Clearing Credit Card/Loan Debts

[Squink]

I dont usually part with cash without a haggle, but as i expected I didnt think these companies would negotiate

They won't negotiate because they don't need to. They want you to take a long time to pay back (as far as credit cards are concerned at least) as they'll get more interest payments from you. If you took out a loan for 6k and said "will you take £5250 to clear it?", you're effectively asking "I've borrowed from a company trying to make money from me, will they accept out of the goodness of their hearts to take back less than they lent me?"

As mentioned above, you can only negotiate when you're in financial difficulty and can come up with a repayment plan, usually arranged via a debt management company or charity.

 

[Fr0dders]

and even that merely freezes the outstanding balance at its current level

it doesn't let you off anything.

 

[lee32uk]

You could always ask the Bank/Credit Card company for a copy of the agreement, and use this as a bargaining tool if the said agreement wasn't compliant. Not sure how far you would get with this, and you would also risk trashing your credit file if you stopped payments. For the sake of a pound though it might be worth a try.

 

[Will Gill]

depends if that £6000 has late payments, default fees etc.. built into it, if it does then you can easily get them written off by a token payment

 

[Dr House]

My friend owes around 60k USD to his credit card company in the US. He fell on bad times and has not had any money to live on for the last 2 years.

He just got lucky and came into a lot of money, the CC companies agreed to accept between 22c and 32c on the dollar!!

 

[Fr0dders]

different laws in the US so sadly not a lot of use to the OP. We are covered by the consumer credit act in the UK.

They dont even have "credit" in the US, they have layaways.

 

[MrMoonX]

you can offer them a reduced amount for full and final settlement but probably only after you have defaulted and they are chasing for it anyway

 

[MrMoonX]

different laws in the US so sadly not a lot of use to the OP. We are covered by the consumer credit act in the UK.

They dont even have "credit" in the US, they have layaways.

so the consumer credit act covers the agreements and is woefully out of date, but it doesnt stop you negotiating a reduced settlement

many people in debt get IVA's which is essentially a legal agreement wiping the debts for like 30p in £1

 

[Fr0dders]

so the consumer credit act covers the agreements and is woefully out of date, but it doesnt stop you negotiating a reduced settlement

many people in debt get IVA's which is essentially a legal agreement wiping the debts for like 30p in £1

but not without other significant repurcussions

its not a case of just bargaining with "i'll give you 80 %, is that enough" as appears to have happened in the case in the US above.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I wish things like IVA's didnt exist - people shirking responsibility is so annoying. Especially as they never learn and are often out spending extravagently again soon after.

Borrow it? Pay it back.

 

[MrMoonX]

I wish things like IVA's didnt exist - people shirking responsibility is so annoying. Especially as they never learn and are often out spending extravagently again soon after.

Borrow it? Pay it back.

what about people who lose their job, relationships etc. you sir are such a ****

I hope you lose your job and cant pay everything and have to go bankrupt or something because your attitude is shocking!

 

[MrMoonX]

but not without other significant repurcussions

its not a case of just bargaining with "i'll give you 80 %, is that enough" as appears to have happened in the case in the US above.

oh yeah it totally screws your credit record and you cant borrow anything for at least 6 years, which is a good thing as you think if you end up in that mess you would learn not to borrow lol

 

[Fr0dders]

what about people who lose their job, relationships etc. you sir are such a ****

they they should take out a DMP where the interest / charges are frozen and the account suspended.

This prevents them from getting further into debt, freezes the debt so they can pay it off without just fighting the interest and pay it off gradually over a long period of time that actually pays it all off.

As opposed to somebody making it all go away for you under the premise you never have credit again, only to be able to get it again 12 months later ...

oh yeah it totally screws your credit record and you cant borrow anything for at least 6 years, which is a good thing as you think if you end up in that mess you would learn not to borrow lol

thats half the problem with IVAs, it isnt 6 years, there are plenty of reckless renders around who wont follow this.

 

[MrMoonX]

they they should take out a DMP where the interest / charges are frozen and the account suspended.

This prevents them from getting further into debt, freezes the debt so they can pay it off without just fighting the interest and pay it off gradually over a long period of time that actually pays it all off.

As opposed to somebody making it all go away for you under the premise you never have credit again, only to be able to get it again 12 months later ...





thats half the problem with IVAs, it isnt 6 years, there are plenty of reckless renders around who wont follow this.

yeah but DMPs are not legally binding and many lenders get bored and try to push more than their fair amount so the debtor ends up in a worse mess, plus they dont always freeze interest, where as an IVA they are all tied into it for at least 5 years. Technically an IVA shafts your Credit file for 6 years so i expect it would be hard to get any credit from anyone except sharks!