Help & Support

A common misconception is that debt will disappear after 6 years once it has fallen off your credit file. In fact, unpaid debt never really disappears, the balance will remain outstanding.

A debt isn't written off unless a creditor agrees you no longer have to make payments to the account and they will not pursue you for the outstanding balance. If an account is on your credit file, and your creditor has agreed to write off your debt, your entry will be reflected as a 'partial settlement' with a 'nil' balance. This shows that your account has been settled and the balance is no longer outstanding.

If you would like your credit file entry updated to 'fully satisfied', you'll need to repay your balance in full. You can do this by making a one off payment for the full balance or spreading the cost with affordable instalments.

If you have an account that isn't showing on your credit file, that doesn't mean that your debt is written off. Your balance will still remain outstanding and your creditor can still pursue you for the balance owed.

If you have amassed a sum of money that falls short of your balance, but you would like to see whether you can make a settlement offer.

Making a settlement offer, even if it’s not for the full sum owed, is possible. please note, this may be recorded as a ‘partial settlement’ on your credit record and may make it harder for you to get credit in the future. Your credit score is integral to successful money management and there are a number of ways you can improve your rating.

A partial settlement is an agreement on the repayment of debt. Partially settling your account is an agreement between you and the creditor to settle the account for less than the total owed. This can take place by either choosing to accept a discounted settlement arrangement or by submitting an offer of repayment.

By settling your account, you will no longer receive communication from your creditor to peruse the remainder of the balance.

Once the account has been settled you will no longer be pursed for money owed, but this doesn’t prevent the fact that the debt was not fully repaid. Your credit file will be updated to show the account was ‘partially settled’, which will indicate to other creditors that the account was closed but with a lesser amount paid than the balance owed.

You may choose to pay the remainder of your balance to ‘satisfy’ the account at a later date, and your credit file will be updated to show that the debt has been paid in full. You can do this by contacting the creditor directly and requesting a full settlement.