Full and final settlement help thread

fatbelly · 21 November 2017 at 7:23PM

ehdx wrote: »

I am in 17k worth of debt and almost can't afford my minimum payments every month, however I am up to date and haven't yet missed a payment. Does this stop me from being able to make an f&f settlement? Would they still consider it?

The payments each month are only coming out of my overdraft so I'm not really on top of any of it!

You've got an overdraft and can't afford your minimum payments every month. Yet you have a lump sum?

The answer to your question is no. If your debts are not defaulted you will need to make payments in full. Pay off the highest interest debt first. That may well be your overdraft in practice.

RioDeJaneiro · 21 November 2017 at 7:51PM

I've recently offered Lowell 25% of a debt which they obtained a CCJ for and have accepted. The letter has the standard wording "Once you account has been closed, we will contact all credit file referencing agencies and amend the balance on this default to show as partially satisfied. The default will be amended to show as partially satisfied due to the discount negotiated with the settlement figure previously mentioned. Please be assured that this status does not imply that any further payment will be required on this account."

My question is, is this enough to get the CCJ marked as satisfied? I understand that a CCJ can not be shown as partially satisfied.

[Deleted User] · 5 December 2017 at 2:16PM

Hello

We have a mortgage shortfall and have agreed an amount to pay it off, with a letter from the mortgage company saying the debt would be cleared when payment is received.

We are currently on a DMP and working our way through the debts trying to negotiate a F & F for each debt, but the largest one is the mortgage shortfall which we have negotiated down to a tiny amount of the balance.

We have been unexpectedly gifted some money by a relative randomly which is now in our savings account and we intend to use this to pay this off.

Stepchange have advised treating all creditors the same and we fully intend to address them all shortly but this is the priority for us at the moment, they have been supportive and know we are trying to address everything sensibly.

We told the mortgage company that we had a non repayable gift from a relative and this is how we are managing to pay off the mortgage shortfall debt, as we wanted to assure them that we weren't borrowing to pay off this debt.

I have read that it is advisable to ask a relative or company to pay the money on your behalf as its more secure to use a third party (not sure why) so we asked a sibling, who has also received the same gift to transfer this money or write a cheque to our mortgage company and we could reimburse them - would this work and is this ok ?

We could of course just pay them ourselves from the money we recieved which would be easier but not sure if this is the same ? The mortgage shortfall is with a high street lender who has quite clearly stated that the balance will be fully cleared upon receipt of these funds and this is in writing. The debt was never passed to a debt company and we have been servicing it for just under six years now, it is due to drop off in June and was defaulted in 2012.

Can anyone advise as to why we need to use a third party or should we just pay it ourselves ?

many thanks

fatbelly · 5 December 2017 at 7:22PM

barmcakebird wrote: »

Hello

We have a mortgage shortfall and have agreed an amount to pay it off, with a letter from the mortgage company saying the debt would be cleared when payment is received.

We are currently on a DMP and working our way through the debts trying to negotiate a F & F for each debt, but the largest one is the mortgage shortfall which we have negotiated down to a tiny amount of the balance.

We have been unexpectedly gifted some money by a relative randomly which is now in our savings account and we intend to use this to pay this off.

Stepchange have advised treating all creditors the same and we fully intend to address them all shortly but this is the priority for us at the moment, they have been supportive and know we are trying to address everything sensibly.

We told the mortgage company that we had a non repayable gift from a relative and this is how we are managing to pay off the mortgage shortfall debt, as we wanted to assure them that we weren't borrowing to pay off this debt.

I have read that it is advisable to ask a relative or company to pay the money on your behalf as its more secure to use a third party (not sure why) so we asked a sibling, who has also received the same gift to transfer this money or write a cheque to our mortgage company and we could reimburse them - would this work and is this ok ?

