Full and final settlement help thread

Marru

captainhaggis wrote: »

Utter rubbish. Even before I sent them my own offer they were telling me every time I spoke to them that they'd accept a reduced amount as F&F settlement. So they do do it.

I sent my F&F offer to the Debt Collections Centre, Lloyds TSB, Brighton, BN1 something.

I spoke to one of their debt collection agencies today and they straight away offered 50%. Do you think contacting the bank directly might result into better deal?

smacca_2

Can anyone help, we have sent off letters (using a template from the national debtline) to Egg, Capital One, and MBNA to offer a final settlement of 40% each to each one of these credit cards that myself and my wife have as we have received a loan from a family member to pay off our cards.

Today we have just received a letter from Capital One that they do not do this, and when my wife spoke with EGG they have said the same.

We can't afford to keep paying the mimimum each month and really want tget rid of these cards as my wife is now unable to work due to the birth of our little boy.

What should we do next?

fatbelly

smacca wrote: »

What should we do next?

It sounds like you have gone in with f&f a little early. You should offer what you can afford as a monthly payment, on a pro-rata basis and justify this with a financial statement.

Info from National Debtline here:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#4

Try f&f in six months time - the debts may well be with a debt collection agency by then and the replies may be more favourable.

And I'd start at 25%

carolbee

cakehole wrote: »

I've been on a debt management programme with the CCCS for about 3 years now for debts of £30,000 on credit cards and loans. I have manage to get the debt down to £18,000 (should be 14,000 but interest is back on most of them now).

I've managed to find myself in the position where I have access to a lump sum of just under half this figure. I have written to all my creditors offering them a Full and Final Settlement. Hopefully they will accept!!!!

Being bogged down in debt is no fun!!!!!! and I am looking forward to being debt free.......hopefully!!!

I am in a similar position, and would be interested to know if creditors accept a F&F when you have been paying regularly and making dents in the balance owed. I just want it gone!

smacca_2

Thanks for the advice fatbelly, but we have this loan to pay off the cards asap and not in 6 months time as it is only a loan.

I'm also a bit apprehensive about the companies passing the debt to a debt collection agency so I would ideally like to stay away from that route if possible. However thats not saying that I'm ignoring your advice, just need a little help.

fatbelly

smacca wrote: »

Thanks for the advice fatbelly, but we have this loan to pay off the cards asap and not in 6 months time as it is only a loan.

I'm also a bit apprehensive about the companies passing the debt to a debt collection agency so I would ideally like to stay away from that route if possible. However thats not saying that I'm ignoring your advice, just need a little help.

OK - I understand. But it sounds like the card companies have been/are still receiving the contractual monthly repayments. An f&F deal will only be considered when you get them in the position of choosing between (a) really low monthly payments that will take many years to repay fully and (b) a reduced lump sum now.

Why can't the money sit somewhere until you get to that point?

If you're going down the F&F route you will probably have to deal with DCAs. That's no different really to dealing with the original creditor but you know that the debt is getting or has already got to the point where they are considering selling it to a third party for maybe 10% of it's value. That's when your offer will start to look attractive.

Bubbles911

I have owe £19,000 to 6 creditors and have offered £12,500 between them today. These are to Lloyds TSB, Halifax Loans, Halifax overdraft, Vanquis, Barclaycard and Castlebridge credit. I have probably gone in a bit high but I have suffered a nervous breakdown and just want it gone. The biggest debt is £8,600 with Lloyds and they have been offered £5,677. I have explained about my nervous breakdown and not knowing about returning too work so hoping they will accept. I havent made any payments on any of these accounts for at least 3 months so am hopeful. I can scrape together an additional £2,500 but would rather not as this is all my dads money. Do you think this is acceptable.

Mr_Nice_Guy_2

Before any of you got the point of these Full and Final settlements, were solicitors involved?

Rainy_2

Apologies for adding more questions than answers to this thread! (Which has been a great help already, thanks for all the advice) :A

I currently have a lot of debts due to my business ceasing to trade. I have managed to negotiate with most of them £1 monthly payments which have been in place for around 3-4 months. Even though now I am in a position to increase this, it will only be between £4 and £9 pro-rata for each creditor. I think (hope!) that this puts me in a decent position to start offering F&F’s?

I’m going to start with the higher interest ones – M&S, Sainsbury’s and Halifax credit cards and also the ones I cannot get to come to any payment agreement with me (Lloyds TSB credit card and Barclaycard/Mercers credit card) in the hope that some agreement can be made. Lloyds TSB has gone to a collection solicitors, is it these I make the offer to or direct to Lloyds? The same for Barclaycard – do I go to them or Mercers?

Although Lloyds TSB CC are being absolutely no help whatsoever, Lloyds TSB Personal Loans actually contacted me very soon into the £1 a month agreement offering me an F&F of just 25% of the amount owing! It is this amount that I am going to start with. It is very low but hopefully a good starting point for negotiation.

Any thoughts/comments gratefully received :beer:

jacko88

I am in an unusual situation having been in Payplan successfully since 2004. Total indebtedness according to Payplan at Q209 was about 100k. I was able to pay off some debts last summer with a full and final offer thanks to family help and settled about 37k for 20k. But I found that

Halifax HBOS (CL Finance)
Egg Card
HBOS Intelligent finance (CLO Finance)
RBS MasterCard

Would not countenance any low offers (possibly 90% say) though interest had been frozen.

More worryingly RBS loans and overdraft which was originally a 25k debt said via the dreaded Shakespeare solicitors that their debt was in fact now 65k! And they would not accept any offer and indeed they challenged whether I was paying enough though Payplan –though they later calmed down on that point.

My situation now is that I can make a further offer (thanks to parents) of about 50% (of the original debt levels) as a full and final. Does anyone have any advice on how to play this both from the intransigent credit cards point of view and the whopping interest of RBS/Shakespeare. Is it likely that things have changed – is it better to get rid of RBS first?

jacko