Partial settlement offer 1st Credit

TheGardener · 13 April 2017 at 3:44PM

Trying to help out a neighbour: They have a debt of £750 from an old CC account which defaulted in 2012. They have never acknowledged the debt since default. They have received a letter from 1st Credit offering a partial settlement deal of 50% of the balance. Are these deals worth taking and if so - what if anything should my neighbour look out for?
Also - is it worth them haggling for a !!!!!!?

National_Debtline · 13 April 2017 at 4:36PM

Hi there,

There are a few things to consider in a situation like this. Firstly, if it is an old debt then it may be statute barred, but the 6 year clock doesn't start from the default date, it starts from when the first payment was due and missed or from when the last payment was made or from when the last written acknowledgement was made - whichever is the later.

There must be a 6 year block from this point with no written acknowledgement, payment or court action started then your neighbour may be able to dispute paying anything.

If they decide to take up the offer presented then they will need to get the terms of this payment agreed,
in writing, before sending any money. They must agree not to chase for the shortfall, not to pass to any other organisation who may chase for the shortfall, to mark their credit file as partially settled and with a £0. They can counter offer to try and get a further discount but you must remember that full and final offers are discretionary and they don't have to be accepted. And if you do a full and final offer before the debt is statute barred you will restart the 6 year clock.

Laura
@natdebtline

Partial settlement offer 1st Credit

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