just found out mess daughter in - help please

[whatarealmess]

Hi all,

 

Great site & warming that so many people are there for each other.

 

Situation is that found out over the weekend that my daughter and her partner are up to their eyes in debt.

 

Their master plan was to go bankrupt and therefore clear it all. I do not want this to be the case so have offered them some financial support (limited)

 

Having called all the credit card/debt collectors and loan companies this morning and explained the only alternative is bankruptcy, suprisingly they have all agreed to accept full and final settlements of around 25-35% of the debt.

 

With the execption of Blair, Oliver and Scott for HBOS. Having explained the altenatives the lady there said there policy was 25% discount only (which is pretty much the charges) and after checking with her "manager" would not reduce the asking price anywhere, certainly not the 31% I was offering for the 3 accounts together, paid this week.

 

I have seen many post on requesting CCA's and proofs but unfortunately I do not have the time to undertake such a task and my daughter does not have the inclanation and we want this mess cleared up asap.

 

I appreciate your time and any advice but my main question is :

 

Does anyone have any experience of what percentage BOS specifically and other companies will accept as a full and final settlesment, when bankruptcy with no assets or income is the alternative ???

 

 

Thanks again..

[zazen.warrior]

Very little indeed if they think you are serious, sorry no specific experience of full and final offers for alleged debt. Hopefully someone will be along shortly to help.

[Blondmusic]

Make them an offer in writing for full and final settlement of the debt. You need letter J in the link below.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-debt-issues/20758-creditors-dcas-letter-templates.html

[whatarealmess]

Thanks people for your super quick responses...

 

Any suggestions on offer I should make (on there behalf) as total debt is £18k, I offered verbally £5k and was pretty much laughed off the phone.

 

Will putting it in writing make it any more credible ???

[Blondmusic]

Putting it in writing leaves a paper trail. Do not deal with these over the phone. If you have it all in writing then you will have a copy for your records. Make sure you send all letters by recorded delivery too so that you have a record of the company receiving the letter.

[cerberusalert]

Blair, Oliver and Scott are HBOS they are the bank's internal collection team. If this alleged debt had been passed on to an external collection agency you would have a better chance of an acceptance to your offer. This is because when a bank sells the debt on it is usually for around 10 to 25% of it's value + they receive tax relief.

 

There isn't much you can do other than to lower the total amount the bank are claiming by sending a sar with a view to reclaim any unfair charges they may have added, however this will take time.

[whatarealmess]

Thanks for the good advice again.

 

Has anyone on here had an offer accepted below 75% (apparent policy) by Blair, Oliver & Scott ??

[cerberusalert]

To be honest, a offer at that level is far more than they can expect if they sold the debt and received tax relief.

 

A strongly worded letter included with your offer emphasising the point that the only other way they may possibly realise repayment would be through the court & given your daughters financial circumstances a judge would probably only make an order for minimal payment. Or again reiterate the fact that she is contemplating babkruptcy & if that happened they would be lucky to receive 10%.

[surprise]

You don't say what type of account, ie loan/credit card. If you are dealing with this on your daughter's behalf make sure you send a letter of authorisation from her for you to deal with this. I would personally say to them that you are prepared to pay xxxx in full and final settlement this is taking into the number of charges that have been unlawfully levied onto the account.

 

Should you not be willing to accept this offer then you will have to decide on what further action you take against my daughter as my offer of help ends here.

[cerberusalert]

A word of warning with regards to those that have accepted your offer, you must have this in writing before you make any payment & it must include that it is a full & final payment. It is not unknown for creditors to mark an a/c as partially settled & then sell the a/c on.

[jimdev1976]

but unfortunately I do not have the time to undertake such a task and my daughter does not have the inclanation and we want this mess cleared up asap.

 

I am sorry but I found the above statement a little staggering. Your daughter who got herself into serious financial difficulties has no inclination to do anything about it herself and is basically relying on a parent to bail her out? And quickly?

I would suggest what others have stated, send a letter in writing offering the amount and re-iterating that your daughter is contemplating bankruptcy.

[Deb T]

A word of warning with regards to those that have accepted your offer, you must have this in writing before you make any payment & it must include that it is a full & final payment. It is not unknown for creditors to mark an a/c as partially settled & then sell the a/c on.

 

 

A long time back a creditor that I settled with sent correspondence that stated they were willing to settle at a particular figure, when I asked for confirmation of the exact amount it came back carefully worded as a

'short settlement' not sure what they mean't by that but I took the precaution of asking them to re-word the initial settlement to show as full and final settlement.

 

Also, whatarealmess, not sure it's particularly relevant but if it is a debt agency you're paying these full and finals to I would mark each letter accompanying the cheque (sent recorded of course) that the cheque is only cashed as a full and final settlement as offered in their letter (and include a copy of their letter) and also write the same on the back of the cheque. Just to be safe.

