Part Settlement Offers

freddie2020

Hi,

Been ringing round creditors in my DMP regarding part settlement. 

One has agreed to 20% just off phone call.
Generally average is 50%
One only offering 80%
One will only consider anything after income report. 

With the 50% +  ones, how might try to reduce more?

Some said this is our final offer  - shall I send them a income report anyway? ect...

If I ring up and say I can offer 30% here and now, settling over the phone.
Might they agree to instant settlement at lower amount

Thanks

Rob5342

You could try phoning, you might have some luck but they can be stubborn. Saying it's their final offer is just a negoting tactic, they will be open another offer later. If you don't get anywhere then reduce your payments and try again in 6 months time, they are probably more likely to accept when they can see it will take a long time for them to get their money back. 

Grumpelstiltskin

Before you think about paying have you checked the debts are enforceable?

Have you requested and received CCAs for loans and credit card debts?

freddie2020

Rob5342 said:

You could try phoning, you might have some luck but they can be stubborn. Saying it's their final offer is just a negoting tactic, they will be open another offer later. If you don't get anywhere then reduce your payments and try again in 6 months time, they are probably more likely to accept when they can see it will take a long time for them to get their money back. 

Have already been in a DMP for 10 years...
20% of the debt already paid off under DMP

Paying a small amount each month, would have to go to £1 per month to get any lower, to be honest...

Currently would take till 2067 to fully repay the debt.  

freddie2020

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Before you think about paying have you checked the debts are enforceable?

Have you requested and received CCAs for loans and credit card debts?

Not yet - however from reading a bit online, feel this tactic is a bit old in the tooth  (please correct me if wrong)

I guess coudl try it anyway...

Rob5342

freddie2020 said:

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Before you think about paying have you checked the debts are enforceable?

Have you requested and received CCAs for loans and credit card debts?

Not yet - however from reading a bit online, feel this tactic is a bit old in the tooth  (please correct me if wrong)

I guess coudl try it anyway...

The older the debt is the more likely it is that the cca can't be found, it's also less likely if the debt has been sold numerous timea. 

It's always worth trying if you are considering making a settlement offer. The debt collection companies would like you to think it won't work but some people have haf success with even quite recent debts. If you agree lucky you could save yourself quite a bit of money. 

fatbelly

S77-79 requests under the Consumer Credit Act may well be 'long in the tooth' as they came in with the 1974 Act and are due to be abolished if the present government gets their way.

However, for now, they exist and are an effective strategy for us, where relevant.

National Debtline has guidance here

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

tigergambit

freddie2020 said:

Hi,

Been ringing round creditors in my DMP regarding part settlement. 

One has agreed to 20% just off phone call.
Generally average is 50%
One only offering 80%
One will only consider anything after income report. 

With the 50% +  ones, how might try to reduce more?

Some said this is our final offer  - shall I send them a income report anyway? ect...

If I ring up and say I can offer 30% here and now, settling over the phone.
Might they agree to instant settlement at lower amount

Thanks

I had verbal agreement from PRA to settle a debt at 23% recently but they never sent the paperwork. Be careful and ensure that you have their commitment not to sell or further pursue the debt in writing (or email). 
In my experience most creditors will settle under 30%. If not, just let them swing on minimal payments for another year and try again.

sourcrates

Although its very tempting to just ring up and say "will you accept such an such in final settlement of this debt"?

The call handler will have very little discretion to accept such offers, as these decisions are made on a commercial basis, usually much higher up the chain of command, you also run the risk of them just accepting what you offer as a "partial payment" against the debt, and they still chase you for the rest of the money.

As with everything, there is a right way, and a wrong way to do things, you can always negotiate over the phone, but they must back up what is agreed in writing, before any money changes hands.

The wording of the acceptance letter is also crucial, they must agree to accept what you are offering in partial settlement of the debt, and they must also agree that neither they, nor their agents, will pursue the remainder of this debt in any way whatsoever.

Only once you have this in writing, are you good to go.

This is so important as we have seen stories on this board from posters who thought they had settled debts years earlier, and then been chased again, after the lender sold the remainder of the debts on to a 3rd party, all because no succinct written agreement was made at the time to say they couldn`t do so.

bcs7

freddie2020 said:

Rob5342 said:

You could try phoning, you might have some luck but they can be stubborn. Saying it's their final offer is just a negoting tactic, they will be open another offer later. If you don't get anywhere then reduce your payments and try again in 6 months time, they are probably more likely to accept when they can see it will take a long time for them to get their money back. 

Have already been in a DMP for 10 years...
20% of the debt already paid off under DMP

Paying a small amount each month, would have to go to £1 per month to get any lower, to be honest...

Currently would take till 2067 to fully repay the debt.  

Sounds like you can't really reduce your payments any more so the only option is to keep paying the low amounts and try offering again in 6 months time.
Some creditors can be more stubborn than others and will wait longer to see if they can squeeze more out of you.
It can also depend on the size of the debt.
For example if you've got a £5K debt, you're paying £10 a month for (40 years) and you offer 30% (£1500) they're going to be thinking getting £1.5K would take over 10 years if you carried on paying £10 so getting that much straight away is tempting.
But if you've got a £500 debt, paying £1 a month, is going to take 40 years. You could offer 30% (£150) but they could think it's far more likely you'll be able to get hold of £150-£500, so they'll be more likely to hold out and not accept a low discount.

RAS

To reiterate, have you made CCA requests?

Any of the debts defaulted in the last 6 years?