Making an offer of settlement

ManyWays

Payplan and StepChange will remove debts from a DMP if they are unenforceable because the CCA cant be produced. You can also make settlement offers to an individual debt, the DMP firm may huff a bit, but if its paid off, its paid off. 

Rob5342

np1v08 said:

What I'm still not sure about is what does it mean if they do have the CCA (e.g., Halifax or M&S, who will certainly have them)? Once the default reaches its 6-year anniversary and the record drop off my credit file, can they still pursue me legally with the potential for a CCJ if I don't pay up? 

If it has defaulted and they have the CCA then they can get a CCJ against you. If it's statute barred then that doesn't automatically stop them getting a CCJ, you have to use that fact as a defence when they try and get a CCJ. It will become statute barred 6 years after the default if you make no payments and don't acknowledge the debt in writing, if you do either of those things then that resets the statute barred clock and it won't be statute barred until 6 years after that event. The default dropping off your credit report makes no difference to any of that. 

Rob5342

ManyWays said:

Payplan and StepChange will remove debts from a DMP if they are unenforceable because the CCA cant be produced. You can also make settlement offers to an individual debt, the DMP firm may huff a bit, but if its paid off, its paid off. 

If you are going to be making changes then it's far easier to manage it yourself where you can simply just make the change instead of having a middle man that just complicates the whole thing.

ManyWays

I am not saying the DMP shouldnt be ended. I am just saying there is an alternative

But it is possible to ask for the CCAs, get unenforceable ones removed from your DMP and make offers yourself. The DMP firm just has to adjust to what happens, they do not have to be the middle man (whatever they say)

fatbelly

np1v08 said:

Thank you so much to @RAS @fatbelly and @Rob5342 for your replies. 

I've only just replied now because actually all your collective responses and advice were a bit of an eye-opener to me! I've been plodding along with my DMP since August 2019, and I still have £19k to pay off across 12 accounts. I felt safe with PayPlan, and quite honestly, they've taken so much of the stress (and the admin) out of dealing with all my creditors. Consequently, I've not really given enough thought to what's going on in my credit files (other than knowing they looked *really* bad!!).  I'd also not considered whether I could manage my DMP myself – especially now that my financial circumstances will change somewhat next year when the house has gone through probate and has been sold (unlikely this side of 'Xmas). 

My first revelation was that I didn't know that an account with 'default' marked on it will drop off after 6 years regardless of whether the debt is settled or not (partially or fully). So, this afternoon, I took out a free 30-day trial for CheckMyFile, and I discovered the following: of the 12 problem accounts, I have 3 with first defaults registered in September 2019, 2 with first defaults registered in October 2019, and 2 with first defaults registered in January 2020. So, that's 7 that will be dropping off my files over the next 5 months. The other 5 have either not been registered as being in default or the date is incorrect (using the ICO advice of once payments have been reduced or missed for 3-6 months).  I will write to the companies to request the records are corrected. If this happens, all the 12 accounts will have disappeared from my credit files after January 2026. 

My second revelation was if the company can't produce the CCA, they can't enforce the debt. I had no idea.

My thinking is that I should firstly ask for the default dates on the 5 accounts to be added/corrected. Then, when I know that's done, I should ask for the CCAs, especially for those accounts that have been sold on. If any of them can't be produced, I could then stop paying them or reduce payments significantly. What I'm still not sure about is what does it mean if they do have the CCA (e.g., Halifax or M&S, who will certainly have them)? Once the default reaches its 6-year anniversary and the record drop off my credit file, can they still pursue me legally with the potential for a CCJ if I don't pay up? 

 I do recognise that PayPlan would try and make me repay as much as possible to my creditors, and I would be better off negotiating this myself (thanks for the advice). Funnily enough, at the beginning, PayPlan were trying to persuade me to go down the IVA route, but I resisted, and I have tried really hard over the last 6 years (have repaid £37k).  

Does this sound like a sensible plan potentially? 

Thanks again.

Yes, that sounds like a plan. Stick with Payplan for as long as they will let you and remember to cancel Check my File within 30 days

Also the cca requests need to be formal requests as it is non-compliance with the Act that renders them unenforceable.

