Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

[monica32]

Hello All,

I have personal loan with Blackhorse from 2009,which I have defaulted on in 2011.Debt has been assigned to Ascent Legal.I have agreed on repayment plan with them and have been paying £150 every month to clear the debt.Last month I have received full and final settlement offer from Ascent. Letter :
Dear xxxx
reference xxxx
areas due 2541.52
outstanding balance £597.09
client ref xxxx

The above sum remains outstanding.
Please note that we are prepared to offer discount to your balance if you are able to make a single 'full and final'' payment.
We ask you to call our office to speak to telephone negotiator to agree a figure and acceptable date by which payment is to be made.

I am rather suspicious why DCA would offer full and final in the first place. It is the second letter they sent. I have sent SAR request to Blackhorse, awaiting their response.I have all documents at home,together with original agreement. Should I send CCA request to Ascent before I offer anything? Can I offer as less as 10% to start negotiations? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Hello All,

Hi and welcome

I have personal loan with Blackhorse from 2009,which I have defaulted on in 2011.Debt has been assigned to Ascent Legal.I have agreed on repayment plan with them and have been paying £150 every month to clear the debt.Last month I have received full and final settlement offer from Ascent. Letter :
Dear xxxx
reference xxxx
areas due 2541.52
outstanding balance £597.09
client ref xxxx

The above sum remains outstanding.
Please note that we are prepared to offer discount to your balance if you are able to make a single 'full and final'' payment.

Do they say how much you are expected to pay out of the £597 you owe?

We ask you to call our office to speak to telephone negotiator to agree a figure and acceptable date by which payment is to be made.

Don't even think about doing a deal over the phone! hone: I made the big mistake of accepting one such 'generous' offer from AK years ago, rang up and paid with my debit card, only to be chased for the balance for years to come.

I am rather suspicious why DCA would offer full and final in the first place. It is the second letter they sent. I have sent SAR request to Blackhorse, awaiting their response.I have all documents at home,together with original agreement. Should I send CCA request to Ascent before I offer anything? Can I offer as less as 10% to start negotiations? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

It is rather strange to see a DCA making an offer like that when you've been paying so much every month.

The CCA request probably won't do much good if the loan is from 2009, as the bit of legislation that allowed us to argue unenforceability was repealed in 2007 and you have paid off most of the outstanding balance anyway, however, for the sake of £1, you haven't got much to lose.

I'd wait for their response to the SAR before doing anything. If you are considering a full and final settlement, you should keep it all in writing. This thread contains a lot of useful info about F&Fs: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ht=settlements

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Hi and welcome

Do they say how much you are expected to pay out of the £597 you owe?
Don't even think about doing a deal over the phone! hone: I made the big mistake of accepting one such 'generous' offer from AK years ago, rang up and paid with my debit card, only to be chased for the balance for years to come.

It is rather strange to see a DCA making an offer like that when you've been paying so much every month.

The CCA request probably won't do much good if the loan is from 2009, as the bit of legislation that allowed us to argue unenforceability was repealed in 2007 and you have paid off most of the outstanding balance anyway, however, for the sake of £1, you haven't got much to lose.

I'd wait for their response to the SAR before doing anything. If you are considering a full and final settlement, you should keep it all in writing. This thread contains a lot of useful info about F&Fs: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...ht=settlements

Thank you for quick reply Flaming Parrot,
The outstanding balance us £5970 not £597. They haven't said how much they will accept, just to make an offer. I was not going to do it over the phone,in writing only. It seems so strange for them to even offer full and final in the first place. I have checked my CRA file and Ascent Legal owns the debt not Black
Horse. On Cra file its not marked as defaulted just as late payment.
I think there is something wrong with paperwork they have if they are sending those full and final offers. I just don't know how to find out what it is.
Any advise is much appreciated.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Thank you for quick reply Flaming Parrot,
The outstanding balance us £5970 not £597.

I did wonder why they would want a F&F on that amount when it would take just a few months to clear it, at £150/month.:confused2:

They haven't said how much they will accept, just to make an offer. I was not going to do it over the phone,in writing only. It seems so strange for them to even offer full and final in the first place. I have checked my CRA file and Ascent Legal owns the debt not Black Horse. On Cra file its not marked as defaulted just as late payment.

This is a very unfortunate side effect of making high payments, the ICO guidance is confusing at best with regards to high repayment levels on loans that should have been technically defaulted. Presumably you broke the agreement by not making contractual payments, which should have been an indicator of a default, but because you've been making high payments, it's probably considered an AP (arrangement to pay) and hasn't been defaulted. A default should drop off your file 6 years after it's recorded, but these APs can go on for years...

I think there is something wrong with paperwork they have if they are sending those full and final offers. I just don't know how to find out what it is.
Any advise is much appreciated.

As you suggested above, a SAR and a CCA request should take care of this side of things. :thumb:

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Thank you for all advise. So you are saying I would have been better making lower payments? Anyway will wait and see what SAR brings, I have to make separate request for CCA? CCA should be sent to DCA since it has been assigned?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Thank you for all advise. So you are saying I would have been better making lower payments?

From the point of view of getting defaulted, possibly. Or stop paying altogether, then start making payments if required. That should have the effect of being defaulted at the time you stopped making contractual payments.

