William Goldberg Vs Payplan

BrianTopmark

Hello!

Please can someone give me some advice? I'm in a pickle!

The story goes....

Middle of December I called William Goldberg (Or maybe they called me...). Its a debt management company. I've done a search on the forum and no-one seems to have mentioned them.

They have a really good website, and have a link on a .gov.uk website somewhere!

The contact there seems really good etc - and he advised I cancel my direct debits & change bank account (the standard procedure) - So I was all set to start the plan on the 28th January. (£300 per month for 6 years...wow! (18k)) Better than my current £470 a month paying credit cards off for many many many years!! This payment includes a fee to William Goldberg

Middle of January HSBC called me (my ex bank) asking why I hadnt made a payment, i explained i was using William Goldberg and the women said, "oh, okay - its great you have gotten help quickly, but I've not heard of them - are you aware there are free Debt Management Companies (CCCS, Payplan etc)". I didnt know about these......

I cancelled my payment that I had setup to William Goldberg, and proceeded with Payplan. £328 a month for 4 years. Much BETTER! However, Payplan have been rubbish in terms of saying they would call me.. and then never calling me. At least Payplan is freee, so you get what you pay for, I guess!

I have a reference number for both Debt Management Companies. I have sent the relavent paperwork to both companies(Authority to act etc..) But not sent a single penny to either.

WHAT DO I DO!?

William Goldberg guy has called me on Monday, and today. Both times he has told me things that make me want to use William Goldberg. i.e. Payplan will adjust my payments every 3 - 6 months (meaning 4 years is bullsh*t), Payplan dont cover court fees if necessary, lots of other negative stuff. Add this to the fact my experience with Payplan hasnt been great means I am very tempted to go with William Goldberg, albeit the longer payment time.

I've been reading these forums for the past few weeks and never seen any mention of William Goldberg.

Does anyone have any advice?

I have made small £10 payments to all my creditors.

I am all set to go with the reccomended chouce when I get paid at end of February.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

brian

piggeh

Do not pay for Debt Management Services. Payplan are not your only option, try the Consumer Credit Counselling Service if you want another one! http://www.cccs.co.uk/

I'm sure people have experiences with Payplan to share regarding DMPs, I would have thought they would only adjust and DMP if your circumstances change.

Deep_In_Debt

Hi & Welcome

Never go with a fee paying company.

I'm with CCCS and have been for the past year or so and had no problems. Payplan and CCCS are very busy at the moment because they are free so I guess you have to accept a few "teething" problems with them.

I was orignally told by CCCS last year that it would take me 9 years to clear my debts but as I've been living within my budget (and not going without) I've managed to reduce the term to 6 years.

If you get court stuff that comes through (it's unlikely with the free companies) but if it does happen, come back on here and we can advise for Free!

Never heard of William Goldberg.

Lovella

I haven't heard of William Goldberg either, but I know that EVERYONE on here will advise you to go with either Payplan or CCCS, or even through the CAB - none of whom will charge you a fee. Why pay for something when you can get it for free? The money you save can go towards paying off your debt quicker. I'm with Payplan, and I do remember it taking a while to get going at the start, but once you've got it sorted, you will never look back.

Hope that helps.

edinburgher

Payplan are a charity - of course they may not make every promised phone call. Their resources are stretched enough.

This other firm are talking complete crap and are clearly trying to make money out of you. The reason their payments are higher are because they're charging you a fortune for what Payplan will do for free. Payplan will ask to adjust your payment schedule on occasion, but if you're not earning any more they won't increase your payments.

I was with them for three years and I never once upped what I was paying.

Please ignore these sheisters :mad:

Lovella

p.s. I also meant to say that Payplan only adjusted my payments after 12 months when we did a review, and it was at my request. I had a pay rise and I was able to throw more money at my debts - they don't change your payments willy-nilly.

BrianTopmark

Many thanks for the quick replies.

I shall take your advice!

Thank you!

I shall be back to let you know how I get on.

Cheers

inamess200

I have been with payplan for 3 and half years the only time i have increased payment is because i wanted to - review is fine, they are helpful and get stuff done. I understand they are v. busy and don't have unlimited resources so may be a bit slower at times but please do not go with fee paying company - put all your money to your debt. All my creditors accepted my plan quite quickly and i have no complaints with payplan - they saved my sanity and gave me my life back!!!!

Deep_In_Debt

Yep WG are making money out of you. Of course they will rubbish the free debt companies, cos WG want your dosh and are not working in your interests.

As I say, I'm with CCCS and have been for a while and I've had no threat of court action at all (I know it can happen). 2 of my largest creditors actually recommended I went for CCCS or Payplan as they are more likely to accept their proposals than a fee paying company as all my money is clearing my debts. True to their words, they accepted.

Avoid fee paying company like a plague of leeches.

Herbie21

Brian . The decision must be yours but what I would say is that my area of expertise is bailiff problems and during last year we visited Payplan on a number of occasions to give presentations to their staff on bailiff problems.

This company have been around a long time and the majority of their staff have been with the company for many years . I expected the head office to resemble a large call centre but although the place is large the atmosphere in their offices is like a huge big family and I was very impressed with how sympathetic and understanding their staff were when talking to debtors on the phone.

A final point is that if your circumstances change for the worst ( and with this recession that is possible) you can reduce your payments very simply. Because they have been around so long, they have a very good relationship with all creditors.

.

RobertoMoir

Brian,
The fee-based service might claim there are all kinds of problems with the free service. This is like asking a used car salesman what they think of the cars on sale in another sales lot.

Ask someone who doesn't have a vested interest in your decision for their thoughts. - well I guess that's why you posted here.

I'm really not sure why you would want to increase the size of your debt (e.g. go with the company that charges a fee) when the idea is to make your debt smaller and clear it as quickly as possible. If you do decide you like the service that charges a fee, be very sure about what you're getting for your money and whether or not it is actually worth what you're paying.

By the way: You honestly think debt management companies that charge fees don't sometimes miss promised phonecalls too? If that is your basis for a decision, you'll probably end up very disappointed.