DFH financial solutions

natk75

Hi ya, I've been with them for 3 years and have reduced my debt alot however I'm thinking of terminating my contract with them and going to my creditors directly so there for saving the £35 admin fee i pay them and putting it towards my debts. Is this a good idea or shall i stay with them and continue as?

MrsL09

I'm new here and really wished I had been here first.
I'm not usually so stupid and yes that's how I feel.

I have got the forms emailed over from DFH but have not filled them in or sent them back yet.

I have, however, given my debit card details for the £270 which they said I needed to pay to get the application processed (£70 admin).
I asked it not be taken until 31st of this month as I hadn't been paid yet.

I rang my bank and she said she can cancel my debit card but there is a 50/50 they will still be able to take the money on my account as it was a guaranteed card transaction.
I will call tomorrow to say I don't want to go ahead & to not to take the £270 as not going ahead but I am worried they still will. In which case I have to appeal or then contact my bank again. Which who knows if it will work.
I am going to call first thing but what if they take it...what if they take more on that card payment???? Can they do that?? I can't afford the £270 card payment he said he would take let alone if he tries more.

I'm shaking I'm so worried. I feel a fool. I feel for my baby boy fast asleep who has an irresponsible Mummy.

My one hope is that as I haven't filled out a standing order and I haven't cancelled any of my cards etc. that they can't do anymore. Is that right??

I hope someone is still out there that reads this thread that can help.

I feel sick.

marcob_3

hellzbellz84 wrote: »

i am in the same boat, i have the application form on my desk at work as i was about to send it off tomorrow to DFH. The one thing they did say is that they have a good relationship with HSBC, where i have an overdraft, Loan AND CREDIT CARD, plus they warned me that i may receive letters for the first month but he told me to give them the guys name and his number and to tell them that a Debt Management Scheme was to be put in place, and warned me that my credit score will decline in this time, but will increase within 3 months. Will free services such as National Debtline be able to get my debts down to as low a payment as DFH offered even they i have to pay around £37 a month fee directly to them? he seemed quite honest about everything (as honest as you could be!!) so I am in two minds whether to go ahead with DFH just so i can get everything sorted as i dont really want to start again....

First Post by the way, im a newbie!!!

OK, what have I done? I've been with DFH for about 8 months. I have a large debt of approx £30000. I pay DFH £300 / month, £54 of which is their fee, and DFH have advised me it will take 9 years to write off my debts. It's going to be a long hard 9 years but my irresponsibility with money has made me man up and accept my major financial mistakes. Up until today I had no reason to question DFH. I pay them monthly, they pay my creditors, I receive my statement, it all seems professional. Then along came Moorcroft Debt Recovery. First I received a letter advising my debt had been passed by one of my creditors and that I had 5 days to contact them and make arrangements to pay the debt or face county court proceedings. The 5 days by the way was up today. I telephoned and passed the information to DFH and posted Moorcroft's letter to them the same day. The next day I received a phone call from Moorcroft. The man at Moorcroft was unpleasant, refused to listen to my telling him the debt was being handled by DFH and demanded I make payment. Of course I didn't and suggested he contact DFH. Today (the 5th day) a message was left on my answer phone asking me to contact MBR. I immediately recognised the number as Moorcroft and contacted DFH. The man at DFH seemed quite blase about the whole thing telling me they know of Moorcroft Debt Recovery only too well and it is a typical bullying tactic Moorcroft and other debt recovery agencies use. He went on to tell me correspondence between DFH and Moorcroft will take 4 - 6 weeks and it will be likely Moorcroft will continue to harass me during this period. When I asked if that was the case would Moorcroft proceed with a county court judgement he became a little agitated telling me it would be unlikely and repeated it was a typical bullying tactic. This has not put my mind at rest, especially as I can expect more phone calls from Moorcroft over this 4 - 6 week period. What I failed to ask DFH was if it is going to take 4 - 6 weeks for DFH and Moorcroft to communicate, what is happening to the payments I am making to DFH in the meantime. I went on a debt management plan with DFH for peace of mind. I was advised to consider an IVA but was reluctant to do so because my home would possibly be taken by my creditors as part of the debt. After reading all of your posts I am now questioning whether going with DFH was such a good idea and my mind now once again feels heavy with the debt problems.

thefoolonthehill

marcob wrote: »

