A couple of debt help tips

loobyloo1980

Yes I realised this after reading his response on separate thread!!! Doh!!!! I don;t have a lump sum no, but I thought that if I could settle a couple for 20% I would be able to get my nan to help me. I already owe her loads but as its discount it's not an option at the moment. HOwever, I am due a reimbursement from Uni for childcare fees and study materials so depending on what i am granted from them I could do it.

Hubcaps

We were in debt for over £10k until about 8 months ago. Things were so bad we ended up with the CCCS who were FANTASTIC. The CCCS recommended that if we ever had any spare cash then we should ring up our creditors and ask how much they'd take in a settlement. All but one (A&L) settled for a vastly reduced amount. We started off by paying the smallest debt off first which then freed up their payment to go towards another debt and so on and so on. We cleared our debts in less than 3 years and in July our very last default should be wiped from our Experian and Equifax accounts. We've had a mortgage offer so we can move house and our only debts are the current mortgage and a credit card (I was meant to cut up) that has £20 spent and paid off it a month to keep a line of good credit on our reference file.

It is always a good idea to ring your creditors and ask how much they'll take to clear the debt - one even knocked two thirds of the debt off. I'd ring them, it's very unlikely they'd say no (unless it's the A&L of course).

100mel

Just a tip for those being harassed by the telephone calls from creditors. In my case it was either early in the morning or late at night.Sign up for anonymous call reject from BT. This rejects all withheld numbers and callers get a message that you do not accept calls from withheld numbers. This immediately ensures that they cannot harass you, stress you or try and get you into a conversation you don't want. Also you should write to them outlining that all correspondence must be in writing

mattp_3

it also worth noting down dates and times of any phone calls for future reference, particularly if you feel you are being harrassed.

if you feel they are being unreasonable it may be worth visiting your local Trading Standards branch for further help.

remember they are not allowed to call you before 8am or after 9pm (if my memory serves me right?) - unfortunately they are normally strict on this so it is hard to catch them out - but it doesn't stop them calling at 8:05 am or 8:55pm which are still unsociable hours!

cruncher75

Hi one thing i dont understand is why would a company only take a less payment for settlement instead of what they owed. Im having a few money probs at them moment as we have just had another child which we now need to pay for a child minder so its had to pay what we were paying back on bills each month.

Malestrom

Cruncher75, creditors weigh up the short term benefit against the long term risk with a debtor. They ask themselves, shall I accept a lump sum that may be equal to half or more of what i'm owed or shall I try and recover the whole amount but risk the possibility of the debtor going bankrupt, losing their job, becoming disabled, etc.

Many times its just not worth the risk for the debtor to pursue the whole debt over a period of many years when they can get back what they feel is an acceptable amount immediately. It depends on many variables though and is dealt with on a case by case basis.

krazyk

Would these settlements affect your credit rating in anyway? Mine is Average but it appears this is not enough to get a loan ( to pay off the credit card debts) or other credit cards (to use to balance transfer the debt around.

I have many credit cards and a very large debt in total. I would like to get rid of these debts and don't mind, say, stopping use of the cards (as I only use one now).

Also, I don't have a lump sum (unless I take a cash advance from a credit card?) so would a settlement allow for payments in installments over a specific period?

K

seese

Many thanks for that Jason.
What rules apply to such as Argos card purchases,online purchases,B&Q etc.
Would love any advice at all.

angeleyes

Just a quick note I did this over 9-10 years ago for a washing machine and offered a full and final settlement payment they agreed to this and cashed the cheque. never heard from them again until about 3 months ago I got a letter requesting the remaining balance - I didnt even know what this was for it was so long a go. i phoned them up and queried it the debt had been passed on i told then the was so way of pursuring this duethe time expired with no contact and i havent heard from them since -just though I would mention it - I have since found out there is a law that if there has been no contact by either party for a certin lenght of time they cannot requerst any more payments

dazedhorizon

angeleyes wrote:

I have since found out there is a law that if there has been no contact by either party for a certin lenght of time they cannot requerst any more payments

Any more info on this at all ?

Thanks