Credit card debt of £4361. £872 will clear account! Scam??

[parker1313]

I have not been able to pay this debt with barclaycard and have ignored all contact.
Today I received a letter saying that their client will accept a payment of £872 to settle the account.
How can I check this is true?
It just seems too good

It may well be true. I was offered similar on a debt I had with Natwest that I pay at £20 a month. The debt collectors called me a few months back to say a payment of about £900 iirc would clear the £2000 debt. As it was, I wasn't in position to pay (as the £20 a month shoudl have tipped them off to ) but it's worth checking with them and askign them to confirm in writing.
Also, and I have been guilty of it also, don't ignore this. Get to the CAB and they can be incredibly helpful in sorting out your repayments.

Why are you ignoring this?

No idea if it is a scam but ignoring letters from the bank is not a good thing.

Go to CAB and get advice.

Who is the letter from ?

i think they will write off the balance so they don't have to waste time and money chasing to get the full amount repaid from you.
check it out by phoning them before you send anything but i have heard of this before.

ring the bank and ask them

I have ignored it because I'm ashamed and skint!
It's from credit solutions. I have called them but it could b anyone. The telephone number to call doesn't match the one on their we site. Iv called the number from their website but it just rings a few times then goes dead

Just calling barclaycard themselves

How did they ask you to pay?

Google Credit Solutions, it brings up lots of threads like this one. Sounds dodgy.

It may well be a scam but if you call them and say you cannot afford to pay it all and what can you pay to settle it you may well be surprised. I settled some large debts this way, I came into a small amount of money and called my debtors telling them they could accept less or get minimum payments for years, they all settled, one was a £3500 debt and I settled for £1800.

call barclaycard that is.
Ignoring letters from them means they will send bailiffs/get debt collectors to start harrassing you.

Iv called and it's genuine. My father is lending me the money and I'm setting up s standing order to ps him back.

Great news, I bet that's a weight off your mind

It's still going down as a huge black mark on your credit, though.

This is a situation where I should probably hide the thread, rather than comment but.........

......you ran up the debt, you should pay. In full - not be offered some 'deal' where you pay a fraction of what is owed.

Mugs like me (who buy what i can afford, and pay for it in full) are the ones who end up paying for you. The only 'scam' here is the fact such a deal has been offered in the first place.

Maybe. But she didn't say any of that, so I am commenting based on information given.

they get their money ten times over in the high interest they charge . earlybird you didnt have to be so mean dont you think the op would rather have paid it off then have all the stress added by worrying about it .

it sounds like barclaycard have sold the debt on, and the debt recovery company company will still make a profit on this.

overweightoverdrawn - ummmm, I think you'll find that a large part of the reason credit card interest rates are so high is to cover those who default.

And with all due respect - I don't think i was mean. I was blunt. The OP is entirely responsible for causing her problem - somewhere along the way to charging £4361 worth of goods, it should have occurred that maybe she should stop buying more and more (that she clearly couldnt' afford), and start paying back what she owed/owes still.

I have no sympathy for those who make their own mess, and then moan about the 'stress' of the consequences.

As I said before, it is prudent mugs like me who indirectly pay for her excesses and irresponsibility.

Ok can understand what you are saying Earlybird but I have heard of this happening.

What do you have to do to get them to offer a settlement figure?

why, abouteve - are you hoping to be offered a settlement figure too?

No it's not for me. Just curious for a someone who is consolidating debt atm.

I hope you never find yourself in the position of being unable to pay your bills, Earlybird or of losing your job and being under the threat of having your family home repossessed.

I also know a lady whose husband died of cancer and she ended up in financial hardship as a direct result of his death.
Still, as long as the banks got their money, eh?

You don't always know the circs about how people end up in debt. My friend was studying and was on a very reduced income so debt became a lifeline during that time.

mumbybumby - I have a great deal of compassion for those who deserve it due to tragic circumstances beyond their control. I have no sympathy for people who have got themselves into a financial mess through being unable to budget and/or control their impulses.

The OP has not given us much information, but clearly if a single call to her father has resulted in being loaned the money to pay the reduced debt in full, she has people in her life with the means/inclination to help out in a crisis.

But a loan from a family member of £872 is alot different to them loaning you £4000 odd.