F&F Settlement Help

[Saint2K]

Hi guys,

 

This may sound like a silly question, but, I have come into a small amount of money, and wish to pay off some of my smaller outstanding debt balances, £120 here, £210 there etc.

 

Having several creditors, and therefore several DCA representing them, I would prefer to make payment direct to the original creditor as opposed to the DCA.

 

Does anyone have any idea of the best way of doing this? I don't want to phone them, and then make payment over the phone.

 

I'd prefer to do this in writing. So could I just write to the original creditor and say, I want to settle the debt, provide me with a giro slip? :/

 

Or should I go about this differently? I want to make sure the debt is firmly settled, and that my credit file is marked as satisfied etc.

 

Appreciate your thoughts!

[silverfox1961]

HI,

If any of the debts have been sold to a DCA then you will have to deal with them. If the DCA are collecting on behalf of the original creditor then that is another matter and you can go to the OC although they may direct you to the DCA.

 

Have you thought about doing a Full and Final settlement?

 

By doing so you can offer a lesser amount than the full debt and see if they will accept this. A lot of DCA's will.

The conditions of this in your case would be that they accept the payment as F&F and that they will not sell on any remaing balance.

That they mark your credit file as "fully satisfied" or if it is near the 6 year mark, to remove it entirely.

 

You must get this in writing otherwise they will renege and flog the remainder on.

 

Stating the obvious but make sure you send all letters RD

 

fox

[Saint2K]

Hi Silver,

 

I have thought doing a F&FS on a few of the debts, but was concerned about potential come back from the creditor.

 

I've posted a question on this F&FS thread here.

 

I might rejig the F&FS template letter to suit my needs and post back up on here for feedback.

 

There are some minor amounts I just wish to pay, without F&FS. Do you think it is safe to simply pay using the giro slip attached to the DCA letter?

 

I assume if I pay the o/s shown on the letter via giro, then the debt is cleared?

 

Thanks!

[silverfox1961]

Doing an F&F is a perfectly legitimate way of settling debts. All the creditor can do is say no but will more likely negotiate. Have a low and high figure in mind when you start the negotiations. Okay, it will take a little longer but so long as you keep the money separate and don't spend it, you should be ok

Using a third party is a good way to go (even if it is your partner)

 

With the minor amounts then yes you can pay with the giro slip but make sure you get a receipt. If you do it at the original creditors bank (which should show on the giro slip) that is good too as it is credited directly

[Saint2K]

Hi Silver,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Can you pay a GIRO at the receiving bank, even if you're not a customer?

 

I was thinking it might be better to write to the DCA/Creditor, attach a cheque, and clearly indicate that I am wanting to clear the outstanding balance, ensuring the creditor/DCA is under no illusion that I want the debt marked as settled on my credit file.

[silverfox1961]

When I was paying Lowells (I know, stooopid !!!) I paid using the giro slip at the bottom of their letters or picked one up in branch.

So long as the slip has their sort code, account number and your reference on it, it should be ok.

 

If you use the giro slip on the letter, hand the whole letter over and the counter staff will stamp the letter and give you the letter back. This is your receipt. Keep it safe.

 

PS, Yes you can use their bank if you are not a customer

Edited January 5, 2010 by silverfox1961
added a bit

[Saint2K]

Sorted.

 

I think I'll probably go down the sending a cheque with letter route, just to cover my back, and ensure they mark the debt as satisfied.

[Saint2K]

Just thinking about this a little more..... is there actually any harm in paying the DCA if they are representing the OC?

 

Surely the DCA will just credit this to the OC, then close their files?

 

Or am I being completely naive?

[silverfox1961]

If the DCA are collecting on behalf of the OC then it is ok to pay them. They will then take their cut from it before passing on the rest to the OC.

 

Just a thought though. Before you send anyone anything, it would be good to get them to say, in writing, that they will put "satisfied" on your credit file before you part with a penny

[Saint2K]

Hi Silver,

 

Thanks.

 

Yeah, absolutely agree, I'll draft a letter to that effect.

