Settling 15 year old debt effect on credit file

AntonyW1978

I was hoping someone could advise. I have had a payment plan for 15+ years to 7 different creditors and I get regular offers to settle the debts for a fraction of what is owed.

Because the debts are so old they don't seem to be listed on my credit report so what would be the impact if I did settle? 

If it did have an impact how long would it take to rebuild my score and I was to settle should I do them in one go or over a period of time? 

PRAISETHESUN

The damage has been done long ago and should no longer be an issue from a credit file perspective. There a difference between the 6 years debts appear on your credit files, and the 6 year statute barred timer for enforcement purposes. As you've continuously been paying then the debt won't be statute barred (ie. they are still legally owed and enforceable if you decided to stop payments) but they shouldn't be appearing in your credit files anymore. As they aren't visible to lenders, then they will haven no impact on your creditworthiness. Lenders will look at your outgoings when you apply for any new credit though, so you'll need to declare your re-payments at that stage - it's likely you'll fall foul on affordability rather than creditworthiness in any future applications if you're trying to take out more debt and are stretched a bit thin already.

IMO if you can afford it, I'd ask them for full and final settlement offers and get these sorted so you can move on with things. 

Thrugelmir

You'll need to declare any outstanding debts when you apply for credit whether they appear on your credit file or not. Settling them wipes the slate totally clean. 

peteuk

AntonyW1978 said:

I was hoping someone could advise. I have had a payment plan for 15+ years to 7 different creditors and I get regular offers to settle the debts for a fraction of what is owed.

Because the debts are so old they don't seem to be listed on my credit report so what would be the impact if I did settle? 

If it did have an impact how long would it take to rebuild my score and I was to settle should I do them in one go or over a period of time? 

I am sure someone will correct me here and I hope they do for my understanding...

A default account will drop off your credit report 6 years after the default date
An un-defaulted account will remain on your credit report for 6 years after closing it

Therefore I assume (I know I shouldn't) that as your debts are so old there are not listed on your credit report that they all defaulted (likely due to the DMP).  IF you can afford it I don't see why you shouldn't take the settlement offers, this will have no impact on your credit score as they are not being reported on.   Checkmyfile will give you the three main credit score reports, be careful as I have found out each debt may report differently to the different reports. 

Malkytheheed

Settle if you can.

crypto_dca

My source who is a registered financial advisor explains that after 6 years most debt becomes unenforceable (outside Scotland). It is longer if it is a mortgage debt. It would seem your situation will qualify and you should not acknowledge the debt. That is why it doesn’t appear in your credit report. My guess is your loan would have been on sold (a few times over) to other debt recovery agents who entice you to recognize the debt.

If you already contacted to settle, the period resets the clock again which means it becomes enforceable if you fail to pay. If you haven’t, I suggest you contact your own financial advisor for the next steps. Do not attempt to make contact or agree on anything as you will be in for unnecessary shock

crypto_dca

Sorry I misread your post earlier. If you have been making payments then my earlier post does not apply. Apologies for the confusion 

sourcrates

There will be no effect whatsoever as the accounts have long since fallen off your credit files, you may as well settle for as little as possible.

And its credit history you want to rebuild, not your score, that doesn't exist except for commercial reasons.