F&F Advice please

[Stressed150]

Hi guys, just wanted some advice, i am currently in debt of around 35K, it is all unsecured, have just been negitiating with creditors regarding full and final settlements, and most have been willing to bring the outstanding balances down to 65% if I can pay by the end of the month..... however, I have defaulted on every single credit account that I have and as a result these have all gone to DCA's, I understand that DCA's then add their own interest and charges onto the account (one off when the account is passed over from the original lender), my question is, would these interest/charges be rendered unlawful and can I challenge these before full and final settlement? The reason I ask is, I maintained full payments on my accounts for approximately 1.5 years and the due to unforseen circumstances I fell into arrears..... having calculated the paymenst I have already paid, technically I have paid back half the amount which I borrowed (less APR/interest/charges), however, the balance that remains with the DCA's does not reflect this..... E.G took out a loan in 2005 for 5K, paid approx £200 per month for 13 months, leaves me with an approximate balance of £2400 (less APR/interest), however, DCA says my current balance is just under 4K at the moment....am I waffling too much or is this all making sense to someone out there....... any advice will be much appreciated.....

[diamondgirl]

Have the DCAs bought the accounts or are they still owned by the original Creditors. DG

[Stressed150]

Thans for getting back to me DG...Some of the accounts are still owned by the original creditor, and some have actually been sold to the DCA...

[diamondgirl]

So the ones owned by the DCA send them a CCA request letter you need to see the agreements. Send the same letter to them all just change the details such as account no. etc., write your account no. on the back of the £1.00 PO and their name on the front, send it SD they have to provide you with this information. Did you get notice from the original creditors that the debts were being sold on? You should have by rights one from them and one from DCA saying they had bought it. You can also send the same letter to the creditors who have not sold it on. When you get the agreements back you can them post them up and everyone can have a look to see if they are enforceable or unenforceable. However, I am sure someone with more knowledge than I have will be along later to give you further advice. DC:)

[Stressed150]

Thnks Diamondgirl, I have already done this with half of my creditors and am in the process of doing so for the remaining half..... the ones I have will be posted up here tonightas I need to get them scanned first....

[Stressed150]

Hi guys, just to find out if anyone else has experience of making f&f to creditors..?

[twofoot]

Must get a CCA and notice of assignment before any F&F or they will come back for more.

[harrassed senior]

Just my opinion here, I would not be talking final figures yet. If you decide after receiving the result from you CCA request, you decide you want to make a F & F, make sure that YOU decide how much you want to pay to settle the debt, start really low and negotiate up until you reach your final acceptable figure.

 

THEN make sure that before you commit to pay anything you have a correctly worded confirmation letter from whomever is accepting the F & F.

 

Perhaps post that letter on here for others to confirm that it is watertight, otherwise THEY WILL BE BACK, OR WILL SELL ON!!!

[Stressed150]

Hi Harassed senior.... thanks for your advice, you mentioned that once I recieve a CCA from them, I should make sure I go for a low offer..... if I have a loan of 15k....how much would u say I propose to them?

[harrassed senior]

Well its not for me to say, certainly no more than you can comfortably afford, take into account the original loan amount, less what you have already paid. Some DCA's have been known to offer as low as 25% of the outstanding balance. It is only words until and if it is accepted so go for some silly low figure, you never know what they will go for.

 

I am sure others will be along with their ideas which may well be better than mine, I am still learning and what I read here never ceases to amaze me, but the one thing I do know is do nothing on the telephone always, always everything in writing.

[lunar jim]

I suggest starting at 25% of the debt. IIRC some creditors have actually been known to accept that! A couple of years ago I settled two credit cards at 40% and 45% of the balances, and I got both my overdrafts (accounts closed by this time, just held as debts) down by 50%; I'd just won an unlawful fees claim and the bank sent me a cheque which specified the account number it must be paid into. So I phoned them first, negotiated a full and final offer on both accounts before mentioning method of payment.

 

I then phoned them back and told them my dad was paying them off for me but had given me one cheque for the full amount. So the person on the phone kindly arranged it for me so the cheque would go into one account, they'd transfer the balance over to the second account.

 

So instead of the bank getting things their way, giving me the means to pay off only one account and leave me with a fairly sizeable overdraft to pay them back, both debts were settled. There was actually a slight overpayment and they sent me the balance back as a refund lol

 

Clear case of one hand not knowing what the other was up to. Ok I did lie to them a bit but there you go...

[diamondgirl]

DCAs have been know to buy debts between 8p and 20p in the £. DG

[Stressed150]

wow..... will definitely go for a very very low offer.....Just out of curiosity how long were ur debts outstanding before u offered full and final settlement? Harassed Senior, I know exactly what u mean..... I am also constantly learning on here and feel much stronger in facing my creditors... would love to hit them where it hurts!

[diamondgirl]

Wouldn't we all like to get in a line but please can I go first. I've got the monkey nuts and bananas and I'm sure I can get some rubbish toys for them to play with. DG:D

[Stressed150]

Lmao Dg.....!

[diddydicky]

if i may offer my two penneth

 

firslty i would make it clear that a THIRD party is offering to lend you the money (not a finance co or bank) and that the offer is not going to be on the table forever

 

secondly i would make it known that the third party will insist on paying this direct to them in F & F settlement

 

thirdly that you require an undertaking that within 14 days of payment your credit files with agencies will show the account settled (not part settled) and that F & F settlement of all outstanding matters means just that

 

FINALLY although it may cost you a couple of hundred, in view of the amounts involved i suggest it would be worth it- once you have the written agreements from your creditors- to then ask a solicitor to handle the money transfers for you ( your third party that is). to ensure it is done correctly

[Stressed150]

Sound advice Diddydick...... I have made it clear funds are coming from third party, I have also notified them, that if I cannot settle and close all my accounts with these funds my altenative is not to pay anyone and file for bankruptcy..... and its not just an empty threat but the truth!

[diddydicky]

thanks in that case if you are serious about bankruptcy as an option, rather than threaten to do it yourself (expensive) simply tell them that if they fail to agree to your proposals then they are welcome to take whatever steps they wish to take including bankruptcy

 

let THEM pay for the privelage

 

it will cost them at least 1600 quid PLUS all their legal fees to do so which is why they very rarely do so!

 

as limited or plc companies they have a duty to mitigate their losses and to account to their shareholders

 

throwing good money after bad does not satisfy either of these criteria

[harrassed senior]

Very true - although I have, as yet, never been threatened with bankruptcy, I have, in the past, on advice from another site, written to several creditors who refused to accept any offers I made, and told them, in that case, I invite you to take me to Court - as yet, many months on I have heard nothing further from them.

[Stressed150]

I didnt even THINK of that Diddy..... I love it!! Has anyone actually successfully had any adverse information removed from ther credit file by a creditor...?

[Stressed150]

erm.... bump

[Stressed150]

Hi guys just a quick bit of advice, am due to put copies of my CCA's in the next few minutes..... just wanted to know if I need to remove my loan amount and APR rate as well or is this required to ascertain wheter the agreement is enforceable?

 

Thanks

[Nottsdave]

i would remove the loan amount at least also cover any barcodes and anything that may be linked to you.

 

The Trolls are in the house.

 

Notts

[diamondgirl]

Anything personal cover. I'd call them stronger than Trolls

[Stressed150]

Ok, I now feel I have various threads relating to simialr matter with copies of my CCA all over not sure how/if to merge these..... but please find attached a copy of two of my CCA's and a copy of a default notice by A&L....

Edited April 9, 2009 by Stressed150