Is this settlement letter any good?

ricky_balboa

Hi all,

I have negotiated a settlement figure with Allied International Credit (a DCA).

I originally had a Black horse HP loan on a car.The car was returned leaving an outstanding balance of roughly £3000.
I was then contacted by Nationwide collections DCA to settle the debt, but i was unable to raise the £1000 which was agreed with them aswell.

The debt has now been passed to Allied who have agreed to a settlement of £1000, which a family member has agreed to help me with.

I have attached a link of the settlement letter they have sent me.

http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx49/slightly78/aicedit.jpg

I have explained to them that i want the letter to say "Full and Final settlement" and also "credit file left as satisfied".
They tell me that Black horse cant put this on the letter.They say that the conversations are recorded as proof, which i dont find reassuring.

Am i also right to believe/guess that Black Horse would no longer have anything to do with this debt anymore and have sold it on to them anyway?

One other query i have is, the date for settlement is March 31st, which they didnt want to budge from, even though it was less than 30 days from agreeing the amount.Do you believe this is due to getting the money before the end of the tax year?

all help and advice is gratefully received

Ricky

DarkConvict

Out of interest, have you paid over 50% of the initial hire purchase cost, there are volentary termination/surrender clauses which means you can return the car to cover any outstanding amount owed so long as over 50% is paid. If it is possible it would be in your initial terms and conditions.

As to there letter, i don't like it.
Reasons, they nor there client will chase the remainder, that does not include other 3rd parties the client may hire in the future.
It does not mention about updating your credit file either.
It doesn't state it is a full and final settlement, it just asks for £1000 for them to go away.

As such, i would use the national debtline template - http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=24_full_and_final_settlement_offers
Write back to them with your offer.

ricky_balboa

I hadn't paid over 50% of the original loan, so i wouldnt be able to clear the debt.

I will write to them with my full and final settlement offer.

The guy i had spoke to on the phone dealing with this offer is going to call me, as he knows im not happy with the letter.

Is there any harm in telling him the letter isnt up to scratch and im not willing to accept it?

thanks

10past6

ricky_balboa wrote: »

The guy i had spoke to on the phone dealing with this offer is going to call me

The very first golden rule when dealing with creditors / DCAs is: never, ever, ever, speak with these muppets on the phone, rule number 2, never, ever, ever trust them, which is why rule one always applies.

No matter how tempting / convenient it may be to you, not having anything in writing may just come and bite you on the bum, when you least expect it.

fatbelly

I never understand (well, perhaps I do) why dcas are so reluctant to use the phrase 'full and final settlement'. To me, and I would hope to any judge who might look at the letter in the future, that phrase is unambiguous. Almost any other phrase is capable of other interpretations.

ricky_balboa

I have written out my letter to send to Allied International credit,see link below (with bits missing for security)

Does this look ok?

When the guy from Allied calls, do i not speak to him at all ? , my only worry is that they do nothing about my letter as they will still think that theyre original letter is still good enough without me telling them it isnt.

Should i also include a letter saying that i will only respond to them through correspondance and not verbally?


http://i740.photobucket.com/albums/xx49/slightly78/aic%20settlement/aicedit-1.jpg

thanks