Redundancy + IVA

[aitker]

Hello, and apologies if this is in the wrong location or is a well worn topic. I've read through many, but I'm not entirely clear.

 

Within the next few months I will be made redundant. I also have unsecured debts of £16,000 which I'm paying back via a DMP.

 

I should received a redundancy payment of around £8000, and I was wondering whether it would be worth my while offering a share of this to my three creditors? Is it likely they would accept? Two are debt collection agencies (Aktiv Captial and Marlin), one is still with the original vendor (Santander).

 

Would I be wiser to offer less than my maximum amount as an opening offer in case my creditors come back with a revised settlement amount?

 

Obviously I don't want to rip anybody off, these are my debts after all, but I also would like to rid myself of the constant worry about money and job prospects.

[Bazooka Boo]

Hi and welcome, when I was made redundant I had circa 60k of unsecured debts, mainly bank loan, overdraft and credit cards.

 

First things first, what are these debts exactly?

Loans, Credit cards (CC's) catalogues, mobile phones???

 

Why are you paying Marlin? Who is the original creditor OC and what are they fleecing you blind for each month?

 

How old are these debts?

Have you been provided proof that they are legally owed and enforceable?

Have you reclaimed any PPI and fees/charges?

 

I am assuming that none of these 'debts' are actually priority debts, but simply petty bank loans a CC's?

[aitker]

Hi Bazooka Boo, and thanks for your reply.

 

The debts are two credit cards and one unsecured personal loan.

 

Marlin have taken over a personal loan debt from Northern Rock, and I'm paying them £160 per month on an outstanding debt of around £6800. Those payments are being made via a DMP with Stepchange. The loan was taken out in 2006.

 

I guess as I've been paying Marlin that I have accepted the debts are legally owed? I haven't claimed back any PPI (as I didn't take any out on any of the debts) and have not claimed back any charges.

 

You are correct in saying that these are not priority debts.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Bazooka Boo]

WOW!!! £160 a month!!!

 

Who came up with that lovely little figure?

At least you have gone through Stepchange, well done, not one of these fee paying con companies. But even still £160 a month!!

 

Is this manageable for you?

Who are the CC's with?

 

Have you a complete history of these three accounts?

If so then you should go through them all, and reclaim any charges, including interest (at their rate), which will lower the total figure of the

debt they are claiming is owed.

 

Have you ever requested the agreements for any of these accounts since that you are being chased for?

 

What paperwork do you currently have regarding these debts?

 

Offering them a F&F payment, whilst might be appealing, it is very often fraught with hidden pitfalls, and unless the F&F offer is well laid out, with certain conditions, then the seedy debt collection world will simply sell on any remaining debt to their pals, whilst pocketing your offer.

 

So IMO a F&F offer shouldn't be made just yet, you need to check whether they actually have all of their documents in order first.

 

Have you checked your credit file, this will be a good place to start, and from there you can see, who is chasing what, what amount, and the relevant dates of default etc.

[National Debtline]

Hello there,

 

The general approach would be to make full & final settlements based around a pro-rata share to each creditor. These means that you would offer the creditor with the largest amount outstanding the highest amount, followed by the next highest debt - and so on. That said, prior to making offers you could consider making a formal request under the Consumer Credit Act [often referred to as a CCA request] to see if these creditors still have the paperwork in order. We've often seen creditors accept a much smaller full & final settlement where it has been shown that the paperwork either no longer exists or doesn't meet with the requirements of the act [e.g. is missing a prescribed term or the debtor's signature'. It could help you save a significant sum.

 

We've a useful fact sheet covering full & final settlements here.

 

Best wishes,

 

David @ National Debtline.

[aitker]

Thanks David and Bazooka Boo. I have checked my credit file previously with Equifax, and did notice that one of the debts wasn't listed. I contacted Stepchange, and they said it might be because different credit agencies show different information? I will do another check tomorrow.

 

All of the debts are relatively modern, but I will also request information via a CCA request. Thanks for your help, and I'll try and update as soon as I get any further info.

[National Debtline]

 

All of the debts are relatively modern, but I will also request information via a CCA request. Thanks for your help, and I'll try and update as soon as I get any further info.

 

The magic date is the 6th April 2007. As a creditor may be able to seek leave to enforce a debt after this date regardless of what the paperwork looks like - it may be more tricky to broker a good reduction on debts taken out after this date. That said, for the sake of a pound, a CCA request is a very cheap and often powerful tool to aid with negotiation.

 

Best wishes,

 

David.