We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Full&Final settlement - paid £40 less than agreed and now they want £3000 more
FinancialDunce
Posts: 10 Forumite
Please berate me all you want, I have acted completely irresponsibly. I defaulted on a £5000 Visa card from about 6 years ago in the UK (now with debt collectors), and now I want to sort this debt out. In November 2010, I managed to strike a great deal with them that I would pay £2000 by December 2010 to clear the debt– full and final settlement. I got a loan out from the bank to pay it.
However, I live in Belgium and because of exchange rate, they were £40 down when they received the transfer. They said this over the phone and email, and stupidly I didn’t pay the £40 difference straight away and naively thought they’d forget about it. I didn’t hear from them again until April this year when they sent a letter saying I hadn’t adhered to their agreement and owe them another £3000 for not sticking the original deal. So I transferred the £40 and hoped that they’d receive it and write it off. I haven’t heard from them since (nor contacted them...out of fear of what to say).
So, my question is, do I have any kind of leg to stand on? I think my only weapon is to say that it’s not in their interests to pursue the debt as I’m living outside of the UK for the foreseeable future (which is true), so they can’t really send the bailiffs round. I also had honorable intentions to pay the debt, it was because of the exchange rate that there was a mere £40 difference. However, there is no defense for me not paying the £40 difference as soon as they alerted me to it, apart from the fact that I was very broke. Perhaps I could pretend that I didn't receive their email about the exchange difference, BUT, in December, I did have a phone call with them where I was like 'oh yeah, no problem, I'll transfer that £40 right now!!' (this was probably recorded, right?). But also, lying is a bit lame and they must have already seen every excuse in the book. I know that I was very very silly and I should have paid that £40 difference straight away.
Any advice is very much appreciated. Thank you so much
However, I live in Belgium and because of exchange rate, they were £40 down when they received the transfer. They said this over the phone and email, and stupidly I didn’t pay the £40 difference straight away and naively thought they’d forget about it. I didn’t hear from them again until April this year when they sent a letter saying I hadn’t adhered to their agreement and owe them another £3000 for not sticking the original deal. So I transferred the £40 and hoped that they’d receive it and write it off. I haven’t heard from them since (nor contacted them...out of fear of what to say).
So, my question is, do I have any kind of leg to stand on? I think my only weapon is to say that it’s not in their interests to pursue the debt as I’m living outside of the UK for the foreseeable future (which is true), so they can’t really send the bailiffs round. I also had honorable intentions to pay the debt, it was because of the exchange rate that there was a mere £40 difference. However, there is no defense for me not paying the £40 difference as soon as they alerted me to it, apart from the fact that I was very broke. Perhaps I could pretend that I didn't receive their email about the exchange difference, BUT, in December, I did have a phone call with them where I was like 'oh yeah, no problem, I'll transfer that £40 right now!!' (this was probably recorded, right?). But also, lying is a bit lame and they must have already seen every excuse in the book. I know that I was very very silly and I should have paid that £40 difference straight away.
Any advice is very much appreciated. Thank you so much
0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.6K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.5K Spending & Discounts
- 247.5K Work, Benefits & Business
- 604.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.6K Life & Family
- 261.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards