Full & Final Settlement offer advice on how to clear asap

[horsemad1]

Need some advice please. I have studied various threads regarding this matter, spoken to National Debtline and searched the internet on how best to approach this. Basically my Dad has offered me a lifeline, in that he has given me a lump sum to offer f&Fto all my creditors. I have already CCA'd them all of which have either not been able to provide CCA or have provided dodgy application forms with various elements missing therefore rendering them unenforceable, on all but 3 I have now stopped paying/or paying token payments and have been on the DCA merrygo round for about 2 years.

 

Stupidly, I hadn't looked at the charges situation before firing off F&F letters but only started at 15% of full balance anyway, some have replied and refused, do I now write back and say that I had taken into account any charges and interest whilst account has been in dispute for 2 years and therefore waht Im offering is reasonable also considering my fianancial situation? Secondly the 3 that are with OC I have kept up minimum payments but cannot afford it anymore, I have CCA'd these now as tried to negotiate reduced payments & frozen interest and they refused, should I just start paying these token payments too, so they can see I wasn't bluffing?

 

From reading other peoples experiences it doesn't seem these settlements happen quickly, is there anyway to speed up the process as my hubby just wants it all sorted and marked as satisfied on the CRA's, he do's not want to be chased forever using the unenforceable route. Sorry its longwinded... Advice on best course of action would be most appreciated.

Edited May 6, 2010 by horsemad1
deleted

[horsemad1]

Basically my Dad has offered me a lifeline, in that he has given me a lump sum to offer f&Fto all my creditors. I have already CCA'd them, all of which have either not been able to provide CCA or have provided dodgy application forms with various elements missing therefore rendering them unenforceable, on all but 3 I have now stopped paying/or paying token payments and have been on the DCA merrygo round for about 2 years.

Stupidly, I hadn't looked at the charges situation before firing off F&F letters but only started at 15% of full balance anyway, some have replied and refused, do I now write back and say that I had taken into account any charges and interest whilst account has been in dispute for 2 years and therefore waht Im offering is reasonable also considering my financial situation? Secondly the 3 that are with OC I have kept up minimum payments but cannot afford it anymore, I have CCA'd these now as tried to negotiate reduced payments & frozen interest and they refused, should I just start paying these token payments too, so they can see I wasn't bluffing? Also what bargaining tools can I use for bank overfrafts as I cant CCA these but both passed to DCA's now and one has said if I cant increase my monthly payment or pay 75% as F&F theyll take me to court....

 

From reading other peoples experiences it doesn't seem these settlements happen quickly, is there anyway to speed up the process as my hubby just wants it all sorted and marked as satisfied on the CRA's, he do's not want to be chased forever using the unenforceable route. Sorry its longwinded... Advice on best course of action would be most appreciated.

[dx100uk]

you wont get your CRA marked as satified anyhow, very rarely happens

you'll get partial settlement or words to that effect.

and i doubt it will improve your rating.

 

pers

get the reclaiming done & p'haps PPI mis-seling?

invest the money for now.

 

your best bet, is to get as many debts as poss sold to dca's, then offer them 5-15% with a condition that ALL adverse data is removed from the CRA files for that debt, that works,

 

dx

[The Mould]

Basically my Dad has offered me a lifeline, in that he has given me a lump sum to offer f&Fto all my creditors. I have already CCA'd them, all of which have either not been able to provide CCA or have provided dodgy application forms with various elements missing therefore rendering them unenforceable, on all but 3 I have now stopped paying/or paying token payments and have been on the DCA merrygo round for about 2 years.

Stupidly, I hadn't looked at the charges situation before firing off F&F letters but only started at 15% of full balance anyway, some have replied and refused, do I now write back and say that I had taken into account any charges and interest whilst account has been in dispute for 2 years and therefore waht Im offering is reasonable also considering my financial situation? Secondly the 3 that are with OC I have kept up minimum payments but cannot afford it anymore, I have CCA'd these now as tried to negotiate reduced payments & frozen interest and they refused, should I just start paying these token payments too, so they can see I wasn't bluffing? Also what bargaining tools can I use for bank overfrafts as I cant CCA these but both passed to DCA's now and one has said if I cant increase my monthly payment or pay 75% as F&F theyll take me to court....

 

From reading other peoples experiences it doesn't seem these settlements happen quickly, is there anyway to speed up the process as my hubby just wants it all sorted and marked as satisfied on the CRA's, he do's not want to be chased forever using the unenforceable route. Sorry its longwinded... Advice on best course of action would be most appreciated.

