Full & Final Settlement Advice

Jess137

Hi everyone,

First post on the forums - hopefully I haven't put this Q in the wrong section...!

Some advice needed. I currently have credit card debts totally almost £30,000 (£13,000 of which is secured against my mortgage) with 4 different companies.

I initially used Step Change over a year ago but there was an error with how they negotiated with one of the companies which resulted in a CCJ and the debt getting secured against my property. My Dad knew a debt advisor and he agreed (for a reduced fee) to negotiate and set up monthly direct debits to all cards from my account and for the interest to be frozen on them.

One of my cards (FlyBe/Creation) has now come out of this 0% arrangement. I had been paying £55 per month with a balance left of approx £5,800. Now the interest is back I am getting charged over £155 in interest each month. I rang them up myself as if I want to use the debt advisor again I would have to pay. They said I need to send in 3 months bank statements as I'm self employed and do a financial statement.

All that is no problem to get done. I probably can afford to pay a bit more than the £55 I had been per month, but I don't mind - I would rather it is all done properly and above board.

However, my partner has just received a bonus from his full time job (approx £3,000). We are unsure whether to try to make a final settlement with Creation for this debt as this is the only one currently out of the 0% arrangement.... Or should I just re-negotiate a monthly amount and pay it off slowly. Not sure how much of a settlement would be acceptable for a £5,800 debt. Or this may just drag on too long trying to negotiate a figure, and in the meantime the interest payments will be adding up again.

My partner himself has some credit card balances but these are manageable for him and he has just done a 0% balance transfer. Should he use the money to pay off his cards completely at this stage in case it gets unmanageable for him in the future?

I know ultimately it is our decision but just wanted some outside opinions if anyone has had similar experiences...

Thanks!

National_Debtline

Hi Jess and welcome to the forum. Your post is more likely to get responses if you put it in the Debt-Free Wannabe section.


I suggest that you have a look at our guide to making lump sum settlement offers. This offers advice on negotiating tactics and letter templates that can be used to make proposals:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/fullandfinalsettlementoffers/lumpsumoffers.aspx#


On a separate note, I would strongly advise against paying anyone, family friend or otherwise, to negotiate on your behalf in future. I appreciate that an error may have been made in your previous dealings with a debt charity, but ultimately these are negotiations that you can do yourself at no extra cost and you do not need someone "qualified" to act as an intermediary.

Dennis
@natdebtline