Capquest make £0.00 settlement offer !!!

[talbot649]

Hi there,

 

I've got an old, matured Student Loan account, which has been collected over the last few years on a monthly agreement by CapQuest.

 

The wrote the following letter to me today:

 

Dear Mr *******,

 

As you will be aware your account is currently on an arrangement plan to settle this outstanding balance, which under your current payment plan will take approximately 51 months to settle your account.

 

The reason for this correspondence is that your account has been selected to offer you a substantial saving on the outstanding balance.

 

If you contact us before 13 Feb 10, we can offer you a settlement figure on the monies that you owe. If you pay £0.00 over a 1 month period your account will be cleared and we will close your file.

 

If you wish to take up this offer you must make contact with us on 0870 084 3514 before 13 Feb 2010. All you have to do is call us and quote your reference number ****** to one of our team, stating you wish to take up this settlement amount.

 

If you are unable to take up this offer there is no need for you to do anything.

 

We thank you for your commitment to pay your account by instalments, your account will be monitored and if we have any future offers we will contact you at that time.

 

Now this seemed like a good offer(!), so I called them and advised I wanted to take it. Unsurprisingly they advised it was a mistake.

 

My question is, in the world of black-and-white, have I got a written settlement figure here that I can hold them to?

 

Any advice appreciated

[MARTIN3030]

Hmn I will move your post and retitle for thoughts.

[Hardupnotfedup]

What you have done is tell them that you can afford more than you have been paying, as for their offer they will put it down to employee error and tell you they have been retrained. Do not speak to them on the phone

[Guest HeftyHippo]

contact Trading Standards, its not a mistake

[MARTIN3030]

Yes it looks like a deceptive measure designed to get you to make contact.

[MARTIN3030]

We could do with information from others who may have got the same,and show that it is tactical.

[new-me2010]

I have had the same type of letter today from Equidebt/Robinson Way

 

I haven;t got a scanner

 

22 January 2010

 

Dear '''''''''''''''''''''

 

Creditor Equidebt Ronimson Way

Ref ''''''''''''''''''''''''

outstanding balance '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

WE CAN HELP YOU

 

WE WILL CONSIDER ALL REASONABLE

OFFERS OF REPAYMENT

 

 

 

I note that we do not yet appear ro have received any

communication from you.

 

I would urge you not to ignore this letter, however small the

offer may be, Equidebt may be anle to assost you.

 

Please contact one of our registered advisers on 01789 473792

 

I look forwar to be0ing able to help

 

Yours sincerely

 

Nstasha ***********

 

Equidebt Limited

 

 

 

What a jlolly liittle missive, makes you feel all warm inside and everything in the garden is rosy.

 

I would be very grateful if someone could advise me what to do

 

Thank you x x x

[MorganaNK]

New-Me, I would do absolutely nothing... file it away in ignore...

[talbot649]

I'm not sure it is cynical. I simply called them and advised I'd like to take up the offer of £0.00, so it couldn't be interpreted as an indication I could pay more.

 

I'm assuming that mistakes are allowed, and I can't use it as a stick to beat them with. I detest them though, so may send it on to Student Loans for their thoughts

[DonkeyB]

Tell them you didn't mean to call them. It was your admin error that made you pick up the phone.

[MARTIN3030]

If we can get enough of these that can show it was no error then maybe we can do a block complaint to the trading standards in their home area.

[DonkeyB]

Martin, I'd be inclined to agree if the OC were not making any payment at all. But don't you think it's odd that they'd send such a letter to someone who's actually already paying? Who knows what goes on in the brain of a DCA?

 

On the other hand, any such letter sent out would almost certainly be part of an automated bulk mailing. The 'offer' amount would be automatically set at a percentage of the total amount owing - say half. In that case you'd key in 50%. So in this case someone would actually have to key in '100%' for the discount amount - otherwise, surely, if 0% discount was entered, the offer would actually be to pay the full amount? It has to be entered deliberately at one end of the scale of 0 to 100 - surely the default cannot be 100% discount? That would be an idiot's charter! So it would be very hard to claim it's an admin error, unless their system is much more (and needlessly) complex.

[MARTIN3030]

Yes totally agree.

