FF settlement experience?

HEROWHENZERO

Hi DFWs

From your experience how much is normally accepted as final settlements for credit card and loan account? I've got 6 creditors ranging from £500 to £18000.

andyfromotley

There is a f&f settlement thread on this forum which has lots of very good examples.

But its a bit like asking how long is a piece of string. In general the older the debt the better. If it has been sold on thats good. If it has been sold on several times even better still.

dont even think about settling them until you have checked whether or not they are statute barred or otherwise unenforcable. just search for those threads and heed the advice of sourcrates in particular on these matters.

all of that said we see a range on here varying from 20% - 70 % of the amount owed through to plenty of comanies that wont accept f&f's - so get reading my friend.

HEROWHENZERO

Thanks Andy,

None of the debts are even defaulted yet so F&F is certainly premature, I was trying to figure out a figure to aim for.
I did a quick search and couldn't find the thread you are mentioning, do you have the link please?

sourcrates

Hi,

There are various threads on the subject stretching back a long way, as it's quite a commonly asked question.
Andy (above) sayes it all really, if your accounts are not even defaulted, then it's not something you should get be looking at yet.

You have to break the terms of your agreement first and foremost, I.e default on the account, otherwise you are still contractually obligated to repay the full amount, so no lender will give you much of a discount.

As said above, this usually works best with old debts, bought for tuppence by a bottom feeder DCA, that's where you'll get the best deal, even if a debts only been with a collector for a short while, most will offer some kind of discount for quick settlement.

Something to think about at some point in the future though.

andyfromotley

This is the main thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/115430

fatbelly

These are some examples from ONE POSTER on that thread

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=69978335&postcount=1179