Full and final settlement help thread

bluemonday3

thanks I will check this out.

Daisypop

Failing miserably with my full and final settlements offers. Westcott have come back with a 20% discount I offered 35%. They have also said Cabot who own the debts don’t offer to settle the debts in 2/3 instalments which I have asked for however I have seen posts on here where they have agreed it. Could stretch to 50% but that would be it. I’ve been hit with a £340 vet bill so feel like reducing my payments now so I can pay that. Is self managed the answer? Reduce payments and build up a bit more in funds? I know I owe the money but would love to settle now I’ve paid off a lot over the last 5 years.
Any advice?

[Deleted User]

Daisypop wrote: »

Failing miserably with my full and final settlements offers. Westcott have come back with a 20% discount I offered 35%. They have also said Cabot who own the debts don’t offer to settle the debts in 2/3 instalments which I have asked for however I have seen posts on here where they have agreed it. Could stretch to 50% but that would be it. I’ve been hit with a £340 vet bill so feel like reducing my payments now so I can pay that. Is self managed the answer? Reduce payments and build up a bit more in funds? I know I owe the money but would love to settle now I’ve paid off a lot over the last 5 years.
Any advice?

Sorry to hear you are having no luck with getting your settlement offers accepted:(

It can often be because the creditors are happy with the state of current repayments and think they will get their money back eventually. If the debt balance is now relatively small, for instance, and if you are paying it off at a reasonably fast rate. You say you have paid a lot in the past 5 years.


After 4 and a half years with SC when I paid off over half of my debt I decided to go self-managed last summer mainly to drop to token payments so I could build up a F&F Fighting Fund;). I am now in a position to negotiate with about 3 creditors so I'm in a much more confident position than I was this time last year:j.


I suspect that creditors will be much more amenable to settlement offers if they are not seeing the debt balance going down by much each month and it looks as if it is going to stretch many years into the future. Self managing has been a major help to people who have taken the plunge and done it. Their posts after the event are much more optimistic:j. It's quite simple to set up and administer. If I can do it anyone can:rotfl:

Daisypop

Hi thank you. Did you complete an i and e with your creditors whenYou went self managed and how did you manage to drop your payments? I don’t know how I would be able to drop
The payments as they will see I can afford more unless I add extra on to everything?
Thanks again

[Deleted User]

Daisypop wrote: »

Hi thank you. Did you complete an i and e with your creditors whenYou went self managed and how did you manage to drop your payments? I don’t know how I would be able to drop
The payments as they will see I can afford more unless I add extra on to everything?
Thanks again

If you look on the NEDCAB website they will guide you through the process of self-managing. Creditors will need an I&E so check on there to see what to do.


Yes, you must claim for everything and make sure at the end of the day whatever money you have available tallies with the total of what you plan to pay your creditors;). I know it's dishonest , I had big problems going down this route myself, but sadly, needs must. If it appears from your I&E that you have lots more money available than you are offering to pay them your creditors will be less than amenable:(

Daisypop

Hi thank you for that I think I’ll ditch Stepchange and set my own up through NEDCAB.
Did you get any bother from your creditors following you dropping your payments and how much did you drop? I genuinely have had excessive vet bills to pay and still 340 today so won’t be not telling the truth but I want to be able to settle this year if possible.
Sorry for the questions!

[Deleted User]

Daisypop wrote: »

Hi thank you for that I think I’ll ditch Stepchange and set my own up through NEDCAB.
Did you get any bother from your creditors following you dropping your payments and how much did you drop? I genuinely have had excessive vet bills to pay and still 340 today so won’t be not telling the truth but I want to be able to settle this year if possible.
Sorry for the questions!

No problem with asking questions:). We have all 'been there' in some way or another and are always happy to share our experiences with others:T

When I first started self-managing I paid just slightly less than what I'd been paying with SC. After a couple of months I suddenly had massive outgoings/bills/emergencies etc (some of them perfectly true alas) and it was then that I dropped to token payments after notifying my creditors. They all requested a new I&E to show this but I was happy to comply. They all accepted it without any quibble. Other people will have done things differently so I hope some others reply to you so you have a choice of options.


The secret is not to ignore your creditors. So long as you communicate (not by phone if it makes you uneasy or anxious)they are usually more than amenable. That's my experience anyway.

Good Luck:beer:

Daisypop

Thank you so much it does help. Stepchange aren’t very flexible so think self managed is the way to go.

penewise

I'm a bit of a lurker but love these pages.They have helped me loads and as a result we have over the last four years gone from £63000 to £26000.
I sent off for CCAs in November on 9 cards and loans. I received the first one back yesterday as unenforceable but they still expect to peruse the debt. It's about £2600. As some of the debts have been sold on or are outsourced I have allowed them extra time but it's now been 56 days and am yet to hear from eight of the debts.
Prior to this I made offers of 40% but they all came back with counter offers of 85-100%.What should I do now ?Should I contact them again?
I'm with payplan but they don't seem to want to help with CCAs.
I need to get there debts cleared this year as my interest only mortgage is up and I can't remortgage until they have gone.

DrWatson1

penewise wrote: »

I'm a bit of a lurker but love these pages.They have helped me loads and as a result we have over the last four years gone from £63000 to £26000.

This is going to be a big problem when trying F&Fs. Rightly or wrongly your debtors will not cut cheap deals as, if you continue with your current payment strategy, they will get all the money in less than 3 years.

In any case, I think I'm right in saying that unless you settle in full the defaults will stay on your file for 6 years anyway, so you're going to struggle to get a decent remortgage deal until they drop off and you start to rebuild your credit score.

From personal experience, all my defaults and debts dropped off my file in December; however, it hardly changed my credit score at all, so I wouldn't expect that just because you clear your debts that you will have access to the best rates.

I would stop paying any company who hasn't complied with the CCA request, and cut the payments to those who have, citing some financial problem. I think that's he only way you are going to get any leverage, but you're going to have to play the long game.