Full and final settlement help thread

manarola

Hi I Have sent out F&F offers to my 4 creditors of 30% each as advised on this forum, today i received a letter from Link Financial in the form of a statement with exactly the same regular payment amount as with step change which states payment now payable and includes a bank giro credit slip! However, there is no mention of my letter of F&F. How do I respond?

fatbelly

manarola wrote: »

Hi I Have sent out F&F offers to my 4 creditors of 30% each as advised on this forum, today i received a letter from Link Financial in the form of a statement with exactly the same regular payment amount as with step change which states payment now payable and includes a bank giro credit slip! However, there is no mention of my letter of F&F. How do I respond?

How long since you sent the letter?

I would allow 3 weeks before sending a chase-up.

manarola

mailed letters out to all 4 creditors on 22 February, the letter in question from Link financial, relates to only one of three debts we have with them, this one in particular is in my wifes name, i tried to call them and they wouldn't speak to me without my wifes authorization.
we are still on an up and running DMP that is being maintained, what's prompted them to start requesting contractual payments as opposed to payments received from the DMP with step change?
The Letter also, completely ignores my F&F letter, and whether they have viewed or considered my offer

fatbelly

manarola wrote: »

mailed letters out to all 4 creditors on 22 February, the letter in question from Link financial, relates to only one of three debts we have with them, this one in particular is in my wifes name, i tried to call them and they wouldn't speak to me without my wifes authorization.
we are still on an up and running DMP that is being maintained, what's prompted them to start requesting contractual payments as opposed to payments received from the DMP with step change?
The Letter also, completely ignores my F&F letter, and whether they have viewed or considered my offer

If no reply in a week, send the letter again, pointing out this is the second time you have made the offer.

If the dmp payments are substantial, and the timescale short, this will put them off from considering your offer

somuchindebt

National_Debtline wrote: »

Hi there


Do you mean they have simply scanned the letter and attached it to an email as opposed to posting it out to you? Ultimately you can insist on confirmation in writing if that is what you want, but in principle this email they have sent you sounds very clear and if they or anyone else were to do a U-turn and try to collect the "full" debt at a later stage, that email would serve as very strong evidence in your favour.


Dennis
@natdebtline

Hi Dennis, thank you. It is an attachment to the email I printed it off, looks fine. Thank you for your help.

manarola

Hi Fatbelly
Firstly, thanks for the response,
there has been an update..since last posting, we have received three letters from 'Link financial' relating to the 3 accounts they hold, which all say the same thing; 'unfortunately we are unable to accept this sum. If you would like to discuss the settlement offer please contact ......' (tbh i was expecting this as its only a 30% offer)
Though, in another paragraph: 'following receipt and full clearance of the agreed payment, we will close your account and register a partial settlement with the credit reference agencies' . I am planning to phone them, does this mean they are willing to negotiate? And if so, i thought i may increase the percentage incrementally to a max of 55%? what do you think?
The repayments are £316 a month to 4 creditors with 6 years left to pay (21K) Link owning half the total at around 10K

fatbelly

manarola wrote: »

Hi Fatbelly
Firstly, thanks for the response,
there has been an update..since last posting, we have received three letters from 'Link financial' relating to the 3 accounts they hold, which all say the same thing; 'unfortunately we are unable to accept this sum. If you would like to discuss the settlement offer please contact ......' (tbh i was expecting this as its only a 30% offer)
Though, in another paragraph: 'following receipt and full clearance of the agreed payment, we will close your account and register a partial settlement with the credit reference agencies' . I am planning to phone them, does this mean they are willing to negotiate? And if so, i thought i may increase the percentage incrementally to a max of 55%? what do you think?
The repayments are £316 a month to 4 creditors with 6 years left to pay (21K) Link owning half the total at around 10K

OK, you would think it's in their interest to come to some sort of a deal instead of receiving payments over 6 years, with all the uncertainty that brings.

Yes they are indicating they will deal, but have not mentioned a figure.

It is OK to phone them but don't be forced too high too quickly.

If they will only move to say 75% then confirm where you both are in writing and invite them to meet you half-way.

manarola

Thanks Fatbelly for that, will try tomorrow!
By the way, in my original letter i mentioned that we have a sole income and that may be in decline in the future, also that the lump sum forming the basis for this offer was from our in- laws, and as such was to be spread amongst our creditors on a pro rata basis. Should i argue (if they go too high) that they would have too big a share of the lump sum to facilitate my fully settling with the other creditors, and that in the event, my in laws may not be prepared to release the lump sum?

fatbelly

manarola wrote: »

Thanks Fatbelly for that, will try tomorrow!
By the way, in my original letter i mentioned that we have a sole income and that may be in decline in the future, also that the lump sum forming the basis for this offer was from our in- laws, and as such was to be spread amongst our creditors on a pro rata basis. Should i argue (if they go too high) that they would have too big a share of the lump sum to facilitate my fully settling with the other creditors, and that in the event, my in laws may not be prepared to release the lump sum?

Personally I wouldn't go in to too much detail.

manarola

UPDATE : Just come off the phone to Link Financial, he said that i needed to make a new offer on each account which they would pass onto the settlements team, i asked if i could speak to the settlements team directly and was told they don't except calls! I then asked if he would negotiate and he said thats not how they do things and that i should simply try new offers so i made a 45% offer on each account and he said that i shoul call back tomorrow to see if they had been accepted!