Hi everyone, as you might tell, I'm new here... I pretty clueless in which direction to go and I desperately need help from people in the know so I'm here as this seems the right place to get different opinions etc...

Right, my situation...

Back in March 2009 I took a personal loan out for a newish car with Blackhorse Finance, the agreement was for £9,600 spread over £207 payable back over 60months... Originally the agreement was to be on Vehicle Finance terms but for some reason I couldn't get that so they changed it to a personal loan and got it through for some reason... This allowed me to sell the car without having to pay the finance off etc. (but I'll get back to that shortly...) I was in full time employment and was able to pay the £207 for around 2 years, after approximately 18months of that 2 years I got a promotion in work and was given a company car to use for Social use as well as within work so naturally I didn't see much point in owning a car worth a good few thousand pound when it's just sat at home not getting used.

I decided to sell, I spoke with Blackhorse first to confirm they didn't have any 'Interest' in the vehicle there end and was told that I can go ahead and sell it... The car sold and I kept the money in a savings pot as I didn't have enough to completely close the Finance account off so I thought I would just keep paying the £207 each month happily...

Then the problem occurred...

Around 6 months after selling the car, I was made redundant, obviously the company car went back and I was left jobless...

I decided to do what I always wanted to do and start up my own business, I carefully used my savings pot to set up business as a Mobile ICT Technician with a vehicle and some additional kit that I didn't have and got out there working... Self employment went well for around 8 months and during that period I was able to keep the payments of £207 going...

Business went bad... Eventually, self employed life started getting bad, the phone didn't ring as much as it used to and a lot of competition had cropped up from nowhere in the local area... I started to struggle... I missed a couple of months payments trying to prioritise my money to actually getting by and living and I ended up burying my head in the sand for too long hiding away from the phone calls from Blackhorse and then various debt collectors... (Stupid mistake I know but I was young...) I managed to make a payment on and off over the duration of about 18months whilst trying to get my business going again whilst looking for full time employment...

When I did eventually sort myself out and get a full time job, after around 6 months I answered a phone call from Apex and jumped onto a payment plan with them (As Blackhorse wouldn't deal with me regarding my account anymore and said I needed to speak with Apex)

I've been on a payment plan with Apex paying £130 per month for approx. 14months now, I haven't missed a payment at all.

The debt/loan is still with Blackhorse and hasn't been sold onto Apex, they are merely handling me for them...

According to my basic math, the 60 month term makes the agreement finish in March this year...

That's the history anyway....

Myself and my Girlfriend wish to get onto the property ladder at some point this year and as a result of that decision, I looked into my Credit Rating with Experian... it's 458 (shockingly sh$t I know...) So now I'm tasked with the challenge of improving that even slightly some how over the next couple of months as we've seen a house we like and can easily afford the re-payments...

Here comes my question of all questions...

The main thing that's dragging me down seems to be the Blackhorse finance stuff... (the reason I say the main this because my Barclaycard Credit card doesn't seem to be on my Experian Credit Report at all and I personally believe this would go in my favour if it was there as I've never missed a payment and have 90% of the credit limit available... (any information/advice on this would be really helpful too!!!))

My Mum has offered to lend me a few thousand to clear the Blackhorse debt up/off and so I wish to do this...

Black horse debt detail: -

BLACK HORSE LTD

Started : 10/03/2009

Remaining Balance : £4,559

Overdue Amount : £3,458

I don't have the funds in place to clear the complete balance unfortunately, and therefore I am seeking direction here as to which way to go with this... And that in mind, which way would benefit my credit score the most? Do I clear the overdue amount and get back up where I should be? I believe the difference is so great between those two figures because every time I missed a monthly payment I had a £25 charge added on and during my head burying time that was quite a lot of missed payments...

So do I pursue a full and final whereby I request it gets marked as 'Settled' and see how low I can get it? Or do I pursue removing the charges/majority of charges? and pay the overdue amount?

From what I can see on my Credit Report, the current status of this is 'delinquent' and not 'defaulted' and so while it is still in the repayable timeframe period I still have a chance of some sort to keep from going to the 'defaulted' status?

Any help and advice with my current situation is very much appreciated, as you can tell, I don't have much time before the end of the payable term is up so I need to get some sort of decision made soon so I can get the ball rolling in the right direction...

Thanks very much for reading that lot if you got here!

Cheers, Adam.

Hi and welcome to CAG

As there have been charges added, I would try and get those taken off the balance first.