 

Hello horsemad1,

 

I have sent you a short pm, I will help you out on these settlements (Full and Final) very soon, probably will be in touch with you sometime next week, I hope this is alright.

 

Kind Regards

 

The Mould

[Bigdebtor]

Horsemad1

 

Some good advice above from DX with which I totally agree. I hope The Mould will not just pm you - but also share his advice with other caggers through public posts - as that is the only way we can all learn - plus it provides a check and balance that the advice is sound.

 

My own experience was that i got unsolicited offers of 35% F&F from MBNA on the two MBNA cards and two Alliance & Leicester cards I had - by that time also owned by MBNA. I also got an unsolicited offer of 40% on one Barclaycard but only 75% on the 2nd - which I have not yet taken and am still going through the process of checking cca, reclaiming unfair charges etc. All of this was long before I discovered CAG and I suspect these 5 cards had no valid cca available - but I didn't know that at the time. Although I settled about £45k of debt for about £15.5k, I could probably have saved this £15.5k too if I had known then what I know now!

 

My (non expert) advice is:

 

1. Do an awful lot of reading of relevant threads.

2. Check for PPI mis-selling.

3. Check if you have any dodgy Default Notices (see related threads on this).

4. Calculate your unfair charges and related contractual interest compounded monthly - back to the very first unfair charge even if more than 6 years ago - to reduce the balance (or wipe it out?) before starting to negotiate F&F.

5. Talk to CCCS or another (free) debt charity if necessary to get them to negotiate frozen interest and affordable monthly payments with all creditors. Remember their objective is to get you to repay what you can afford - not to help you get any debt written off.

6. If you can prove hardship use FOS to try to get an early repayment of unfair bank overdraft charges - but don't hold your breath!

7. Getting a 75% F&F is usually pretty easy - getting more needs persistence and time - and usally means they are worried about losing out totally - either due to a non-enforceable cca - or the debtor's shaky financial position.

8. Basically you have to accept your credit rating will be stuffed in any case - and is probably stuffed already either through missing minimum monthly payments, being on a payment plan or agreeing a short settlement. They are very unlikely to fix it when you get a short settlement agreed.

9. The last thing is not actually too bad a thing (as long as you don't want to borrow any more for mortgages, car loans etc.) as it shows other creditors that you have agreed other short F&F's - AND have got together the funds to settle them - so they should fall into line or risk getting nothing.

10. There is no winning formula regarding getting them to agree to low short settlements I'm afraid - other than to wear them down over time, get the balance as low as possible by reclaiming unfair charges and interest, and finally spook them by carefully checking they have not slipped up in any of their paperwork, CCA, DN, TN etc. It seems to be easier to get a low F&F when a DCA is involved - but MBNA and Barclaycard did mine themeselves very (too?) quickly and easily. I suspect the fact Barclaycard are not playing ball with the 2nd card balance suggests they feel they are on stronger ground with this cca?

 

Best of luck!

 

BD

Edited May 7, 2010 by Bigdebtor
typos

[horsemad1]

Thank you all for your replys. So basically, I need to SAR those that haven't been and reclaim the charges and compound interest and with the balance left, offer a full and final short settlement. As all of them barr Capital one are pre April 2007 I know the CCA's are either non existent or flawed, so was going to use this as a way to get the defaults removed and CRA files marked as satisfied in full as part of settlement (credit report already dreadful, so for time being am not worried about that until this all gets sorted).

 

Bit worried about the bank overdrafts though - one with Halifax, was on a payment plan but receiced a letter from Fairfax Solicitors yesterday threatening court action or 75% F&F and the other is with Nationwide and went down the FOS route for refund of charges which was refused and they are expecting an offer of payment or F&F or also court action. I havent the same bargaining power with bank overdrafts do i, especially if the likliehood of getting the charges removed is slim following the Test case?

[Bigdebtor]

I think if you get CCCS help then Halifax and Nationwide should heed their suggestions regarding affordable payments. If they don't then I would ask FOS to tell them to do so. It might/should work? Remember the Scottish Sheriff Court case against HBOS is due next month - so bank charges may be refundable after that expected victory for us.

 

If your CCA's are flawed then you shouldn't need to pay ANY short settlement - just put te account in dispute and see IF they sue YOU (very unlikely in these cases in my opinion as the last thing they want is CERTAINTY that the debt is UNENFORCEABLE).

