written off.
My question is does this seam feasible? My weakness is haggling over the phone, and as such I feel doing it in writing would be best.
How would be best going about this? And who would be best to target for the reductions from peoples experience?
Now I have defaulted and had problems paying all of my debts off in recent months, and have been considering what my best option is.
Credit Card Balances
Alliance & Leicester: 3 months Behind ~£2500
Egg: Up to date, but account on repayment only: £1088
Santander: Up to date, £350-400
Natwest CC: 2 months Late: £320
Lloyds Overdraft: 2 months Late: £268
Natwest Overdraft: £953
Natwest Overdraft: £2153
Now all payments have been late at some point, so all companies know we are not in the best condition financially and are fighting.
What I want to do in an ideal world, is take the £1500 I have and reduce the number of Direct Debits leaving my bank (a bank charge would throw further financial uncertainty into the mix, and at £25 a throw, is worse than monthly interest) through full and final settlements.
Ideally I want to get at least £2000 worth of debt paid off with this £1500, using Full & Final Settlements as the tool to try and get some of the debt written off.
My question is does this seam feasible? My weakness is haggling over the phone, and as such I feel doing it in writing would be best.
How would be best going about this? And who would be best to target for the reductions from peoples experience?
£4142.49/ £131,795.91 - 3.14% paid off or only £129,608.80 to go!
Debt free by Xmas 2015: #182 £1955.38/£4435.51 (44.08%)
MFW: Opening Balance: £108,297.91 Original MF Date: June 2042
Current Balance: £106600.27 Estimated MF Date: Dec 2033
Proud to be dealing with my debts
Debt free by Xmas 2015: #182 £1955.38/£4435.51 (44.08%)
MFW: Opening Balance: £108,297.91 Original MF Date: June 2042
Current Balance: £106600.27 Estimated MF Date: Dec 2033
Proud to be dealing with my debts
0
Comments
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Any accounts that you have not defaulted on probably won't accept a low F&F
If a defaulted account is with the original creditor unlikley they'll accept below 80%
If debt has been sold on you could start at 30% and see what happens
Do everything in writing, use the sample leter from National DebtLinePROUD TO BE DEALING WITH MY DEBT NERD #869
DFD 5/1/16Numpty,Not sure why but I'm crying
. Of all the peeps on this board you're the kindest & most supportive of all & I'm :mad: & 
for you all at the same time . Wish I was there to give you a big :grouphug: & emergency hobnobs
xx0 -
hi just looking at things and as Numpty has said your creditors will not likely accept low full and finals for 2 reasons
first is they all appear to still be with the original creditors so these will usually not accept anything less than 75-80% and sometimes will want to whole whack
also you do not say if you have any defaults on your account, and just looking at the fact the longest one is only 3 months i am not sure you will have any as a lot wait between 3-6 months before putting a default on your account.
now a good way to check the last one is using the free trails of the credit report companies (sorry forgot which one is running a promotion at the moment)
anyway i would still send my offers if i was you as the worst they can say is no, make sure it include something along the lines of 'if you do not reply within 14 days , the money will be offered to another of my creditors'Drop a brand challenge
on a £100 shop you might on average get 70 items save
10p per product = £7 a week ~ £28 a month
20p per product = £14 a week ~ £56 a month
30p per product = £21 a week ~ £84 a month (or in other words one weeks shoping at the new price)0 -
here is a sample letter
WITHOUT PREJUDICE:
Dear Sir/Madam
Re: 4563210025897412
We write with reference to the money which you are claiming on the above account.
We can confirm that we are unable to offer to pay the money which we owe in full.
However, I can raise £_____ and I want to offer this an ex-gratia payment in full and final settlement of the account. This offer is made on the clear understanding that, if accepted, neither you nor any associate
company will take any other action to enforce or pursue this debt in any way whatsoever and that we will be released for any liability.
We also request that, if accepted, you will make an entry on a credit reference agency file relating to the above account as "satisfied" in full.
Payment can be made within 2 weeks of receiving your written agreement of this offer and method of payment.
We look forward to receiving your reply. If however you do not reply within 14 days, the money will be offered to another of my creditors.
Yours faithfully
Mr A N Other
the bit in red is were i would add in the time limit bit however as stated this is just a template and i am sure someone else might be able to offer other adviseDrop a brand challenge
on a £100 shop you might on average get 70 items save
10p per product = £7 a week ~ £28 a month
20p per product = £14 a week ~ £56 a month
30p per product = £21 a week ~ £84 a month (or in other words one weeks shoping at the new price)0 -
More info needed. For each CC {amount owing, APR, monthly payment}. Also, which bank are you actually using? I assume Lloyds - and NatWest are dormant accounts?
The first debt to pay off, without a shadow of a doubt, is your overdraft. It is only a small debt, but it is probably racking up charges for you way out of proportion with its size. Get the overdraft sorted and make sure you stay in credit, then think about the rest.
Edited to Add - that is pay off the overdraft on the active bank account.Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0 -
Thanks,
I didnt even think to mention who I was in default with and what has been passed to a DCA.
The Natwest and Lloyds accounts (with the exception of the natwest CC) are with debt collection agencies, and natwest have issued defaults against me for both of the overdrafts.
