Debt advice (6 Viewers)

[Evo1883]

So I have a debt of £3550 which I was paying 1 pound per month on after getting an arrangement 2 years ago that wouldn't put a default on my report .

It's a frozen account basically , a credit card .

So I've decided to offer them a settlement figure which was accepted of £2000 .

It will go down as part settled on my credit file , my credit score is actually half decent however....am I actually doing the right thing as it takes 6 years to come off my file (it will show negatively ) or is it best to default, not pay a thing , take the hit and wait the 7 years until it drops off my credit and rebuild then .


Advice .. both ways will have a negative impact

 

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[Marty]

No idea how these agreements work but can't you just continue paying off £1 a month until the day you die?

 

[Evo1883]

No idea how these agreements work but can't you just continue paying off £1 a month until the day you die?

I can , but as its over the limit agreed ,and despite it being frozen and still showing as paid each month , my credit is showing as over 100% of my borrowing limit .. which already goes against me .

A way around this would be to get about 10 credit cards and cut them straight up .. but my borrowing limit % will be reduced In the process

 

[Wyken Sky Blue]

I woiuld reccomend posting on the Mondey Saving Expert forum, people on there have been very helpful to me in the past

 

[Evo1883]

I woiuld reccomend posting on the Mondey Saving Expert forum, people on there have been very helpful to me in the past

Problem with there mate is , they will give you the morally correct advice 99% of the time , I'm not interested in morals when it comes to paying CC debt (being as honest as I can ) I'm interested in knowing if not paying is basically going to give me the same outcome on my credit ..

I can ask them that I suppose

Reading into it , part settled debt is still a big hit on your score and stays for 6 years

 

[HuckerbyDublinWhelan]

can you take out a loan over 5 years and take the hit on interest. A monthly payment comes out on a specified date? Ive done that and it’s a lot more manageable

 

[Moff]

AS SB1991 said, definitely go on the Money Saving Expert Forum, some really good posts and advice on there.

If you default wouldn't that possibly lead to further charges?

 

[Evo1883]

can you take out a loan over 5 years and take the hit on interest. A monthly payment comes out on a specified date? Ive done that and it’s a lot more manageable

Despite having a credit score over 850 , I cannot for the life of me get accepted for anything atm

Apart from really basic credit cards with a 150 limit

 

[Moff]

Problem with there mate is , they will give you the morally correct advice 99% of the time , I'm not interested in morals when it comes to paying CC debt (being as honest as I can ) I'm interested in knowing if not paying is basically going to give me the same outcome on my credit ..

I can ask them that I suppose

Reading into it , part settled debt is still a big hit on your score and stays for 6 years

Think the answers are for the most part honest, and not all morally correct.

 

[skybluedan87]

If you can afford the 2k get it off your file now. It'll show as settled and the 6yrs will start counting down. The longer you are in an agreement with the £1 a week the longer it'll be on your report for. I've stuck my head in the sand before and it doesn't work.. Get it gone if you can

 

[Evo1883]

Think the answers are for the most part honest, and not all morally correct.

ok il give it a bash

 

[Evo1883]

If you can afford the 2k get it off your file now. It'll show as settled and the 6yrs will start counting down. The longer you are in an agreement with the £1 a week the longer it'll be on your report for. I've stuck my head in the sand before and it doesn't work.. Get it gone if you can

It will show as part settled but closed down they said, still the same period of time 6 years.

Thanks for the advice , I'm 90% going to pay it I just wanted to make sure it's worth it

 

[MatthewWallis]

Haven’t worked in credit cards for a few years but from memory they would have the same impact on your credit file whatever way you did it.

If it was me I would do the part settlement, if you just stop paying and get the default notice they can then sell the debt to a third party company and it may follow you around for a while.

 

[HuckerbyDublinWhelan]

Despite having a credit score over 850 , I cannot for the life of me get accepted for anything atm

Apart from really basic credit cards with a 150 limit

I had similar. Found out it looks at affordability. Ive recently got a loan with a special rate. Sign up to clear score and they give you certain rates now and then. I got one with Better Borrow a couple of weeks back despite having the same issue as you did.

affordavbility doesn’t take into account the Lon you’re taking out will get rid of the other debt -frustrating

 

[bezzer]

Despite having a credit score over 850 , I cannot for the life of me get accepted for anything atm

Apart from really basic credit cards with a 150 limit

Have you looked at Guarantor Loans?

 

[Evo1883]

Haven’t worked in credit cards for a few years but from memory they would have the same impact on your credit file whatever way you did it.

If it was me I would do the part settlement, if you just stop paying and get the default notice they can then sell the debt to a third party company and it may follow you around for a while.

I believe its 7 years from the account becoming delinquent , the debt collectors won't leave you alone but I wouldn't be arsed about that in all honesty

But this is the answer I was looking for , if the information is true

 

[Evo1883]

Have you looked at Guarantor Loans?

I haven't heard of them

 

[bezzer]

I haven't heard of them

They're loans for people like yourself who can sometimes struggle to get credit. The loan you take out is guaranteed by a 3rd party, usually a family member or friend. If you default on the loan then the guarantor has to continue with the loan repayments.

