** Settled @ Mediation ** Lowell Solicitors claim on a mobile contract

[ryoukosback]

Thanks Amethyst . Getting info from the bank won't be quick as the last time I used that account would have been Sept 2012, back when it was LloydsTSB, before the split and I've got no idea what happened later on.. I'll try to get it discounted and just pay up. I can definitely afford to pay in full

[Amethyst]

It is a case of priorities xx

[R0b]

Don't have anything to add than what has already been said by Amethyst. I think, however, if you are going to try and settle for a lower amount you might want to consider an open letter maintaining that you consider the debt to still be statute barred and picking out all of the holes such as how it has been calculated, has the correct termination fee been applied, are there any other charges added that shouldn't have been etc.

Then together with that open letter, send a without prejudice letter offering a reasonable amount to settle and put that into a Tomlin Order on an instalment basis. If you can clear it in 12/18 months I would put suggest that as a sensible starting point, even better if you can clear it in one go.

[ryoukosback]

Ok, so I had the mediation call and managed to remove any extra fees applied to this claim and a further discount for total remainder of £300, which I offered to pay in full and they accepted. The original claim was £475, so that's like 37% off. Maybe I should have accessed my old bank accounts and see whether the payment was actually made in Nov 2012 or not (the bank account would've been empty since Sept), but I didn't, so here we are.

Mucho thanks to Amethyst and R0b !
Case Closed.

[R0b]

Glad it has worked out for you. If you weren't looking to apply for a mortgage then I'm sure you could have chanced your arm a bit but I think you've done well to agree £300. Could you have drove them down further? Maybe, but that could have been a risk if further settlement talks failed and you were heading to a hearing.

I presume the mediator gave you all the information on how the settlement works?

[ryoukosback]

R0b Yes, the mediator was actually very pleasant to deal with a d also informative. Well, they agreed to my first proposal, so we can presume it could've been a bit lower, haha. But like you said - another £50 or so off isn't worth the risk to me at this point of life, as a CCJ would seriously impact our family... If it wasn't for you guys, I would have admitted the claim and paid up whatever they were asking ar the start. Lowell also apologised for not extending my defence submission timeframe, due to administration error or something lol...

[Amethyst]

Ok, so I had the mediation call and managed to remove any extra fees applied to this claim and a further discount for total remainder of £300, which I offered to pay in full and they accepted. The original claim was £475, so that's like 37% off. Maybe I should have accessed my old bank accounts and see whether the payment was actually made in Nov 2012 or not (the bank account would've been empty since Sept), but I didn't, so here we are.

Mucho thanks to Amethyst and R0b !
Case Closed.

Sorted - well done - and best of luck with the mortgage next year.