 

Good luck!

 

BD

[horsemad1]

Thanks for your reply again, my accounts have been indispute for the past 2 years and I think thats why they just keep getting passed on from one DCA to another as the OC has realised they are unenforceable, however my hubby who I stupidly hid all this from until recently, just wants it all clearing up one way or another asap, as he's not happy to just ignore it and keep getting letters from DCA's and although our credit files are shot at, he thinks that having them marked as satisfied, or partially satisfied is better than, having them shown as defaulted and still outstanding. Which is why we were looking at the F&F route.....

[Bigdebtor]

In some ways our Other Halves are the OC and DCA's best allies! - and they know this and play on it with nuisance phone calls and letters full of empty threats. I have the same problem with my wife but my (grown up) kids are a bit more savvy and have reassured my wife that my tactics are the best way forward.

 

You really just need to give your hubby as much reassurance as possible that your tactics are correct. The Mould said you should put some cash away and this is good advice - provided it is put into a totally seperate bank or building society account. You can then use this if necessary if there is a chance of losing a court case.

 

Otherwise I would play real hard ball since if your cca's are unenforceable it will be a very foolish OC or DCA who tries to do so in court. They will bluff and bluster - but rarely follow through. You just need to keep the faith and get your hubby to understand that the two of you are not alone and there are many success stories to reassure him.

 

BD

[horsemad1]

Thank you very much BD, your advice is very much appreciated and valued. I had followed the CCA advice on this site and then got a bit lost as to what to do next. First things first, will SAR those that haven't been already and work out the charges and compound interest element - hopefully it could be substantial and reducing the balance anyway. As for the banks have already made F&F to nationwide as charges option is a no go, but will try for refund of charges with Halifax as have details of those without SAR.

 

Will keep you updated as i go along, as my lessons learned could help other people too....

[loobyloo85]

I would suggest that you write to all of your creditors to find out the settlement figures (not balances) on the accounts. You can then offer a lump sum fulfilling these figures, or an amount near to this. This I say would be an extremely reasonable offer. If you havent got enough money as a lump sum to pay these settlements, I would continue to haggle with them. I understand this can take a lot longer, but they will accept an amount in the end. All the best - I would be interested to hear how you get on x

[horsemad1]

Thanks loobyloo, have been advised on another thread to send SAR's to enable me to claim back charges and interest first and then offer reduced settlement figure depending whats left, will update as I go alon - thanks again.

[horsemad1]

does a SAR and reclaiming of charges and compound interest also work for payday loans (yes things really were that bad) as have one that refuses a repayment plan and the interest and charges they add on is astronomical....

[dx100uk]

dupe thread

i'll get them merged

 

dx

[maroondevo52]

Two threads merged.

[dx100uk]

you are keep including the word interest in your thought about reclaiming.

just remember it ONLY the interest associated with the unlawful charges and/or PPI you can reclaim, not all interest payments.

 

pers as already said, i would NOT waste ANY money now doing F&F's, that is money down the drain.

 

get all the reclaiming done FIRST, then lets go from there.

 

as a ballpark figure, you will prob reduce your debts by +25% by reclaiming if not MORE with PPI reclaims.

 

dx

 

 

dx

[Bigdebtor]

I agree with DX. Get th ebalances down as much as possible by removing PPI, unfair charges and associated interest - THEN negotiate short settlements on the much reduced balances. Don't start with F&F when there are still other things to come off first.

 

BD

[horsemad1]

Thank you both for your replies. Yes I understand it is the interest on the charges that I can reclaim only, but isn't that interest at the rate they currently charge, or have I misunderstood?

 

What I was wanting further advice on was, can I reclaim charges and associated interest on those charges from Payday loans?

[dx100uk]

Thank you both for your replies. Yes I understand it is the interest on the charges that I can reclaim only, but isn't that interest at the rate they currently charge, or have I misunderstood?

 

- no correct at their rate

 

What I was wanting further advice on was, can I reclaim charges and associated interest on those charges from Payday loans?

 

yes

its a loan

dx

[horsemad1]

Thank you for clarifying that for me. will make a start trying to work it out.

[horsemad1]

Spoke with my OH last night about all of this and he's not happy, basically we spoke to National debtline first before posting on this forum and they just advised to put in the short F&F settlement offers, there was no mention of reclaiming charges and associated interest on charges. As we took their advice first, he thinks it will look like we don't know what we are doing to the creditors we have already offred F&F's too.

