Hi, I'd really appreciate some advice on how best to tackle Ladder Loans. In summary I borrowed £2000, have missed a few payments but even so have paid them more than £4000. I'd now like to know whether a full and final settlement is the best option, or whether I can fight this and pay nothing more The details are as follows: 1 - Ladder Loans is part of Inventive Finance Ltd, which I've found out runs a network of payday lenders. I was offered £2000 in July 2013 on an 18 month repayment schedule 2 - The APR per annum is an eye watering 299%, meaning that according to the CCA (which I now have), I agreed to pay them £5031.36 for that original £2000! 3 - I made 15 payments of £279.82 on time, so I've already paid them £4192.80 4 - Due to further financial difficulties (problems with my business), I missed payments no 16 (end Nov) 17 (end Dec) and what would have been final payment no 18 (end Jan). They've added £12 penalty charges for each of the missed payments 6 - They've never written to me about these missed payments or about adding penalty charges, I suspect they have been trying to call my mobile though. I asked for the CCA about 10 days ago and it arrived on Friday. I'm now thinking of doing one of two things. 1 - Offering them a final settlement on the £862.56 they say I still owe, to get them off my back Or: 2 - Making a formal complaint and seeing if I can eventually take it to the FOS. I'd base this on them adding on penalty charges but not writing to me as well as the fact that I already paid them more than double. Am I correct in thinking that payday lenders can't now charge more than 100% of the original loan? Or did I read that wrong? Can a hugely inflated interest rate be challenged? I'd really appreciate which is the best of the two routes to go down. Do I have a leg to stand via the complaints route, or would I be best just offering maybe £300 (so a third of what's still owed)

Good evening this is my first post to this forum. I am looking to send some f and f letters to DCA's in the week, can anybody advise on what level I should aim at I was thinking starting at 20% of outstanding balance. Can people give me an idea of their experiences/successes. Cheers

Hello Not sure if this is common knowledge but Step Change appear to be doing a settlement scheme for debts. I will use hypothetical figures. Lets say you owe a combined amount of 11,000 they will confirm a minimum requirement for them to work with you say 7,000 (approx could be slightly less) Now the reason I would consider using a Debt Management company would be that they say on their blurb they have all their best experts in this department and have contacts, negotiating skills etc so it might be a bit over the odds but may be more successful reaching a settlement. and here's the rub..... They say you would need to send them the 7,000 and they would forward it to the creditors pro rata BEFORE any negotiations have started! If the creditors decide they do not want to accept it as a final settlement, then they can just keep it! So can you tell me if given a lump sum of 7,000 a debt agency would say "That ok mate its not what you owe, but I will let you off anyway and I really don't want't you to keep paying the 100.00 dmp you have been paying anymore....or is there a likelihood that the debt collection agency might just say "Thank's for the 7,000 we reject your offer and by the way, can you keep paying the 100.00 a month on your dmp. Step change were upfront about the fact they hand over the money regardless but I find it hard to get my mind round the fact that for me they should be negotiating a settlement and only sending the money if it's a guaranteed agreement. Of course go direct and offer. Just thought this might be of interest

Does this now mean that an ex wife,should contribute to an ex husbands failed business. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2989511/Ex-wife-hippy-turned-wind-farm-tycoon-millionaire-split-wins-right-fight-2million-divorce-payout.html Regards,John.

I recently received a notice of intention to prosecute from First Capital Connect, where they explained my case of ticket dodging and what the maximum penalties that can be imposed on me. I sent them a letter to explain the situation and they replied back saying they will be continuing with the case. However, I was travelling on the same journey again and was checked again by another Revenue Protection Officer. I explained the whole case to him and his opinion. He stated that going to court was the last possible option the Company would pursue. The Prosecutions Department did out of court settlements. And so, my question was, considering the on-fare was £20, what would be an appropriate amount for an out of court settlement? Thanks a lot!

I will finally be debt free in the next week or so. But before that happens I need to agree a settlement figure with Barclaycard. I had a card with them and egg and I have used neither in donkeys. I now want to get a realistic settlement figure for both cards as a lot of what they say I owe is compound interest and charges. I've thought about hitting egg with a proof of agreement request but to be honest, I'll just be happy to get rid of the millstone round my neck. So can any of you offer me some advice on how I should go about this? They have passed my accounts to Mercers but I want to settle everything directly. And should I go ahead with the egg proof of agreement anyway?

