Just had DMC ringing me telling me NOT to go with CCCS.....

Jacks_xxx

I'd never heard of CCCS before I came here, but when we had our lightbulb in August 2006 I researched them thoroughly and was initially put off because I thought they might be a credit industry puppet.

I wasn't convinced that I could trust them with our financial future, but having read swathes of info about our situation and more or less decided in my own mind what to do I rang CCCS, a couple of fee paying companies , an IVA company or two and went to an appointment at the CAB.

CCCS were the only ones who didn't tell me something that was untrue, out of date, a little bit wrong or misleading.

The course of action they recommended - bankruptcy - would have made them no money at all whereas the fee paying companies were all pushing their own debt management plans and IVAs which they'd make money from me on - and all emphasised the scary negative aspects of bankruptcy if I brought up the subject.

In addition to this, many of the fee paying / IVA companies' representatives seemed ill informed - as if they might be just parroting what they were told to say. If my questions took them too far off script they got annoyed that I wasn't just doing what they were telling me to do and were often somewhat rude and "bullyboy".

However, everybody I spoke to at CCCS was lovely - even when *I* was a stresshead - and seemed happy to answer all my questions.

We didn't go bankrupt, and we didn't sign up with any of the fee paying companies, or start an IVA.

Like the fabulous Rayday we run our own DMP dealing with creditors ourselves, and we're on track to be debt free soon after Christmas 2008 if not before.

However I often recommend CCCS on this board based on my own experience with them. I do NOT recommend any fee paying or IVA company.

Love Jacks xxx

RakarthIX

MrsTine wrote: »

Yes but you say that you are far more stricktly governed than say CCCS as a charity... I'm disputing that. You haven't proven to me how or why you would be more strictly policed or whatever you wanna call it...

Yes I have, C.C.C.S. just has whatever legal responsibilities any charity has to abide by, but on a DM front they aren't regulated by anyone. Whereas we are subject to the OFT Debt Management Guidelines as well as voluntarily placing ourselves under the remit of the FSA as well

rayday2

And yet you still have little boy sales people who help people fiddle there income/outgoings etc to fit a plan, that makes me very confident that your voluntary code works.

Jacks_xxx

"Guidelines" and "voluntarily" doesn't sound very strict to me....

rayday2

It also sounds like a blurb off a sheet of paper what happens on the coal face is very different, we all know what our blurbs are at work and we know what day to day is like too.

The poster completely ignores the fact that those who have had dealings with a fee charging DMC have been big national ones not the smally fiddly ones he keeps referring too. I have a feeling he probably is one we know is not delivering

fermi

RakarthIX wrote: »

Yes I have, C.C.C.S. just has whatever legal responsibilities any charity has to abide by, but on a DM front they aren't regulated by anyone. Whereas we are subject to the OFT Debt Management Guidelines as well as voluntarily placing ourselves under the remit of the FSA as well

Seems as if the OFT expect CCCS to adhere to the standards in their guidance.

From the experiences of people on this board, I would say that CCCS sticks to the relevant standards a damn site closer than DMCs.

1. This note should be read in conjunction with the published guidance on debt management.

2. The OFT guidance on debt management has been written with fee charging debt management companies in mind. A debt management company is anyone who charges a fee for providing all or any of the following to debtors who are consumers (i.e. those acting for purposes outside their business or individuals under consumer credit agreements:

• advice on how to restructure debts, how to alter debt repayments or how to achieve early resettlement of debts
• contacting creditors in order to make any of the above arrangements (whether that contact amounts to 'negotiation' or not)
• providing a facility for the debtor to make a single repayment which is then distributed on his behalf to his creditors
• reviews of the debtors' financial circumstances and/or payments.

3. Where an advice agency gives assistance, on a no charge basis, in one or more of the above ways to consumers in debt, it will be expected to meet relevant parts of the minimum standards set out in the guidance. Elements of the guidance are relevant where they set out principles or deal with actions or circumstances that are a feature of the relationship between the advice agency and the client.

And I think people looking for advice and help would be better off trusting the advice of Martin Lewis and other independent sources, rather than listening to your obviously biased and self serving "sales pitch".

