Credit card balance cleared by Halifax

kcto

So I had accumulated a balance of around £10,000 on my Halifax credit card over the years, mainly making minimum payments, which were about 1% at the time, with an an interest rate of about 16.9%. About three years ago, Halifax notified me that I had been in persistent debt for 36 months and would suspend my card, offering a reduced interest rate of around 4% to help repayment.

Consequently, for the past three years, I've been paying a fixed amount well above the minimum, gradually reducing my balance to a little over £6000. However, last week, I noticed that my account balance suddenly showed zero, with a £6k transaction labelled 'An adjustment to your account' equivalent to the remaining outstanding balance. Initially, I suspected a mistake, or the possibility of the debt being sold to another company. Even if it was legitimate, I was concerned about potential implications such as a 'partial settlement' flag on my credit file. 

Then, this morning, I received the below letter from Halifax confirming that the debt had been completely paid off adding that it wouldn't affect my credit score. This still seems too good to be true. 

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Why would a credit card company write off a substantial balance when I was already on track to pay it off in the next 4-5 years? I have never missed a payment and have a 'Good' credit score.

marcia_

 That's brilliant especially if it won't show on your credit report. Banks can help people in persistent debt but this is nothing I've seen offered before 

Martico

Good to see, well done Halifax

sourcrates

Yes, doesn't happen every day, but sometimes banks take a commercial view and decide to write debts off.

This can be for a variety of reasons, persistent debt rules being one of them.

Congrats, one less thing to worry about.

Abbafan1972

My mortgage is with the Halifax - I’d love for them to clear it for me!  No chance though lol. 

Congratulations! 

chimpette22

I've had the same thing, but haven't received a letter. I feel like I've won the lottery 

freshstart2023

Was that Halifax also? Congratulations that’s great! 

DjangoUnchained

maybe its because they shouldnt have even charged you 4% and have realised this and to avoid getting into trouble with the FCA have just cleared the debt?

SavvySaverSam

chimpette22 said:

I've had the same thing, but haven't received a letter. I feel like I've won the lottery 

Hi there,

Did a letter follow? My account has ‘disappeared’ from the app but haven’t received any comms. 

The person I’m talking to online isn’t particularly useful. 

Thanks!