Wouldnt touch a debt management company with a barge poll,not exactley hard to sort your own debt mess out ,most creditors recognise the fact these companys take a cut of what creditors pay them so most are usually happy to discuss payment arrangements on accounts and in most cases agree to freeze the intrest.

Hi there, thanks for all the information you put down, I have just had someone on from thinkmoney who explained about IVA's and debt/financial management, there was no mention of any 'fee' to be paid to 'Gregory Pennington' or the other company I was told they have Freeman Jones who do not appear to be anywhere on websites, even this one. After your experience I think I will carry on as I am and pay my own way. Best of luck.

I HAVE A DEBT MAMAGEMENT PLAN WITH DEBTCALL, I NOW CAN'T GET IN TOUCH WITH DEBTCALL AND DEBTORS ON MY BACK SAYING DEBTCALL NEVER PAID THEM.

I FOUND OUT THAT DEBTCALL SENT THE LETTER AND MADE AGREEMENTS WITH MY DEBTORS, SO I ASKED THEM IF I COULD STICK TO DEBTCALLS PAYMENT PLAN BUT PAY THE AMMOUNT MYSELF, THEY SAID YES, SO NOW I CAN SORT IT MYSELF BUT WITHOUT PAYING THEM EXTRA, AND AT LEAST I KNOW ITS GETTING PAID.

I ONLY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS WHEN I READ THE ABOVE POST, NOW THAT HAS SAVED ME £18 PER MONTH.

THANK YOU

Hi there

After reading alot of posts about debt management programs i thought i'd offer a perspective from somebody who's just finished paying off my debts using a debt management program from Gregory Pennington.

When I first started with Gregory Pennington i was just so relieved to have the burden taken from my shoulders that i didn't consider the wider implications of entering into such an agreement. Yes they do all the communication for you and yes you don't have to read all the letters you get sent to you, but i'd say this DON'T BOTHER.

They do absolutely nothing you cannot do for yourself, and to boot they charge you for the prevelige, and if your financial situation improves and you can afford to pay more each time they review your case, they charge you even more; their charges are usually based on a percentage of what you pay, so the more you pay to your creditors the more you pay to the debt management program. I ended up paying GP nearly £40 a month, which i soon realised would be better off going towards one of the debts, and as has been suggessted you get defaults on your accounts.

The best advice i could give would be communicate with your creditors, don't be affraid to call them and talk through your problems, and devise a financial statement detailing all your incomings and outgoings, and send one of each to every creditor along with the proposed amount you can afford to pay, after all i'd say an arrangment to pay looks far better than a default on your credit history.

I'd say don't be fooled into the trap that they'll sort all your problems out, because i ended up on the phone to my various creditors many times after GP had made late payments, which shows they're not all they're cracked up to be.

So go it alone, be strong confident and assertive, put some effort into devising a financial schedual, stick to it, and be patient, your debts will soon go. Even though they say they freeze interest etc, that's nothing you cannot request yourself, why pay somebody to do something you can do perfectly well yourself.

Just my opinion!!