Advice required for Apex & Wescot

Phasma1

Hi all

I have the following debts and wondered if the best plan of action would be to ask for a F&F settlement:

Wescot-acting on behalf of HSBC £6130.05
Apex-acting on behalf of Capital One £2532

My questions to you guys is do I contact HSBC and Capital One with the offer? What do you think would be reasonable offers to make?

many, many thanks for taking time to read my post. xx

FireWyrm

Generally speaking, there is no requirement for lenders to even entertain the idea of a F&F. These amounts are relatively speaking, very small. If you can show some sort of extenuating circumstance, then they are much more likely to take you seriously. F&F cannot be considered a sort of 'get out of jail free' card and the banks are becoming increasingly concerned that this is what is happening. On the other hand, they have a general moral duty to consider all circumstances around the issue. What were you thinking would be a comfortable amount that you can raise? I would start low and then work up, much like old-style dickering. If you only have a pot of say $6K total to distribute with no demonstrable way to get that same amount together in future, then, £3K each would be reasonable.

If you do manage to secure a deal, then ensure that you get it in writing, that it contains the words 'full and final' since this could be demonstrated later as being the fundamentals of a contract if there should be any 'misunderstanding'. Sometimes, banks sell on part settled debts and you could potentially find yourself facing the same argument again with a less reasonable collector.

Phasma1

Thank you so much for your detailed reply.

I had been reading other posts over the last few days about these offers and thought it may give me another option that I didn't think was available.

dieselv2

There are official templates to send if there's no option on their website. Either way just cover yourself by making sure you get it written in the post before paying

FireWyrm

Templates are good, but they see dozens a day. Make yours stand out. You dont need any special training to write the letter, just common sense and remember that Full and Final is a legal term that they will understand and must abide by. You can hang them with it in a court if necessary.

Phasma1

I've received a letter from Apex today saying they would consider a "discounted settlement figure" do you think £1000 is a decent offer?

dieselv2

That's over half off, maybe close to 60% off original price. I think it's a good offer myself. You could push for a lower amount.