Wescott

norm79

Has anybody had experience of settling a debt with Wescott? I am now in a position where I can offer them a F&F figure, however I would like this to be as low as possible so I can clear other stuff as well. What percentages has anyone had accepted with them. My debt is £4,000.

jonjamie1970

I dealt with them 2 years ago and managed to negotiate. Dont tell them how much youve got available, I managed to suggest I could "get hold" of some money to clear the outstanding but I dont recall the figures, sorry.

Tixy

Hi

I have no personal experience, but in lieu of any other advice, as its with westcott I would suggest starting around 20%-25% of the balance. They won't necessarily accept straight away but stand firm and in your letter always give a deadline for them to accept the offer by. If they come back with a higher offer simply tell them the relative who is offering to pay the debt does not have any more funds available.

If its a debt covered by a CCA and pre April 07, then you could always consider doing a CCA request to see if the debt is enforcable (either straight away or if they refuse your offer).

Hopefully someone else will have actual experience with westcott.

mr.ton.

You should not be paying Westcott anything at all as they have no legal powers to any money off you.
Only a county court has this power.
Tell them to go away & report them to the OFT/trading standards for good measure.

Tixy

mr.ton. wrote: »

You should not be paying Westcott anything at all as they have no legal powers to any money off you.
Only a county court has this power.
Tell them to go away & report them to the OFT/trading standards for good measure.

But presuming norm does not want to be taken to court and get a CCJ against him it makes sense to negotiate with whichever company owns the debt.

mr.ton.

Tixy wrote: »

But presuming norm does not want to be taken to court and get a CCJ against him it makes sense to negotiate with whichever company owns the debt.

Westcott wont go anywhere near a county court - they just threaten it in the hope that the person buckles & pays up.
It will cost them money to take someone there & wouldnt be worth their while just to get a £1 per month back if anything at all.

Tixy

On a £4k debt it might well be worth the costs involved. Besides it depends on the individuals circumstances as to what payment order would be issued. Plus some people would prefer to pay off a proportion (or all) of their debt in order to start to repair their credit rating or simply as they acknowledge they owe the money and feel morally they should pay it back.

mr.ton.

I agree with basic the principle of.."if you have borrowed & you are able to repay, then you should", however most people cannot (even £1 per month is too much for some people these days)
The industry likes to peddle the moral argument mostly.
As for credit ratings - im one of the few that thinks they are not actually worth the paper they are printed on and its a myth that they are.
Its the same myth that convinced people that DCA's had powers to obtain money off individuals.

Tixy

If someone wants to get a mortgage then they need a decent credit report - and some people don't want to wait 6years to get one, plus the time it would then take to gradually build your rating back sufficent to get a mortgage.

If you don't ever want any mortgage or credit of any form or a new standard bank account then I agree your credit report is fairly worthless.

DCAs, if they have bought a valid enforceable debt, do have a right to ask for money, and they have the power to take people to court - it is simply not sensible to give advice to suggest that never happens, it does and there have certainly been many cases of third party DCAs taking people to court for CCJs.

DVardysShadow

mr.ton. wrote: »

I agree with basic the principle of.."if you have borrowed & you are able to repay, then you should", however most people cannot (even £1 per month is too much for some people these days)
The industry likes to peddle the moral argument mostly.
As for credit ratings - im one of the few that thinks they are not actually worth the paper they are printed on and its a myth that they are.
Its the same myth that convinced people that DCA's had powers to obtain money off individuals.

Actually most people who take credit can pay.

There are several arguments for paying back. There is a moral argument, which is hard to refute, although I accept that there are many who agree with the moral argument but are simply not able to meet their liabilities. But the practical argument wins every time. If you don't pay your credit back, you won't get any more.

The Consumer Action group forum bans people from posting for no reason at all.
Do not take your advice from there anymore & let me help you with any of your DCA problems here on Moneysavingexpert

I think I can understand why you could end up banned. Consumer Action Forums have a very good reputation with me and they are not sourpuss ycats when it comes to helping people AFAICS. On what I have seen of your input on the topic of debt, I would tend to think that letting you help would be ill advised - but each to his own.

norm79

Thank you for all your replies. This account was defaulted on just over 2 years ago, however I am now in a position to tackle all my debts. I want to repay it, however if they will accept a percentage it will leave me more money to use on other debts and mean I can be debt free a lot sooner.