From the article: Debt Problems - Where to start, what to do, where to get help

The right people to go to

You need non-profit debt counselling help, in other words a one-on-one session with someone who is paid to help you, not to make money out of you. This is different to ‘free’: many commercial companies say they’re free as you’re not charged directly, but you’ll still pay somehow. The places I'd recommend are:

Consumer Credit Counselling Service - Website: CCCS Telephone: 0800 138 1111

National Debtline - Website: National Debtline Telephone: 0808 808 4000

Citizens Advice Bureau - Website: Citizens Advice or visit your local CAB centre (find nearest

Community Legal Advice - Website: Community Legal Advice Telephone: 0845 345 4 345

These counsellors use a variety of techniques, you may be put on a debt management plan, where they negotiate with your creditors. You may be recommended an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) or even bankruptcy (not as scary as it sounds). They will certainly show you how to prioritise the most important debts to enable you to keep food on the table and roof over your head.

Most importantly they're not judgmental, they're not there to tell you off, they're just there to help you sort out the problem. The sooner you talk to them the better. It may help you sleep at night.

Unfortunately they can be oversubscribed. If it takes time to get an appointment with them, use the info on their websites to start to plan. There may also be a local debt councillor in your area, such as Christians Against Poverty (not about religion even if it sounds like it) but ensure it is a non profit/Charity.

The wrong people to go to

Avoid any of the beasts that advertise debt help or management on the TV or in red top newspapers. They are commercial companies who simply want to make cash out of you, they don't care. While in the short term their plans will make your payments lower, in the long run it'll cost you dear. Avoid them. Don't touch them. Don’t go near them.
I think this post from the Chat Forum explains it better than I ever can:

"We, my wife and I, are on a seven-year plan with CCCS" (that's the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, one of my recommended agencies – Martin) "having recently changed from a commercial debt management company after hearing Martin on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show. The simple action of swapping to the CCCS has shaved over two years off the length of our plan as the money we were paying the management company now goes to our creditors instead! Of course, that also means a financial saving of nearly eight grand over the term of the original plans 10 year period."

This includes IVA companies who advertise about “a little known government loophole”. While it sounds good, it’s only for a few people. If it is for you the debt counselling agencies should suggest it.

RakarthIX

fermi wrote: »

And I think people looking for advice and help would be better off trusting the advice of Martin Lewis and other independent sources, rather than listening to your obviously biased and self serving "sales pitch".

If I was trying to do a sales pitch I would have named who I work for, all I have tried to do from the outset is state a case for why a few (admittedly small minority) DMCs can be a very good option. I am not saying that the C.C.C.S. isn't as they do very good work.

RakarthIX

Jacks_xxx wrote: »

"Guidelines" and "voluntarily" doesn't sound very strict to me....

The reason it is called guidelines is because the government won't officially regulate the Debt Management Industry, however as a large company failure to adhere to the OFT guidelines could result in the loss of your credit license. Smaller companies get away with more as it tends not to be worth the expense of hunting them down for the OFT

xgingerx

Thankyou Fermi, thinks that really makes sense,

I think Rakarth you are forgetting what website this is and how at the end of the day its about saving money, The advise Martins site gives is second to non and your entitled to your view but my experiance with CCCS has been excellent, every penny I pay on the 1st of the month goes to pay off my debts, granted they hold the money till the 25th of the month to get some interest but come on, thats pennies and they are totally honest about this from the start.

Ill be honest with you Rakearth, your posts are getting quite tiresome and still really dont know what the actual point you are trying to make.

Id love you to have this debate with Martin as I think advocting people to pay for services which are offered free by some charities, who offer the same if not better service than the pay for ones, and I bet you any money CCCS and the like are much more sympathetic and there to listen to you and help where as fee paying dmp's are just there to get your money.

Krasnoludek

We were told to go into an IVA by a so called Debt management company, who went through our SOA and fiddled them beyond belief and told us it would be accepted by 99% of our creditors. The figures were a joke, on getting proper help from CCCS, they were nowhere near a government guideline amount and the IVA would have never been agreed, their answer to this was to go on their DMP which we could pay them a monthly fee for, so in effect they just set you up to fail and claim their profit anyway. Scuzzers in my opinion, feeding off vulnerable and desperate people who are too trusting.
If it wasnt for this board we would have signed up to the IVA which would never have been accepted and then roped into paying a fee every month for which CCCS do not charge. These people need to be regulated properly, how many others werent as fortunate as us to get decent advice from people not trying to squeeze money out of you.

K xx