full and final settlement offer advice and help

DrDoo

Hi

i've managed to save some money over a few months with the idea of offering settlements to DCA and paying off 2 small credit cards and potentially be debt free. i'm very excited about this. :j

I offered my metropolitan DCA £450 of a £800 outstanding balance (i've been paying £55 a month for a while now) but they refused this. Any advice on what i should do now? i can't afford to pay the whole thing off.

I've been a lurker on here for a while now and fear i may be chastised for trying to get out of my debts so would like to add that the £450 offer plus the £55 a month has completely covered my original debt of about £1100 without all of the hefty charges and interest they piled on.

I would really appreciate any advice on what steps i should take or whether i should just carry on paying the £55 a month untill they accept something.

Numpty_Monkey

The only chastisement you will gett is for not posting more often:p

I think the offer is fair but I'm not a DCA
It might be worth asking them next month for a settlement figure
and maybe you might have to up yours somewhere nearer theres;)
If you can

DrDoo

thankyou for your reply

metropolitan DCA told me that they don't make offers but that i had to suggest something and they would get back to me. When he originally said this (completely unexpected and i'm completely clueless about finance so had no idea what was acceptable) but i did a quick calculation of how much i could afford taking into account the debts i want to pay and suggested £450 - when i looked around the internet it seemed i'd made a fair deal, as mostly it suggests to offer about 40%.

I guess i'll try again. a friend suggested that i say i'm no longer able to afford £55 a month (which would be a lie) which may make them more inclined to accept my offer but then i worry that i'll p**s them off and they'll start harrassment despite my having paid on time every month. any ideas?

Tixy

Hi. Have you ever done a CCA request (a request for the original consumer credit agreement for this debt)? Usually the best/lowest F&F offers are when the DCA is unable to provide an enforecable CCA.

I think DCAs work in percentages quite often in which case if you could up your offer to be 60%, which is only a slight increase in money, then it just might make a difference

Did you make the offer by letter or phone? Did you use a proper template that says all the 'proper' F&F stuff about not chasing you for the remainder etc? A good template can be found on national debtline's sample letter.

aimingforadebtfreelife

I take it the debts are HSBC as Metropolitan are the HSBC "in house" debt collectors.

Its a scare tatic to get you to pay thinking its been passed onto another company when in fact you are speaking to HSBC staff all the time.

But the golden rule of contacting DCA's - DO NOT, EVER, PHONE THEM

They will twist you to pay more than you can afford. All of the staff at debt collection offices are monitored how much money they bring in. Put everything in writing so you create a paper trail.

I used to work at a DCA and we were given post inbetween calls to deal with. As you were on inbound calls you couldnt call out so it was a case of accepting or putting to one side to deal with later - and most of it, yes, was accepted.

As you are still dealing with "HSBC" they will not go for a low settlement figure. as they still own the debt and not sold it on. Offer 50% in writing, but offer it right at the end of the month!!! Why? Everything runs on figures, and the important ones are monthly ones. If you offer a cash sum right at the end of the month they are more likely to accept so they can include it in that month's figures, especially if collections are down.

Good luck in becoming debt free. Dont want to put a downer on it but Metropolitan I have heard are tight and settlements rarely offered. If so keep paying the £55 and offer a recued fig 6 months down the line.

DrDoo

thankyou for the advice everyone

I will certainly be following these tips!

GeorgeUK

Is there a CCA for this debt? (not for overdrafts)
Have you tried reclaiming any charges or PPI