 

/Closed.

[Saint2K]

Hi Folks,

 

As titled, what is a short settlement, and does a creditor have any come back if they agree to settle an account as such?

[maroondevo52]

What sort of account are you talking about ?

[loobyloo85]

A short settlement is just like a full and final settlement, proposing to offer a lump sum to clear your debt in full.

If you agree with the creditor for this debt to be settled and you have this in writing, they cannot come back for it. Your credit file would also be amended.

[Saint2K]

What sort of account are you talking about ?

 

Hi Maroon,

 

It was more a hypothetical question, not specific to any account.

 

I just noticed from reading the forums that they seem to be offered more commonly instead of a full and final settlement.

[letsdothis]

A short settlement to the best of my knowledge would show on your CRA

 

Say you owed £1000 and you paid £500 in short settlement, it would clear the debt but on your CRA it would show settled, but with a short settlement marker, as you didn't pay the full £1000 ie Owed £1000 paid £500 - settled

 

A full and final settlement would show on the CRA that you have paid the full £1000 even though you didn't actually and no marker. ie Owed £1000 paid £1000 - settled

 

Or in other words you met your responsibilities in full, and didn't get a discount etc

 

If I have understood it properly. But I maybe wrong.

[Andy01]

Please BE AWARE to keep there all the corresponding regading as they wake up later again asking the same account. It happend to me by barclay as I setteled their account after a 1yrs Wseton wrote me and damand the remaider of the account.

[Andy01]

Please BE AWARE to keep there all the corresponding regading as they wake up later again asking the same account. It happend to me by barclay as I setteled their account after a 1yrs Wseton wrote me and damand the remaider of the account.

[Saint2K]

Hello.

 

I have four outstanding defaulted debts

 

 

(2x Credit Card, 1x Loan and 1x Bank Overdraft)

which I have been repaying on a self managed debt management plan since 2006.

 

The remaining balance is around £25K though originally was about £40K.

 

The defaulted accounts have all dropped off my credit file and

my credit history is now fairly decent though I continue to repay these debts at a pro-rata rate every month.

 

I have been through the mill over the years with the various creditors and debt management agencies.

 

 

I have reclaimed PPI,

 

 

sent CCA requests and Subject Access Requests and exhausted most avenues.

 

I do owe all these debts and intend to repay what I owe.

 

However,

I now wish to get a mortgage and

 

 

a family member has said they will help me clear the remaining debts,

so that there is nothing outstanding.

 

I therefore wish to go down the route of F&F and would like a little advice before I do so.

 

Firstly, what % in the pound should I be looking at offering?

 

One creditor (Egg/Apex) already made a previous offer of 31% around twelve months prior.

My thoughts are to aim for around 15% to 20%?

 

Also, I've seen some threads on here that suggest the wording of the F&F letter be water tight

to ensure if accepted that the debt is truly regarded as being settled.

 

I notice the template F&F letter on the site is fairly basic,

does anyone have any recommendations on the content of the letter?

 

Is it important to emphasize that it will be a family member making the payment?

 

Appreciate your help.

[dx100uk]

so the CCA were deemed enforceable

 

 

I cant believe that people are offering discounts if all is ok with those debts

 

 

dx

[Saint2K]

so the CCA were deemed enforceable

 

 

I cant believe that people are offering discounts if all is ok with those debts

 

 

dx

 

It's been a long time since I reviewed the standing and legality of the CCA

 

 

however the issue is that these debts exist irrespective of whether they are enforceable in court.

 

A mortgage lender won't want to accept the risk of providing me with finance

and I can't exactly sit there and say

"Oh, a percentage may not be enforceable, but I'm not sure and it may take a court case to prove that either way."

 

Having these debts, which I continue to repay each month, will likely, from the research I have undertaken,

impact my ability to secure a mortgage.

 

 

I guess there is also the concern that I would now own an asset which might be quite appealing for the creditors

to then take action to secure against my new property.

