Full and final settlements advice please

stickman

Hi All,
Ok, currently on DMP (CCCS) paying £530 pmth on 48k of debt to various creditors most of which are with DCA's. What is the position in trying to get full and final settlements and what generally (ball park figure) is the pence in the pound they ask for. Thinking that if p in pound is not too bad then the old man could possibly help me to clear debt, but won't at moment as the creditors with the largest ammounts owed will not freeze interest thereby making it even longer to clear debts, at this rate 15-20 yrs.
Any help/advice appreciated
Thanks

fermi

Have the debts been sold to DCAs, or are they just acting on behalf of the original creditors (OC)?

DCAs who own the will often accept a low %. Start very very low 10 - 30%?. They most likely paid less than that to buy the debt from the OC.

If the debt still with the OC then you can try about the same, but chances of success are a lot less. Go a bit further though, and you may have luck.

stickman

fermi wrote: »

Have the debts been sold to DCAs, or are they just acting on behalf of the original creditors (OC)?

DCAs who own the will often accept a low %. Start very very low 10 - 30%?. They most likely paid less than that to buy the debt from the OC.

If the debt still with the OC then you can try about the same, but chances of success are a lot less. Go a bit further though, and you may have luck.

Thanks for reply, don't really know if debts have been "sold" or not. How do you find out.
Thanks

fermi

Well, any letters from the DCAs should tell you. You may need to read carefully between the lines.

If they say that they are "acting on behalf of their client" or something similar, then you would know that the debt is still with the OC.

If the DCA says that the debt has been "assigned" to them, then it has probably been sold on. In theory you should receive a "notice of assignment", but frequently that doesn't get done (which is naughty).

stickman

fermi wrote: »

Well, any letters from the DCAs should tell you. You may need to read carefully between the lines.

If they say that they are "acting on behalf of their client" or something similar, then you would know that the debt is still with the OC.

If the DCA says that the debt has been "assigned" to them, then it has probably been sold on. In theory you should receive a "notice of assignment", but frequently that doesn't get done (which is naughty).

Thanks again fermi now for the tricky bit. Though the old man is possibly considering helping me, I really don't want to put him in that position if I can help it. So when I find out who owns debts and if majority are with DCA's how do you find out how much they will accept in F+F settlement WITHOUT revealing how much you have available (lump sum) to clear all creditors, as surely once they know how much you have then the more they are likely to ask for.
Thanks

fermi

Start with very low offers perhaps? They can only say no, but may come back with a figure they feel is acceptable. Then you can go through another iteration of that process if it is too much. Most can be haggled down from their first demand if they are open to offers in the first place.

The problem is it's different for each person and creditor/DCA, so you can only give the very vaguest of guidelines.

You may also with to emphasise that the money is coming from a 3rd party source, and won't be available indefinitely.

stickman

fermi wrote: »

Start with very low offers perhaps? They can only say no, but may come back with a figure they feel is acceptable. Then you can go through another iteration of that process if it is too much. Most can be haggled down from their first demand if they are open to offers in the first place.

The problem is it's different for each person and creditor/DCA, so you can only give the very vaguest of guidelines.

You may also with to emphasise that the money is coming from a 3rd party source, and won't be available indefinitely.

Really appreciate your help. Have been looking at F+F letter template on Martins other forum is this the best way using the cccs formula ammount owed to creditor x lump sum / total owed OR is it better to try and get lowest possible % direct from the DCA's.

fermi

You mean this? http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=24_full_and_final_settlement_offers

stickman

fermi wrote: »

You mean this? http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=24_full_and_final_settlement_offers

Yes that's the one but,using that formula you're revealing to all of creditors the lump sum you have available, also everyone is paid pro rata. Was thinking that if you approached each creditor separately then you just might get a better % offer as opposed to the pro rata if that makes sense?

fermi

Yep, In your situation I would start with as little as you think you can get away with.

stickman

fermi wrote: »

Yep, In your situation I would start with as little as you think you can get away with.

So wil try and get lowest possible % from creditors and reluctantly money from old man. Was thinking though (if old man don't play ball ) of getting loan to pay creditors. I know you should'nt really borrow especially when you have bad credit/no rating but reasoning is, I am paying £530 pmth through cccs, even with 15.2% int on 15k will still be saving £180 and will clear it in 5 yrs as opposed to 530 and treble the years to clear.
Just a thought will try anything to clear debt quicker