Please help! Making 'offers' to creditors

blt

Please help! I want to make an offer to t-mobile on an old defaulted account. The original bill which I defaulted on was about £150 but it's grown to over £400. They haven't contacted me about it recently because it's registered at an old address but I'm trying to sort all my finances out and my credit record is terrible.

Should I write a letter offering a one-off amount? If so, how much do you think they'd accept? I'm really scared that if I contact them to offer something, they'll reject it and then chase me for the full debt.

Please help! I've got myself into a right state about this. Thank you

maka_2

blt wrote:

Please help! I want to make an offer to t-mobile on an old defaulted account. The original bill which I defaulted on was about £150 but it's grown to over £400. They haven't contacted me about it recently because it's registered at an old address but I'm trying to sort all my finances out and my credit record is terrible.

Should I write a letter offering a one-off amount? If so, how much do you think they'd accept? I'm really scared that if I contact them to offer something, they'll reject it and then chase me for the full debt.

Please help! I've got myself into a right state about this. Thank you

What you could do is ring the company that has the account and ask what there discount is for the amount you owe ie say you know someone that as a debt of £400 how much would they take off if the paid straight away.
failling that just right to them saying you wish to offer x amount each month. most of the time after a while they will send you a letter saying if you pay the amount in full we will take off a %.
hope this helps dont ignore it though it wont go away trust me i know.
good luck

file_wizzard

Depending on how old the debt is try writing to them directly and offering the £150 in FULL AND FINAL settlement of the debt.

Only do this of you have the full intention of paying it though as once you start poking sticks into hornets nests you are going to get stung if you don’t take care !!

They may come back to you and say that the amount is unacceptable, however you should look to pay between 60 – 70% of the full figure they are quoting you at the absolute most.

You could also ask them to verify the debt by providing you with a copy of the original credit agreement, default notice and account history, if they cant do this the debt is technically unenforceable which would give you a good leaver to suggest to them that if you settle the debt now even though they can prove it that they may wish to remove the credit file information in its entirety ( you would be surprised how many times offers like this actually get accepted! )

blt

Shuld I make that offer to t-mobile or ask them for the debt collection agency that they have sent it to and make them the offer? Sorry for being a bit slow at this! I'm just scared of doing the wrong thing because I keep thinking that at least at the moment they aren't chasing me etc so maybe I shouldn't open a can of worms

inmypocketnottheirs

If a default has been registered, to the best of my knowledge, this can not be revoked.

file_wizzard

Regardless of the fact that the debt is assigned to a 3rd party the original creditor always has a duty to correspond with you, and directly accepted settlement if offered.

How old is the debt?, and have you ever received any information from a Debt collector R.e this account?

In the long run it is better you resolve this, but you are quite correct it could be a can of worms if you are unable to settle the account for the amount they require

file_wizzard

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

If a default has been registered, to the best of my knowledge, this can not be revoked.

bet you it can ! ;o)

The whole credit reference system is based on the fact that it is an industry service, there is no legal obligation to report this data, it is purely done by the industry to protect other lenders.

However the lenders can, and will bend the rules if it suits their own purposes

inmypocketnottheirs

file_wizzard wrote:

bet you it can ! ;o)

The whole credit reference system is based on the fact that it is an industry service, there is no legal obligation to report this data, it is purely done by the industry to protect other lenders.

However the lenders can, and will bend the rules if it suits their own purposes

Cheers for this as I have two defaults, one for t mobile and one for orange. SO if I offer to settle in return for removing the default this is possible. I have been hanging out against doing this cos I though that once a default was registered they could not be removed????

Please confirm!

file_wizzard

inmypocketnottheirs wrote:

Cheers for this as I have two defaults, one for t mobile and one for orange. SO if I offer to settle in return for removing the default this is possible. I have been hanging out against doing this cos I though that once a default was registered they could not be removed????

Please confirm!

I'm not saying that they will do this in every case, but if you were T-mobile Ect. and it was a choice between £500 and removing something which doesn’t really effect you anyway what would you do !

Obviously this is not accepted practice in the industry as it defeats the whole point of having a credit reference system.

Also, if it is the case that they cant actually document the debt then the creditor knows they have 0 chance of enforcing it so if you make an offer WITHOUT PREDJUDICE or admission of liability then in some cases they will accept the payment on your terms.

This will only normally work if it is a very old debt say 4-5 years ( as they know it will become statutory barred soon, and therefore irrecoverable) or if it is for a relatively large amount that the creditor is keen to recover.

I am obviously not advocating the above process, just providing the information for reference

inmypocketnottheirs

file_wizzard wrote:

I'm not saying that they will do this in every case, but if you were T-mobile Ect. and it was a choice between £500 and removing something which doesn’t really effect you anyway what would you do !

Obviously this is not accepted practice in the industry as it defeats the whole point of having a credit reference system.

Also, if it is the case that they cant actually document the debt then the creditor knows they have 0 chance of enforcing it so if you make an offer WITHOUT PREDJUDICE or admission of liability then in some cases they will accept the payment on your terms.

This will only normally work if it is a very old debt say 4-5 years ( as they know it will become statutory barred soon, and therefore irrecoverable) or if it is for a relatively large amount that the creditor is keen to recover.

I am obviously not advocating the above process, just providing the information for reference

Valid points, cheers!

blt

Thanks for your help everyone! I'm going to write a letter to t-mobile, without prejudice, when I have actually got £100 in the bank to offer them. I'll let you all know how I get on in case anyone else is in the same position. inmypocketnottheirs, will you please post how you get on with t-mobile? I'd appreciate any help! Thanks again