How Much Have You Had Accepted as a Full and Final Settlement

[Tingy]

Indeed it does - it's pretty much what I put in the previous post where as I used about 400 words where you summed it up beautifully in one sentence! lol

[caro]

Hopefully....

 

We've just sold our house and hope to have 5K left over for 30K's worth of debts:roll:

 

The largest debt is 18.5K to Black Horse who have taken the debt on from Capital Bank....

 

Would you be inclined to use the full 5K and try to get rid of BH??? I think I would be quite happy to try and pick away at the other smaller debts over the next 12months:!:so long as I knew I had gotten rid of the big BH one....

 

Not quite sure what m next step is?? I havent asked for CCA's yet.

 

I'd be inclined to write to them all, offering to pay them pro rata. Show them what all your debts are and the percentage of the full amount, and offer them the same percentage of the £5k you have available.

 

If you do this then you'll be offering 1/6th or 16.67%.

 

I can certainly see that my question was not as simple as I thought and context is important, but it was prompted by someone looking for an idea of how much might be a realistic offer to make.

Edited January 12, 2011 by caro

[cymruambyth]

It has been interesting to see what my question has provoked! It is a work in progress and I hope to be able to add to this, or give details of a CCJ

[Guest repo threat]

if you have several creditors you should offer them pro-rata what you have available, to do any other would be to prefer one creditor against another and in the event of insolvency proceedings, that may give rise to a claim IMHO

[diddydicky]

if you have several creditors you should offer them pro-rata what you have available, to do any other would be to prefer one creditor against another and in the event of insolvency proceedings, that may give rise to a claim IMHO

 

well i would "qualify" that statement and divide any unsecured debts into those which are legally enforceable- and those which are not

 

the latter do not have to be given any equality to the former (in fact they do not have to be paid anything at all if you are so minded)

[minmoo]

well i would "qualify" that statement and divide any unsecured debts into those which are legally enforceable- and those which are not

 

the latter do not have to be given any equality to the former (in fact they do not have to be paid anything at all if you are so minded)

 

Do you suggest putting creditors who have unenforcable or no cca to the bottom of the list and being firmer with them when it comes to negotiating?

[rebel11]

One thing for sure is that Barclaycard payed Discovery silly money for the Goldfish Accounts. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2784120/Barclaycard-nets-Goldfish-for-a-bargain-35m.html

[sequenci]

Do you suggest putting creditors who have unenforcable or no cca to the bottom of the list and being firmer with them when it comes to negotiating?

 

Yes, certainly.

 

The starting point for F&F's is to indeed go via the pro-rata route BUT if there are mitigating factors, such as potential enforceability issues, you should revise your offers in light of them.

[sequenci]

I have to say, I would advise people to post about their debt on here first. Most debts can be challenged in one way or another - enforceability, fees, ppi, etc... etc... Peoples' situations differ enormously from say someone try to live purely on benefits to people with disposable incomes in excess of £1000 per month. These people are never going to be treated the same way, and offering F&F is virtually never the right starting point. Once the debt has been discussed, and hopefully reduced, then a sensible offer of F&F can be made, but it has to be on a case by case basis IMO.

 

That's very true.

 

I often get a little dishearted with some of the advice on here when I see people start giving advice with the whole challenge, challenge, challenge approach with then little advice as to the long-term debt-repayment strategies. It's great to ensure that each of our users has holsitic advice to ensure their long-term successes! This is why I love the advice given by yourself, Vic, Dicky etc.

[minmoo]

Yes, certainly.

 

The starting point for F&F's is to indeed go via the pro-rata route BUT if there are mitigating factors, such as potential enforceability issues, you should revise your offers in light of them.

 

Should it be pointed out to them that you are making this offer in light of the fact they have no cca? (hope i am not highjacking, please tell me if i am. I am trying to learn as best i can )

[sequenci]

Should it be pointed out to them that you are making this offer in light of the fact they have no cca? (hope i am not highjacking, please tell me if i am. I am trying to learn as best i can )

 

For sure. Use it as a bargaining mechanism

[minmoo]

That's very true.