OK, what have I done? I've been with DFH for about 8 months. I have a large debt of approx £30000. I pay DFH £300 / month, £54 of which is their fee, and DFH have advised me it will take 9 years to write off my debts. It's going to be a long hard 9 years but my irresponsibility with money has made me man up and accept my major financial mistakes. Up until today I had no reason to question DFH. I pay them monthly, they pay my creditors, I receive my statement, it all seems professional. Then along came Moorcroft Debt Recovery. First I received a letter advising my debt had been passed by one of my creditors and that I had 5 days to contact them and make arrangements to pay the debt or face county court proceedings. The 5 days by the way was up today. I telephoned and passed the information to DFH and posted Moorcroft's letter to them the same day. The next day I received a phone call from Moorcroft. The man at Moorcroft was unpleasant, refused to listen to my telling him the debt was being handled by DFH and demanded I make payment. Of course I didn't and suggested he contact DFH. Today (the 5th day) a message was left on my answer phone asking me to contact MBR. I immediately recognised the number as Moorcroft and contacted DFH. The man at DFH seemed quite blase about the whole thing telling me they know of Moorcroft Debt Recovery only too well and it is a typical bullying tactic Moorcroft and other debt recovery agencies use. He went on to tell me correspondence between DFH and Moorcroft will take 4 - 6 weeks and it will be likely Moorcroft will continue to harass me during this period. When I asked if that was the case would Moorcroft proceed with a county court judgement he became a little agitated telling me it would be unlikely and repeated it was a typical bullying tactic. This has not put my mind at rest, especially as I can expect more phone calls from Moorcroft over this 4 - 6 week period. What I failed to ask DFH was if it is going to take 4 - 6 weeks for DFH and Moorcroft to communicate, what is happening to the payments I am making to DFH in the meantime. I went on a debt management plan with DFH for peace of mind. I was advised to consider an IVA but was reluctant to do so because my home would possibly be taken by my creditors as part of the debt. After reading all of your posts I am now questioning whether going with DFH was such a good idea and my mind now once again feels heavy with the debt problems.

Hi

I am a bit out of touch with everything on here as i only occasionally come on here.

First things first.

Cancel your agreement with DFH. Do this in writing and send registered post. In one week call them to make sure cancelled.

Contact your bank. cancell all standing orders / dd's to DFH

Contact one of the free ones that are listed in the newbie thread.

DFH are correct about one thing - Moorcroft are bullies and will try to intimidate you

Write to Moorcroft tell them you will not speak to them over the phone and that you request any correspondence via mail. send this registered and keep a copy for yourself. When Moorcroft call you in the future refuse to confirm that you are who they are looking for. Do not answer their security questions. advise them that you will only deal with them in writing.

good luck

Hazydavey

Hi, I've also just recently com across dfh. I've not signed anything or agreed to anything,however,I did stupidly give card details over. They've taken £330 pounds from me without me returning the paperwork. Are they allowed to do that? I told them a few days after the 'cooling off period' that I wasn't going with thrm. Is there anything I can do to get my money back?

starpower88

ok, first of all i work in the finance industry and i am fully aware of how debt managemnt programmes and companies work.

i am also very familiar with DFH the company.

now, any company will send you T&C to READ - you MUST read these before you make any payment, preferably as soon as you get them, then call the company and ask for detailed explinations of any part you do not fully understand. Debt Management companies are there to HELP - they charge monthly fees for the work that is done - the free agencies such as CAB, CCCS, Payplan & National debtline are ADVICE agencies ONLY - please be aware of this - and they advise you how to manage the debt and negotiate yourself - this is not as easy as yoy may think, as the 'creditors' you would deal with work on commision and are happy to set a 6 month plan, bt once this has expired, you will be expected to make the contractual payments again & any arrears that have accrued, as they expect you to be out of financial difficulty, where as a DMC will continually negotiate on your behalf..

when you attempt to negotiate yourself you will be met with a person who eanrs commison and are more interested in a payment than your actual circumstances or how many debts you have.

people who work for debt management are TRAINED in this, whereas free agencies obtain their info from the net, and may not always give best advice for YOUR situation.

FYI - a default notice an be sent ANY TIME after 3 months of CONTRACTUAL or MINIMUM payments have not been made - this can not be prevented by anyone regardless of thier company or profession!! & in some cases, this may the best way forward for a debt to be managed - as a debt collection agency do not have contratual payment to be met - and are more inclined to meet interest free arrangements througha Debt Man company - (be advised when dealing direct however - these companies demand high monthky payments for a quick clearance of the debt balance)

do not lose hope in a company because of a few bad write ups - there is a LOT to be known in the finance indudtry - read T&C & ask Q's where you feel they should be

also, with regard to DFH - they are actually one of the better debt management companies out there - they have been going a lot longer than other private debt man companies - and have a very high success rate - also in re to one persons note saying their monthly fee increased by 50% - THIS IS impossible - they have set fees, as do all DMC of around 17 - 18% of what you pay - please check your T&C for more info.