 

Even if two out of the four creditors cannot provide, what would be deemed, at least from advice on here, an enforceable CCA,

I'm not sure it's worth the hassle or risk to try and secure a mortgage on that basis.

 

The only way I will get a clean break that I can see is by settling the debts with low F&F offers

and to be honest it is the "right" thing to do considering I do owe the money,

albeit I have been through the mill with these creditors and debt management companies.

[dx100uk]

rubbish if they are not on your cra file

 

 

you don't tell the mortgage company.

 

 

just done some serious work on merging your +80 threads down to a manageable level

merging those on the same debts together.

[Saint2K]

rubbish if they are not on your cra file

 

 

you don't tell the mortgage company.

 

 

just done some serious work on merging you +80 threads down to a manageable level

merging those on the same debts together.

 

They may no longer be on my CRA but the monthly payments are clearly shown on my bank statement to which I will need to explain to any mortgage lender.

 

I also do not want to lie to a mortgage lender as I assume this would be seen as fraud.

 

I cannot ignore the fact there are outstanding debts and I know at least one of the four has an enforceable CCA it also happens to be the largest debt at around £14K.

 

It has since been sold off to Apex which is why I assume they swooped in with a 30% offer of F&F as they no doubt bought the debt of Egg for far less.

 

If I decide to proceed down the route of F&F. I know that two of the creditors are the "legal" owners of the debt as I have letters from the original creditors confirming this fact. So I will make my offers directly to them.

 

The other two debts are being managed by DCA. Would I approach the original creditor or legal owner of the debt and bypass the DCA or would the DCA have authority to act in this matter?

 

Thanks. Those threads are likely to be over four years old as I rarely post on CAG since I've not had any call for advice or support up until now.

[dx100uk]

I'd restart the CCA process again to everyone you pay

barring bank accounts.

 

 

I admire your stance

 

 

if someone is offering a discount 9/10 theres something wrong with the debt .

 

 

go find it.

 

 

don't take what is being said as criticism, the idea behind cag is to question everything........

 

 

dx

[Saint2K]

I'd restart the CCA process again to everyone you pay

barring bank accounts.

 

 

I admire your stance

 

 

if someone is offering a discount 9/10 theres something wrong with the debt .

 

 

go find it.

 

 

don't take what is being said as criticism, the idea behind cag is to question everything........

 

 

dx

 

Thanks, I appreciate the advice and I agree,

 

 

I could probably fight some of the outstanding debt and win,

but I think I'd prefer a clean slate,

if they are willing to accept the lower F&F amounts then I look at this as being a 'draw'.

 

Securing a mortgage and having to worry about all the other associated costs is a hassle in itself

on top of then having to fight, challenge and deal with creditors etc.

 

I'll look into the CCA requests. Am I correct in my thoughts around who I should approach when offering F&F?

 

Also, if I draft a letter, it would be great to get feedback on it if I post it up on the thread.

 

 

I seem to recall that as as family member is willing to settle the debt,

that this makes the F&F that more legally binding, is that correct?

[dx100uk]

its not quite assimple as offering a settlement and hoping its done.

 

 

whos to say you pay has the authority to state its dead and the remainder can never be chased.

 

 

if the debt is still with the OC then you might have a chance

 

 

if its with a DCA/debt buyer theres no stopping them selling the remainder on and continuing what sadly I suspect

is an on boing cash cowing exercise on many fronts to sadly keep the statute barring date being reset.

 

 

the last point to remember is you'll stil have to run the gauntlet of the mortgage provider

and their acceptance that the debt 'is' really dead..............

 

 

eitherway you'll get ripped of and referred to sub prime lenders.

 

 

hence the comment about if its not on your CRA file...you keep quiet.

 

 

my neighbour did this

and has now wiped off 74% of the debt he was sweating about that he had

he just kept quiet and didn't tell the mortgage provide

and deal with each one after the deal was signed.

 

 

he though he owed £27k

 

 

turned out after all the CCA requests/reclaiming it was actually less than £4k.

 

 

your call.

 

 

dx