 

I often get a little dishearted with some of the advice on here when I see people start giving advice with the whole challenge, challenge, challenge approach with then little advice as to the long-term debt-repayment strategies. It's great to ensure that each of our users has holsitic advice to ensure their long-term successes! This is why I love the advice given by yourself, Vic, Dicky etc.

 

This is an important statement to me. The first thing we all do is usually to get a cca request in and see what happens but what about after? What if no cca or a heavily flawed one? How do you contact the company in question, and what about wording on offers. I imagine it is easy to incriminate yourself or am i being over paranoid? Personally, me and a lot of other people aswell, would like to pay our debts not avoid them with people chasing me forever and ever.

 

Please ignore if i am rambling

[sequenci]

You're not rambling at all. I think dealing with debts *holistically* is a two-pronged process.

 

process A is to go down the CCA // SAR route to see how the accounts stand + obtain info

 

process B is to complete a personal budget sheet and consider the best route in repaying what there may be outstanding

 

Any PPI refunds should be used to offer F&F settlements if possible.

 

The CCA process is not as sure-fire as it once was due to the test case decisions so a more rounded approach is needed to ensure an easy route out of debt.

 

As far as sample letters are concerned there are some good ones on here and the national debtline website: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

[diddydicky]

This is an important statement to me. The first thing we all do is usually to get a cca request in and see what happens but what about after? What if no cca or a heavily flawed one? How do you contact the company in question, and what about wording on offers. I imagine it is easy to incriminate yourself or am i being over paranoid? Personally, me and a lot of other people aswell, would like to pay our debts not avoid them with people chasing me forever and ever.

 

Please ignore if i am rambling

 

it is important to bear in mind that in 99.9% of cases there is NO argument as to whether you owe a debt to a creditor-- the question is......is it legally enforceable?

 

so, the first port of call should ALWAYS be a s78 for a copy of the agreement.before any thought of making offers.

[minmoo]

Agreed, i cant argue about owing money but since they have had it back many many times over and they arent willing to discuss things sensibly when i got into difficulty then the only option is to go down the routes highlighted on this site. I just hope they continue to fail to find my cca lol.........

 

Good thread everyone, very helpful

[olympic1805]

Reading through the posts just thought I would add my experience. Just recently had asked Monument to write off my debt of £2K due to severe financial problems and hardship... A Gentlemen rang me back and was very informative and helpful, although he could not agree to the write off, he did place my account on hold but told me that at some point if I was able to get some money together they would accept a 20/30 % settlement of the debt, and in his experience any other DCO's would snatch my hand off with this offer, especially in this financial climate..he said !

The guy was really helpful and said the decision would be his to accept or not and he would accept .....

Not been able to offer yet but will keep you informed..

Hope this helps

[caro]

they would accept a 20/30 % settlement of the debt, and in his experience any other DCO's would snatch my hand off with this offer

 

Thanks for that. That's really useful info.

[Ron 2015]

Hi All

 

I have agreed a few Full and final settlements with creditors , see my signature for details.

 

The whole settlement process is a bit hit and miss.

 

At one extreme I dealt with a firm called AIC who were a nightmare. At the other end of the scales I dealt with a very nice , polite young lady at a DCA who told me instantly what they would accept. I then offered about 10% less and she asked her manager and it was agreed. Very easy and straight forward (She was a new employee).

 

Hope this info helps

[baz1986]

Hi Ron a quick question regarding your F+F, How long did you have your account in arrears for before sending the F+F?

 

I am on a DMP and in the next 3-6 months my circumstances are going to change as i am going to have to start renting as my parents are moving abroad, So i wont be able to continue paying the full amount on my DMP, My parents are willing to pay towards my debt but not full amount, Do u suggest sending a F+F to my creditors? I have been on a DMP for 6 months now?

 

Debts

Halifax 7.5k

Halifax CC 2.4K

MBNA 2.2K

Virgin 1.5k

Store card 2.1k

Capital One 600

[Ron 2015]

Hi

 

I only settled when forced. I do not want a CCJ.

