DMP own ran- settlement advice

gerrard88

hi all

lowell have sent me a few letters now to say they have given me a 2k discount so only need to pay 1k to write it off

Should I do this or keep paying my payements? Says something about if pay early can affect credit score more?

Thanks in advance

RAS

If they actually mentioned "credit score" then ignore everything as it's an American thing of no consequence in UK finance. If they referred to your credit record, then settled debts have some effect but not a lot.

If they are that keen and you have the brass, I'd suggest offering say £3-400 and see what they say. You might end up paying £5-700? Play hard ball.

Rob5342

Settling early can be a very good option as you can save a lot of money, but only do it you can afford it. Offers will always be available so don't feel you should do it now if you can't afford it.

Have you made a CCA request, you should always do that before making an early settlement. If they can't produce the cca then the debt can't be enforced and you can simply ignore it. If they can then make a counter offer and play hard ball as RAS says. These companies buy a £5000 debt for £600 and then try and make out they are doing you a favour for offering to settle it at £4000 even though they'd be making nearly 6 times profit on it.

ManyWays

When a debt is settled early, it shows as a "partial settlement" on your credit record.

The debt will still drop off 6 years after the default date on the record (I am assuming it is defaulted). The partial settlement doesn't affect this.

A partial settlement will not affect any credit score that you see, And it will improve your "affordability" going forwards, as you owe less debt.

It is possible (but unlikely) that a future lender could decide not to lend to you because of the partial settlement. But most will not care about this. If they don't like the default, then that is still showing (until it drops off). If they are happy because you have settled, then tends to apply whether you settled it partially or in full.

gerrard88

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954837#Comment_81954837

great info. Thank you!

sourcrates

Discounts can always be negotiated, but when they approach you, offering a 2k discount, it makes me wonder if there may be enforceability issues with the account, maybe they just want to clear the decks, but I would be tempted to do a CCA request first and see if they are hiding anything.

gerrard88

how do i do the CCA again?

Rob5342

Just send them this letter.

https://nationaldebtline.org/get-information/sample-letters/information-about-your-agreement-under-consumer-credit-act/

To be enforceable they need to send you a copy of the original agreement, which can be a reconstituted copy. Read any response they send you carefully as they often try and fool people into thinking it's enforceable when it's not (calling it valid and collectable or other such nonsense)