Offering Creditors 50% To Settle Account?

dancarr56_2

Hello all,

I have done some searching on the forum but I'm admittedly awful at using forum searches. So my apologise if this has been said 1000 times already. A simple link to a previous post may just do the trick

So, onto the problem...

I am in debt with 7 Creditors.

I have 4 Catalogue debts with ShopDirect (Littlewoods, Empire, Gratten I believe).

Another Creditor is named Commercial Credit Services whom I believe are BT? or have my BT account.

Next I have Lowell Financial LTD for an old Vodafone contract. This is actually defaulted on my Credit Report, unsure on what it means completely, as on the Credit Report its showing as if I don't owe them the money now... Very confused!

And finally, HFC Bank Plc whom I believe are SCS (the settee place ).


Now the balances I owe on the catalogues are £94/£104/£302/£643

Commercial Credit Services (BT) is £231

Lowell Financial LTD (Vodafone) is £349 (defaulted on report??)

HFC Bank Plc (SCS) is £2000. Now the actual purchase price was £1100. On my account it says settlement fee £1500. Total owed is £2000.

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I have had to leave work due to medical reasons and that I am now forced to claim ESA. It isn't likely that I will be in work until mid next year, so obviously I don't have the money left over to carry on paying the debt. I was lucky enough that the mother-in-law has raised quite a large amount of cash to try and get rid of these debts for good.

My plan of action is to ring up all my creditors throughout today and ask them for a settlement fee. The mother-in-law has suggested trying to negotiate only having to pay of roughly 50-70% of the debt as a one lump payment in an attempt to settle the account.

Can some of you with more knowledge and experience please explain to be the best cause of action to try and lower the actual fee owed and just in general give me some advise on how to do this.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Sunnylooloo

Hi

I have read a bit myself on this as I am hopefully going to be trying to make F & F offers in the future.

Have a read of this thread it may help https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2626185

LL

GeorgeUK

Under no circumstances should you phone them. All of this should be done in writing only and you must have a letter stating that the settlement is a full and final settlement and that you will not be pursued by them or any other party of the remainder. If they do not put something like that in a letter to you, do not go sending them any payment.

This has some links to letters and explains the default.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=30305907&postcount=7

mandz1

If i was you, i would offer them less than 50% first. So for a debt of £104 offer them £40. The only thing they can do is say no. If your debt is with a dca, they probably brought the debt for a few pounds. If they say no just up it by £10 until they accept. i agree with Georgeuk do not phone them. Write to them, explain your circumstances aand tell them this is all you can afford.
hope this helps. keep us posted on how u get on.

mcjordi

have you requested cca's for the catalouges??

btbc

I thought any company that offers to buy your debt is a scam

mandz1

btbc wrote: »

I thought any company that offers to buy your debt is a scam

I wasnt on about someone buying the debt from them, but when it gets passed onto a dca, they normally buy it off the company you actually owe money to and they normally pay 10% of what the debt actually is. That way the dca can make alot of money for chasing the person that owes the debt.

btbc

Hi Mandz

There was a spam post for one of those we will buy your debt company's above my post that caused this misunderstanding.

bottleofred

Hi dancarr,

I would put all offers to your creditors in writing and request all responses are also in writing. I would also start very low with the settlement figures and see what happens. For example, you could offer 20% as a starting offer and they could then make a counter offer of say 50%, after which you could make another counter offer of say 25%. However, do not pay anything unless you've got written confirmation that the offer is a full and final settlement for the debt and therefore no other company or the current dca can come after you later for the remaining cash.