What do DCAs pay for a debt?

[Yog sothoth]

Apologies if my threads are peppering the board like a rash but I have all kinds of questions and I don't want to hijack other people's threads.

 

I've been wondering what percentage of the original balance is paid by DCAs to the original creditor, to purchase a debt? Is there a set percentage or does it vary?

 

Reason I'm asking is that, if it ever came to me wanting to settle a debt with a DCA (unlikely as things are now ), I'd want to have some idea of a realistic figure to put forward.

 

If say, the original debt was £10K, would the DCA have paid £8K, £5K or even £2K?

 

My instinct would be to try and settle a debt like that for say £3K if I could. Does that ever happen?

[rory32]

If say, the original debt was £10K, would the DCA have paid £8K, £5K or even £2K?

 

More likely £1K. They usually pay around 10% of the value of an unsecured debt.

[Yog sothoth]

Hmmm...interesting.

[lemma1968]

It does beg the question - why on earth do the banks not make the debtor the offer of a full and final at 10% rather than selling it on to these vultures? :confused:

 

Very annoying really. Don't quite understand the logic.....if there is any that is:rolleyes:

[Yog sothoth]

Yeah that's a very good point. They probably sell it on to the bloodsuckers to punish us for being bad debtors.

[rory32]

It does beg the question - why on earth do the banks not make the debtor the offer of a full and final at 10% rather than selling it on to these vultures?

Because there would be no tax benefit to the bank in doing so.

[lemma1968]

Cos they can write it off as a bad debt if they sell it to the DCA's?

 

Can't they still write it off as a partial bad debt if they settle to us? Tax is not my strong point as my accountants can attest to!!!!

[babybear39]

Logic

 

Banks and DCAs don't have logic

 

BB

[tomterm8]

It does beg the question - why on earth do the banks not make the debtor the offer of a full and final at 10% rather than selling it on to these vultures? :confused:

 

Very annoying really. Don't quite understand the logic.....if there is any that is:rolleyes:

 

Firstly, they don't want to make it easy on people who don't fulfill their commitments...

 

and, secondly, because the Tax Man will enable them to write off a substantial amount of the debt against profit, which wouldn't happen if they were to do the same thing to their client.

 

Don't forget... many of the banks OWN DCA's as part of their business strategy.

[rory32]

The tax break is bigger if they writing off the whole of the debt........oops got there to late. Tomterm8's given you a fuller answer.

[babybear39]

Convenient loophole, 'sepecially for the ones that do it 'in-house'

 

Maybe the little 'ole Tax man should be looking into that

 

BB

[lemma1968]

yes, a whole industry has been built up the back of the misery of others.

Some of the trolls that scour this site should look to their own corners before they go about criticising us and questioning our morality:-x

[dannyboy660]

Absolutely right. It's all a big rip off and another way of profiteering for Banks. Ironically, there's money to made from debts!!

 

 

Settling your debts

 

That site is obviously very USA but take alook around, it makes a very interesting read considering many of our own DCA's/Purchasers are US based or influenced.

[vandermerwe]

In their preliminary annual report (December 2006) Cattells, owner of Lewis Group, CL Finance etc. announced the purchase of some £80 million of unsecured debt for around 15% of the face value.Vandermerwe

[dom2]

My personal experience.

The DCAs buy at various risk categories.

As you say usually around the 10% mark.

I'm dealing with an alleged debt for a third party, CCA'd the DCA and they sent background paperwork instead of the agreement. It showed they paid 2%!

Admittedly this was an old debt almost statute barred with very little chance of contact/payment from the debtor.

Bottom feeders indeed:)

[vandermerwe]

That's interesting dom2. Can you scan the papers to the site - I'm sure they would make interesting reading. Wonder if the figures quoted by Cattell related to GE Money/Capital Bank who were recently dumped by Harrods? Vandermerwe

[dom2]

Hi

Sorry but I don't want to upload anything until it's sorted. After that I'll send all stuff such as this to the website.

 

It's simply a computer print out headed creditsolve - live; legal report.