Guarantor Loans | Borrow With Bad Credit | Experian

If you have a low credit score or need to build up some credit history, getting credit with the help of a guarantor can be a great first step. Learn more & compare guarantor loans.

www.experian.co.uk

 

[richnrg]

No idea how these agreements work but can't you just continue paying off £1 a month until the day you die?

in 295 years? (if interest free)

 

[Marty]

in 295 years? (if interest free)

You're right! Maybe he should ask if he can pay it off in Zimbabwe dollars.

 

[wingy]

I'd be trying £1000 or even half of it!

 

[stay_up_skyblues]

Definitely pay it at a reduced settlement mate. I had all this a decade ago after redundancy and as has been said, the debt collectors they will sell it to will push for payment and you’ll end up in an arrangement with them, and still have the default. In my experience there is no way they will write it off. Also a partial settlement will be less harmful than the default to your score I would guess. Both will stay on for six years from the date of default/settlement.

Fucking dark days for me they were, but it does sort itself out over time. I’m back up to a green/good rating now.

 

[tom88]

I may have misunderstood but can’t you keep paying the debt off but pay more than £1 a month?

 

[Evo1883]

I'd be trying £1000 or even half of it!

Too late tbh , however I'm very poor at haggling in general

 

[Evo1883]

I may have misunderstood but can’t you keep paying the debt off but pay more than £1 a month?

I can , but want it off my plate .. I think I'm going to pay the 2000 next week and be done with it ..

 

[Liquid Gold]

I don’t know if this has any bearing in reality but when I just cleared my debts it felt better and my credit score started to creep up while I got better offers for credit.

 

[Evo1883]

I don’t know if this has any bearing in reality but when I just cleared my debts it felt better and my credit score started to creep up while I got better offers for credit.

Yea I'm just gunna pay what I've agreed , it's off my case , I have a couple other debts too which are going along with it so in general just the feel good factor more than anything

 

[Evo1883]

One positive

Will be debt free

 

[SBAndy]

Do you have a mortgage or any long term credit? Could prove to be an issue when remortgaging.

 

[Fletch]

So I have a debt of £3550 which I was paying 1 pound per month on after getting an arrangement 2 years ago that wouldn't put a default on my report .

It's a frozen account basically , a credit card .

So I've decided to offer them a settlement figure which was accepted of £2000 .

It will go down as part settled on my credit file , my credit score is actually half decent however....am I actually doing the right thing as it takes 6 years to come off my file (it will show negatively ) or is it best to default, not pay a thing , take the hit and wait the 7 years until it drops off my credit and rebuild then .


Advice .. both ways will have a negative impact

Request that the credit card company accepts the offer of £2K as full and final settlement for the debt (and puts that in writing), it will then show on your credit profile as being in an arrangement then settled with no outstanding balance. They should have no issue agreeing to full and final settlement as for accounting purposes they will have already written off the debt and on the current payment schedule would take 166 years to accrue the £2K.

 

[Evo1883]

Well

I paid it off

Officially debt free , which is a strange feeling

 

[Grendel]

ok il give it a bash

Yes they will it takes the consumer side over big business

don’t take out lots of credit cards - I have a lower credit score and never defaulted on a thing in my life but it’s because it seems I’ve got several credit cards with big limits - around £10 grand even though I never use them

 

[Houchens Head]

So I have a debt of £3550 which I was paying 1 pound per month on after getting an arrangement 2 years ago that wouldn't put a default on my report .

Ya lightweight! (only joking!)
I have combined debts of around £35,000. Like you, we were paying back at £1 per month as agreed through a debt advice company. This was started back in 2009. Now, 12 years later, a debt recovery company has informed me that back in 2013, they "bought" the debts and have been chasing me for full payment! (Ha ha). They have been writing to me at an address I left in 2010, so I had no idea of their existence. I have since spent 8 years on the Isle of Wight and now 3 years in Malvern.
About a year ago, my £1 payments were being returned to my bank and then when we moved to Malvern and put ourselves on the electoral role, we started getting letters from this company saying that they'd purchased the loans and wanted us to do something about it.
I've written numerous letters back explaining that, in my opinion, these 'debts' are now Statute Barred, which basically means that because there has been no contact between either party for more than 6 years, the debt cannot be enforced. They say that they have written to me, but my argument is that as a professional company, they should have checked that I actually lived at the address they wrote to. Anyway, this has been going on for the last 9 or 10 months and I just keep replying to their letters with "THESE "DEBTS" ARE STATUTE BARRED!!"
I'm waiting for the next letter now.

 

[Houchens Head]

Just going on from my post above, I'm now nearly 69, living on a state pension and receive disability benefits. I live in a social housing bungalow with zero savings. We bought our furniture from charity shops when we moved to Malvern. I'd love to see them get anything out of me!

 

[Evo1883]

Just going on from my post above, I'm now nearly 69, living on a state pension and receive disability benefits. I live in a social housing bungalow with zero savings. We bought our furniture from charity shops when we moved to Malvern. I'd love to see them get anything out of me!

At this point you just ignore them .