Barclays started possession proceedings against me after I lost my job. To save embarrassment at court I sold my house for substantially less than its market value. To add insult to injury Barclays have charged me over £5,000 in early redemption fee. I feel this is draconian and legalised theft. What can I do?

My son foolishly bought a rental property about 9 years ago - I told him at the time the figures didn't add up, e.g. guaranteed rental income for 2 years (meaning it was too dear in the first place) £5000 cashback on the mortgage (ditto) and too dear for a new build in the area. As predicted, once the 2 year 'guaranteed' rental income ended he couldn't find a tenant at anywhere near the required rent and eventually he fell behind on the mortgage and finally handed the keys back. He now live in a jointly mortgaged property (the rental was his name only, the 'home' is joint husband / wife) which has a minimal amount of equity in it. What it all boils down to now is that for the past 4 or 5 years the interest has been frozen on the £100,000 he owes on the rental property and he's paying a token £50 a month. Periodically he has to fill out an income / expenditure form, but the £50 stays the same. There is very little the rental mortgage people can do as a) there is not much equity b) the family home is joint so any equity is half anyway (I guess?) I am in a position to lend him some money and wondered what sort of figure they would be likely to accept in full and final settlement? I have a figure in mind but wonder what others think...! I would add that he works full time, etc and could just sit there forever paying the token £50 month but just wants this to go away! The property in question has been resold since if this matters.

Received a claim from the CCBC for the aforementioned above. Acknowleged and entered one of andyorch,s defence's from on here. " Many thanks Andy". So ok so far. received N180 D/Q Filled in and sent copy's to CCBC and claimant. Received date for mediation 21st September. In the email conformation for the mediation hearing they ask me to put forward the strengths and weaknesses of my case. I am at a loss as how to respond to this. Any assistance would be greatfull espescialy andyorch if your available Thanks so much. Name of the Claimant Lowell portfolio I ltd Date of issue I have acknowleged and sent one of andyorch,s defence What is the claim for. THIS CLAIM IS FOR £450 THE AMOUNT DUE UNDER AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR AND THE DEFENDANT TO PROVIDE FINANCE AND/OR SERVICES AND/GOODS. THIS DEBT WAS ASSIGNED TO/PURCHASED BY LOWEL PORTFOLIOL LTD. ON XX/XX/XXXX AND NOTICE SERVED PERSUANT TO THE LAW OF PROPERTY ACT 1925 PARTICULARS RE; HBOS A/C XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS £ 450.00 THE CLAIMANT ALSO CLAIMS INTEREST PERSUANT TO S69 COUNTY COURT ACT 1984 FROM XX/XX/XXXX TO DATE AT 8% PER ANNUM AMOUNTING TO £33.02. What is the value of the claim? In the particulars of claim the sum alleged is £450, However the full claim is for £480+court fee £35 +sol cost £50= £533 Is the claim for a current or credit/loan account or mobile phone account? Basic Bank account. Cardcash When did you enter into the original agreement before or after 2007? 2008 Has the claim been issued by the original creditor or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim. Assigend as far as the particulars of claim goes, although I was not made aware of this. Also this Account was disputed to the original creditor. Received the usual response. then passed on to at least 4 different collection agencies, of all who responed to with a letter of account in dispute. Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? No, see above Did you receive a Default Notice from the original creditor? No not that I am aware Have you been receiving statutory notices headed “Notice of Default sums” – at least once a year ? Not heard anything until the County court claim Why did you cease payments:- Around 2009 Was there a dispute with the original creditor that remains unresolved? Yes. Not resolved by the bank and told to complain to the F.O.S Did you communicate any financial problems to the original creditor and make any attempt to enter into a debt managementicon plan? No What you need to do now. Answer the questions above If you have not already done so – send a CCA1974 request to the claimant Sent at the time. Was told that current accounts not regulated by this act... Send a CPR31.14 request to the solicitor named on the claim form for copies of documents mentioned/implied within the claim form. There are two different versions - one for Loans/Credit cards the other for Current accounts Have done so. no response.

