Full and final settlement

[Softblue]

If I send a postal order to a company accompanied by a letter saying full and final settlement , does it stand that my account is paid in full even if they say write to me after cashing the postal order saying I still owe more? Please get back to me with this answer asap. What are my rights here?

[Ethel]

You can send it, but they don't have to accept it.
Is it the full amount that you owe?

They could cash it and then tell you they have accepted it as part payment.

'Full and final' payments only work when the amount has been agreed between the two parties prior to sending the money,

[Softblue]

I am in dispute with them at the moment. I wrote to them saying Please find enclosed postal order for full and final settlement for account number ****** letter was signed and witnessed by 2 people. If they didn't wish to agree, shouldn't they have written back PRIOR to accepting this as PART payment. The letter clearly said FULL & FINAL SETTLEMENT and by their tacit consent they have agreed to that?

[Ethel]

Have they cashed the postal order?

If they have been asking you to make a payment because you owe them money, they can accept this as part payment and reject the offer of final settlement.

You should have written offering the amount as full and final payment, and they would have replied either accepting or rejecting it. If they had accepted they would have attached a condition that the payment reach them within a certain date.

When you made the contract with them you accepted their terms. Now you want to change them, you have to wait for their agreement.

[Softblue]

The cashed the payment in September and only this morning (23 Oct) did I receive a letter from them saying they are not accepting this... over a month later???

"You should have written offering the amount as full and final payment..." - I DID! I also marked it clearly on my letter enclosing the PO, they cashed it then over a month later tell me it's not acceptable?????

[cassa333]

what I think Ethal is saying is that you should have sent a letter asking if XXX amount is acceptable as full and final payment. Then wait for their reply and only after they had accepted this should you then have sent the money.

[Ethel]

Thank you, cassa - that is exactly what I meant.

If you own them �200 and send them a payment of �100 'in full and final settlement' they are well within their rights to take the �100 - you do owe it after all - and refuse to accept it as full payment.

[Doc.Spock.1]

I must try this with my new car.