Question - full and finals

char_student

With a full and final settlement offer, how does the third party paying work? My best mate going down this route and I am trying to help her. She was told to get a third party to pay the amount so that the creditors dont come back and ask for rest? Thanks

Tixy

If you admit to a creditor you have £500 and want to offer it in F&F of say a £1000 debt then its perfectly feasible they would turn round and so no to the F&F but then say we know you have £500 saved and you should pay it off your debts anyway.

If you write in the F&F letter that someone else is prepared to pay £500 to fully pay off one of your debts then if they decide to say know to the offer they cannot then simply demand that money from you anyway.

In relation to ensuring it is a full & final settlement (and they cannot chase the debtor for the rest of the balance) she needs to ensure that she has it in writing from them that the payment will be accepted in full & final settlement and that neither they nor anyone else will chase her further for this debt following payment.
(There is a factsheet on national debtline that might be worth a read if she is unsure).

bottleofred

Hi,

Having dealt with debt collection companies before, I always made a full and finally settlement offer in writing and then only paid if the company confirmed this in writing that the debt would be settled. However, on your friends credit file, it will show as a partial settlement. Typically, I offered 15-20p for every pound I owed and while some settled for high outstanding debts such as £10000, other companies got as much as 40p for every pound. I'm not sure it would make much difference getting a third party to make the offer and would say that in my experience, I only every settled when I had a written letter from the company saying this would be a full and final settlement. Hopefully if the 3rd party route makes a difference, someone else will know.
I hope this helps

Bottle of Red