Zopa Loans

alboy850

Has anyone had any dealings with Zopa about a F&F Settlement offer?

I think I have negotiated a F&F offer with M&S Bank at 35%. Just got to wait for their letter.


I am going to try with Zopa next

19lottie82

Surely if you're at a F&F settlement stage, then you must have defaulted on a previous financial agreement? And your previous posts show you're in a DMP?

If so I would forget about getting a loan from anyone, including Zopa. Sorry!

alboy850

Sorry, I didn't really explain properly.

Zopa are one of my creditors, after agreeing a F&F with M&S Bank who In fairness have been ace, I was wandering if anyone has had previous negotiations with Zopa.

19lottie82

ah ok, thanks for the clear up! and good luck

alboy850

I do not have any intentions of getting in debt again, the experience has taught me a lot.

jamesd

I've no experience with Zopa and F&F offers on the borrowing side.

As someone who has lent there, please do remember that Zopa lent you nothing. It was other people who did that and who are directly taking the loss from any F&F agreement.

Zopa does accept partial settlement in cases of insolvency, notably an IVA. I'm not sure of the exact values but I think they are not inclined even in that case to agree to a figure below 60% or so from the sample I've seen. It's interesting that it seems quite common even after some forms of insolvency for borrowers to make payments, in spite of the removal of legal compulsion to do so.

It's also worth considering that Zopa cannot generally compel individual lenders to accept any settlement. Except where compelled by insolvency law a lender is perfectly entitled to tell Zopa that they wish to pursue the debt themselves, then take the borrower to court to seek the money. There are some exceptions to this, notably where the default is old and the debt has been transferred to the law firm doing the debt collection.

From my fairly limited sample size that law firm seems not inclined to take no for an answer or to just give up. Wherever lawful in my list of defaulted loans they seem to have gone all the way through to bailiff use to get the money when that's appropriate.

Zopa is pretty conscious of it not being their money and from what I've seen on the lending side seems to be a hard case except in insolvency or making extended arrangements to pay based on affordability, which are likely to get reviewed annually. They seem very receptive to such reduced payment and extended time arrangements, whether short term or long term. At least from what I've seen nobody should ever hesitate to ask for such reduced payment consideration from Zopa when it's appropriate.

I've never seen any sign at all that Zopa has accepted a F&F proposal.

I expect that both Zopa and the lenders there would:

1. Go with the full DMP term until 2019.
2. Seek an increase in payments based on the reduced amount owed to other creditors, but perhaps be willing to accept some increase in your uncommitted cash, so you do end up better off in the short term also.

I think a far higher chance of getting agreement to accept less than the full possible increase in payment amount and you might try asking to keep 50% of any increase to give the person providing the money the improvement in your circumstances that they are seeking. Otherwise it costs that person money but takes a longer time for you to see the benefit.

Please do say how you get on. Hopefully my experience of what happens from the other side has been of at least a little use, even if my experience that they are likely to be a hard case is not what you'd have liked to read.

Best wishes with whatever adverse circumstances caused the need for this situation!

iolanthe07

It does seem mean to screw Zopa lenders, who are mainly just ordinary people with a bit of spare cash, not faceless mega-banks.

jamesd

How have things gone with Zopa and F&F? Any good or even bad news?