Thanks :A

starpower88

marcob wrote: »

OK, what have I done? I've been with DFH for about 8 months. I have a large debt of approx £30000. I pay DFH £300 / month, £54 of which is their fee, and DFH have advised me it will take 9 years to write off my debts. It's going to be a long hard 9 years but my irresponsibility with money has made me man up and accept my major financial mistakes. Up until today I had no reason to question DFH. I pay them monthly, they pay my creditors, I receive my statement, it all seems professional. Then along came Moorcroft Debt Recovery. First I received a letter advising my debt had been passed by one of my creditors and that I had 5 days to contact them and make arrangements to pay the debt or face county court proceedings. The 5 days by the way was up today. I telephoned and passed the information to DFH and posted Moorcroft's letter to them the same day. The next day I received a phone call from Moorcroft. The man at Moorcroft was unpleasant, refused to listen to my telling him the debt was being handled by DFH and demanded I make payment. Of course I didn't and suggested he contact DFH. Today (the 5th day) a message was left on my answer phone asking me to contact MBR. I immediately recognised the number as Moorcroft and contacted DFH. The man at DFH seemed quite blase about the whole thing telling me they know of Moorcroft Debt Recovery only too well and it is a typical bullying tactic Moorcroft and other debt recovery agencies use. He went on to tell me correspondence between DFH and Moorcroft will take 4 - 6 weeks and it will be likely Moorcroft will continue to harass me during this period. When I asked if that was the case would Moorcroft proceed with a county court judgement he became a little agitated telling me it would be unlikely and repeated it was a typical bullying tactic. This has not put my mind at rest, especially as I can expect more phone calls from Moorcroft over this 4 - 6 week period. What I failed to ask DFH was if it is going to take 4 - 6 weeks for DFH and Moorcroft to communicate, what is happening to the payments I am making to DFH in the meantime. I went on a debt management plan with DFH for peace of mind. I was advised to consider an IVA but was reluctant to do so because my home would possibly be taken by my creditors as part of the debt. After reading all of your posts I am now questioning whether going with DFH was such a good idea and my mind now once again feels heavy with the debt problems.

ok - Moorcroft are a debt collection agency, and your debt was passed to them after a default notice was issued from the original creditor - it really is nothing to worry about my friend - the reason it would take between 4-6 weeks through your Debt Management Company is down to the letter of authority they use (you would sign this @ the start of your debt management programme) - this HAS to be sent to the creditor - moorocroft in this instance - in order for the debt man company to speak with them on your behalf - this can take 4-6 weeks due to the volume of correspondance the creditor receives from your debt man company and others -

the letters and phonecalls they make as a company (moorcroft) are in some ways ''bullying tactics'' they are actually part of their collections process and must be sent, until an agreement is met - all creditors will threaten legal action to try and force an immediate payment from you - but generally do not follow this route - and would usually pass the debt to another debt colections agency- your debt management company will give advice on this if you call them - they WILL tell you if a certain creditor are more likely to follow a legal route (NOT within 4-6 weeks!!) around 3-6 months of chasing with NO payment - and the gent you spoke with @ moorcroft, well, he will work on commison and get paid ever time he gest a payment from somone who owes them money - thats why he was not so nice with you - as long as you have told them your intentions... hang up & your Debt Man Commpany will negotiate Business to Business - and will never have to speak to that loser - and before you know it - there is an arrangement in place

hope this helps :beer:

Grumpelstiltskin

Starpower.

You say debt management companies are there to help.

You should have said debt management companies are there to prey on people who are already in trouble and they only do it for the money they are making out of people who cannot afford to have vultures taking a cut.

So name me a debt management company that will act for someone free of charge?

starpower88

Grumpelstiltskin wrote: »

Starpower.

You say debt management companies are there to help.

You should have said debt management companies are there to prey on people who are already in trouble and they only do it for the money they are making out of people who cannot afford to have vultures taking a cut.

So name me a debt management company that will act for someone free of charge?

Hi Grumplestiltskin,

There are no Debt Management Companies that are free - because the work that is done is not free, and cannot be done for free - there are however advice agencies that can provide people with advice on how to manage their debts themselves - but the advice given is not always the best advice for that person or their personal situation - debt management companies are actually their for people who are struggling to stay on top of their debts, so for example they have more than one creditor and a considerable amount of debt, some people are just clearing interest every month and not the debt itself - debt management companies builld up business to business relationships with creditors and have data protection agreements in place, where the creditor will either freeze or reduce interest for the client, known only to be given when a consumer makes payments, through a debt mangement company and would not be offered nor given such agreements directly regardless if the advice has been provided by a debt advce company, this is to help them clear the actual balance of the debt whereas when a consumer deals direct, they can only deal with the call centre staff, who work on commision, and will give an amount of payment they deem excaptable, which relates to the debt the consumer has with them only, and will not take into consideration any other creditors they have or how much debt - or whether this payment they offer for them to make is even affordable overall.

dont get me wrong, debt management is not for everybody, but i personally would recomend this option to someone in serious debt, and have done. although i am capable of negotiating with creditors myself, and could create a more than acceptable financial statement, i would not attempt to do this with several creditors and would rather a company do it for me - this is why they charge a fee.

debt advisors will give best advice, and when speaking with a person in debt, if they feel that debt management is not their best solution, will say so, and point them in another direction.

at the end of the day, debt management companies do manage to have interest and chares either frozen or reduced and so when people borrow money, under the T&C they will pay it back with interest, this in my opinion is a very good solution, and any fee paid at the % rates debt management companies have, will be, by no shadow of a doubt, far far less than any interest and charges that would have been applied by their creditors. :cool:

RAS

people can get the same or a better service for free from the debt charities that Martin recommends; CCCS, CAP, CAB and NDL.