I received a letter from one of the debt companies that have taken over a debt I had for £165 they offered me a settlement payment of £50 so I took this offer and I have paid the £50 The guy I spoke to was rude and very unhelpful! He told me that this account would show up as Settled instead as Satisfied .. If I were to pay the £165 then it would be satisfied, he then went on to ask me a number of questions as to why I could afford to pay £50 but yet I can not pay £165. So I am wondering what the difference between Satisfied & Settled is ?

Hi Just looking for some advice. I have a debt with Very. It's balance is £8500 although not sure why I'm assuming intereest and charges. The last few months I've been getting letters from ARC Europe asking me to contact them which I havent. Today I get another letter saying their client is willing to offer a very reduced settlement if I pay within 35 days. Is this normal. Why would they accept a reduced offer. Thanks

I'm asking for advice on behalf of my partner. He has a 3(ish) year old debt with Orange regarding a contract mobile phone he took out. He took out the phone/contract then after a few months sold it as he was struggling to manage his finances and stopped paying the monthly bill. He was repaying the debt via his DMP with Step Change as it was passed to a couple of DCA's. It was passed back to Orange/EE a few months a go and Step Change were unable to make the repayments. He rang Orange/EE and asked for details to where he could repay his debt as it is included in his DMP but they said he would have to wait for it to be passed to another DCA. Low and behold, he still heard nothing. Eventually, he rang Orange/EE again last week asking the same question and was told they would accept a settlement of £31. They said they only wanted to cover the cost of the handset. I told him to repeatedly ask them if that was a full and final settlement and them nor any other organisation would enforce or pursue for the remainder, and he would be free from any liability. They agreed to all this on the phone but were pretty sketchy when he said he needed confirmation and agreement of this offer in writing. They did say they would send a letter but as yet he has not had anything, and I don't think he will. Obviously, I've told him the importance of not making any payment until everything is in writing. So he has written a letter but we cannot find any postal addresses to send it to. Does anyone have a postal address we can send this letter to? What happens if we cannot find an address, therefore cannot send the letter, and he receives no letter from Orange/EE? What happens if they do not pass the debt on again so repayments can be started again? I'm worried of nothing happening for months/years then a letter through the door from a court. What evidence would he have that he has tried to repay? He definitely does not want a CCJ and he would not be able to repay it off in full within 28 days, if it did go to court. Honestly feel like I've hit a brick wall with this one.

I was taken to a room for questioning, upon leaving a departmental store, for allegations of shoplifting. I had picked up several cosmetic tester samples from the stands, as often (for products apart from foundations), the staff do not give you free samples and it is difficult to get an accuracy of colour matching in lighting outside the store. I wish to emphasise that these were all tester products - they had been used already/ were not brand new. Some were also smaller than the standard product size. So it wouldn't be fair to equate them to the price of a brand new, full-size product, nor the theft of an actual product. Though, I do feel it was not the right course of action. Nevertheless, I was given an exclusion order from the store. When I was questioned, I was asked to put out all the Make-Up testers I had picked up, and I co-operated fully in returning these. Given they were for high-end brands, the total was estimated at around £200 (in any case, given they were opened, non-full size testers, this estimation is inaccurate in itself); I was told by the Store's Security Officers that this would affect the charge RLP would ask for. However, in the letter RLP wrote to me, they contradict the store staff - RLP are saying that due to all items being recovered, the £197 I owe is purely for the "substantial amount of time...in observing, apprehending, interviewing you..". I believe this is quite an extortionate amount in light of the circumstances, and the fact I was fully compliant. Moreover, when I was questioned by the Store staff, they asked for my University address (assuring no correspondence would be sent there), as well as home address. They may have confused University with University residence, but they did not make this clear. Eitherway, RLP addressed their charge letter to my University, who had to open it before redirecting it to me. This is infringing on my privacy, and I am now also concerned if this could affect my employability? I didn't receive any Police Order (it is a civil matter), but could future employers see this on an DBS (CRB) check or elsewhere? Does paying the fee clear my name from any databases? Should I dispute this case, or ask for a reduced settlement? Any advice would be much appreciated. This is really worrying me, and making it hard to focus on my work.