Gives the date acquired and in line5 says ....

P/£ - 0.0249

 

Oh, and now they confirm that there's no copy of agreement.

 

It seems to me that many contributors on this site are in a similar position. Nice to know just how little the DCAs pay for high risk lots.

[FANTASY CHARGES]

if a CREDITOR sells a debt & claims tax relief when in default is it legal?

 

imagine a creditor assigns/sells an alleged debt whilst in default of the CCAct 1978 section 78 and then claims tax relief ----- has anyone thought of writing to the tax people to inform them that the account in question was in default [of the CCAct 1978 section 78 ] and consequently this is an illegal action ??

[gizmo111]

if a CREDITOR sells a debt & claims tax relief when in default is it legal?

 

imagine a creditor assigns/sells an alleged debt whilst in default of the CCAct 1978 section 78 and then claims tax relief ----- has anyone thought of writing to the tax people to inform them that the account in question was in default [of the CCAct 1978 section 78 ] and consequently this is an illegal action ??

 

 

Why would it be illegal?

All the default ascertains is that the debt is unenforceable, it still exists.

[Monty2007]

Why would it be illegal?

All the default ascertains is that the debt is unenforceable, it still exists.

 

This is an interesting point.

 

If the total amount of the debt to be written off is made up of illegal charges and interest that are not contractually agreed (e.g. through the clear absence of a CCA) then I would suggest that claiming tax write-off on the total balance MAY be interpreted as theft/obtaining money by deception.

 

The analogy would be a company writing off bad debt against its corporation tax, knowing that the actual amount is almost certainly less. So for example, the sum defaulted for a credit card is £8 K and the OC has added say £2 K in interest/charges (now £10 K) and sold the bad debt for £1 K they would be claiming tax relief on £9 K. The £9 K would be incorrect by virtue of the charges and interest especially if it was know that no such agreement exists between the parties. Hence they would be obtaining tax relief on a higher amount = deception/theft.

[Edz11]

I wouldn't stress about the tax consequences of OC's geting rid of agreements to DCA's as it's about income, not loss.

 

The reason that they let the DCA's do the reduction for them is quite less dramatic. An analogy - you go into a shop and on one side is a 46" LCD tv for £1000. "that's too much" you say. The assistant says "go upstairs - the same model is £100". Well, I know where I'd do my buying!

 

OC's are in the same position as the shop. The money page of the Daily Mail would be full of articles saying that you only had to pay 10% of your credit card balance to clear it if they started doing that. Yes, there's the odd exception where they will do that - but it isn't THAT common. Using DCA's is just a method of having someone at arm's length do the reduction.

[vandermerwe]

aUsing DCA's is just a method of having someone at arm's length do the reduction.

.......and cause worry and misery to people, many of which are completely unable to handle debt and who lose their homes, belongings, wives and, in some cases, commit suicide to end it all.

 

Satan must be very happy, rubbing his hooves together in glee.

 

I sometimes wonder how DCA employees sleep at night.

 

Vandermerwe

[Seahorse]

Just thought I'd clarify one point mentioned in that site (I know, it's an old post, but I've only just read it ).

 

Making a repayment after a debt is statute barred in the US is different from over here. In the UK, the clock CANNOT be restarted afterwards.

 

So if you have a debt that was statute barred, and a DCA has convinced you to make a repayment after the 6 year time bar, STOP PAYING RIGHT NOW. They CANNOT enforce a debt afterwards, and if they have told you that your 6 years has restarted, THEY HAVE LIED TO YOU!!!!

 

But that's no big surprise, I suppose.

 

Absolutely right. It's all a big rip off and another way of profiteering for Banks. Ironically, there's money to made from debts!!

 

 

Settling your debts

 

That site is obviously very USA but take alook around, it makes a very interesting read considering many of our own DCA's/Purchasers are US based or influenced.

[ThisVeryMoment]

"I sometimes wonder how DCA employees sleep at night".

 

DCA employees probably wonder how debt avoiders sleep at night.

[Having_A_Knightmare]

Come on TVM who do you work for??

 

HAK