Resources here

https://nationaldebtline.org/get-information/guides/credit-agreements-getting-information-ew/

We might as well use this while we have it as the government look set to disable the Consumer Credit Act act soon ss they can

np1v08

RAS said:

Even if you'd not paid a farthing towards the debt and the 6 years since the default had passed, they can still sue for a CCJ.

There's one live thread here about someone who misunderstood and didn't defend court papers for a very old debt, long since statute barred. If they responded/defended reminding that the debt was statute barred, they wouldn't have got the CCJ.

As you've been paying, the debts won't be statute barred and it's easier for them to get CCJs. 

So you've options:

Start with CCA requests and a few months later stop paying those who can't find the CCA. Just possible some will never find them but be prepared to defend any court action.

You should receive some reduced offers on these debts, consider bargaining and then paying off those as full and final settlements. It make no difference to your credit record whether it's reported as partial or full settlement as long as they confirm in writing that they will not pursue or sell the debt. Keep the record.

You will need to leave Payplan to stop paying or settle debts on an individual basis.

Edit, it's probably worth checking individual CRAs in case they have more accurate records on defaults. It can be done for free.

Yes, I did some more reading around about this last night, and I figured that was the case because I have been paying something towards the debts each month for the last 6 years – thanks for confirming it though. The last thing I want is a CCJ after all my defaulted accounts have dropped off!

 I don't intend to stop paying completely, but it would be helpful if I could reduce the payments for a few months and then make a lowball F&F settlement offer (lower for those who don't have the CCA). 

My yearly financial review with PayPlan is due in December, so I think I will leave at that point. By then, I should have a much clearer picture of who can't find the CCA and who can produce it. Hopefully, any defaults that haven't been applied or were incorrect/not ICO-compliant will have been updated as well. 

Thanks again for your advice.  I joined this site 4 years ago, but I just felt so despondent back then that I didn't take advantage of all the collective wisdom here. At the time, my DMP just stretched ahead of me for years, and I thought that I would have to pay it back in full to the last penny. But now I see things a lot more positively due to the defaults dropping off and realising I am in a position to manage my own DMP and negotiate with the companies. 

All the best,
Niki

. 

np1v08

@fatbelly

Thank you   I have set a calendar reminder to cancel the free 30-day trial. My annual review with PayPlan is coming up in December, so that would seem like a good time to move on and self-manage the DMP. 

Thanks also for the links to the National Debtline resources - very helpful! I will follow these steps to request the CCAs formally. 

Cheers.
Niki

np1v08

ManyWays said:

Payplan and StepChange will remove debts from a DMP if they are unenforceable because the CCA cant be produced. You can also make settlement offers to an individual debt, the DMP firm may huff a bit, but if its paid off, its paid off. 

I didn't know they would actually do that; good to know! 

I was going to say 'I wonder why they don't ask new clients to request all their CCAs so they can eliminate the unenforceable debts right away,' but of course it's because they are funded by the lenders, and it wouldn't help their funding model! I am grateful to PayPlan, I should add; they've been very kind and non-judgemental. However, if I can reduce what I eventually pay back, that would help me too. 

np1v08

ManyWays said:

I am not saying the DMP shouldnt be ended. I am just saying there is an alternative

But it is possible to ask for the CCAs, get unenforceable ones removed from your DMP and make offers yourself. The DMP firm just has to adjust to what happens, they do not have to be the middle man (whatever they say)

Thank you, I get what you're saying

Rob5342

np1v08 said:

ManyWays said:

Payplan and StepChange will remove debts from a DMP if they are unenforceable because the CCA cant be produced. You can also make settlement offers to an individual debt, the DMP firm may huff a bit, but if its paid off, its paid off. 

I didn't know they would actually do that; good to know! 

I was going to say 'I wonder why they don't ask new clients to request all their CCAs so they can eliminate the unenforceable debts right away,' but of course it's because they are funded by the lenders, and it wouldn't help their funding model! I am grateful to PayPlan, I should add; they've been very kind and non-judgemental. However, if I can reduce what I eventually pay back, that would help me too. 

They are stuck in a tricky position really, if they help people too much then they threaten their own funding and might not be able to help anyone.

I've done my dmp both ways. What i found was that people like Payplan can be useful and save admin when you are doing things their way with proportional payments, but when you want to start doing things your way and stop some of then it's more work to keep contacting then to change things than it is to simply adjust the payments yourself.