Cabot 70% Discount Offer - Should I accept?

m-holland

Hey folks looking for some quick advice.

I have a debt currently with Cabot. I have been paying it off a £2.50pm.

Today they emailled me offering to settle the account with a 70% discount.

This looks to me a good deal, but are there any pitfalls of this I may be unaware of?

MalMonroe

This sounds good to me, if you can afford to settle with that discount. I'm assuming that means that you have to pay the 30% as a lump sum and then they will consider your debt over and done with. (Just my own thoughts and opinion of course.)

If there are any pitfalls they should be outlined in the offer they have sent you. They should have supplied all their T&Cs in that email BUT if you have any doubts or worries, you could do much worse than contact one of the free debt help agencies such as StepChange, National Debtline or Citizens Advice.

They will be able to advise you. StepChange link follows -

https://www.stepchange.org/debt-info/pay-off-or-reduce-debt/negotiating-with-my-creditors.aspx

Other, more knowledgeable forumites will surely be along shortly, too.  

CliveOfIndia

The only pitfall is that it would tarnish your credit history, making it much harder to get any further credit for the next 6 years.

But if I'm reading between the lines correctly, you're already in arrears and are making token payments that are much less than your contractual payments?  If that's the case then your credit record will already have the negative markers on it, so you may as well take the offer of a discount.

m-holland

I took the discount offer and can pay it over three months. 

Thank you MalMonrow and CliveOfIndia

(and yes it was in arrears and defaulted)

Rob5342

I would have made a CCA request first, if they couldn't provide that then you wouldn't have had to pay it at all.

m-holland

Rob5342 said:

I would have made a CCA request first, if they couldn't provide that then you wouldn't have had to pay it at all.

Sorry should have said I already did that stuff first and they were able to provide the cca

fatbelly

It will make a small improvement to your credit record, as it will show as a partially settled default rather than an open one.

In any case the whole entry drops off your file 6 years after the default was applied, whether settled, partially settled or unsettled.

A 30% settlement deal is about standard for older sold-on debts. I recommend starting negotiations below that figure. That's not to say 30% is a bad deal though and if you can settle at that level  using money already saved up, it's definitely worth doing.

In fact I recommend people save a fund on the side if there are on a dmp, precisely for this reason

lardboy

Hi all,

I've had a number of cabot offers for debts in my DMP, but not taken them up. As all of the debts are over 6 years old, none appear on my credit record. 

If I take up a Cabot settlement offer for one of these, will this now show on my credit record as a partially settled debt and will it, therefore, affect my current credit rating?

TIA

MorningcoffeeIV

No.       

Nasqueron

They cannot add back debt that has reached the 6 year point and disappeared from your file

Superhoopza

So in this instance, you're clearing the debt (either as minimal payments or lump sum agreement) because you legally have to but it will have no impact on your credit history if I have understood correctly?