Who is the best debt management company to go with??

Hi -- If you have the need, the free companies are the most advisable.

http://www.payplan.com/

http://www.cccs.co.uk/

http://www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk/debt_management_plans/index.php

Just to add to conmankiller's most excellent post and for info...

Debt management companys (DMC) come in 2 types:

The first is those that you pay say £100 each month. They take say £25 as an admin fee and pay the other £75 to your creditors therefore if you owe £1000 it will take 14 months to clear the debt (assuming no interest is being added to the £1000)

The second type is those that you pay say £100 on the 1st of each month and then they pay £100 to your creditors on the 25th of each month therefore investing your money for a month and getting the interest to pay the wages. Therefore if you owe £1000 it will take 10 months to clear the debt (assuming no interest is being added to the £1000)

As conmankiller says if you have the need use the free ones as you pay your debts off faster.

TA

fyi - "The UK Insolvency Helpline exists to promote the provision of independent money advice from the UK's regulated professional bodies."

Debt management / debt is a minefield. if you are going to go with anyone ask them the following questions:

What type of debt management company are they and what type of debt do they deal with. You will find that normal "debt management" companies only deal with general consumer debt (ie catalogues loans Credit cards) whilst other "specialist debt management companies" deal with all types of debt including coucil tax debt/ rent arrears. they can also act as a buffers (should you need it) with bailiffs and act on your behalf in court appearances if you need to.

Dont know what type of debt you are in but if it is a mixture you can find out your options via the the links above kindly supplied by conmankiller but if you are looking for a debt management company why not take a look at www.moneysupermarket.com/debt/ for other comparisons.

from personal experience, my friend used a company called ashley longmann associates. www.aladebtsolutions.co.uk she had debt problems from getting made redundant and not keeping up the repayments on mortgage and credit cards.

Yes - they will take a fee off you but i think from recollection my friend is not paying much a month. which she says is worth it because if anyone hounds her she just passes them straight on to them. if you dont want to ring them they have a free 60 second questionaire on their site which will at least give you your options open to you. ( i thought this may be fixed so i checked it outand it does give you different answers depending out your circumstances.)

They apparently go through a list of questions, prioitize the debt and then form a plan best suited to your needs. She is not paying back much but aparently its p!ssed off most of the creditor (which is always music to my ears).

hope this helps

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George

another question you should ask them is what regulatory body are they a member of CCA / IFA etc.

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George

Has anyone dealt with Debts.co.uk??

"Has anyone dealt with Debts.co.uk??"

are you looking for help with your business? according to their website, they "specialise in debt adjustment, offering "individual voluntary arrangements" for consumers and sole traders, and "company voluntary arrangements" for limited companies."

is your debt personal or business? this site seems to be geared to business debt mostly.

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George

Hi thanks for getting back soo quick, no its personal mainly credit cards we spoke to them the other day, but just wanting to find out more info on them.

i only get access to the internet 2 days a week if i am lucky si i try and make the most of it. :0)

why dont you go to google and type in their nam and see if any bad press comes up Leigh? (noone can hide from the machine that is google).

i dont know anyone who have delt with them. but just make sure they are adiquately equiped to deal with personal debt because from what i see of their site they seemed geared to business which has a different set of rules to it completely.

Georgina

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George

Or ring the CCCS who have thousands of people on their books who have domestic debt problems and do everything for free. Get a letter from a creditor, tell CCCS, they deal with it. Get a call from a creditor tell CCCS, they deal with it etc

Why pay someone to do it when there are charities out there that will do it for free and have far more experience and compassion than these other commercial outfits.

Just my opinion

TA

TA's got a very good point leigh. why are we are talking Debt Management which you have to pay for. if the CCCS can do it for you go with them.

just looked up the link for you. its http://www.cccs.co.uk/

TA do you know if they deal with council tax and rent arrears or just consumer credit such as credit cards etc, as alway would value your input on that.

G

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George

Mortgage arrears, council tax arrears etc will be classed as priority debts and will be paid before (pro rata) secondary debts such as cc's or loans. CCCS will do all this for you, just give 'em the facts and figures and they do the rest.....good service.

TA - another question buddy. do they actually do it for you or do they actually manage the debt on your behalf? i might be wrong but i thought that they just supplied you with the tools to do a DIY job. i know you rate them highly and the help you have provided people on the forums are invaluable, but didnt you do it all yourself?

Thanks from an ever "curious George"

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George

sorry TA - i think you answered my question before i read it. and i cant seem to delete the above.

G

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George

I was with CCCS for 4 years. They act on your behalf and you sign to say they can do so with your creditors. If you are new to DCA fighting then CCCS are great. You start with 500 calls and 200 threat letters a day and quickly this goes to zero. Once you are there for a while the creditors may pass the accounts on to DCA's and then the fun begins. DCA's tend to be more aggressive and try and get more money out of you. It was one such DCA that drove me nuts which took me to the CAG debt forums where my apprenticeship began. CCCS didn't (not sure if they do now as I have heard mixed reports) like you CCA'ing DCA's and wouldn't stop payments if they didn't comply so we parted company in Jan of this year (I got the car, they got the house and the CD's!)

I have now served the first part of my learning and feel happy to pass on the knowledge

If you have no idea then go to CCCS they know what you need to do