Debt Free Helpline ?

Crisp_£_note

Hi

Debt Free Helpline are they a reputable company?


I am finding it hard to cope with my increasing debts and keeping up with repayments of the daily household bills. I havent paid my credit cards for several months as I switched banks in October last year in an attempt to start dealing with my debts and get a Debt Releif Order after advice from CCCS and National Debtline. Because I swithched banks I also removed the £1 token payments via Standing Order I had in place being and didnt replace them as most of the credit cards refused to accept them anyway.

I am now sat here and still havent got to grips with it and am starting to be dragged down with January blues. My hubby is still out of work and we arnt getting a lot of help from the council or free prescriptions as hubbys accountant hasnt done the books yet so forms are still sat waiting to be completed after the free prescriptions exemption lapsed in August and the Council removed our Housing and Council Tax benefits after failing to supply information we still dont have and are waiting for!

I really dont feel I can cope with dealing with all this myself even with the support of CCCS or NDL. I know its not advisable to pay a company to help me out but a good friends of mine have done it recently as one of them went bankrupt the others had bailiffs at the door and although I am not quite that far yet they seem to be ok and had no problems. Despite the letters I sent requesting they stop harrassing me I am still getting threatening letters and I just dont bother answering the housephone anymore! Obviously my husband is in the same boat but I cant deal with his problems as well, cant cope with my own, best I cann do is offer support to him!

Anyway my friend recomended going through Debt Free Helpline which they have used and I was going to give them a call later and ask them about Debt Releif Orders, but I thought it best to question it here first. Im clearly not able to cope doing it myslef with guidance so is it better to pay the fees and get someone to do it with / for me?



Thanks for any advice.

pepe2008

Ring NationalDebtline or CCCS or Local CAB.
Dont go paying someone for the same service that you can get for FREE.

RAS

Crisp

The advice remains the same. Use a debt charity not afree paying company.

please ring one of the people listed here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help

CAp will do home visits if you want.

Crisp_£_note

Hi and thanks for the advice.

pepe I have been in touch with CCCS and NDL but as you see from my original post I am not getting very far by myself even with their support.

RAS Thanks for the link I have had a look through it and did actualy phone CAp today but they cant help me at the moment because of hubby is Self Employed. They did talk about CCCS but I explained the difficulties and got another number to call but they didnt say who it was. I would however have to travel quite a distance if I were to attend a meeting with this new contact they gave me and taking into consideration I dont drive it would be via public transport and I am not so sure they would help either.

I will keep plodding on thanks again

crapwithcash82

Hi There, I had to reply to your post as I am an ex-customer of Debt Free Helpline, if its the same company (DFH based in Manchester).

I entered a debt management plan with them in 2007 and they began taking their £308 each month to pay my creditors. My creditors didn't receive any payments from them for the first three months or so, I think they did this deliberately so that I defaulted on the accounts. After the payments starting coming through to the creditors, there wasn't much contact with them. I had our daughter that year so didn't have much free time for checking money and things (how niave was I back then!!).

Last year, I decided I was fed up with being in debt and sat and went through who I owed what to. The monthly payments didn't add up, and it was at this point I realised that DFH were taking around 22% of my £308 I was paying them each month. When I called them, they said this was their admin fee. So basically I had wasted around £1400 over the time I had been a customer of theirs by paying their admin fee, not to mention the first three months of £308 that just seemed to disappear into thin air. Money I would much rather had paid off my debt.

I wrote to them and gave them 30 days notice to cancel the agreement, cancelled the direct debit and contacted all my creditors to say I would be taking over the accounts myself again. I set up the direct debits directly to them on internet banking and have never looked back. I can also make additional payments to any of them, if I happen to have any spare money - which isn't often!

I wouldn't touch these people with a barge pole, I am sure it will be difficult trying to set up your DMP on your own, but stick with it, because like me I'm sure you would rather pay the extra (£1400 in my case) against your debts rather than into some horrible company!!

Just my humble opinion, but I definately think you'd be better off working through it and getting some assistance from one of the debt charities if you don't feel you're getting anywhere with your creditors yourself.

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do, and well done for facing up to your debts, you'll get there in the end!

Crisp_£_note

crapwithcash82 wrote: »

Hi There, I had to reply to your post as I am an ex-customer of Debt Free Helpline, if its the same company (DFH based in Manchester).

I entered a debt management plan with them in 2007 and they began taking their £308 each month to pay my creditors. My creditors didn't receive any payments from them for the first three months or so, I think they did this deliberately so that I defaulted on the accounts. After the payments starting coming through to the creditors, there wasn't much contact with them. I had our daughter that year so didn't have much free time for checking money and things (how niave was I back then!!).

Last year, I decided I was fed up with being in debt and sat and went through who I owed what to. The monthly payments didn't add up, and it was at this point I realised that DFH were taking around 22% of my £308 I was paying them each month. When I called them, they said this was their admin fee. So basically I had wasted around £1400 over the time I had been a customer of theirs by paying their admin fee, not to mention the first three months of £308 that just seemed to disappear into thin air. Money I would much rather had paid off my debt.

I wrote to them and gave them 30 days notice to cancel the agreement, cancelled the direct debit and contacted all my creditors to say I would be taking over the accounts myself again. I set up the direct debits directly to them on internet banking and have never looked back. I can also make additional payments to any of them, if I happen to have any spare money - which isn't often!

I wouldn't touch these people with a barge pole, I am sure it will be difficult trying to set up your DMP on your own, but stick with it, because like me I'm sure you would rather pay the extra (£1400 in my case) against your debts rather than into some horrible company!!

Just my humble opinion, but I definately think you'd be better off working through it and getting some assistance from one of the debt charities if you don't feel you're getting anywhere with your creditors yourself.

Good Luck in whatever you decide to do, and well done for facing up to your debts, you'll get there in the end!

:T THANK YOU VERY MUCH for this honest reply it has helped me very much

I went to my friends house yesterday and she went through what we owe added it allup and made an initial call to Debt Free Helpline (not sure where their based) and now I am waiting still for them to call me back to start things off.

In the meantime I get the feeling now I have broken the ice again I could probably go on from here with help and support from National Debtline and my friend and as you say save the money!

I recall my frind saying it cost her about £1,500 in the end to go bankrupt. I am not sure I want to go bankrupt and am rather looking at a Debt Releif Order.

Anyway I will persevere and thanks again for the advice todat and resend my creditors the letters and reset up the token payments as we are now getting not just phone calls but threats of court and baliffs :eek: