Full and final settlement help thread

DrWatson1

sourcrates wrote: »

Not nessessarily, but it's more likely they will assume you can't afford settlement offers.

They send these offers out at random anyway, they have no scruples where money is concerned.

Okay makes sense, thanks. I think in the 5 years I've been on a DMP, only one of my 7 creditors have sent such a letter.

krazykaz64

fatbelly wrote: »

The final deal has to be in writing so you can retain proof for six years.

But it can be useful to have a phone conversation, particularly if you have both said what is acceptable but there remains a gap between the two positions, as long as the result is confirmed in writing afterwards.

thank you

krazykaz64

an update.... sent letters out to 10 creditors just before Christmas...
so far varying degrees of success....

Apex (Egg) - 3744 > 2433
Fredrickson (Capital One) - 226 > 158
Moorcroft (Studio) - 305 > 197
Moorcroft (Choice Catalogue) - 268 > 200

Cabot x 3 .. waiting for a call back regarding counter offers
Hoist - still waiting
Paragon - still waiting
Santander (Cahoot) - still waiting

fatbelly

krazykaz64 wrote: »

an update.... sent letters out to 10 creditors just before Christmas...
so far varying degrees of success....

Apex (Egg) - 3744 > 2433 65%
Fredrickson (Capital One) - 226 > 158 70%
Moorcroft (Studio) - 305 > 197 65%
Moorcroft (Choice Catalogue) - 268 > 200 75%

Cabot x 3 .. waiting for a call back regarding counter offers
Hoist - still waiting
Paragon - still waiting
Santander (Cahoot) - still waiting

Well, you've saved some money there. Keep going with the rest

GrinC

This sounds like a stupid question and I am so sorry about this but if you offer a full & final settlement, do you have to pay it all upfront as soon as the 'deal' comes in?


I've make some affordable offers as F&F this afternoon (with Lowell and Pounds to Pockets) but I've seen examples here for thousands and while the 'savings' are great, I couldn't put that money upfront but once I've got the smaller ones out of the way, I'd have a better chance.

krazykaz64

GrinC wrote: »

This sounds like a stupid question and I am so sorry about this but if you offer a full & final settlement, do you have to pay it all upfront as soon as the 'deal' comes in?


I've make some affordable offers as F&F this afternoon (with Lowell and Pounds to Pockets) but I've seen examples here for thousands and while the 'savings' are great, I couldn't put that money upfront but once I've got the smaller ones out of the way, I'd have a better chance.

Personally, I sent letters originally and have negotiated over the phone and have asked for them to send me the 'deal' in writing and then I will pay. My husband has a small inheritance from a late aunt , so will be using that to pay off MY debt , hence why I am trying to clear it as much as possible , plus in 6 months time my finances will change again where I will have NO 'income' when my youngest child leaves full time education.

jaydj79

Hi there, I hope some of you clever clever people may be able to help or offer some advice. I'll try and keep my story as short as possible! So, back in 2009 I took out a loan with Lloydstsb. Kept up with every payment, never missed one, simple. Come 2010 I got made redundant so I went to Lloyds explaining my predicament and kindly requested they extend the duration of my loan in a bid to reduce my monthly payments or simply reduce the interest... Anything to bring my monthly payment down whilst I wasn't earning. Didn't seem too unreasonable considering I was a Lloyds customer for over 10 at that point. But no, Lloyds stated there was nothing they could do, which was a bit of a shock. So I carried on making the payments thus leaving me with no money at all until I came across a debt management company called Baines & Ernst. They kindly took on my debt (for a small monthly fee) and dealt with Lloyds on my behalf. My monthly payment went from £480 per month down to £280. Great. In 2012 I contacted Lloyds once more as I wished to clear my outstanding debt. Myself and the advisor agreed upon an amount that would be satisfactory for both parties and ultimately close my account, so I paid it and that was that. About a month later I received a letter stating that my payment would be classed as 'partial payment' and my account will be shown as 'Defaulted' for the next 6 years. 6 years?!! If I went bankrupt I would've only got 3 years! Anyway, my question to you guys is - Can this 'Defaulted' status be lifted? It seems rather unfair that I am red flagged because of this. It is not as if I missed any monthly payment, it is extremely tarnishing to my credit report and until this goes back into the green I am unable to obtain a new mortgage as we wish to move house soon. I have inputted a 'Notice of correction' on my credit expert account but the big red alert on my lloyds account is ruining everything. Any info advice will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks guys, Jay.

