Partial Settlement - Barclaycard

Gillingham23

Hi all,

My first post, so here goes.

I have an outstanding balance of just over £1557 with Barclaycard and over the last 12 months i have had a repayment plan in place of £20 per month, with all interest frozen.

Last week i made a "partial" settlement offer of £856, which Barclaycard accepted. I made this payment over the phone.

I have today spoken to Barclaycard to ask when the account would be closed and when i can expect a letter confirming this.

The gentleman i spoke to advised that the account is in the process of being closed and
and a letter would be out to me shortly. I asked if the balance on my account would be set to zero (as i expected) and he advised that it would not and the "oustanding" £701 would stay showing on my account, however they do not expect me to pay this and they will not chase this.

I asked why the balance would not be set to zero and he said so that it gives me an opportunity in the furture if i decide/am in a postion to pay the remaining, i can do so, so that it shows as "Fully satisfied".

Does this sound right?

HeinzVarieties

Was your partial settlement offer in writing and did it request that the balance be set to zero?  And was the acceptance in writing?

Gillingham23

No it was not, I called them and made the offer to pay a "partial" amount in order to close the account. They accepted this.

HeinzVarieties

Gillingham23 said:

No it was not, I called them and made the offer to pay a "partial" amount in order to close the account. They accepted this.

I think you're stuffed then, to be honest.

They have done as agreed, closed the account.  These things really need to be done in writing making it very clear what you expect from them in return for the money, with a clear and unambiguous response from them before any money is handed over.

Thrugelmir

Not possible to have your cake and eat it so to speak. Partial settlemement still leaves a marker. 

Gillingham23

Thrugelmir said:

Not possible to have your cake and eat it so to speak. Partial settlemement still leaves a marker. 

I understand a marker will be left, but my understanding was that the balance would be set to zero. This means there is no longer an outstanding balance but the the debt was settle for less.

HeinzVarieties

Gillingham23 said:

Thrugelmir said:

Not possible to have your cake and eat it so to speak. Partial settlemement still leaves a marker. 

I understand a marker will be left, but my understanding was that the balance would be set to zero. This means there is no longer an outstanding balance but the the debt was settle for less.

I'd be more concerned about this getting flogged to a DCA in the future and you having no evidence of a settlement agreement if I'm being honest.

[Deleted User]

Gillingham23 said:

Thrugelmir said:

Not possible to have your cake and eat it so to speak. Partial settlemement still leaves a marker. 

I understand a marker will be left, but my understanding was that the balance would be set to zero. This means there is no longer an outstanding balance but the the debt was settle for less.

The balance may be set to 0 and closed off, and that is how it will be reported, though it may be marked as a partial settlement. Do remember, in the unlikely event of something like a future complaint about charges (e.g. like the PPI refunds) they can still offset any refund against unpaid debts but otherwise this is likely to be the end of it. After 6 years these will disappear from your record

Sandtree

It'll be marked as Partial & Final payment and so other lenders will see that for the next 6 years. How much Barclay's has agreed to write off is broadly irrelevant as the principle that you never paid off all that you owed will be the worrying point for future lenders. 

EssexHebridean

I appreciate this is too late for you OP, but in case of someone else reading this at some stage - when dealing with F&F offers PLEASE make sure to get everything agreed and in writing. The issue with a phone call - and yes, in spite of "all calls are recorded" is that there tends to be no proof of the nitty gritty of an agreement - it can come down to "I thought this was happening" and then you find yourself in a far from ideal situation.  

If anyone else in the future is in the OP's situation please do pop over to the DFW board where there are several MSE forumers who are experts in this area and will be able to advise. 

born_again

EssexHebridean said:

I appreciate this is too late for you OP, but in case of someone else reading this at some stage - when dealing with F&F offers PLEASE make sure to get everything agreed and in writing. The issue with a phone call - and yes, in spite of "all calls are recorded" is that there tends to be no proof of the nitty gritty of an agreement - it can come down to "I thought this was happening" and then you find yourself in a far from ideal situation.  

If anyone else in the future is in the OP's situation please do pop over to the DFW board where there are several MSE forumers who are experts in this area and will be able to advise. 

Also calls are not stored forever.
They can be over written in less than a year in busy periods. As most banks will run on a limited amount of storage space,