Full and final settlement help thread

farmeress

Hi,

I have debts with the following: (appx)
Barclaycard £6000
Barclays £1,460
Natwest £4,000

They defaulted appx 2013/14 and I haven't made any payments since.

I have made F&F's to all 3 over the last 2 years of 30% then upped to 40%

Barlcaycard (credit card) said no
Barclays (overdraft) havent responded
Natwest (overdraft)wont deal with me unless i call them to confirm my change of address, but i am reluctant to deal with them on the phone.

I haven't been chased for the debt for a couple of years, but would like to clear these debts. I am thinking of sending a CCA for the credit card, but not sure how to proceed with Natwest and Barclays.

Any advice?

Louise35

Hi,
This is my first post so sorry if its not in the right place!
Ive got debts totalling around £37k made up of credit cards, overdrafts and catalogues.
Ive been paying a reduced payment for the past couple of months, and finally told my parents who have offered to lend me some money to clear my debt. Ive spoken to both barclaycard and asda so far who have both given me figures of 50% to settle the debt on a partial settlement and the rest would be written off they said it would be marked as partial on my creditfile.
I have spoken to the accounts who i have overdrafts with and they said they dont accept settlement figures on overdrafts.
So my questions are:
1) is the partial settlement on my credit going to effect it forever?
2) is the 50% good or should i counter offer a less amount?
3) can i make a settlement figure on overdrafts/catalogues
4) should i ask for the settlement in writing rather than over the phone?

Thankyou in advance for your help

DrWatson1

Louise35 wrote: »

So my questions are:
1) is the partial settlement on my credit going to effect it forever?
2) is the 50% good or should i counter offer a less amount?
3) can i make a settlement figure on overdrafts/catalogues
4) should i ask for the settlement in writing rather than over the phone?

1) It will be on your credit file six years from the date of the default.
2) Ask! Offer 20% and see what they say - it will only cost you the cost of a stamp or phone call
3) Each company will have slightly different policy, however I think they are just trying it on saying they don't accept partial settlements.
4) Definitely, and not even debatable. If you send them 50% based on a phone conversation, they will deny the conversation took place and chase you for the other 50%. Use this and other templates here:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Full-and-final-settlement-offers-%28sole-name%29.aspx

Louise35

Thanks for your reply!
What would happen to the account if they arent defaulted?
Thanks

DrWatson1

If you do not pay the account, they will (or should) default it eventually.

If they don't default, it will just stay on your credit file as "in arrears"

Louise35

So theyll default once i pay a partial settlement?
Sorry ive never done this before!
Thanks

DrWatson1

Sorry, what I mean is if you stop making your contractual monthly payments to the account, then they should default it after ~6 months.

Louise35

So if i pay my contractual payment then partial settlement i wont get a default?

DrWatson1

They will mark your file as "partially settled", and that will remain on your file for 6 years which may affect your ability to get credit, but I believe it's unusual for a company to consider a partial settlement when you have been maintaining your monthly payments.

susan123123

fatbelly wrote: »

The reason why you should not accept an opening offer is that there is probably room to manoeuvre - as you discovered.

SC are not correct to say that you are required to do anything in a dmp - it is an informal solution. Nor will other creditors be affected by your decision to clear your debts, except that they may get a larger share of your monthly payment.

It is true to say that you should not prefer one creditor over another in the lead-up to a DRO or bankruptcy . But that is not what is happening here. In any case a payment by a third party is fine - a third party can always do what they want with their money.

One further point - the FCA now frowns on debt management companies (and has closed some) who propose dmps of unreasonable length in order to maximise their fees - when an insolvency solution would be more appropriate. You say that your dmp will take decades.

Can you tell us why a Bankruptcy/IVA would not be a better solution for you?

Hi,
First and foremost I like to apologise for not replying sooner to thank you for your kind advice.....had some family problems which greatly disrupted everything.

Still on the subject and bearing in mind that you said I should not accept an opening offer as there maybe room to manoeuvre, should I counteroffer
them with a lower amount? I'm really confused by SC advice and worry that it may jeopardize the DMP arrangement with other creditors.

Thank you