Settling a default

themadhouse

I am in the process of clearing up my credit remove. I have several defaults from 2010 - 2012 totally £5,000. I acknowledge these and am taking responsibility. I am making a priority to clear within 6 - 12 months but I have a few questions:

1 - If I clear up a default from 2011 this year 2015 will it clear from my credit report 6 years after the date of default (2017) or the settled date (2021)?

2 - How much difference does it make when you partially settle an account or fully settle it?

3 - Can you haggle to the get the whole thing removed with a partially settled amount? If not with a fully settled account?

Thanks

MuddyFunster

I'll add the caveat that's I'm still reasonably new to this myself, BUY ironically I worked on the other side of the fence as a Manager within a Finance Company from 2001 to 2010 so I have some background, but it may be out of date.


1) It will fall off the bottom (as we called it) of your file 6 years from the date of the default. So a default lodged in May 2011 will be gone in May 2017.


2) None, if you can get your creditor to agree to settle for less than the amount outstanding it will still show as "settled" or "satisfied" (I forget which, and it may vary from agency to agency. This though is a bit of a double edged sword because it does differentiate between someone who settled in full, or go away with a token gesture settlement.


3) Maybe, but it would be hard work. In theory you can have a default mark removed all together - BUT in order to do so, the creditor basically has to tell the agency that it was all a misunderstanding, creditors are very reluctant to do it - I actually thought it was a bit of an urban myth you could get them removed just by asking nicely - but it seems (via this forum) you can.


However, you need to give the creditors a compelling reason to do so - offering a full settlement is one option - you call them, say you're terribly sorry this over-due debt has 'slipped you attention' and offer to settle in full, if they'll remove the default - they don't have to, but they also know that if you choose not to pay, there's not much they can do to enforce it, that they haven't tried already, AND unfortunately these days, creditors don't give that many brownie points for a settled default over a out standing one.


Try to appeal to the pragmatic nature of the person you're dealing with - take the full amount in return for removing the mark, or take half, or even nothing for not removing it. That's may theory anyway, people in finance tend to be pragmatic people.