[whatarealmess]

Thanks for all your words,

 

inclanation was probably a bad choice of words, aptitude may be more appropriate. Although she is balancing a demanding 6 month old within that.

 

Will go down the letter route I think, wording strongly that this is my only offer and comes only as part of a ful and final settlement - thanks for template letter J, very helpful.

 

We have now spoken with all the creditors and it is only Blair etc. that is causing us the grief.

 

Does anyone have any examples when they have done a deal ??

 

 

Thanks.

[Seminole]

And please keep the paperwork very safely for at least 6 years.

[zazen.warrior]

I would NEVER do a deal with a DCA.

[mr.ton]

Do not enter into any financial arrangment with BOS.

They have no legal authority to money off you.

Only a county court does.

[whatarealmess]

I understand the sentiments of some of your opinions/views however I am only in the UK for part of the year and am not comfortable leaving this in my daughters hands to deal with appropriately.

 

I understand this may clash with the ethics of the site, although just after some practical support to solve this is the most effective manner for us.

 

I can just about afford to lend the money to them to pay the reduced amounts, although the Blair etc. HBOS enforecers are the only ones not playing ball...

 

I do value your opinions though so thanks again.

[cerberusalert]

I understand this may clash with the ethics of the site, although just after some practical support to solve this is the most effective manner for us.

Your actions do not clash with the ethics of this site at all, quite the contrary in fact. If a debt is genuinely owed it should be paid, it's the addition of unfair charges and collection methods that go against the grain.

[Blondmusic]

You do what is best in the situation. If you want to offer Full and Final Settlements to get rid of the debts then that is fine. What is right for one Cagger may not be right for another. You do whatever is best for you and your daughter. After all it is your decision. I wish you the best of luck and if you need more advice then do not hesitate to ask.

 

Nikki.

[tedmaul72]

I settled a Sainsburys Bank loan with Blair, Oliver and Scott last month. The balance was 'only' £990 and they settled for £750. They wouldn't budge beyond that. I was making monthly payments so they probably figured they would get the full balance eventually anyway so no incentive to go much further. It might be worthwhile, as others have said, of making the case of impending bankruptcy and the seriousness of the situation.

 

I got a 30% discount on a debt with Cabot DCA two years ago and another 30% discount with Capital One on a credit card debt around the same time. I've never been fortunate to get anything more than this.

 

I can only agree that you must get any settlement figure agreed in writing. I had to phone Blair, Oliver and Scott twice to get the figure in writing. In fairness, they sent the acknowledgement letter two days after payment confirming the account was now closed - this is another must.

[whatarealmess]

Thanks TM...

 

Has no-one had a success with B/OS on coming to an arangement for full and final ?

 

The fact the lady asked her manager re my offer gives me some hope, rather than dismissed out of hand... ???

[Seminole]

Thanks TM...

 

Has no-one had a success with B/OS on coming to an arangement for full and final ?

 

The fact the lady asked her manager re my offer gives me some hope, rather than dismissed out of hand... ???

 

You'll get a f&f but now with as large a discount as if you were dealing with an external debt collection agency. The reason for this is very simple. If they sell the debt to a DCA, they will have given up trying to collect it. To their mind its not worth the nominal value and they will sell it for less than that to get it off their books.

 

A DCA picking up the debt will have bought it for less than its nominal value. It will try to recover the full nominal value but it will usually settle for less. The older the debt and the more times it's been sold from one DCA to another, the greater the f&f settlement will be.

 

Of course there are some agencies that will be very agrressive and try to recover the full amount and others that will hike up the debt with unlawful charges and try to collect those as well.

[whatarealmess]

So I spoke with them on the phone and told them if they did not reduce I would have to support my daughter through b/ruptcy.

 

They told me they had a bankruptcy department and happy to go through the channel, even when I made it clear that she has no assets or cash.

 

Any ideas on when I send my letter what % I should offer, they already dismissed my offer of £5,000 vs £18k debt.

 

The debt is on 2 loans and 1 credit card running for approx. 4 years, in arrears with token payments paid for last 5 months !!

[whatarealmess]

Really looking to strike while the iron is hot on this one and get a letter out tomorrow recorded delivery, offering a full and final amount.

 

Still torn on what % I should offer so any advice is gratefully received.

[bigegg]

I made an offer of 12K on a 20K debt (I only actually originally borrowed 10K - the rest was interest and charges) to First National (I think) which was refused.

I sent them a CCA request and they didn't supply any paperwork - so now they get NOTHING.

 

I recommend sending a CCA request out to HBOS ASAP.

If it turns out they don't have a valid credit agreement for the alleged debt, then they don't get anything!

You should get an answer one way or the other in 12 days - so not too long to wait.

 

As to "striking whilst iron is hot"

Debt is like being fat.

It doesn't pile on overnight - and you can't get rid of it overnight either - not without risky surgery

Edited July 27, 2009 by bigegg