Hope this is posted in the right place... I have a debt that has been with Wescot since 2008. I’ve paid this monthly since the debt being with them but I’ve got some cash to make a settlement offer now. Original balance was around £10k, now down to around £6k. They have said they will only do a partial settlement of £3k but won’t sell on the debt to anyone else or chase me again for this debt. I have a couple of questions: As the debt is old I assume the default is off my credit rating anyway so having partial rather than full settlement won’t make a difference? What is to stop the original creditor, they apparently got agreement for settlement amount from Arrow Global, it was originally an MBNA debt, to chase me again for this? I’d really like to draw a line under this debt and not have it hanging over me each month. Any help much appreciated.

Hi I have two old credit card accounts with MBNA which have been sold to Arrow Global . I had no joy from Arrow with a CCA request for both account so i did a SAR to MBNA. Neither account had PPI but both will have incurred charges along the way . In the SAR pack i can see no documentation for the transfer or sale of the account to Arrow. Must this be in the pack for Arrow to chase me for the debt . As they are old accounts 2001 and 2004 i have included the CCA in the SAR pack for anyone able to quantify them . I currently pay both accounts £1pcm still to MBNA for the past 2 years while things are tight . Many Thanks

Hi I am looking for some advice before i start i know will have broken every rule going in dealing with my debts. I have had 4 debts since approx 2007 which i have been paying by arrangements ccj etc originally totalled over £20k, i have come into a lump sump of money to pay off these debts and worked out with some negotiation that i coud clear my debt now totalling 13k. With 3 creditors i have managed to clear them over the phone at about 50% which i was happy with. I have 1 debt left which is just over £800 an old mbna credit card which has been sold on to idem when it was sold i didnt really pay any attention as my monthly payments were the same as before and life just carried on. Now i am in a position to offer a settlement of £450 to settle but idem will not settle for less than the full balance owed. What can i do as i want to be clear of them ? they also want a full income expenditure which i dont mind as i can rig that in my favour i am guessing that by just accepting the payments i have accepted that i acknowledge the debt to them. Any Advice gratefully received also please keep it as simple as i dont understand lots of Jargon.

Just over a month ago I agreed a settlement amount for my NatWest Credit Card with Moorcroft. It was for 65% (£4054 on a £6237 balance). I got them to send an offer letter, made the payment and got a payment receipt. The other day I receive a call from them saying that they were not authorised to make the offer for that amount and that NatWest have rejected it. They were apparently only allowed to offer 80%. They were pressuring me to take my money back and make new arrangements or pay an extra £900. I said I didn’t want to agree to anything until I have taken advice. They refunded the £4054 payment back into my account anyway. Before the money was even back in my account, they started calling and emailing to get me to set up a new arrangement. Again I told them I am not doing anything until I have taken advice. They insist that 80% is all they can do and that they cannot put any lower offers back to NatWest. I find this incredible - I have settled 5 other accounts and they were all far more generous than this - ranging from 50 - 70%. I also find it incredibly galling that I should have to pay such a large amount extra after already believing the account was settled. The debt is over 7 years old and has fallen off my credit report. I have been making regular payments over the 7 years through a Debt Management company. I’m assuming they can legally cancel the settlement by refunding the money despite me having letters from them saying the account has been settled? Anyone have thoughts or advice on what to do next? I’m thinking of doing a CCA letter.

Hi there I am seeking advice about approaching creditors for a settlement offer, and wondered if this was wise, and what is the best way to do it. I have been on a DMP with Payplan for over 10 years, drip feeding my debts - no IVA or bankruptcy. Originally over 25K, now looking at just over 5K. One of my creditors last year offered me a settlement of 60% write off (mbna), and I was lucky enough to have a family member to help out in that respect. This drastically reduced my overall debt. Still chipping away, I wondered if there was any merit in approaching other creditors on my DMP to see if similar settlement figures could be offered. Has anyone done this? Many thanks

Got a letter today from Lowell offering to settle my unpaid capital one account for £80. I owe £321. Ive not had any contact with lowell and am wondering if its a ploy. Your thoughts? cheers.

