Late Payments on CF + DMP + Settlement offers

[oslash]

Hi there,

 

Apologies if this isn't the right sub forum for this post. Mods and Admins, please feel free to move it to the right sub forum.

 

I'm on a Debt Management Plan and I recently offered CL Finance a very generous (i.e. 50%) full and final settlement offer for a debt that was passed on to them at the start of 2007. They have come back and declined the offer offering me a pitiful 10% discount. I'm not worried about this because I know they will accept it if I ask again with some concrete reasons. And I have read from here that DCAs buy debts for a mere 10%.

 

Now, before sending the offer I wasn't aware that this DCA have been marking my file since 2007 till date as "Payment was up to six months late" and this has contributed to badly scarring my file.

 

As a follow up to their response, I'm now thinking of re-offering them the 50% with the usual caveats - such as marking the file as "settled in full" and neither them nor their associates will take any other action to pursue the debt in any way... etc - and most importantly, they will erase every entry in my file or mark each entry as "Arrangement to Pay" or "Up to date" if they accept the offer.

 

In addition to the above, I would request the CCA and hint that they have two routes, accept the offer or get nothing (if the account goes into dispute) and perhaps take them to court of no CCA is provided within the timescale.

 

Any thoughts please?

 

Thanks!

[oslash]

Hi there,

 

I used a Debt Management Plan to repay one my creditors, Capital One, between Oct/Nov 2005 to Apr 2011. The account was passed (or balance was sold) to a DCA called NCO Europe Limited sometime in Mar 2006 even after they (i.e. Capital One) agreed to the reduced payment and they also said in the agreement that "if the proposed reduced payment is paid each and every month, Capital One will not issue a statement of default".

 

I recently looked at all my Credit Files to find that Capital One marked my file as 4 or 5 late payments between Dec 2005 and Feb 2006 and then Defaulted my account every month from Mar. 2006 till when the amount owed was cleared, i.e. Apr 2011. To my knowledge payments were made every month but I can vaguely remember one month were I might have missed a payment because the Counselling agency didn't set up the DD correctly but this would have happened in mid 2006.

 

By the way, the account was passed back to Capital One when I had cleared the balance.

 

My next course of action is to request the CCA and see how it goes from there.

 

My questions are:

 

1. Do you think that's a good first step? i.e. requesting a CCA first?

2. Why did they continue to mark the account as Default for years?

3. Should they not have stopped defaulting the account if the reduced payment was greater than or the same as the contractual minimum payment?

 

Any advice would be most appreciated?

 

Thanks!

[dx100uk]

what is the ORG debt?

and with whom/for

 

dx

[oslash]

Hi dx,

 

The original debt was for roughly £3000 and with GE Capital, i.e. Harrods store card. Current balance is roughly £900.

 

Thanks.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi, You will have been defaulted once the rest is updates,

any payment other than the amount required by the original

agreement is a default on that agreement so what has been

reported is the contiuing build up of arrears if any and late

payments.

Send the CCA to the LAST company to write to you.

[dx100uk]

something is not right here

a debt this old should not be still running

 

have you ever SAR'ed the OC

 

as i suspect its widly inflated with charges

that can all be reclaimed.

 

and PPI too?

 

almost sounds like a cash cow account to me

 

dx

[oslash]

Hi BRIGADIER2JCS,

 

Capital One was the last company to write to me informing me that the account had returned to them. So I will request the CCA from them. I will be able to get this template from the Letter Templates section of the forum right?

 

Hi, You will have been defaulted once the rest is updates,

any payment other than the amount required by the original

agreement is a default on that agreement so what has been

reported is the contiuing build up of arrears if any and late

payments.

3. Should they not have stopped defaulting the account if the reduced payment was greater than or the same as the contractual minimum payment?

I see your point. So regarding what I mentioned in my first post, point 3, let's say the minimum was 10% of the balance and the balance was £50 (after making several reduced monthly payments) and the reduced monthly payment was £5. Should they not have started marking the file as "Up To Date" afterwards since the monthly payment was now up to the contractual minimum payment?

