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- Fri Aug 27, 2004 12:16 am #971 Hi all

Short version is, due to health I have been unable to work for the last 4 years and am unlikely to be able to work in the forseeable future (although my illness isn't terminal).

I have about £13000 of debts with various companies ranging from £500 to £3500 each.

At present I am paying minimum payments to all of them with interest frozen (this has been done for the last 3 years). While this is good from the point of view that I'm only paying around £30 per month to cover all of them, if I continue how I'm going, I will still owe 1000s in 20 years time.

Some months I can afford to pay off a lot more, but others, depending on what bills I get etc, I cant. So I am reluctant to offer them more as some months I wont be able to afford it.

I would rather save the money and pay each debt off in full one by one. A few have written to me in the past offering me the option of a one off settlement figure, so this seems to me to be the best route to follow.

The big question is, how much should I offer? I appreciate they don't have to accept my offer but as I want to clear my debts in the next few years rather than still having them in 20 years, if say I owe one company £3500, I don't want to offer them a final one off payment of £3000 if they are likely to accept/consider £2000. On the other hand I want them to take me seriously.

Any advice please?

Many thanks

Peter

- Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:37 am #973 Hi Peter. It would possibly help you to think in percentages. It really depends on each creditor as to how much they will accept, some could accept 80% of the total outstanding, some will accept 50%.

I think your creditors would rather have the account settled with £2500 and get rid of the account, rather than accept £5pm. So its always worth a shot, and if they don't accept your offer, nothing is lost. The best thing to say is that you "might" be in a position to offer a settlement figure of so much, otherwise, they will assume you have the money and will still want the money put towards your account.

- Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:19 am #976

Hi Peter. It would possibly help you to think in percentages. It really depends on each creditor as to how much they will accept, some could accept 80% of the total outstanding, some will accept 50%.

I think your creditors would rather have the account settled with £2500 and get rid of the account, rather than accept £5pm. So its always worth a shot, and if they don't accept your offer, nothing is lost. The best thing to say is that you "might" be in a position to offer a settlement figure of so much, otherwise, they will assume you have the money and will still want the money put towards your account.

I think that it is best to put it that that a family member is prepared to offer the money to help you out if an acceptable figure can be offered. That way there can be no question of them believing you can pay more.
David

- Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:32 am #980

I think that it is best to put it that that a family member is prepared to offer the money to help you out if an acceptable figure can be offered. That way there can be no question of them believing you can pay more.
David

Yes, that would work too.

[JaneClack]

- Fri Aug 27, 2004 4:09 pm #990 It doesn't have to be a family member - it can be any third party. All you need to say is that there is no way your situation will improve in the foreseeable future and x has offered to make a payment of y if it is accepted in full and final settlement but that this offer is for a limited period only. Get the answer in writing! Good luck!

- Thu Sep 16, 2004 3:41 pm #1356 Thanks for your advice.

I along with my wife have worked out our finances and depending on how much the various companies will accept, we might be in a position to borrow the money and clear the lot, although we will be paying interest on the loan which we are not at the moment.

However we don't want these debts hanging over us for life and have worked out our finances properly.

I took the descision to offer all the companies 50%.

So far I've only heard back from 2 companies.

One has accepted my offer (saving me £600) and one has refused my offer and asked me to phone them. They then said that the maximum they would be prepared to consider would be a 10% discount but this all depended on where I would be getting the money from, and would have to be approved by their director.

My current amount outstanding to them is £3500 and I am currently paying it off with the interest frozen at £6.72 per month. I upped my offer to £2000 to clear it but they flatley refused, even after I pointed out that it is very likely due to my health that my situation will not improve in the forseable future, and that with my current payment I would have only paid off £1612 over the next 20 years. Their response was to suggest me releasing the equity in my house. They also said that they've already let me off around £2000 by not charging me interest over the years. I told them I was trying to clear all my debts and they said that if I cleared my other debts I would be in a position to repay them more. I've pointed out to them that if I borrow from a 3rd party to clear my other debts off, I would still have to pay that 3rd party back, hence I still wouldn't have any left to pay them.

