Full and final settlement help thread 19 November 2005 at 11:20AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Debt-Free Wannabe 2.7K replies 1.5M views

sourcrates

DogFace said:

That’s why it’s all so confusing, complicated and intimidating! I just don’t want to do the wrong thing.

My defaults are due to drop off next year so they’d be stupid not to accept something.. but like you say, it doesn’t always seem logical.

If the debt is unenforceable, then why are you considering making offers to them at all, when you could just walk away.
Debt purchasers buy these debts in bulk, for pennies, they have no reason to accept less on one, debt, just because they cannot launch legal action to enforce it, the whole system is based on a gamble, they have no idea which accounts will have compliant paperwork and which won`t, what they lose on one, they make up on another.

Delichon

I hope someone will be able to supply some useful information as I'm trying to help a very elderly friend who I have recently discovered has been on a self-managed DMP for about 4 years.  The only reason I think he confided in me and asked for help is that he, laughably as it turned out given my  own disastrous financial situation in the past, thought I might be au fait with financial  dealings in general and knows he can trust me not to tell anyone else about his debts. He has no idea I was ever in debt or on a DMP.  I'm debt-free myself now  but didn't personally ever encounter the problem my friend is having so I'm struggling to advise him.

Resume of his history. He received an inheritance and  made F&Fs to all his creditors a year ago . At that time he carried balances of around £28,000.  All but one accepted at a discount of up to 65% (35%-40% payable)which he was delighted with and settled with them, ..  Just one creditor has refused to accept anything less than 70% payable on an outstanding  debt of about £4000, this despite the fact that my friend has been paying a token £2 a month for the past year and intends to keep on doing so.  The debt would take several hundred years to pay off at that rate and he's already 80!

The DCA has just sent him an I&E review form to fill in and he wants to show them that he is still in no position to pay more than the £2 a month as he intends to try again with a F&F offer.  All traces of his creditors  and his debts have now dropped off his credit file (defaults served their 6 years) and he has no other credit other than a credit-builder card which he pays off in full each month.  As a result, now he has no creditors other than this one, it will look from his new I&E review as if he has plenty of disposable income and they will wonder why he can't start repaying a bigger amount or settle the full balance. He wants to know how much this creditor can see/find out if they search his credit file and are they even allowed to do so?  There is no repayment history left showing on Noddle, Clearscore etc to give the outstanding creditor any idea that the other creditors were suddenly paid off in full.  In theory, they would probably have no idea how much debt he still has elsewhere. Incidentally, he's told me that his credit rating (which I know means nothing to anyone but the account holder) is now showing as Excellent!  He knows he's going to have to be somewhat economical with the truth on the I&E form but wonders how far he can go with it.


Sorry about the long ramble but I'm very anxious to help my friend who is letting this last outstanding debt get him down.  All his other  settlements were plain sailing for him.

Any advice very welcome please.  Thank you.

DogFace

sourcrates said:

DogFace said:

That’s why it’s all so confusing, complicated and intimidating! I just don’t want to do the wrong thing.

My defaults are due to drop off next year so they’d be stupid not to accept something.. but like you say, it doesn’t always seem logical.

If the debt is unenforceable, then why are you considering making offers to them at all, when you could just walk away.
Debt purchasers buy these debts in bulk, for pennies, they have no reason to accept less on one, debt, just because they cannot launch legal action to enforce it, the whole system is based on a gamble, they have no idea which accounts will have compliant paperwork and which won`t, what they lose on one, they make up on another.

Because I want it to be done with, once and for all, and to move on and not have to even consider it. Also, as much as I know it’s a slim chance, they could find the CCA agreement and then I’d be liable for the full amount again. I did feel a moral obligation to repay at least some of it but I learnt a while ago that they don’t pay much for them, so as my actual lender has already taken the loss... I’m ok with this now.

Surely they do have a reason: if they don’t accept my offer, they’ll get zero.

Mr1

Hi everyone
Before I get into my problem, let me say what an amazing lot you all are, helping each other.

I’ve been on a DMP with SC for about 3 years and can’t recommend them enough. Recently I've decided to go self managed and I'm in the process of gathering all my creditors accounts. I recently made a girlfriend who is willing to help me pay my debts with some of her savings. Although she can’t afford to give me all the money, she is willing to give me £9000 to pay something towards my debts. I’ve been reading about F&F offers and I’m thinking about trying to make offers to settle as much as possible, rather than pay one single debt.

My current debts are:
Aqua Newday: £1500
PayPal: £2000
Cabot Financial: £1900
HSBC repayment services (cc): £4000
HSBC repayment services (pers loan): £8000
HSBC repayment services (OD): £1900
HSBC repayment services (pers loan): £1901
They are all defaulted.

