# Settlement Offer to Cabot Financial



## john2010 (19 Jul 2011)

I have a credit card debt of €6,700 from Halifax and because I was missing payments they have sold it on to Cabot. I was made redundant lately and got a small severance. Could I bargain with Cabot to settle for a lower amount? If so, how low should I offer? I have a family to look after so I need to get the best deal possible. I want to be rid of this debt but I can't possibly afford the full amount, or even close to it.


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## johnnygman (20 Jul 2011)

They would have bought the debt at a very low price so I would offer them in the region of 10 % of the debt upfront or else as I am sure u can demonstrate ur monthly repayment capacity will only be nominal. They will make a profit on this by even accepting 10%. alot of these debt agencies buy these bad debt from credit card and loan companies for as little as €1 per €100 owed so start low and see how u go. They are very well trained on "collection techniques" and how to try and get more out of u so play it tight and stick to ur position.


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## john2010 (21 Jul 2011)

Cheers for the help. Interestingly when I called to make the offer, the guy said he would get back to me as soon as He hears back from BOS. I had assumed the debt was sold to Cabot, but I was wrong.


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## scarednow (21 Jul 2011)

Hi John2010

May I ask how long you didn't pay for before you received the letter to say they have sold it on - my account is currently 119 eur in arrears and they are already hounding me. In my situation, this is my lowest priority debt and the repayment of 120 per month is now covering my recent interest rate rises on my mortgage - tough times = tougher measures!

Any help appreciated and I hope your offer of 1% of debt is accepted!
Cheers


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## john2010 (21 Jul 2011)

Hi scarednow,

I have been unable to pay for about six months and it was only in the last 6-7 weeks that Cabot got involved. I had calls/letters from Halifax. I had the card for 7 years (Barclaycard initially) and never once missed a payment but once I did they were on to me in a flash. My advice is to call them and to ask them to freeze the interest and offer them a token payment of 20 a month until you can sort it out. Failing that, I'd go to MABS and get them to help sort it out. (If only I took my own advice)

I offered Cabot 20% of the outstanding loan amount today (which is all I can afford). Waiting on their reply. Would love to be rid of this problem. Good luck in your own probs with them. Let us know how you get on. 

John


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## frostie (26 Jul 2011)

Hi scarednow,

I'd suggest looking at your overall debt problems as you indicated that this is your lowest priority debt, so you obviously have other debts. It is unwise to prefer one creditor over another or promise to make a payment which you cannot afford. 

Whatever you do, your mortgage is your priority, so make sure you pay that first. Work out what your disposable income is every month after you have paid this, your esb, phone and groceries etc - the essentials, and offer a fair payment according to your circumstances to all of your creditors. 

MABS can help with this, or there are other debt management companies out there who can help.


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## john2010 (28 Jul 2011)

It has been over a week since I made the offer to Cabot and no word back. I've e mailed twice and left messages for the guy looking after my account to ring me back and I have had no response (maybe they are getting their own back on me for ignoring some of their calls and letters). I just find it incredible that they are refusing to correspond and that I am doing the chasing without success. Wish they'd either agree or disagree to my offer and take this load off my mind.


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## crcarddebt (4 Aug 2011)

Just wondering how you got on with your offer to Cabot. I am thinking of also making an offer to MBNA. My parents have said they will give me money to clear it. I owe them 6500. I was thinking of offering them 3k to clear it


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## john2010 (4 Aug 2011)

Still not a word back from them so I can't help you yet. Can I ask is your MBNA account up to date and are you paying regularly or are you behind on payments? Reason I ask is that they are less likely to bargain with an account holder who is not in arrears.


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## Poor_Soon (5 Aug 2011)

I have something similar with Halifax. I owed them 7,000 euro when they exited Ireland. I have paid them by direct debit each month since so that I now owe then 4,600 euro. Payments are bang up to date.

However, I will lose my job later this month and get some redundancy money. It is not enough to cover all my non-mortgage debts (of 30k) but nearly enough. I accept that I should pay my debts but must ration the payments out of the redundancy across 5 creditors and need to keep a small bit of rainy day money in case I don't get a job.

Has anyone any advice as to how to approach Halifax to settle at any discounted value to what I currently owe them?


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## frostie (8 Aug 2011)

Poor_Soon said:


> I have something similar with Halifax. I owed them 7,000 euro when they exited Ireland. I have paid them by direct debit each month since so that I now owe then 4,600 euro. Payments are bang up to date.
> 
> However, I will lose my job later this month and get some redundancy money. It is not enough to cover all my non-mortgage debts (of 30k) but nearly enough. I accept that I should pay my debts but must ration the payments out of the redundancy across 5 creditors and need to keep a small bit of rainy day money in case I don't get a job.
> 
> Has anyone any advice as to how to approach Halifax to settle at any discounted value to what I currently owe them?



Hi Poor Soon,

My advice would be to debt manage your current debts by entering into a DMP until such time as you know how much you are going to receive through redundancy. By doing so, you can inform your creditors that you are being made redundant in the near future, and that the plan will only be in place for a short time until you receive the redundancy payment. 

There are a few reasons for this. First of all, do you know for sure how long it will take for you to receive your redundancy - you could be sitting in a few months time unable to meet your normal monthly repayments, so you should do an income and expenditure based upon your income immediately after your normal wage ceases, and include any income you would subsequently receive by way of benefits/jobseekers etc. It may also take a while for your entitlements to come through. 

Check also if you are entitled to FIS (if your wife is earning etc - don't know your circumstances), mortgage supplement, etc. It will all help, and it's amazing how many people do not put in a claim, because they are unaware of their entitlements.

Secondly, by offering your creditors a token payment until such time as the money comes through, you will maintain a decent relationship with your creditors in the interim until you can make each of them a full or partial settlement offer. Be advised, if it is a partial settlement, it will adversely affect your credit rating for the short to medium term, but it means the debt will be setted for substantially less than the full amount. 'Partial' just means that they have accepted a partial but final repayment, but will not then pursue you for the balance.

By going into a short term management plan, this will also enable you to maintain your mortgage repayments and your normal basic household expenses, which is your main priority here. Being proactive and dealing with things early means that if there is a delay in the redundancy payment coming through, you have prepared for it by making smaller payments to your creditors and not crippling yourself trying to maintain the higher payment levels.

Hope this helps

w w w . f r o s t . i e


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## john2010 (19 Oct 2011)

For anybody interested in the outcome, Cabot (& Halifax) have agreed to settle the account for about 30% of the total outstanding balance. One less problem to deal with thankfully. Thanks for all the help.


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