Variations in payment schedules - Keeping the record up to date

17 Lenders should not file a default where there is a genuine and agreed variation in the payment schedule. (The only exception to this is where a debt management programme is put in place where the level of repayment represents only a token sum which is only accepted by the lender because the customer cannot afford to pay more. The reporting of debt management plans is discussed at paragraphs 22-26.) Customers should not be led to believe that they have agreed a change to the arrangement to repay a loan, when the lender considers that the customer has defaulted. A lender filing a default in these circumstances is likely to be processing personal data unfairly. In all cases it is important that lenders and debt advisers explain to borrowers how their credit reference files will reflect the changed situation. This is necessary to avoid misunderstandings and disputes about what a customer has agreed to and what will be reported to a credit reference agency as a result of variations in payment schedules.

In considering variations in payment schedules, the following situations should be recorded differently on the credit reference file. These are the rescheduling of an agreement, an ‘arrangement to pay’, debt management plans and unsatisfactory payments.

24 Low repayment levels

If the payment set out in the DMP is at a level that represents only a token sum in repayment, because that is all the customer can afford, the account should be recorded as a default. A notice of correction can be added to the credit agency files by the customer, or the third party not for profit debt adviser acting on their behalf, to record the existence of the DMP. Lenders should bring the notice of correction facility to the attention of customers and their debt advisers. The notice will distinguish the customer from those who have acted less responsibly. The record should be removed six years from the date of the default so that the customer is not disadvantaged over those who have made no effort to pay whatsoever.


25 Where a customer does not make the repayments agreed under the DMP, a default can be recorded and the DMP marker should be removed when the total value of the arrears is equivalent to three monthly payments under the original terms. However, this should not result in the customer being placed in a worse position than someone who has made no effort to pay whatsoever, as in the example at paragraph 21.


26. In both cases the lender should update the balance regularly to reflect payments that have been made.

See above quotes from the ICO Guidance. IMHO the guidance stinks big time! :mad2: :mad2:

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Anyway will wait and see what SAR brings, I have to make separate request for CCA? CCA should be sent to DCA since it has been assigned?

Yes to both, the CCA request is a separate letter which should be sent with a PO for £1, it is a request under the Consumer Credit Act (s.77 for loans). The SAR is a request under the Data Protection Act. They are totally separate.

They should respond to a CCA request in 14 days, however, hardly anyone does, especially DCAs, since they wouldn't have the documents and would have to request them from the lender. As the debt has been assigned, you should send the CCA request to the DCA and they have a duty to go back to the OC for the agreement. :ranger:

See this for the template: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...=7670#post7670

I'd say the 'in depth version' is more appropriate because it has an additional paragraph regarding assignment. :thumb:

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Thank you for link, I will post that letter tomorrow. Another question- BH has not acknowledged SAR request, its been sent out on the 12 May. I know they have 40 days, but what if they ignore it?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Thank you for link, I will post that letter tomorrow. Another question- BH has not acknowledged SAR request, its been sent out on the 12 May. I know they have 40 days, but what if they ignore it?

If they don't comply with a SAR, your first step is to complain to the company. If they don't respond, or their reply is not satisfactory, you can then complain to the ICO: http://ico.org.uk/concerns/getting/4

They still have some time left to respond. Have you checked on the Royal Mail site that it's been received? :ranger:

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Hello,
yes letter has been received. Still no acknowledgment tough. Will wait and see if no luck will report them. Thank you for advicefor advice

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Hello,
I have received letter from Ascent regarding CCA agrement which I have requested from them. They have advised me that I should sent request to OC. I am a bit confused. Is it not DCA obligation under law to provide me with CCA? Otherwise debt is unforceable and they are denabding payments illegally?
Any advice would be gratefull xx

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Hello guys,

Quick update on my dealings with Ascent/BlackHorse. I have received SAR back and CCA back from Black Horse. There is only few charges suming up to £225. I have started reclyiming process already. Couple of days ago letter arrived informing us that debt has been sold to Hilsden Securities and that they are now the owners of the debt and our Data Controler. Amount we are owing is not correct tough. They are claiming we owe £6150? Yet on our july statement from Ascent the sum remaining is £5820.
Also day after we received notification of sale to Hilsden Ascent wrote to us with yet another full and final.
Any thougths on this guys? I am very confused.
All help greatly appreciated as always.

Kind regards
Monica32

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

If anyone could advise me on this I would greatly appreaciated that.
Thank you

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Hello,
I have received letter from Ascent regarding CCA agrement which I have requested from them. They have advised me that I should sent request to OC. I am a bit confused. Is it not DCA obligation under law to provide me with CCA? Otherwise debt is unforceable and they are denabding payments illegally?
Any advice would be gratefull xx

I'm sorry I missed this one

Yes, it's their obligation and it looks like they finally complied. Just to clarify, unenforceable means they couldn't obtain judgment in court against you (a CCJ), it doesn't mean they are obtaining payments illegally, the debt still exists but cannot be enforced by a court. :thumb:

Quick update on my dealings with Ascent/BlackHorse. I have received SAR back and CCA back from Black Horse.

Could you remove your personal details and post up the CCA? :typing:

There is only few charges suming up to £225. I have started reclyiming process already. Couple of days ago letter arrived informing us that debt has been sold to Hilsden Securities and that they are now the owners of the debt and our Data Controler. Amount we are owing is not correct tough. They are claiming we owe £6150? Yet on our july statement from Ascent the sum remaining is £5820.
Also day after we received notification of sale to Hilsden Ascent wrote to us with yet another full and final.

What was the amount quoted by them?

[monica32]

Re: Adcent Legal Full and final settlement offer

Hello Flaming Parrot,

Attached provided CCA.
Ascent sent letter with £5820 as outstanding amount to pay. Hilsden Securities £6150. Confused as to from where they have got this amount.
Thankyou for