I have been paying £180 / month towards my DMP for the last three years, which is split between all my creditors.

Questions 1:
When I send a letter to HSBC repayment services with F&F offer, do I make one offer for all my debts with them, or I need / should make separate F&F offers quoting the account number for each debt? Do I send one letter or 4 separate letters?

Question 2:
How much should I offer to each creditor? 

Question 3:
Shall I pay £1 / month for a few months before making the offers or send them all letters saying I'm now self managed and attach a income / expenditure sheet and offer £180 split between everyone Pro rata? 
Any advice is highly appreciated.
Thank you very much!

-taff

Delichon said:

Resume of his history. He received an inheritance and  made F&Fs to all his creditors a year ago . At that time he carried balances of around £28,000.  All but one accepted at a discount of up to 65% (35%-40% payable)which he was delighted with and settled with them, ..  Just one creditor has refused to accept anything less than 70% payable on an outstanding  debt of about £4000, this despite the fact that my friend has been paying a token £2 a month for the past year and intends to keep on doing so.  The debt would take several hundred years to pay off at that rate and he's already 80!

The DCA has just sent him an I&E review form to fill in and he wants to show them that he is still in no position to pay more than the £2 a month as he intends to try again with a F&F offer.  All traces of his creditors  and his debts have now dropped off his credit file (defaults served their 6 years) and he has no other credit other than a credit-builder card which he pays off in full each month.  As a result, now he has no creditors other than this one, it will look from his new I&E review as if he has plenty of disposable income and they will wonder why he can't start repaying a bigger amount or settle the full balance. He wants to know how much this creditor can see/find out if they search his credit file and are they even allowed to do so?  There is no repayment history left showing on Noddle, Clearscore etc to give the outstanding creditor any idea that the other creditors were suddenly paid off in full.  In theory, they would probably have no idea how much debt he still has elsewhere. Incidentally, he's told me that his credit rating (which I know means nothing to anyone but the account holder) is now showing as Excellent!  He knows he's going to have to be somewhat economical with the truth on the I&E form but wonders how far he can go with it

If he hasn't already done so, request a CCA from them and that is what he should do before filling out any forms for them.. See what happens.....

Technically, he doesn't have to fill any forms in for them, just tell that's what he can afford, because I assume he's on a state pension? If he did want to fill in the form, and he doesn't have to, he can massage his income any way he wants to to get the desired result. {I doubt a DCA would want to be seen taking an 80yr old on a pension to court....

Delichon

Thanks to everyone who took the time to help with my earlier problem,  Really appreciated.

Something else to ask you wise folk now!  Has anyone ever had a successful F&F settlement with LINK Financial?  Are they known for being difficult?  What's the sort of discount they are willing to give?  I know it's a 'how long is a piece of string?' question but I was wondering about a reasonably acceptable percentage.  They still seem unwilling to go below 60% payable. The debt is definitely Enforceable but is an old one and has been repaid at a tiny rate for several years.

fendi-bag-lady

I wrote to all 13 of my debts in January. 4 have provided the CCA's and 1 has now responded to say they can't find it although they will be in touch if they do find it. Does anyone have a template of a letter I could send them stating that I would like to pay a small amount (5%ish) and have the account closed. I understand I don't need to do this but would rather pay something and have the account gone for good than the potential of it coming back to haunt me later. 
Many thanks    

fatbelly

You can just use the standard National Debtline letter - amend it if you wish but keep the general structure and the without prejudice headline.

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

DrWatson1

Delichon said:

Thanks to everyone who took the time to help with my earlier problem,  Really appreciated.

Something else to ask you wise folk now!  Has anyone ever had a successful F&F settlement with LINK Financial?  Are they known for being difficult?  What's the sort of discount they are willing to give?  I know it's a 'how long is a piece of string?' question but I was wondering about a reasonably acceptable percentage.  They still seem unwilling to go below 60% payable. The debt is definitely Enforceable but is an old one and has been repaid at a tiny rate for several years.

I'm in a similar spot with Link - 9k debt, been paying £5pm for 3-4 years. I've managed to get them down to 50% after most recently offering 20%. I'm going back with 25% and hoping to settle around 30%. I also recently settled with Moorcroft for 15% on a large debt, so there are some bargains to be had in the current climate.  

fendi-bag-lady

fatbelly said:

You can just use the standard National Debtline letter - amend it if you wish but keep the general structure and the without prejudice headline.

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

Thank you very much, I'll send a letter off to them tonight. Your help is very much appreciated.