We could of course just pay them ourselves from the money we recieved which would be easier but not sure if this is the same ? The mortgage shortfall is with a high street lender who has quite clearly stated that the balance will be fully cleared upon receipt of these funds and this is in writing. The debt was never passed to a debt company and we have been servicing it for just under six years now, it is due to drop off in June and was defaulted in 2012.

Can anyone advise as to why we need to use a third party or should we just pay it ourselves ?

many thanks

It sounds to me like you're doing everything perfectly.

Paying through a third party is a bit of a technicality. This is what NEDCAB say:

There will be a legally binding agreement if either
•an arrangement is made with all your unsecured creditors: or
•the funds are made available by a third party (for example, a relative) and the offer is made by him / her: or
•the agreement is embodied in a formal document known as a 'deed' The services of a solicitor will be required if you want a deed drawing up - for example, if you have any doubts as to the trustworthiness of any particular creditor

Don't worry too much about Stepchange's objections. If you're going to end up going bankrupt you don't want to be treating creditors differently. But you seem quite confident that you will be clearing your debts without insolvency

[Deleted User] · 6 December 2017 at 10:25AM

Thanks for the reply. I have written to them this morning on email asking for written confirmation that our paying the agreed amount to remedy the shortfall is the end of the matter completely and this cannot be pursued by them or anyone else.

They usually respond to emails with a letter. Relative is going to transfer the money to them once they write to us with this formal written reassurance.

Just don't want to pay this and then get asked for more a year down the line. Want an end to the matter once and for all and a clean slate.

Hopefully we will get this settled by the end of 2017 then onto the other small debts and hopefully a debt free 2018!

CrazyConeLady · 7 December 2017 at 10:29AM

Never posted before but I'm so excited I just had to register so I could lol - I came across this thread by total accident yesterday, had a quick read and decided to contact Lowell where I have 2 of my debt plans in place - Went low and offered 30 % of the total, expecting them to haggle it back up and 2 emails later to confirm some details and they accepted!!! I've just written off approx £5000. I am absolutely delighted!!! One very easy step closer to my debt free day :beer:

Max_and_sasha · 7 December 2017 at 9:36PM

Hi crazycone

Did you request your cca?

[Deleted User] · 8 December 2017 at 11:52AM

Just a quick query while I have the chance to get on here as I need to dash off somewhere in a mo. I hope someone is around to help. Thanks in advance:T

I've now built up a nice F&F Fighting Fund:j and wonder whether it's OK to make an initial settlement offer to a creditor over the phone? I realise that it's best to get everything in writing as there's no record of what's said in phone calls (at my end anyway) but I was thinking just to test the water and see if they are amenable to offers at the outset. Obviously, I'd follow up with a letter and request the same from creditors.

sourcrates · 8 December 2017 at 1:08PM

carbootcrazy wrote: »

Just a quick query while I have the chance to get on here as I need to dash off somewhere in a mo. I hope someone is around to help. Thanks in advance:T

I've now built up a nice F&F Fighting Fund:j and wonder whether it's OK to make an initial settlement offer to a creditor over the phone? I realise that it's best to get everything in writing as there's no record of what's said in phone calls (at my end anyway) but I was thinking just to test the water and see if they are amenable to offers at the outset. Obviously, I'd follow up with a letter and request the same from creditors.

The problem with that, is that when you call one of these creditors/debt collectors, you get the call handler, who will only be authorized to deal to a certain number, and no more.

What you should really do is write with the proposal, using the national debtline template letter, this will then be passed on to the correct dept who will have a lot more discretion in decision making, than a call handler will.

It might take longer, and be a bit of a faff, but it could save you a lot of money.

[Deleted User] · 9 December 2017 at 8:20AM

Personally in almost seven years I've never spoken to any creditors, after reading on here not to

Nothing is binding over the phone and allegedly they can be quite horrible

I rang up recently to pay something off with a card (I'd had confirmed in writing) but wouldn't ever advocate ringing them

Full and final settlement help thread

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