- CCCS - *** 13 Important Questions ***

DebtorsLittleHelper

Dear Mr. Lewis,

I have heard you many times on the radio talking about credit and debt. In fact you were on Radio One this morning. In all your talk of debt, debt help and couselling, you without fail recommend that people contact charity debt help organisations, the largest of which by far is the CCCS or Consumer Credit Counselling Service.

I have a few questions about this kind of debt management company and wonder if you would be so kind as to provide satisfactory answers in order to set my mind at rest?

1. Why do CCCS openly admit to receiving funding from creditor companies?

2. How can they remain impartial if they are funded by the creditors?

3. If they cannot remain impartial, how can they offer best advice?

4. If they cannot offer impartial best advice, why should anyone trust their judgement?

5. If they receive funding as a charity, how do they justify wages and bonuses of £1,960,000 to their directors? (according to figures published on Charity Commission)

6. If they are truly impartial, why have they kept thousands of people on debt management plans when an IVA was the correct option for them?

7. Now they are able to offer IVA's (through a profit making organisation wholly owned by them), why have they suddenly begun to offer these as an alternartive?

8. Do you therefore in regard to the above, advocate that people should go to a biased, paid for service purporting to be a charity rather than go to a company who do charge, but offer best advice and are totally impartial, and honest about their fees?

9. If so, please explain the logic behind your answer?

10. Do you have any links personal, financial or business, whatsoever with the CCCS?

11. How do you justify your stance against ethical debt management companies?

12. How exactly do CCCS raise funds?

13. Do they receive charitable donations other than from creditor companies and if so in what proportion?

We are a fee charging debt management company who are totally ethical in our approach. We always ensure that we give the best advice possible including details of bankruptcy if applicable. All fees are tailored to be affordable to the client and as they are paying for our service, we always act in their best interest.

We can see no reason why a company such as ours should be continually brought into disrepute for providing a valuable and necessary service, so perhaps you might be good enough to explain in detail exactly why this is?

If some debt management companies are to be shunned due to malpractice, then we are all for the introduction of regulation and cleaning up the industry. Any such moves would be welcome and perhaps this is something that we could both work towards?

Below are several facts provided courtesy of www.charity-commission.gov.uk (27/11/2008)

Charity Number - 1016630 - FOUNDATION FOR CREDIT COUNSELLING

Income - £22,767,682

Voluntary - £0.00m

Fundraising & Trading - £0.00m

Investment - £0.81m

Charitable Activites - £21.52m
(Defined as Income received as fees or grants specifically for goods and services supplied by the charity to meet the needs of its beneficiaries.)

'Other' - £0.44m

Employees - 651

Volunteers - zero

10past6

I have no problem with those running my DMP, and I'm sure the majority of members on this forum have the same opinion.

RAS

DLH

Unfortunately IVAs are not the best solution for most people. Read http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/pdf-iva-guide.pdf

And then spend a few days reading all the posts on the bankruptcy forum from people who have been on IVA.

piglet39

Hmmpphhhh

Well I am sorry but I don't see advisers from the fee paying DMP/IVA providers on these forums giving advice? As far as I was aware every penny that is paid to CCCS by a debtor goes to a creditor on a DMP/IVA. Maybe I am being naive but I really don't care where CCCS gets its funding from.

Piglet

Burlesque_Babe

The answer to 10 is 'no' and 1,2 3,4, 5,6,7,12 is 'ask CCCS'!

I smell a fee charging company with its nose out of joint here...........

Merlot

piglet39 wrote: »

Hmmpphhhh

Well I am sorry but I don't see advisers from the fee paying DMP/IVA providers on these forums giving advice? As far as I was aware every penny that is paid to CCCS by a debtor goes to a creditor on a DMP/IVA. Maybe I am being naive but I really don't care where CCCS gets its funding from.

Piglet

They are not allowed to provide/post information without seeking permission from those at MSE towers.

The OP is entitled to ask these questions, it is an open forum.

Merlot.x.

fermi

If you have questions to ask Martin and the site concerning CCCS and the Debt Problems: Where to start, what to do, where to get help article, then this would be better on the Site Feedback: Questions & suggestions board.

oscar52

DLH - I may have missed it in your post, and apologies if i have, but you dont seem to mention WHICH company you work for.

Jesthar

As far as I understand it (having not been on a DMP, so therefore *completely* impartial ), creditors help fund CCCS because they actually stand the chance of getting their money back when people go on a DMP, and will get it back sooner via CCCS than if a debtor used a fee paying DMP provider who take a 'cut' of the cash... And I fail to see why CCCS should be embarrassed about admitting this - better that they are open than deceptive, no?

As to 'ethical' debt management, charity is pretty ethical, wouldn't you say? Especially if it allows several hundred extra pounds a year to go towards paying off debts.

Of course, if there are many extra services you can offer your clientel for their money, there may be some grounds for debate. However, I have yet to see anything offered that CCCS or Payplan or the CAB cannot do, or even the debtor themselves if they have enough motivation and backbone in the face of abusive DCAs. Plenty of people on here who are running their own self-negotiated DMP with the help of the forumites!

Perhaps your company might truly be ethical. Perhaps it is open and up front about it's fees and charges, rather than hiding them in the small print after all the advertising bold font and exclaimation marks. Perhaps you really do put the people before the profit. If so, kudos to you. But you must be aware that you are in the minority, and that there are many, many 'Debt Management' companies who use very unethical and aggressive tactics to persuade desparate people into paying money they can ill afford for a poor to worthless service. And, truth be told, they are the people you should really be angry with, not the people who warn about those sharks or offer free alternatives, as they are the ones getting all of you a bad name and press. Sort all them out, and you MAY have a case.

But then, it's a shark-eat-shark world out there, isn't it?

~Jes

DebtorsLittleHelper

oscar52 wrote: »

DLH - I may have missed it in your post, and apologies if i have, but you dont seem to mention WHICH company you work for.

No Oscar you didn't miss it in the post. The problem is that all DM companies no matter who they might be are in the firing line and would not wish to divulge such information in order to face persecution. The fact of the matter remains that we do not face a level playing field with people being honest about their affiliations and commercial interests. All the post is about is receiving a decent honest reply to the questions posed and I begin to wonder if there is any prospect of that eventuality.

10past6

DebtorsLittleHelper wrote: »

I begin to wonder if there is any prospect of that eventuality.

Put your dummy back in the pram, and tell us who you work for, that is, if you've nothing to hide.