 

Thanks.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

No the fact lower payments are made, and kept up

the lower payment still breaches the agreement.

CCA request letter in library green tab on left top o page.

[oslash]

Hi dx,

 

I haven't SAR'ed them yet and interest charges were frozen when I started my DMP. With this in mind is it still worth claiming PPI? Plus I thought that it's only after 6 years that a debt can be seen as being "old"?

 

I'm more concerned about what's being marked in the file than the money and I thought that a full and final offer with some caveats + CCA request would get this sorted?

 

Do you still think an SAR + PPI claim would be the way forward?

[oslash]

Hi,

 

Thanks again!

 

Just still a little bit confused and sorry for dragging this. If the reduced payments is now greater than the contractual minimum, is that still breach? That is I'm paying more than the minimum.

 

Thanks.

[dx100uk]

i'm talking about before the DMP kicked

 

i take it you are doing the DMP not some fee taking co.?

 

dx

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

The problem is the ''minimum'' payment

is a variable figure based on a % of the

outstanding balance so if interest and charges

are added a fixed payment will often not meet

the minimum payment required in any or all

months.

What you see is the statment that the minimum

payment is eg £5 0r a % of the balance I think.

[oslash]

Hi,

 

Yes, they were some charges but I shredded 2 or 3 years worth of statements (last year) because I thought I won't need them. So if I SAR them I should be able to see the charges and get those refunded? I should send this to GE Money correct?

 

Yes I am, through CCCS. In the meantime, should I review my DMP with the CCCS and get them to reduce my monthly payments before next month's payment is due? They (i.e. CL Finance) got a huge chunk last month because 3 or 4 of my creditors were paid off the month before.

 

Thanks.

[oslash]

Hi,

 

I see. Let's say the balance is £15 and the reduced payment is £5 p/m would it still not meet the contract? For example, I had a store card that was 24.9% APR and in the contract it said the min payment due each month will be the greater of £4 or 4% of the outstanding balance. So in the scenario above the reduced payment of £5 p/m is greater than £4 and 4% of the balance. What is your take on this?

 

Also note that interest was frozen throughout the DMP. Maybe this is where the problem is?

[dx100uk]

yep sar ge

 

dx

[ims21]

Erm...just one point...you say the account was passed back to the original creditor and that the balance is cleared....is the account still active or is it close?. If the latter then there is no point in a CCA request.

 

IMHO you would be better off sending a SAR with a view to reclaiming unlawful charges and possible PPI if relevant.

 

ims

[oslash]

Hi dx,

 

Oki doki! Thanks for that.

 

What do you suggest I do about the late marks on my file and the declined full & final offer as per my original post?

 

Many thanks.

[dx100uk]

sadly they are entitled to mark you file as you entered into an agreement withthem.

 

i'd sit tight and lets see what the sar tells us.

 

dx

[oslash]

Hi,

 

It was passed back to Capital One and I closed it the month after.

 

I will send off an SAR and see what charges were applied.

 

Should I send it to the DCA or to Capital One (or perhaps both)?

Nothing can be done about the Default mark on my file?

[dx100uk]

sar always to the oc

 

dx

[oslash]

Hi,

 

Is it also worth sending CCA to CL Finance (i.e. DCA) as well? So I can put the account in dispute and cease payments till further notice.

 

Thanks.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

To Cap 1. the default placed seems correct,

it will be removed after 6 years

[oslash]

Hi,

 

6 years from the time original default? And not the last reoccuring mark?

 

Thanks

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Yes there is only ever one default date, the

others are the required updates only.

[ims21]

Hi

 

SAR will go to Cap1.

 

As Brig says, they appear to have correctly marked the file and updated it. Defaults are very hard to remove from the file. The slim chance you may have is to show that the default arose purely as a result of unlawful charges and you may be able to get it removed....but it will not be easy.

 

ims