I recently wrote of to akinika to settle a debt I have with them, I was a little cheeky and asked if they could reduce my debt by 70% (previous debt companies have done this with me in order to settle my account quickly ) instead of paying £212.21 I would pay £65, they sent me a letter back saying this is "not acceptable, however our client would accept £180.37" They have also asked for a breakdown of my income & expenditure which I have typed up for them, after I have paid everything out (rent, council tax, gas electric) I am left with £0 a month. I am currently a full time carer for a parent which I have stated in the letter so for now (due to being made redundant) I am not working and my income is all accounted for. What action can they take now ? I physically have no money to set up monthly payments to them, I am only able to pay the £65 as a family member is willing to pay this for me, but due to them being retired and on state pension they can not afford to give me £180. Can they take me to court ? If so, does the fact that I offered to make a settlement payment count in my favor ? How much should I have offered to pay them ? Any key information that I should add in my income & expenditure letter ? ** This account is for JD Williams for a catalog** Thank you

Ok sorry if this is long winded I will try to keep it brief. I've been in my position of Project Engineer for 2 years. My project in that time has been a nightmare but thats plainly down to outside sources effecting it. I have literally just solved the issue which has been tormenting everyone and yesterday received a letter summoning me to discuss various aspects. A HR advisor was present and I was told I could bring a representative etc. Now I have been unhappy in this job for at least a year, after hearing this discipline procedure I immediately felt like quitting but thought better of it. I had the meeting today where my manager and director discussed the points. I wasn't given any evidence on the points they made, and the issues were very minute compared to other engineers errors. I feel very singled out, my former manager is very much best mates with the engineers and me having a young child and commuting left me ostracised from the close knit group. I don't feel the dismissal I received was justified what so ever, no only that, I put my case across to only be handed a letter already printed out stating settlement terms. Surely this goes against the procedure to already have a decision without obtaining the facts? I do not want to return, I have been placed on garden leave but can I negotiate the terms? I have a young son and partner to support so dont want to entirely jeopardize the current offer which they obviously told me was generous. I have been offered; £930 tax free (assuming this is the statutory amount) Pay in lieu of notice period of 1 months pay Payment for outstanding holidays An agreed reference Outplacement support £250 towards legal fee's Does this seem fair? I figure I could last 3 months before running into financial difficulty. Thanks for any advice.

I have £25k of outstanding debt. to... Lloyds (o/d) Egg (x2) MBNA (credit card) HFC (Beneficial Bank rolling account) I've been on a self administered DMP since about 2008. January this year, my wife left me and I had to cease all payments to all creditors. I have also ignored all of their threats via letter (they don't have my phone numbers). The boyfriend wants her to sort out the finances and is willing and more than able to pay the lot off. My hope is that he might hand over 25k and I could then go for Full and Final settlement offers and pocket the difference (slightly dishonest but then, he's done worse!) The biggest debt is to one of the Egg cards £11k and it's administered by Apex. Months ago, they wrote and said that they would accept £3k (This came out of the blue, I didn't ask) So they are willing to accept 31% of the balance. I am thinking of writing to all of the creditors, citing Apex's offer and offering them all 31% My questions are.... Is there a good template letter? What do I have to watch out for? How do I make certain that they don't come back for more later? All advice gratefully received. Andy.

Hi All, I travelled last night from Cardiff Central to Newport. Due to being short on time and the barriers being open, I opted to just buy the ticket from the conductor on the train, which had been on the train 24 hours earlier when I had bought the ticket from the machine (Cardiff Bay to Newport, ticket checked twice). No conductor came down, so upon arrival at Newport I went up to the guys at the barriers, which were open, and before they said anything to me I said 'I need to buy a ticket, as the conductor didn't come down the train' whilst I was getting the money out of my wallet. It turned out these were people were Revenue Protection Inspectors (I may have the title wrong) and he said he could not take my money and instead asked me what had happened, he then gave me a caution and took the statement that I'm sure the regulars on here are aware of. At the end I again asked if I could pay for the ticket regardless of whatever the out come would be from the statement, he said no and that if it was my first time it could be the case that nothing happens and I don't have to pay. Now before speaking to him and reading some of the posts on here, I did not realise you had to buy your ticket before boarding and if you didn't an offence had occurred. I'm also aware that ignorance is no defence. I am just wondering about the administrative settlement charge, as I don't expect for one minute that Arriva will just say I don't have to pay anything, despite what the guy said. I've seen some differing amounts on here for posts that are a few years old, so I was wondering if any of you guys could give me a better idea of what to currently expect. Ramble over