January2015

jaydj79 wrote: »

Hi there, I hope some of you clever clever people may be able to help or offer some advice. I'll try and keep my story as short as possible! So, back in 2009 I took out a loan with Lloydstsb. Kept up with every payment, never missed one, simple. Come 2010 I got made redundant so I went to Lloyds explaining my predicament and kindly requested they extend the duration of my loan in a bid to reduce my monthly payments or simply reduce the interest... Anything to bring my monthly payment down whilst I wasn't earning. Didn't seem too unreasonable considering I was a Lloyds customer for over 10 at that point. But no, Lloyds stated there was nothing they could do, which was a bit of a shock. So I carried on making the payments thus leaving me with no money at all until I came across a debt management company called Baines & Ernst. They kindly took on my debt (for a small monthly fee) and dealt with Lloyds on my behalf. My monthly payment went from £480 per month down to £280. Great. In 2012 I contacted Lloyds once more as I wished to clear my outstanding debt. Myself and the advisor agreed upon an amount that would be satisfactory for both parties and ultimately close my account, so I paid it and that was that. About a month later I received a letter stating that my payment would be classed as 'partial payment' and my account will be shown as 'Defaulted' for the next 6 years. 6 years?!! If I went bankrupt I would've only got 3 years! Anyway, my question to you guys is - Can this 'Defaulted' status be lifted? It seems rather unfair that I am red flagged because of this. It is not as if I missed any monthly payment, it is extremely tarnishing to my credit report and until this goes back into the green I am unable to obtain a new mortgage as we wish to move house soon. I have inputted a 'Notice of correction' on my credit expert account but the big red alert on my lloyds account is ruining everything. Any info advice will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks guys, Jay.

I'm not an expert, but in my opinion, you did default on the original agreement. You obviously were happy to accept that default back in 2012 when you negotiated the settlement offer. I think it unlikely you will get the default lifted. If it was put on in 2012 you are only 1 or 2 years from it being dropped from your credit file (2 years if it was added at end of 2012).

Edit: Doesn't bankruptcy markers on your credit report also last a minimum of 6 years - see information on experian website

fatbelly

jaydj79 wrote: »

Hi there, I hope some of you clever clever people may be able to help or offer some advice. I'll try and keep my story as short as possible! So, back in 2009 I took out a loan with Lloydstsb. Kept up with every payment, never missed one, simple. Come 2010 I got made redundant so I went to Lloyds explaining my predicament and kindly requested they extend the duration of my loan in a bid to reduce my monthly payments or simply reduce the interest... Anything to bring my monthly payment down whilst I wasn't earning. Didn't seem too unreasonable considering I was a Lloyds customer for over 10 at that point. But no, Lloyds stated there was nothing they could do, which was a bit of a shock. So I carried on making the payments thus leaving me with no money at all until I came across a debt management company called Baines & Ernst. They kindly took on my debt (for a small monthly fee) and dealt with Lloyds on my behalf. My monthly payment went from £480 per month down to £280. Great. In 2012 I contacted Lloyds once more as I wished to clear my outstanding debt. Myself and the advisor agreed upon an amount that would be satisfactory for both parties and ultimately close my account, so I paid it and that was that. About a month later I received a letter stating that my payment would be classed as 'partial payment' and my account will be shown as 'Defaulted' for the next 6 years. 6 years?!! If I went bankrupt I would've only got 3 years! Anyway, my question to you guys is - Can this 'Defaulted' status be lifted? It seems rather unfair that I am red flagged because of this. It is not as if I missed any monthly payment, it is extremely tarnishing to my credit report and until this goes back into the green I am unable to obtain a new mortgage as we wish to move house soon. I have inputted a 'Notice of correction' on my credit expert account but the big red alert on my lloyds account is ruining everything. Any info advice will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks guys, Jay.