I am reasonably sure that this would fall under unfair business practice,as well as breaching CSA codes of practice,to which these DCAs are subscribed to.

[MARTIN3030]

Codes & Standards

 

The CSA works for the benefit of those companies active in relation to unpaid credit accounts; debt recovery, tracing and allied professional services. As part of its function the CSA aims to promote best practice throughout the industry. The CSA has developed its Code of Practice which all members must adhere to.

This code is now the benchmark for Best Practice in the industry, assuring quality and professionalism in the services members provide.

Members should:

 

• Conduct business lawfully
  
• Conduct dealings with debtors in a fair and reasonable manner
  
• Maintain a high standard of business practice
  
• Compete in a fair and reasonable manner
  
• Ensure all staff are provided with adequate training
  
• Not discriminate
  
• Protect the reputation of clients
  
• Remit monies collected regularly to clients
  
• Not knowingly misrepresent qualifications, experience and abilities
  
• Handle debt cases in a fair and reasonable manner
  

[MARTIN3030]

So they could not blame staff-they are expected to be trained to a standard that would not encounter such "errors"

[talbot649]

I'm told (regularly) that Student Loans are different to other kinds of debts. The DCAs say that they don't buy the debt, just collect on behalf of the student loans company and pass on the payments. The SLC say that they won't do reduced settlement figures on student loans, so I'm guessing that CapQuest have no power to offer anything.

 

I reckon the Student Loan accounts got caught up in their bulk mailing offer and because they are different their percentage reduction formula didn't work. Idiots.

[DonkeyB]

Let's hope we see a few more examples then!

[DonkeyB]

Have you ever being advised that the account has been acquired by Capquest - any notice of assignment? I'm sure the student loans company would rather wait 51 months to receive it all - given how old the debt is, and the fact thay you're paying. Strange one, this.

[MARTIN3030]

Yes-have you looked on your credit file ?

The answers should be there.

[talbot649]

I'm quite lucky in that this has never appeared on my credit file. To give a brief history...

 

I left university in 1999 and didn't defer the payments in the years directly afterwards. It defaulted and I left it for a few years.

 

Wescott picked it up in 2005ish and we agreed a £60 per month repayment. I made it every month, but in August 2009 CapQuest advised they were now in charge. It turns out Wescott stopped passing on payments in March so SLC switched collectors. I've managed to get Wescott to pass on the missing payments now.

 

I get annual statements from the SLC showing 'agency cheques' every month, so it seems that the DCA don't buy the debt. I've asked to pay SLC directly but can't be bothered to press it.

 

SLC said to me a couple of weeks ago they'd like to get this finished off, and asked if I'd like a settlement figure. I said it would be too much, but I'd be interested in hearing their offer. They just gave me the balance figure and said they don't offer inducements for early settlement. (Really good offer!) It's on a 3.2% APR, so there isn't much incentive for me to change things.

 

Then CapQuest sent me this out of the blue.

[Hardupnotfedup]

Martin, I'd be inclined to agree if the OC were not making any payment at all. But don't you think it's odd that they'd send such a letter to someone who's actually already paying? Who knows what goes on in the brain of a DCA?

That is why I made the remark that you have let them know you can afford more than you have been paying it is a tactic Im sure to get more from people who maybe are seen as easy targets because they are co-operating. Hope this makes sense.

[DonkeyB]

Martin, I'd be inclined to agree if the OC were not making any payment at all. But don't you think it's odd that they'd send such a letter to someone who's actually already paying? Who knows what goes on in the brain of a DCA?

That is why I made the remark that you have let them know you can afford more than you have been paying it is a tactic Im sure to get more from people who maybe are seen as easy targets because they are co-operating. Hope this makes sense.

 

Actually, wouldn't he be offering to pay less if he called and accepted the offer? This seems more like a DCA tactic designed to get an acknowledgment of debt rather than a payment. It may be they've just cocked up. Again.

[Hardupnotfedup]

The letter I have had in the past offered an overall discount but increased monthly payments, sorry I should have put the point across a bit better apologies for the confusion:o

[DonkeyB]

Don't worry HUNFU, my permanent state is one of confusion and bewilderment.

[new-me2010]

New-Me, I would do absolutely nothing... file it away in ignore...

 

Thanks I have spiked it.