If anyone can help with the following it would be most welcome - I have a deadline for this of the 30th September 2014. I will keep it as brief as possible.... I have had a MBNA credit card for ~ 7 years with a balance of £1,800. During this time I kept up with monthly repayments of ~ £50 a month. 18 months ago I entered a bout of ill-health which culminated in me having to resign from my job. I went on to benefits which gave me enough to live on but not enough to keep up with the card payments. I informed MBNA and they transferred my account to the specialist team (due to ill health). After 7 months they informed me that the account would soon default. I was informed that I could make a partial settlement for some of the balance. I researched partial settlements and got the impression that they were a bad idea - that the remainder of the debt was often sold on leading to pursuit from a third party, and that you needed it in writing that it was a "full and final settlement". I made an offer of £400 for a F&F settlement using a letter template from a debt advice website (my Dad and sister agreed to help me out as much as they could financially because they didn't want DCA's knocking on my door whilst I was suffering with ill-health). The offer was accepted, but the letter does not state that the settlement is full and final. I have rung numerous times requesting it be F&F and they always say that it is not possible because the full amount isn't being paid. Today I rang Stepchange, the Financial Ombudsman, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Money Advice Service and read the letter out to them. None could give me much advice except for the FCA who said whilst listening they were looking for the words "cancelled" and "zero balance". I rang MBNA asking if I could have a letter with those words in but they said they only send out standard letter templates, not tailored letters. The FCA also said to ask what happens to the remaining debt. All the operatives at MBNA will say is that "it is written off" - what does that mean? I don't understand; if the debt is written off, why can't I have it in writing that there will be a "zero balance". If the balance isn't zero then doesn't the debt still exist? Here is the letter: Dear .... Settling you credit card account Thankyou for your partial settlement proposal, we're happy to accept your offer of £400.00 in partial settlement of your account. This is conditional upon us receiving your payment no later than September 30th, 2014. After receipt of the required payment, we'll close your account and register a partial settlement with the credit reference agencies. Credit reference agency information lasts for six years, so this may affect your ability to obtain credit in the future. What happens if you don't make the payment? It is very important that we receive payment of the above amount, in cleared funds, by the date above. If this doesn't happen, then we'll take steps to register a default with the credit reference agencies. Once registered the default information would last for six years and may affect your ability to obtain credit in the future. We'd also close your account and may sell the outstanding debt to another company, who would try to recover the money from you. If we do sell your debt or pass it to an external debt collection agency we will make sure the details of your financial circumstances and recent payments you have been making are passed to the relevant company. .... .... Yours sincerely Head of Collection Operations I missed out some of the letter, but the above contains all of the salient points. After speaking to the FCA today, I spoke to MBNA and asked for a letter specifically containing the words "cancelled" and "zero balance". This is what I got back (letter-headed, at least): What happens when you proceed with a partial settlement? We will: · Register a partial settlement with the credit reference agencies for up to six years, which may affect your ability to obtain credit in the future. · MBNA as well as any other third party will take no further action to recover the remaining balance. · Close your account. To me, it sounds as though the debt really will be written off, and that there is no chance of me being chased either by MBNA or a third party. However numerous forum discussions from around the web state that partial settlements are a bad idea, and you don't know whether you will be pursued further down the line. I don't understand why they are so cagey about saying the debt is written off and about saying that there is a zero balance. Can anyone provide a final answer to me as to whether I should go through with this settlement? I want to settle this debt once and for all, but at the same time don't want to be taken for a mug - if they end up chasing the rest, what is the point in paying the £400 in the first place? I fully accept that my credit score will be affected - I know that is unavoidable. However my concern is that the debt still exists; that there is still an outstanding balance. I am worried that they will somehow find a way of recovering the remainder of the debt. I know people will say - "Ask for F&F settlement" etc. but they categorically refuse to do that because I am not paying the full amount. (NB. The F&F team at Stepchange said they don't get involved with F&F settlements with banks unless the debtor can provide half the amount of what is owed; the current settlement I have with MBNA is just under a quarter). It seems impossible to get anything out of them other than a standard letter - if anyone can guide me as to how to get a letter out of them saying what is needed to ensure this is the end of the matter it would be warmly welcomed. (i.e. what is it that needs to be said, and how do you get them to put it down on paper - they always say they can only send out templates; do you have to speak directly with a senior manager?). Apologies for the long post - any advice is welcome. Thanks, Charles

