haggle credit cards

amanda138a

we have three credit cards all at the max, we have been payingthe minimum amount we have come into money and want to pay them off, i phoned lloyds tsb to get the full amount owe and asked if they would make a settlement figure but she said lloyds wont make settlements, i also have a tesco card, is it worth going into my branch and talking to the manager for lloyds or should i try phoning again and speaking to someone higher?

nickmack

amanda138a wrote: »

we have three credit cards all at the max, we have been payingthe minimum amount we have come into money and want to pay them off, i phoned lloyds tsb to get the full amount owe and asked if they would make a settlement figure but she said lloyds wont make settlements, i also have a tesco card, is it worth going into my branch and talking to the manager for lloyds or should i try phoning again and speaking to someone higher?

If you have the money to repay the amount in full, are they refusing to give you the amount outstanding or are you trying to negociate a lower figure?

I'm not sure why they would accept a lower amount from you, unless you were in serious financial difficulty and they were concerned about getting something rather than nothing.

sarah1980

Amanda, my brother was in a situation last year where his wife left him and their 2 kids, he couldn't work (kids are both under 2 yrs he had to stay home with them) and had to sell his house, car etc. After all this he couldn't afford the minimum repayments so he wrote to them, asked them to freeze the interest and he didn't make any payments until the money from the sale of his house came through. Unfortunately the mortgage company hit him with an early repayment penalty, so he couldn't pay the card off as hoped. But they did agree a reduced settlement figure, I think it was reduced from about £1800 to around £1200.

I think he went to the CAB for advice and they helped write the letters. What I would say is that he had no income whatsoever, it wasn't as if he was just fed up with paying off the card each month. Not that I'm suggesting that is what you are doing, but what I mean is that they usually only let you off the hook in exceptional circumstances.

As nickmack says, if they think you could be made bankrupt soon and they would have to write off their debt, they would be more likely to cut their losses.

Best place to start would be your local CAB I reckon...

HTH

BenL

I don't think they offer settlements of lower amounts unless you have been defaulting for a long time.

At the moment you are a good customer for them, paying min payment each month as they keep adding interest.

You borrowed and spent the credit cards money so it is only right that you pay back what you owe now you can afford it.

That's my view on it anyway.

I borrow, I pay back, if I need to put off paying back for a month I pay the interest due to the CC company as they have provided me with a service.

[Deleted User]

At the end of the day everyone wants a discount so its easy to understand you wanting a settlement.

However, with you not being in arrears or defaulted, its not usual for them to accept any settlement figure from you, as you are a regular payer who is making them money and you are no risk to them whatsoever AKA the ideal Customer.

I may be wrong but im not sure youre local branch will be able to assist you with the Credit cards as they are a Bank and the CC department will usually have a separate office and contactable by phone and letter only.