What should i offer F&F

Beys28

Hi There,

I'm new to this site so please bare with me.

I have had debts hanging over my head for so many years now, i'm pretty sick and tired as i'm sure many of you are.

Being only 28, I don't want to carry on the rest of my life paying debts off and never getting anywhere...

I have outstanding debts totalling approximately £18K between 4 creditors, which may seem like a drop in the ocean compared to many of the threads i've read, but its still debt worries that have kept me awake for many nights on end.

Thing is, I lost my job last year and was out of work for just over 6 months. Yep...hit by the credit crunch! I was already in a Debt Management plan and all of my creditors were Debt Management companies, however now i am back in work i am on more money and want rid of the debt i have hanging over me.

I've spoken with a financial company who have advised it'd be a good idea to offer full and final settlements to all of the companies, as I haven't paid for some 16months, so will probably jump at the chance of closing this down, especially considering they bought the debt for a fraction of the value of it, and haven't received anything!

I however, i'm not convinced...

I've written letters to the creditors which i'm due to post out tonight, i've offered them all £400 to accept and close the account, but what happens if they say no? What are the chances of them saying yes?

Many people i've read have received lump sums, I however will be paying out of my monthly earnings, so i'm hoping they'll say yes (obviously) because i don't have anything to barter with.

I see people being advised to request a copy of the CCA, but i don't know why or how it will benefit me if i do...

I really have had enough now, i'd like to make it to my thirties and be debt free able to start again. If i had something to show for it then i wouldn't feel so crap about the whole thing, but i don't unfortunately. I was a youngster who had money thrown at me and like anyone would do, jumped at the chance of credit. Now i'm older and much wiser, i'd like to be able to start afresh....

Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly received :j

gonzo127

well if you have a lump sum to pay off your debts here is a ROUGH guide on what companies have been known to accept,

please remember some people get lower amounts other have to pay much more than this,

these things depend on so many variables including what side of the bed the person in the company got out off

anyways rough guide is below

Debt still with original creditor NO default = 90% or more
Debt with original creditor but with a default = 75% or more
Debt with 'in house' debt collectors of the original creditor = 60% or more
Debt with external debt collector however still property of original credit = 40% or more
Debt owned(purchased) by external debt collectors = 25% or more

if you dont your best bet is to one post up a statement of affairs so we can look at your income and outgoings and try and advise, and the next is to speak to one of the debt charities such as CCCS, CAB, national debt helpline

Tixy

Hi

Can I clarify -do you mean that all your debts were with debt collection agencies when you lost your job. Did you stop all payments at that point and have paid nothing since? Are they all definitely external debt collectors rather than the inhouse people (eg blair oliver scott are in house for halifax bank of scotland)

What has happened since? have they been chasing you? I assume none have gone to court?

Do you owe them all roughly the same amount?

I suspect that your offers will be too low for them. Generally a 20% settlement is considered a really good deal on here, yours overall are only going to be 9%.

With regards to requesting the CCA, if they are debt covered by the consumer credit act and were taken out before April 2007 there is a chance that the debts may not be enforceable in court if the agreements do not contain all the correct terms. If you did find that any of yours were unenforcable it would a) ensure they couldn't take you to court and b) mean you could pay nothing or that your low F&Fs might be more likely to be accepted.

Beys28

Hi,

Apologies, i thought i'd lost this thread!

My debts are as follows

Cabot - £11118
Rockwell - £4088
Capquest - £3179
AIC - £721

All of these debts are with external debt collectors and i was doing a debt management plan before i lost my job with Payplan. I haven't paid anything since Christmas 2008 and i get the odd letter and phonecall now and again, but thats about it, nothing has gone to court?

I am expecting Cabot to reject, but I have offered Capquest and Rockwell around 10%, which i have read on here is the best figure to start at. The company i spoke to for advice also stated that they haven't received any payment from me for 18 months and probably paid a fraction of the value for the debt, so may jump at the chance of closing it. So i'm kinda hoping and praying that they do. AIC stems from bank charges on a Lloyds TSB bank account after I had my card cloned in 2007. I've already claimed back £879 from them, but they carried on charging me after the date i submitted my claim to the Financial Ombudsman, so £721 is whats outstanding plus interest etc. Unfair debt to be honest considering its from having an account cloned. But i've offered them £100 which is more than 10%

Is this the right thing to do? Whats your views on this?

Beys28

Oh, and all of the debt (except for AIC) is from before 2007, so is it good to request a CCA if they say no to the F&F?

Tixy

Did you use a standard letter from somewhere for your f&f settlements (the national debtline template is a good start). Did you ensure that you asked for their written agreement (if they accept) that this is in full & final settlement, that your credit files will be updated and that neither they nor anyone else will chase you for the remainder etc?

It probably doesn't hurt to try these offers but if they do turn them down you may find they step up the pressure for you to start paying more off the debts (asking for a new income & expenditure account etc).

In the AIC letter did you mention the unfair charges?

Tixy

Beys28 wrote: »

Oh, and all of the debt (except for AIC) is from before 2007, so is it good to request a CCA if they say no to the F&F?

Yes, providing they are for debt covered by a CCA (e.g not overdrafts)

Beys28

I found a standard letter on the internet which requests them to confirm in writing so i've used that.

I don't mind if they do ask for a new income and expenditure, however they've never asked for one before they've always dealt with Payplan before.

Cabot and Rockwell are both for loans, and Capquest was for a credit card.

I am thinking about speaking to the Financial Ombudsman Service about the AIC, because they dealt with the claim for unfair bank charges for me last time. I don't want money back, i just want them to get rid of whats outstanding and close the account.

Maybe if they reject my offer, i'll ask for a CCA and see what happens then.

Thanks for your help guys and gals