Cabot Finance - Final Settlement

N

NoTimeToDie

New Member
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Looking for advice on how to negotiate a final settlement with Cabot Finance. Background is they took over a Avent Card (MBNA) debt of €25,000 back in 2014 and I have been paying back €200 per month ever since. Currently the debt is down at €8400 and I could theoretically pay this off today and clear my deck but I can't bring myself to pay the full amount as I know I was screwed over by MBNA with PPI and all kinds of hidden fees, in fact MBNA were willing to settle for €10,000 back in 2012 but I just didn't have it at that point in time.

I've been reading that most debts are settled for anywhere between 50-80% so I'm in the ball park already but I cannot see them just walking away when I've demonstrated that I'm a regular cash cow and have never missed a payment in 7 years. In fact I don't even see why they would enter into a negotiation when they can just milk the next three years out of me trouble free.

Obviously I should just pick up the phone and ask them but I want to be armed with as much detail as possible so any advice / previous experience is welcome. Financially everything else is good, I seem to have a good credit history bar this as I can access loans etc quite easily if I need, but this thing hangs round my neck and I hate the associated stigma of being associated with debt collectors so I do want to settle this and put it behind me one way or another in the very near future.

Thanks in advance for any help / advice
 
NTTD,
I was in a similar position with you. In the end I wrote a letter to them and offered them 1/2 and they accepted. They accepted a 3.5k settlement. The only problem is that this will screw you up from borrowing for 5 years from that date as it will show on credit record as not a full settlement. If you think you will need a mortgage or loan in the medium term really consider this.
Certainly PTSB have told me twice when I applied for loans 2 and 3 years after the event.
S
 
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Thanks Savvy - it's a fair observation, no point in screwing up my credit rating at this stage simply to save maybe a grand or two.
 
Brendan Burgess said:
And what did they say when you complained?
I presume that the Ombudsman upheld your complaint?

Are they still charging you interest on your debt?

Brendan
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MBNA declined my complaint stating they had followed all their procedures etc, I didn't go to the Ombudsman as I was beaten at that stage with so much going on. Cabot are not charging interest, they simply took the balance and rationed out over 10years. As per Savvy's reply above I've worked really hard to repay everyone and rebuild my life so if a less than full settlement would have negative implications then I'd rather just settle in full and walk away. Lesson learned and all.
 
NoTimeToDie said:
I was screwed over by MBNA with PPI and all kinds of hidden fees
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NoTimeToDie said:
Cabot are not charging interest, they simply took the balance and rationed out over 10years.
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This is the point I was getting at. You borrowed the money. The interest rates were high. But when you got into difficulty, they did a deal with you and you have had an interest-free loan over 10 years.

On balance, you should not feel that you have been badly treated. You should not resent repaying the money that you spent in full.

As you are able to pay it, you should pay it now in full and put it behind you.

Brendan
 

Exactly.
I've seen Cabot offering 70% reductions to settle debts but in each case no repayments had been made for years, litigation could have been successfully defended using the statute barred rule, and basically Cabot were just chancing their arm.
But Cabot will chance their arm and I've seen them litigate even for statue barred debts ! In fact I saw a case where Cabot only issued a note of discontinuance after the defendant lodged a full defence to the claim notice !
 
Thanks for the input demoivre , much appreciated
 
Thanks Brendan, time to look forward.
 
Going to ring them tomorrow and pay the balance in full, should I request a letter stating that payment of the balance in full will constitute a full settlement of the loan and should be recorded as such on the CCR? Maybe I'm overthinking it but based on info above I want to be completely sure that this is me paid in full with no impact on my credit history.
 
NoTimeToDie said:
Going to ring them tomorrow and pay the balance in full, should I request a letter stating that payment of the balance in full will constitute a full settlement of the loan and should be recorded as such on the CCR?
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You should ask for a written final redemption figure. Based on the numbers provided, you haven't been charged a single cent of interest since Cabot took it over. The last thing you want is several years interest added on at the last minute.

The fact you've a loan with Cabot on your CCR has already damaged your credit. They're not in the business of taking on performing loans. But repaying it helps - banks are open to doing business with people who had financial difficulties but have fully repaid their loans.
 
What is status of an ‘explanatory note’ on the CCR. .. how does a future lender look at these ?
 
Dublin Abu said:
What is status of an ‘explanatory note’ on the CCR. .. how does a future lender look at these ?
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