 

I looked at the CCA each company sent me and when they started taking me to court I decided to try and settle.

 

A few are easy and some play very hard ball.

 

I am not qualified to advise you wether you should try and settle or not , if you decide to always make sure to tell the creditor that it is not you money, but your parents.

 

Always get written confirmation from the creditor that they agree the amount and that they will write off any further balance and not persue it in the future.

 

Also write on the back of the cheque that the cheque represents full and final payment and the creditor accepts this and agrees not persue the debt in the future , otherwise please return the cheque uncashed.

 

One thought is that if you are going to live in rented accomodation why repay any debt at all ? You probably have defaults ect and would not get any credit from anyone anyway , so why pay anything?

 

I would get a pay as you mobile phone , a new simple bank account with online access and would not register for anything for 6 years

 

I cant see how anyone would find you , and once six years has passed you file will be clear.

 

I only settled because I was forced and I did not feel that I could win a court ( its seems like a lottery to me , I have read a lot about this subject and since Waksman not many people are winning )

 

Anyway food for thought.

 

Cheers Ron 2015

 

ps . it can be very difficult to get rental accomodation when you have poor credit , most letting agents want an Experian report ! You may have to offer 6 months or a years rent in advance to tempt a landlord , tell them you just got back from Timbuktoo and dont have a UK address.

[baz1986]

Ron great help and you have deffo given me things to think about,

 

I am thinking i got two options i can offer my creditors a Full and Final and meet them half way, or i can just carry on for the next 5 years just getting paid and paying 70% to my creditors and at the end of 5 years be debt free but at a loss to where the 5 years have gone, I completely accept i used the credit but when the creditors do not play ball it really get under my skin.

 

You know the usual tactics, Sign you up and then automatically after a few months increase credit linits to tempt you, I have a real problem with Halifax at the moment

 

Ron a few questions:

 

When you say do not pay as they will not find you can they not contact my work place to find me?

 

Can they start taking money from my work

 

Do you know of anyone who has not paid at all and what happened?

 

Thanks again

[Ron 2015]

Hi

 

They are not allowed to contact your employer , they could only get money from your employer by way of an attachment of earnings.

 

They would have to get a CCJ registered against you first and then try for an attachment of earnings.

 

It depends what work you do and wether its easy to get another job or not.

 

I would suggest that if its easy to get another job for the same money then change employer at the same time as you move into a rented place.

 

So with a new pay as you go mobile , an internet bank account registered to your old address with no postal statements, not registered on the electoral role, registered for gas and electric under one of your parents names or a pets name. I really cant see how they would find you.

 

I dont know anyone who has done this , but remember its unsecured debt we are talking about here , if they ( the credit community ) were stupid enough to push unaffordable amounts of credit on vulnerable people then they should expect a large number of defaults.

 

The other thing to consider is what if they take you to court and get a ccj registered against you. You cant pay , so the court asks for an income and expenditure form to be completed. If you are like me this does not leave a lot after all your bills are paid.

 

The court will order you to pay an affordable amount each month , a lot of times this is £1 per month. So if you had to pay one pound per month for each debt that would not be to bad!

 

You really need to read lots of threads on CAG and work out for yourself what to do , remember there are always people in a lot worse position than you. If you are getting to many phone calls get a machine called true call , I got one and its great , you can block all the dca's phone calls.

 

All the above assumes that you do not own a property , if you do and they know about it they may try and get a charging order after they get a ccj.

 

As you can see from my signature the F&F's negotiated vary wildly , with the higher percentages they had good copies of valid agreements , so the chances were they would win in court. with the lower percentages their paper work was not so good , but still no Gtee I would win in court.

 

I have 4 creditors left and have not heard anything from them this year , no letters nothing. Three of them have given no response to my CCA request in 2009 and the other provided an unreadable one. So if they put a claim into Northampton any settlement will be very low. So read a lot and then make your own informed decision once you have the knowledge to do so.

 

Cheers Ron 2015