Offering Partial Sum in Final Settlement

firefly47

I've been offering these to my creditors for the last 2/3 years (since I inherited a small sum); half of them have accepted but the others won't budge! :mad: All the debts have been on agreed low payment amounts with interest frozen for years (at least eight). The debts came about during marriage, they were incurred jointly but in my name and the OH cleared off leaving me with the mess! :mad: I've tried increasing the sum offered by adding a year's worth of payments to the original offer but they're not interested. Anyone got any ideas? Is the 'credit crunch' likely to make them more receptive? I've not sent any offer letters for a few months - should I just keeping plugging away or is there anything else I can do?

Thanks for listening!

GeorgeUK

What are the debts for?

If the are creditcard/loan/HP, then they are covered by the Consumer Credit Act and you can request a copy of the agreement. IF they are unable to provide it or it does not contain all the required terms, then the debt may be unenforcable. If this is the case then payment need not be made towards the debt until it becomes enforcable. If you were to offer a full and final settlement offer, pointing out that the debt is unenforcable and payment is not required then i'm sure that they would see your offer in a different light.

If any of thedebts are from the last 6 years, have you also tried reclaiming the charges on them?

Problem

Could someone help with a related question....

I have a debt with a debt agency for £238, they've said I could pay off £167 for a partial settlement but If I can pay the £238, should I pay that instead as I understand partial settlement is not good?

The other problem is that I had a previous conversation with this agency whereby - although I didn't recall it - I seem to have to accepted the lower £167 agreement and now they'r saying that is the amount I owe and not £238.

I'm a bit confused as to where I stand and would greatly appreciate any advice.

GeorgeUK

When dealing with settlements, it's best to put everything in writing.

Write to them making a full and final offer and make sure any letter you receive back confirms that it is not a partial settlement.
If you are unsure of the amount that you are due to pay, i would actually offer a lower amount, possibly £100. DCA's seem to accept 25%-50% depending on the payments they are receiving and the type of debt.

If it was a partial settlement, they'd take the money, then either request the rest a few months later or sell the debt on to another DCA.

firefly47

GeorgeUK wrote: »

What are the debts for?

If the are creditcard/loan/HP, then they are covered by the Consumer Credit Act and you can request a copy of the agreement. IF they are unable to provide it or it does not contain all the required terms, then the debt may be unenforcable. If this is the case then payment need not be made towards the debt until it becomes enforcable. If you were to offer a full and final settlement offer, pointing out that the debt is unenforcable and payment is not required then i'm sure that they would see your offer in a different light.

If any of thedebts are from the last 6 years, have you also tried reclaiming the charges on them?

Hi, They are credit card & loan debits; I'll request copies of the agreements and see if that route yields an opportunity for progress. The debts were accumulated over the years, probably starting as early as 1998 and have had the interest frozen since maybe 2000/2001, so I wouldn't know where to start with the reclaiming charges issue!
Thanks, firefly47

homealone_2

firefly47 wrote: »

I've been offering these to my creditors for the last 2/3 years (since I inherited a small sum); half of them have accepted but the others won't budge! :mad: All the debts have been on agreed low payment amounts with interest frozen for years (at least eight). The debts came about during marriage, they were incurred jointly but in my name and the OH cleared off leaving me with the mess! :mad: I've tried increasing the sum offered by adding a year's worth of payments to the original offer but they're not interested. Anyone got any ideas? Is the 'credit crunch' likely to make them more receptive? I've not sent any offer letters for a few months - should I just keeping plugging away or is there anything else I can do?

Thanks for listening!

hi, i cant offer any help as such as in similar position as you except for mine running off and leaving all the debt in my name only 2 months ago whereas i can see you further down the line, does it get any better? i am still so angry with him for doing this to me when i met him he was in a total mess financially and it was me who sorted it all out for him with banks and baliffs and giving him my savings and he could then do the same to me that someone else had done to him so he certainly knows what it feels like!!!! anyway will be watching this thread with great interest as i too want to use shares i have to try and offer some F & F so any tips would be gratefully received

firefly47

homealone wrote: »

hi, i cant offer any help as such as in similar position as you except for mine running off and leaving all the debt in my name only 2 months ago whereas i can see you further down the line, does it get any better? i am still so angry with him for doing this to me when i met him he was in a total mess financially and it was me who sorted it all out for him with banks and baliffs and giving him my savings and he could then do the same to me that someone else had done to him so he certainly knows what it feels like!!!! anyway will be watching this thread with great interest as i too want to use shares i have to try and offer some F & F so any tips would be gratefully received

Hi, Sorry to hear you are in a similar position - yes, it does get better but although I'm still angry at the way I was treated after 19 yrs married - left with over £50k in debts, all in my name, over 4 yrs ago, I don't let it get me down - life's too short! I'd already got all the debts on frozen interest and reduced payts whilst we were together - he left it all to me, even though the debts were incurred jointly, he denied all knowledge of them, refused to pay anything and then disappeared!
I've got the total down to around half now, by offering partial sums in full & final settlement - I got the letter template from the national debtline website, click on sample letters and you can download any letter, I used 'full and final settlement letter for any debt' - check the wording to make sure it is appropriate for you. You can always call them if you're not sure what to do and the website is quite helpful generally.
I just kept plugging away with the same letter every couple of months but the credit card people are the hardest nuts to crack!
Good Luck!

homealone_2

are you doing these letters off your own back or as part of a dmp with someone.? i have filled in a budget so can show i and e but with disposable income of £400 or so budget shows am not sure they will take a f and f, well thats what i am told. i would really rather use whatever budget sheets or letters i see fit as i go along but do the creditors ever contact these agencied to confirm what you have written

homealone_2

GeorgeUK wrote: »

What are the debts for?

If the are creditcard/loan/HP, then they are covered by the Consumer Credit Act and you can request a copy of the agreement. IF they are unable to provide it or it does not contain all the required terms, then the debt may be unenforcable. If this is the case then payment need not be made towards the debt until it becomes enforcable. If you were to offer a full and final settlement offer, pointing out that the debt is unenforcable and payment is not required then i'm sure that they would see your offer in a different light.

If any of thedebts are from the last 6 years, have you also tried reclaiming the charges on them?

hpw does this cosumer credit act actually work? i have never heard of it in these terms before

GeorgeUK

Hi homealone.

I've done another post explaining this so hopefully keeping this thread clear.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=18880471#post18880471

firefly47

homealone wrote: »

are you doing these letters off your own back or as part of a dmp with someone.? i have filled in a budget so can show i and e but with disposable income of £400 or so budget shows am not sure they will take a f and f, well thats what i am told. i would really rather use whatever budget sheets or letters i see fit as i go along but do the creditors ever contact these agencied to confirm what you have written

Back in the dim distant past (about 4 yrs ago) I had a session with a Money Expert at CAB - they were very helpful and took over dealing with my creditors on my behalf and got me on the right path - have you tried them?
I also contacted a debt helpline offered by my union to members, do you have this option? Contact CAB if you haven't already - they have a website if you prefer to browse this first.
I'm sort of doing it on my own now with the help of sites like this.
Good luck!