Settlement for old debts

dpwolves

Hi,
I have a few very old debts (7+ years old) which obviously no longer appear on my credit report and which I am paying small amounts off each month, with no interest being added. The smallest amount is £1/month with just under £9,900 still outstanding. All of these debts have been sold on at least once (the £1/month is currently with Wescot Credit Services), and I'm wondering if it's worth offering a full and final settlement amount, and if so how much would they be likely to accept? The other 2 debts are £13k (£28/month) and £13.7k (£45/month).
Any advice would be most welcome, as I don't want to offer too much and wonder if I could have got away with less!
Thanks

sourcrates

Hi,

It would be in your interest to CCA all relevant accounts first.

If compliant paperwork was not forthcoming, you could possibly settle for a lot less than is owed.

National_Debtline

Hi dpwolves

Welcome to MSE. It’s a good question, but actually there is no set amount or percentage you should offer on a full & final settlement. It’s always at the creditor or debt collections agency’s (DCA) discretion whether to accept. It is best not to start with your maximum offer, that way if they turn it down you can go back with a better offer, or if they agree first time you’ve saved yourself some money.

Make sure you split the lump sum you have available proportionally between the debts you have. It’s the fairest way to treat them as your biggest debt gets the biggest offer, down to your smallest debt getting the smallest offer. You also need to do this in writing, if your offer is accepted make sure you always keep the letter from the creditor in case you are chased again in the future.

You may find this sample letter useful https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Full-and-final-settlement-offers-(sole-name).aspx. You can also try making CCA requests as Sourcrates suggests. Good luck with it.

Susie
@natdebtline

dpwolves

Apologies, I'm new here - could you explain what you mean by CCA the accounts?

sourcrates

dpwolves wrote: »

Apologies, I'm new here - could you explain what you mean by CCA the accounts?

In order for a debt to be enforceable, the creditor must provide a copy of the credit agreement on request.

In a nutshell if they can't comply the debt can't be enforced in the courts.

Template letter here :

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/Pages/Information-about-your-agreement-under-the-Consumer-Credit-Act-%28sole-name%29.aspx

Info here :

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/getting-information/credit-agreement-advice.aspx

If compliant paperwork can't be found they may settle for much less as I said before.