If anyone can help with the following it would be most welcome - I have a deadline for this of the 30th September 2014. I will keep it as brief as possible.... I have had a HSBC credit card for ~ 7 years with a balance of £1,950. During this time I kept up with monthly repayments of ~ £50 a month. 18 months ago I entered a bout of ill-health which culminated in me having to resign from my job. I went on to benefits which gave me enough to live on but not enough to keep up with the card payments. I informed HSBC and they transferred my account to the specialist team (due to ill health). After 7 months they informed me that the account would soon default. I was informed that I could make a partial settlement for some of the balance. I researched partial settlements and got the impression that they were a bad idea - that the remainder of the debt was often sold on leading to pursuit from a third party, and that you needed it in writing that it was a "full and final settlement". I made an offer of £400 for a F&F settlement using a letter template from a debt advice website (my Dad and sister agreed to help me out as much as they could financially because they didn't want DCA's knocking on my door whilst I was suffering with ill-health). The offer was accepted, but the letter does not state that the settlement is full and final. I have rung numerous times requesting it be F&F and they always say that is not possible because the full amount isn't being paid. Today I rang Stepchange, the Financial Ombudsman, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Money Advice Service and read the letter out to them. None could give me much advice except for the FCA who said whilst listening they were looking for the words "cancelled" and "zero balance". I rang HSBC asking if I could have a letter with those words in but they said they only send out standard letter templates, not tailored letters. The FCA also said to ask what happens to the remaining debt. HSBC said it goes to an internal bad debt department where it sits (for how long??) but that it is no longer associated with your name. I don't understand; if the debt is written off, why can't I have it in writing that there will be a "zero balance". If the balance isn't zero then doesn't the debt still exist? Here is the letter: Dear Mr. Dean We write in reference to your phonecall with us today. We are prepared to accept the following: Credit Card: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Payment Amount: £400 This agreement is on the basis that the funds are received and cleared into your HSBC account within 14 days from the date of this letter. Providing funds are received by the above date, your account will be closed and you will be released from all liability in respect of this account preventing further action being taken. Please note that in view of the fact that we have agreed to accept a partial repayment of your debt and agreed not to pursue the remaining balance, your credit file which is held with Credit Reference Agencies will be updated accordingly and may affect any future credit applications you make. We trust this is satisfactory. Yours Sincerely Senior Collection Manager To me, it sounds as though the debt really will be written off, and that there is no chance of me being chased either by HSBC or a third party. However numerous forum discussions from around the web state that partial settlements are a bad idea, and you don't know whether you will be pursued further down the line. I don't understand why they are so cagey about saying the debt is written off and that there is a zero balance. According to HSBC, the remaining debt still exists but stays internally in the "bad debt" department. HSBC have said categorically on the phone that they rarely sell on such debts - the operative gave me his name, staff number, and call time / date, and said if there was any issue in the future to ask for a recording of the call. Can anyone provide a final answer to me as to whether I should go through with this settlement? I want to settle this debt once and for all, but at the same time don't want to be taken for a mug - if they end up chasing the rest, what is the point in paying the £400 in the first place? I fully accept that my credit score will be affected - I know that is unavoidable. However my concern is that the debt still exists, that there is still an outstanding balance - HSBC have stated I can call up any time in the next six years and pay the remainder, and restore my credit file accordingly. Surely that means the debt still exists? I am worried that they will somehow find a way of recovering the remainder of the debt. I know people will say - "Ask for F&F settlement" etc. but they categorically refuse to do that because I am not paying the full amount. (NB. The F&F team at Stepchange said they don't get involved with F&F settlements with banks unless the debtor can provide half the amount of what is owed; the current settlement I have with HSBC is just under a quarter). It seems impossible to get anything out of them other than a standard letter - if anyone can guide me as to how to get a letter out of them saying what is needed to ensure this is the end of the matter it would be warmly welcomed. (i.e. what is it that needs to be said, and how do you get them to put it down on paper - they always say they can only send out templates; do you have to speak directly with a manager?). Apologies for the long post - any advice is welcome. Thanks, Charles