I appreciate that I do owe them the money so 10% (presuming they do agree to 10%) is better than nothing, it's just that when I take into account the fact that I'm paying no interest at present and am only paying them £80 per year, them not going better than 10% (when I will be paying interest on my loan to clear this debt) seems a bit of a strange business decision from their point of view. Especially as I had a phone call from them a month ago asking me if I would be in a position to make a one off payment to clear the debt (at the time I wasn't)

best

Peter

- Thu Sep 16, 2004 11:59 pm #1362 Hello Peter--ours is the sort of situation I will be facing in a few weeks when one of my family will give me from the kindness of her heart (!) about £12,000. That is about half of what I owe.
There is no way I will ever have more money as I am over 60, on Income Support, and have an illness which I am stuck with for the rest of my life which means I can't do any tutoring or translating.
Now the last company you mentioned which is giving you al the stick (just so that I'll be ready for all situations)....is it a bank or a credit card company?
They vary so much. I am very dismayed obn your behalf--and on my future behalf!--that they won't accept a 50% offer.
I am petrified that they are going to ask for the equity on my house because I had hoped to pass the tiny bit of remaining eqjuity to the daughter who is letting me have the £12,000.
By the way the only way I am survivng all this is by imagining that it is a job.
I lay all the files on the desk in front of me with little piles of paper clips and pens and the computer heating up for another day's imaginitive writings. All good heartwarming stuff.
But I was taken aback today to get a leter ferom GE Capital Bank completely ignoringthe detailed financial statement FedCred had drawn up for me. They said the only people they accepted as go-betweeens were CCCS.
Now I don't know what to do as the FedCred details were really way out. But they told me not to worry as they wouldn't be examined as long as they showed a deficit.
I don't know what to do. Should I draw up my own real financial statement (which I did for FedCred but they preferred theirs).
Sorry. I've wandered off the subject. Totally. This 'job' drives you bananas.
Regards anyway Ishbel

How refreshing to see there are kindred spirits here who are not going to lecture me. I am not proud of being in debt . Like us all I am a victim of my genes and circumstances. Lots of willingness to help where I can.

- Fri Sep 17, 2004 8:36 am #1369 Just to set the record Straight, GE Capital deal with Payplan everyday, so whoever told you they only deal with CCCS was incorrect.

If you are planning to do Full and Final Settlement figures, you should let CCCS worry about your Financial Statement as I'm assuming it is them who are going to be offering the settlement figures to your creditors? You shouldnt be worrying about things like that now Ishbel, the idea of going to a third party is to take all these things off your shoulders and working on your behalf.

- Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:32 pm #1372 Hello Nicky. Thaks as always for advice. Well it was a letter from GE Capital themselves that made me thinkl they only deal with CCCS. Perha[ps I was wrong. B ut at the bottom of their leter, in BOLD BLUE it says:-

"Our customers are entitled to free and professional help from the Consumer Credit Counselling Services, a regstered chariety oppfering independent advice. If you have a debt [problem with a number of companies, CCCS can help you organise a manageable budget and workl out an affordable programme to repay all your creditors over an extended time.". .:
It then says in capitals..."WE RESPECT THEIR ADVICE AND ALWAYS COOPERATE WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS.
For information call them on 0800 138 1111.

So, Nicky, what do I do about the FedCred financial statement if I hand everything over to CCCS? I don't want to make FedCred or myself sound as if we've been pulling figures out of the air.?Which, actually, they have. although I gave them my correct outgoings. I'm not criticising them, just a bit worried.
I want to really get working on this over the weekend.
Thanks again Ishbel

How refreshing to see there are kindred spirits here who are not going to lecture me. I am not proud of being in debt . Like us all I am a victim of my genes and circumstances. Lots of willingness to help where I can.

- Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:17 pm #1374 HI Ishbel

It is a well known debt collecting agency in the UK.

I don't want to say their name just incase they read this forum.

Best

Peter

- Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:30 pm #1375 The Financial Statement that FCL did for you should be fine. They know what figures are acceptable according the British Banking Association Guidelines, so there is no problem to use the one they have helped you with. If CCCS are doing your Full and Finals for you, just give them the FS you already have.

GE Capital prefer CCCS because they are a Charity, even tho they are still sponsored by creditors, they are no different to Payplan except they have "Charity" to their name, so I guess that's why GE prefer them for some reason.

- Fri Sep 17, 2004 11:58 pm #1376 Thanks Nicky--well I'll do what you say and stick to the FCL otherwise I won't know my derriere from my elbow!
Peter can't you just drop me a clue or sign yourself Rockefeller?!
Regards Ishbel

How refreshing to see there are kindred spirits here who are not going to lecture me. I am not proud of being in debt . Like us all I am a victim of my genes and circumstances. Lots of willingness to help where I can.

- Sat Sep 18, 2004 8:52 am #1379 Hi Ishbel

I've sent you a PM with the name of the company.

Just had Barclays accept my 50% offer.

Best

Peter

- Sat Sep 18, 2004 11:32 pm #1386 Peter I've just seen the one about Barclay's acceptance. Brilliant. Mind you I wouldn't be surprised if you get a letter in the post on Monday saying that your account is in arrears and if your cheque's in the post they apologise!
One of my lot accepted that and then thjat's exactly what happened.
Hope yours is real!!
Regards Ishbel

How refreshing to see there are kindred spirits here who are not going to lecture me. I am not proud of being in debt . Like us all I am a victim of my genes and circumstances. Lots of willingness to help where I can.