When (if) that is achieved I would then go for the F&F. This can be fraught with problems so:

1 Offer a F&F at a relatively low level (say 15%) with an upper figure in mind.

2 If they accept your F&F, make sure that they say (in writing) that they will not pass any remaining balance on (this is very important)

3 As the account isn't defaulted, they should place a notice of 'settled' and not 'partially settled' as this can be just as bad as 'delinquent'.

I have unapproved the other post you made on a different forum as it is better to keep things in one place.

Hi silverfox1961, thanks so much for the reply, just to clarify then, I should contact Black Horse or Apex regarding the Charges? Do I do this via letter or phone? (bear in mind the timeframe I have to play with...)

Or

When approaching Apex with a F&F, can I ask that the charges element of the balance be removed then?

Thanks, Adam.

It is always better to deal in writing as what is said on the phone can be denied (unless recorded)

Deal with Black Horse as they seem to still own the debt as their name still appears next to your credit file info. If the debt is sold to Apex they will replace Black Horse as the creditor on your file.

I would also write to Apex to explain that you are dealing with Black Horse direct and for them to place the account on hold whilst negotiations take place.

Black Horse may try to direct you to Apex. Resist.

And just for a bit more clarification please..?

The official Experian explanation goes something like this: -

Each time you miss a payment on a credit account, your account status increases by 1 (these can be reduced by making over payments in the future).

If you have two or more consecutive status 3 entries on your report, or a status 4 or higher, then this account will be regarded as 'delinquent'.

If you continue to miss payments and the lender closes the account, then this will mean that your account is in 'default' and your status history will be set to 8.

A default will stay on your credit report for 6 years (from the date of the default), but the quicker you can pay off the balance on the credit account, the better this may be viewed by some lenders.

As the default or delinquent account becomes older, most lenders are likely to view you as lower risk. Some lenders, however, may have policy rules in place to decline anyone with a defaulted account.

Once the account is paid off it will be marked as satisfied. A defaulted account that is paid will be marked as "satisfied", a delinquent account that is then paid may not have gone on to be defaulted and when paid off would be marked as "settled"

My Black Horse account is currently at Status '6'

So to my understanding, my account would be delinquent and NOT defaulted..?

Which is better given the current circumstances yes?

At the moment 'delinquent' still looks bad to other creditors as it shows you are having difficulty with repayments and the '6' shows them that you are not far off defaulting.

So you are a delinquent

Better than a default-yup!

Ok.... In the past when I tried to speak with Black Horse I was quite strictly told that my account is managed by Apex now, go and speak to them... (That's why I got on a payment plan with Apex in the first place really...)

Would it be a bad idea if I were to speak with Apex tomorrow and tell them the situation, that I want a F&F and I want the to get the charges dropped off and that I want it in writing that they will mark it as 'Settled' and NOT as 'Satisfied' or 'Partially Satisfied'

Is that a bad idea?

Cheers, Adam.

As BH still own your debt, they CANNOT refuse to deal with you directly and should they try, you should write to them marking the letter 'formal complaint'

BH are a complete nightmare to deal with.

Yes, this is kind of my point, because Apex have been so compliant in the past (which is/was a surprise) When I originally told them that I could only afford £130 per month, they just accepted it, didn't argue with me and try and bleed more out of me...

And so I was thinking that they would kind of act on my behalf a little bit and try to work out a sweet deal with Black Horse to get this account closed?

Hi! Right, you were dead right... I rang Apex today and they are only willing to discuss a Full & Final which WILL be noted as Partially Satisfied... Fully Satisfied/Settled is what I am after (am I right to be seeking that over Partially Satisfied?)

So, they told me to write to / contact Black Horse regarding the £600 odd charges that were tacked onto the Balance over time and see if they'll remove them / a percentage of them...

So, is anybody able to point me to a template / help me with constructing a letter to Black Horse roughly stating: - "Either reduce/remove the charges and let me pay the full balance as it should have been since day one, mark it as Full Satisfied OR I will go via Apex and get a lower F&F..." Obviously put into so many words that it doesn't sound so malicous..?

Thanks!

Adam.

If you have a look in the library

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?405-Debt-Collection

There are some letters that you can adapt to your specific circumstances.

Hi everyone, I've sent a letter to Black Horse around 2 weeks ago now and not heard anything back as of yet.. Should I ring them? :s

Anyway, I've got another question now...

Quick facts first: -

My original monthly payments with Black Horse were £209 per month

My current monthly payments through Apex are £130 per month.

My question is, why am I still getting a missed payment marker in my Experian Credit Report each month that goes by..?

Is it because technically I'm not meeting the £209 per month? Or is that something I need to report as I haven't missed a payment of £130 for last 14months I'm sure!

Thanks, Adam.