Unexpected inheritance… what should I do about these debts?

RAS

The debt collectors paid 10-30p in the pound, sometimes less.

The OP can't make offers without extending their liability but if they receive settlement offers, there is no harm ringing (not writing to) the creditor and  making a counter offer. That way they clear some debt and the debt collector makes a little profit.

Rob5342

Flatericsdistantcousin said:

If OP wants a mortgage at a good rate, clear the debts off. If it's an unexpected windfall, it's a good opportunity to do this. 
It's certainly not throwing £10000 away, it's paying what you owe. But you may well get more lenders and better rates. 
If you can already show you are paying rent, your in a position to potentially even get a zero deposit deal. 


fatbelly said:

This illustrates why you should get debt advice from a debt adviser, not a financial adviser. The latter would be happy to see you throw away 10k for no good reason

If they wait a few years the debts will become statute barred and will have dropped off their credit report. Its a complete waste paying £10,000 when cleaning the Capital One debt for £300 would put them in exactly the same position. The original creditors will have sold the debts on and cut their losses, so the question of paying or not is just do you want to give debt purchasers a huge profit or use that money for your own benefit. 

sourcrates

Flatericsdistantcousin said:

If OP wants a mortgage at a good rate, clear the debts off. If it's an unexpected windfall, it's a good opportunity to do this. 
It's certainly not throwing £10000 away, it's paying what you owe. But you may well get more lenders and better rates. 
If you can already show you are paying rent, your in a position to potentially even get a zero deposit deal. 


fatbelly said:

This illustrates why you should get debt advice from a debt adviser, not a financial adviser. The latter would be happy to see you throw away 10k for no good reason

In 24 months the debts will be off his file and statute barred, so the OP will be in exactly the same position if they keep the 10k, rather than feed the profits of debt purchasing companies that paid peanuts for his old accounts.