Full and Final settlement - reasonable offers??

Kms

Hi all.

i have a small amount of debt left and luckily in such a position to offer a full and final settlement..

the debt is in the hand of the collection agency and im looking to pay it off!

few questions,

1, if i pay a full and final settlement, would it show on my credit file as Fully settled or Partially settled? (as i'v paid a lesser amount)

2, would it be unreasonable to offer 50% or less as a full and final settlement? (iv budgeted for 50%)

Thanks in advance!

sistafromanothermista

:wave: hiya, no idea about Q1 but i think the general consensus is 30% and go from there, it may well end up being 50% xx

Kms

Thanks for your reply!

if they would accept 30% then i'd be chuffed , as with my wedding approaching fast, every penny counts!!:j

if anyone could answer question no 1 i'd be very greatful!!

Maybe this would have to form part of the negotiations?

its all to be done in writing too as i understand there is no confusion and nobody can go back on their word.

had an incident a while back where one company agreed a settlement figure of £415 (original debt was £689) over the phone, which i paid, but then chased me for the rest, claiming they had no record of the phone call!!

lilydoodle

You need to be setting the terms of the F&F, not the company you owe money to. Set it all down in a letter and get it agreed in writing. Make sure all obvious things are covered - debt is marked as satisfied in full, balance is returned to zero (any written off balance cannot be sold to a third party DCA), etc.... All the normal stuff!

As for a starting bid, why not try 15% and work upwards - if you don't ask, you won't get. The likelihood of getting a low settlement will depend a lot on whether the OC still owns the debt, whether you have been defaulted on it and a couple of other things.

Have a read round first, as F&F's are notoriously difficult to get watertight.