I currently bank with HSBC and have a £0 formal overdraft and if I didnt have any debt, would be in a extremely good financial position on an average month (I have always done my SOA based on worst case scenario month) - but thats just my dreams talking rather than the harsh reality that I have £22,810 to pay off and need every pound I spend on paying this off to work as hard as possible at reducing the credit amount - as there is only a finite amount of them available (an attitude I wish I had over 2 years ago when all of this money was spent)
when I look back over the £31,000 of debt I had when I started out debtbusting alone, without the support of this great forum - I can honestly probably only justify a third of that debt, about £8000 spent on food and general living costs at University which has got me into field I am in where I can earn to repay it all (albeit eventually), and the new boiler which was needed in our house as the old one was poisoning us and got condemned. The rest has simply been sqandered on luxury items like a brand new car, 2 2nd hand cars and nights out, the last of those 2nd hand cars should go in the next 2 days or so and it is the money from this I will be using to try and pay off some of the debts.
I rue the availability of easy credit, go into a car dealership (cars are my big weakness), see a car you want and be able to get it signed off within an hour you can have it. If I had only stuck with that clapped out fiesta that still run and had 12 months MOT 3 years or so ago we may have been in a better position
Sorry for the divulgence, It appears the ability to be anonymous is getting me pouring my heart out again
If there is any more info you need to be able to help me, please ask.
And can I say a big thank you for everyone so far taking the time to help a debtbusting newbie.£4142.49/ £131,795.91 - 3.14% paid off or only £129,608.80 to go!
Debt free by Xmas 2015: #182 £1955.38/£4435.51 (44.08%)
MFW: Opening Balance: £108,297.91 Original MF Date: June 2042
Current Balance: £106600.27 Estimated MF Date: Dec 2033
Proud to be dealing with my debts0 -
well here is a ROUGH guide on what companies have been known to accept,
please remember some people get lower amounts other have to pay much more than this,
these things depend on so many variables including what side of the bed the person in the company got out off
anyways rough guide is below
Debt still with original creditor NO default = 90% or more
Debt with original creditor but with a default = 75% or more
Debt with 'in house' debt collectors of the original creditor = 60% or more
Debt with external debt collector however still property of original credit = 40% or more
Debt owned(purchased) by external debt collectors = 25% or moreDrop a brand challenge
on a £100 shop you might on average get 70 items save
10p per product = £7 a week ~ £28 a month
20p per product = £14 a week ~ £56 a month
30p per product = £21 a week ~ £84 a month (or in other words one weeks shoping at the new price)0 -
Hi Gonzo,
Thank you for the information, I just had to walk away from the computer almost in tears when I realised the level of discount I could potentially get and what that would do for my ability to get debt free:eek: And its not good for a man to cry about money:rotfl:
I would never have written to eversheds or apec (Natwest and LTSB respectively) with an offer as low as 40% as I would have simply felt like I was taking the wee a bit. Now I understand these are what have been achieved by others and every case is completely different, but it gives me an idea of roughly how low I can go and have a chance to make the small amount punch well above what it is worth in pocket.
Right I am off to modify the template letter to post off and will report back£4142.49/ £131,795.91 - 3.14% paid off or only £129,608.80 to go!
Debt free by Xmas 2015: #182 £1955.38/£4435.51 (44.08%)
MFW: Opening Balance: £108,297.91 Original MF Date: June 2042
Current Balance: £106600.27 Estimated MF Date: Dec 2033
Proud to be dealing with my debts0 -
i think the thing is you do not know untill you ask, the usual advise it to always go in with a low offer, the worst they can say is NO, in which case you can either offer a higher amount or offer it to another creditor, sometimes a company might write back with a counter offer in which case you write back saying something along the lines of
'thank you for your letter dated xxxxx with your offer of a F&F amount of this, unfortunatly i can not afford that amount however after some extra work i would like to make a offer of xxxxx (meet half way) blar blar blar'.
basically, haggle, always give a time limit and if they will not take something you are happy giving do not be affraid to withdraw your offer and send a offer to another creditorDrop a brand challenge
on a £100 shop you might on average get 70 items save
10p per product = £7 a week ~ £28 a month
20p per product = £14 a week ~ £56 a month
30p per product = £21 a week ~ £84 a month (or in other words one weeks shoping at the new price)0 -
well here is a ROUGH guide on what companies have been known to accept, please remember some people get lower amounts other have to pay much more than this, these things depend on so many variables including what side of the bed the person in the company got out off anyways rough guide is below
Debt still with original creditor NO default = 90% or more
Debt with original creditor but with a default = 75% or more
Debt with 'in house' debt collectors of the original creditor = 60% or more
Debt with external debt collector however still property of original credit = 40% or more
Debt owned by external creditor = 25% or more
:T
Thats about the best breakdown of offers I've seen:D
good work gonzo:T:T:beer:
just to add make the offer for towards the end of the month;), they have monthly targets to meet;)PROUD TO BE DEALING WITH MY DEBT NERD #869
DFD 5/1/16Numpty,Not sure why but I'm crying . Of all the peeps on this board you're the kindest & most supportive of all & I'm :mad: & for you all at the same time . Wish I was there to give you a big :grouphug: & emergency hobnobs
xx0 -
have just noticed a slight error on post #7 so have updated the last line from owned by external creditor to owned(purchased) by external debt collectorsDrop a brand challenge
on a £100 shop you might on average get 70 items save
10p per product = £7 a week ~ £28 a month
20p per product = £14 a week ~ £56 a month
30p per product = £21 a week ~ £84 a month (or in other words one weeks shoping at the new price)0
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