 

I CCA'd all of the credit cards previously and most have not been able to supply a CCA or the ones that have they have sent application forms or have vital info missing like credit limit, apr and signatures. As we had already written to all the creditors with very low F&F offers, I was wondering whether to write back to them as most have refused or come back with higher settlement figures and basically say that beacuse they are in default of the CCA request that this is all they are getting so like it or lump it basically.

 

As I said before my hubby wants it sorting as quick as poss and Im worried he's going to give in to their demands & pay what they want regardless because I got us into this mess and he just wants to get out of it asap.....

 

Nationwide have refused our F&F and are saying they want what we were offering as F&F paid in to reduce the account balance (overdraft and went down hardship route with FOS and they agreed with Nationwide - so no charges refund) and then they will look at the repayment options available on the balance remaining. What should my reply be, given that the amount we offered was only to be paid on the basis it cleared this debt in full. They also keep threatening getting a charging order in County Court which I am happy to defend as I beleieve the offers we have made are reasonable considering our situation, but I know there is no way my husband would let it go that far & would probably pay the full amount, which at the moment he's so fed up with it all is considering selling the house (as have alot of equity) & just paying it all off. He's also worried about the efect of getting the other cc's sent to DCA's on his already fragile credit rating - im struggling to make him see that by doing this we can negotiate much better F&F's. Im struggling to make him see that any of this is for our benefit in the longrun, especially if it takes months and more money getting charges refunded - HELP!

[Bigdebtor]

If the interest rate has been fixed since day 1 then that is in the rate you reclaim - compounded as they do - either monthly (as in credit cards) or otherwsie as in the specific terms of the loan. If the rate varies (like most credit card rates) you should charge the same rate shown on each monthly statement for that specific month.

 

With Payday loans they seem to charge 30% PER MONTH - debtors have to repay £130 at the end of the month for every £100 borrowed earlier that month - so "for total fairness" you should compound it at that same rate - and you will be amazed at the apr it produces - over 2300% apr!

 

That means that if Payday Loans owed you £100 in respect of unfair charges in January 2009 then by the end of January 2010 they would actually then owe you over £2300 (and this would have grown to over £6500 owed to you by end of May 2010!)

 

Avoid all sharks like Payday Loans like the plague - if you're in debt the last thing you need is an effective 30% pay cut coupled with a loan at over 2300% apr!

[dx100uk]

there are numerous threads on here that basically say the national debtline talk rubbish depending upon who you get.

 

stick by your guns.

get the reclaiming all done then offer low F&F

 

on the ones that are bouncing around diff dca's stick to 5-15%

 

on the ones that wont budge.

write them and tell them the offer is limited time and thatthey are getting pro rata to other debtors that have already accepted your offer.

if they dont accept, they'll get £1 PCM till neverday.

 

DONT give in.

 

dx

[Bigdebtor]

DON't give in to Nationwide's demands! You WILL eventually get your charges and interest refunded once Justice eventually prevails (see Glasgow Sheriff Court next month!).

 

BD

[horsemad1]

Thank you both. I know that by following your advice and the advice on these forums that we will evntually win/settle on our terms - it's just making my husband see that also - he likes to see documented proof as opposed to the odd success story (his words not mine).

 

I was thinking of writing back to Nationwide with something along the lines of :

 

"I am fully aware of the procedures in defending a claim in the County Court and note that a Charging Order would only be granted after a judgement had been granted and we defaulted on the terms of the judgement, however as our Financial situation means that I would be able to prove to a Judge that what we are offering is reasonable and that we are not favouring one creditor over another, then by refusing to accept our offer you are being unreasonable and trying to force us to pay you more than the other Creditors we owe. Also given that a large percentage of this balance is made up of fees and associated interest, if you insist on taking us to Court, I would be more than happy to go down the route of reclaiming these charges through the Court. Not only would this be lengthy, but the offer of assitance from my Father to clear this debt would be withdrawn as it was made on the clear understanding that it would satisfy this debt in full and that we would be released from any further liability, without the need for Court action. Furthermore, There is no further option to pay sizeable installments after 30th July as you intimated in your letter, as once I return to work following my Maternity leave, my childcare costs increase dramatically due to having to pay for 2 children under sholl age in Fulltime Nursery, I will be lucky to meet my basic household expenditure, let alone a non priority debt such as yours. Therfore I would say it is in both our interest to find a mutually acceptable agreement out of Court"

 

What do you think?