Pay off old RBS or not?

J1one

I have an ancient RBS loan with repayments set to a small amount that’s manageable. 

I am not paying interest.

they have offered me to settle for half the balance (5000) so a £2500 settlement. 

Should I even consider this or leave as is? 

MorningcoffeeIV

It depends.


Is it enforceable?

Would you rather get it paid?

Does it appear on your files?

Do you want to improve your credit worthiness?

Would it be cheaper to settle?

Do you have £2500?

J1one

MorningcoffeeIV said:

It depends.


Is it enforceable? I DONT KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS TBH 

Would you rather get it paid? ONLY IF IT HAS A BENEFIT TO ME 

Does it appear on your files? ITS WAY OVER 6 YEARS 

Do you want to improve your credit worthiness? MY CREDIT SCORE HAS BEEN EXCELLENT EVEN WITH THIS BUT MAYBE IT WOULD IMPROVE MY CREDIT AMOUNT? 

Would it be cheaper to settle? I GUESS YES I DONT KNOW IF THIS IS A TRICK QUESTION! 

Do you have £2500? I COULD DO EASILY 

SORRY FOR CAPS

Please see answers in caps thanks! 

sourcrates

It won`t be statute barred as you have been making regular payments.

You were asked the question "is it enforceable" ?

You would not know the answer to this unless you had done a CCA request, as compliant paperwork would be required for any enforcement action, without it the debt is dead in the water.

Settlement offers are made for a number of reasons, they may just want to clear the decks of an old account, or they may be aware they may not hold paperwork for this debt, and want to off load it before you realise this.

J1one

What should I do?

sourcrates

J1one said:

What should I do?

Well its your choice really isn`t it, only you know your plan.

saker75

Can you afford the settlement amount? 

silvercar

Are you choosing between paying it off or continuing with monthly payments? If so, then an offer of half the amount owed is something you should jump at.

Or are you choosing between stopping your payments and paying it off? If so you need to investigate if the paperwork is compliant. Be aware that if you decide to stop paying it and walking away, you may very well find that the whole of the RBS group won't deal with you in the future, so that is NatWest, RBS and whoever else is under that umbrella.

MeteredOut

To me, its a simple "what option will cause me to pay less"

How much is the "small amount" you're paying back?

You own £5,000 and are being offered to settle for £2,500. If you're paying £1/year, then it'll take 5000 years to pay back - you'd not want to settle.

But if you're paying £500/year, you're paying it off in 10 years, so, unless you're expecting to leave this mortal world before then, settling for £2,500 is probably a good idea (so long as you can afford it).

I suspect what you're paying is somewhere in between. Do the math

You could also take inflation/time value of money into account in your calculations, if you are so inclined.