It sounds like what happened was that when you went with B&E (not recommended on these boards btw), LTSB put an arrangement to pay marker on your file and only changed this to a default when you went for a settlement (partial settlement was a correct marker).

You can argue that it should have been a default at the point (or 3-6 months after the point) you failed to make the contractual payment. Others (Sourcrates?) have more experience of getting AP markers changed to defaults but I understand it is difficult as creditors believe they are following ICO guidance.

You would then, if successful, bring forward the point at which the whole entry will disappear. If unsuccessful you could refer it to the ICO for their decision.

Whatever happens the entry stays for 6 years from when settled or defaulted, and it's the same for a bankruptcy/IVA/DRO entry.

Edit: you may have a case. Apparently the ICO say this

CRA Arrangements to pay - fairness of them registering a default

As stated in the old default guidance, where an arrangement to pay breaks down, a default may be filed when the total value of the arrears is equivalent to three monthly payments under the original terms. However, this should not result in the customer being placed in a worse position than someone who had made no effort to pay whatsoever.

Whether an individual has been left in a worse position or not is something that we will have to consider on a case by case basis. However where we feel that the arrangement to pay has left the individual in a worse position than someone who simply stopped paying, we would normally consider this to be unfair under the first principle and ask the lender to amend the default so that it was the same as if the individual had simply stopped making payments without entering the arrangement to pay.

sourcrates

jaydj79 wrote: »

Hi there, I hope some of you clever clever people may be able to help or offer some advice. I'll try and keep my story as short as possible! So, back in 2009 I took out a loan with Lloydstsb. Kept up with every payment, never missed one, simple. Come 2010 I got made redundant so I went to Lloyds explaining my predicament and kindly requested they extend the duration of my loan in a bid to reduce my monthly payments or simply reduce the interest... Anything to bring my monthly payment down whilst I wasn't earning. Didn't seem too unreasonable considering I was a Lloyds customer for over 10 at that point. But no, Lloyds stated there was nothing they could do, which was a bit of a shock. So I carried on making the payments thus leaving me with no money at all until I came across a debt management company called Baines & Ernst. They kindly took on my debt (for a small monthly fee) and dealt with Lloyds on my behalf. My monthly payment went from £480 per month down to £280. Great. In 2012 I contacted Lloyds once more as I wished to clear my outstanding debt. Myself and the advisor agreed upon an amount that would be satisfactory for both parties and ultimately close my account, so I paid it and that was that. About a month later I received a letter stating that my payment would be classed as 'partial payment' and my account will be shown as 'Defaulted' for the next 6 years. 6 years?!! If I went bankrupt I would've only got 3 years! Anyway, my question to you guys is - Can this 'Defaulted' status be lifted? It seems rather unfair that I am red flagged because of this. It is not as if I missed any monthly payment, it is extremely tarnishing to my credit report and until this goes back into the green I am unable to obtain a new mortgage as we wish to move house soon. I have inputted a 'Notice of correction' on my credit expert account but the big red alert on my lloyds account is ruining everything. Any info advice will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks guys, Jay.

So your account was never defaulted by Lloyds prior to you negoatiating the settlement offer, is that correct ?

That's a little bit naughty of them as according to guidelines they should of defaulted you after the debt management company started passing on your payments (for anyone reading this always use a free service, not one you need to pay for).

I would write and complain, ask for the default to be backdated to when you first started having trouble, all defaults, bankruptcys insolvency of any kind will stay on your file 6 years (not 3), that's all you can do really.