Full and final settlement help thread

Queen.Bess · 2 February 2016 at 4:09PM

Hi Everyone, a quick question which I hope you can help with please.

Having been on a self managed plan for 6 years now, I currently have 6 debts in total (2 loans up to date) and 4 credit cards (one up to date/paying interest and 3 in default/no interest charges).

I don't have a lump sum to divide amongst all the creditors, but I am in touching distance of a couple of them.

So, do I pay off in full the 1 credit card that is up to date with £450 on it (but also looks OK on the credit report) or do I make a full and final offer to the credit card with £800 on, but is showing default on my report?

If the latter, what is a reasonable %age to offer? Is it worth it being as I won't be paying the full amount so the account will not be fully settled?

Should I even bother at all, being as I don't have money to offer all the creditors? Would the others get 'funny' if a debt had been paid off, but I was still on a plan with them?

Sorry for the questions, but I look forward to hearing people's thoughts.

sourcrates · 2 February 2016 at 5:10PM

Hi Bess,

Are debts in default still with original creditors ?

If so, it's always worth asking if they'll settle for less than is owed, but don't expect a Hugh discount.

This works best with debts already sold on to debt collectors, as they will of paid peanuts for the accounts, they can afford to discount substantially in order to clear the account.

Queen.Bess · 2 February 2016 at 5:16PM

Thanks Sourcrates

There is only one debt of the 6 that has been sold on which was to Cabot Financial. However there is over £3k still on that and so it's not one I'm looking at offering to yet, purely because I don't have enough to make an offer with.

Not that I'm planning on asking for credit any time soon, but would a partially settled debt look bad in the future? Am I better to still plug away for longer in order to clear all the debts in full?

sourcrates · 2 February 2016 at 5:20PM

Only matters if your wanting credit before the entry falls off your file, it'll only show for 6 years remember.

To be honest if your not borrowing again in the near future it matters little what your file says.

Queen.Bess · 2 February 2016 at 5:28PM

That's great, thanks.

I've just done a snowball with increasing my payments slightly to all my creditors and it looks like in 42 months the final debt will be cleared, with some debts going a lot sooner! Which is better than the 51 months it currently is.

Might be best to stick for that now, but I might revisit again in the future should funds allow!

whambam · 4 February 2016 at 12:52AM

can you go to prison or get a financial conviction if you lose a court case against your debts?

Also, do companies which you have debt written off always hold a record of that under your name and date of birth?

Example say you had a £5k credit card maxed out with LTSB and they agreed a settlement offer and cleared the debt for 2K or whatever.

Can you reapply for another LTSB card say years or 6 months later because they have a good interest or promotion offer? Will they look at your previous record? If so how long do they keep your details on their systems?

Is it the same with debt collection agencies?

sourcrates · 4 February 2016 at 1:06AM

whambam wrote: »

can you go to prison or get a financial conviction if you lose a court case against your debts?

Also, do companies which you have debt written off always hold a record of that under your name and date of birth?

Example say you had a £5k credit card maxed out with LTSB and they agreed a settlement offer and cleared the debt for 2K or whatever.

Can you reapply for another LTSB card say years or 6 months later because they have a good interest or promotion offer? Will they look at your previous record? If so how long do they keep your details on their systems?

Is it the same with debt collection agencies?

Hi,

You asked a similar question yesterday, to which I replied above.

You cannot go to prison for debt, not since the mid 19th century !!

Financial institutions usually keep records for at least 6 years, some longer than that.
It's up to them how they use that information.

whambam · 4 February 2016 at 9:13PM

Balance Transfers are legal and everyone does them.

Is their any illegality over making a full and final settlement offer using money from another credit card provider hence its your money you can do anything you want with it to pay off a larger balance elsewhere similar to a consolidation loan?

sourcrates · 4 February 2016 at 9:20PM

whambam wrote: »

Balance Transfers are legal and everyone does them.

Is their any illegality over making a full and final settlement offer using money from another credit card provider hence its your money you can do anything you want with it to pay off a larger balance elsewhere similar to a consolidation loan?

Are you a robot ?

whambam · 5 February 2016 at 2:48PM

No, I am a human being.

If you read my question carefully its a different question. Yes, I understand that your file remains on their record for 6 years, but what does that mean?

You will be automatically declined for a credit card based on 6 years ago you had to settle an account?

Full and final settlement help thread

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