So now what do I do next

teekay_tk

Hi All
First thanks to all the replies I got for my earlier post about Full and Final settlement.
I had written to all the creditors with the standard National Debt Helpline letter. I just had about 17% to offer on all loans and credit cards all together of 26K. I thought that by the time thy write back to me I may be able to secure some more money from a friend and offer a slightly bigger sum. I have not been able to do this yet although I may have some more money from another family member in a couple if months time (they are waiting for sale of their property).
So essentially I want to stall the process OR somehow get them to accept the 17% F&F even if a small number of them do this.
I did expected them not to accept this offer as it was too low, I have not yet missed a DMP payment and all my priority loans are OK. I have now started to receive letters back from the credit card companies. They have refused the offer and sent me forms for financial statement letters.
So,
Should I fill these in, or ignore them and keep making payments to StepChange
If I fill these statements in should they match the Step Change one or as advised somewhere else down the forum, I should just show £1 left per creditor.
Should I write back to them that the offer of money is no longer available and that I will write to them if I have this offer again.

I am really confused, because I have taken the step towards the F&F without at least 50% to offer. Have I shot my self in the foot.

Apologies for this long post.

National_Debtline

Without knowing the full situation it is difficult to say for certain but I would suggest a few things that may help.


First of all, don't panic - if you have a DMP set up and that is affordable then keep doing that for now. You will be making a positive impact on your overall debt and the creditors are unlikely to be bothering you if they are receiving regular payments from Step Change. I don't see what you would gain by doing a budget that shows you can only pay £1pcm if you can pay more. Full and final offers are discretionary and there is no guarantee the creditors will accept even when you increase the offer, so be careful not to discredit your DMP in case you need it in the future. Second of all, you don't need 50% to do Full and Final offers and it is quite common that people start with a low offer and work their way up.

Be careful when writing back to your creditors to renegotiate - they may be trying to pressure you into increasing your offer. Sometimes an immediate response highlights your situation and that you may be 'desperate' to settle the debt. Speak to your family/ friends and find out more about how they can help, then, when you are ready, write back to your creditors with a confident offer (there is no need to 'take the offer off the table' in the meantime - just wait until you know more). Good luck


Laura
@natdebtline

teekay_tk

Thanks Laura
I will keep paying DMP and wait until I have confirmed and real offer to present to them.

Your detailed answer's really appreciated.

teekay_tk

Sorry for re-opening this thread. I have one more question. One of the lenders, PRA group have sent me a letter back with a counter offer asking for about 90 percent of the loan instead of the 17% I had offered. Should I pursue then further and negotiate with them a bit? IF I negotiate with them one to one then what about all the pro-rota stuff.
Thanks

sourcrates

teekay_tk wrote: »

Sorry for re-opening this thread. I have one more question. One of the lenders, PRA group have sent me a letter back with a counter offer asking for about 90 percent of the loan instead of the 17% I had offered. Should I pursue then further and negotiate with them a bit? IF I negotiate with them one to one then what about all the pro-rota stuff.
Thanks

I would wait until the money is available to you.

Then you negotiate the very best deal you can with each individual creditor.
Some will say you must treat creditors fairly, I say haggle the very best deal you can with each of them.

The idea is to persuade them that the offer you are making them represents the very best deal they can hope for, in order to do this I suggest you use artistic licence when you write to them.

Make the suggestion that you are concidering Bankrupcy, in which case they get diddly squat, do you get my drift ? :A