have i made a big mistake?

uphill-struggle

i have signed up to a debt management company - paid 2 months money etc. i was put through to the company via a creditor. I thought i asked all the right questions and I definately asked if I would be debt free over the period they quoted...and not then stuck with a large bill for back interest etc.
however a friend of mine has said that all these companies dont work and she knows someone who ended up in more debt!! I feel sick with worry - i thought i was doing the right thing. I dont want to mention the company name - but they seemed helpful. They do take a fee - but still said that they would manage the debts. Was it a con and have i made a big mistake - or DO these companies work and people can end up paying off their debts?? Please advise me... all I wanted was some help with mounting worries - and now it seems like i may have made things worse....

tattycath

I'm afraid i can't help you-but didn't want to read and run...hopefully someone with knowledge of this will be along shortly. Keep your chin up-every problem has a solution, we just need to find it!!!

Money_maker

With the CCCS being free, why would anyone pay someone to manage their debts?

Hope it all works out alright.

tattycath

Is there no cooling off period? the right to change your mind within so many days etc?

uphill-struggle

no - i have been paying them for over 2 months now. I just wanted to get rid of the stress of the different companies contacting me, as the stress was getting too much! They said they get interest stopped and negotiate on my behalf. i thought it would be ideal to ease the stress etc. It has made me ill you see. Anyway, 4 companies have agreed to the process and they are still awaiting confirmation on 3. They assured me that they were a well known company. the only good feed back i have seen for them is on their own web site.

I just want to know if there is anyone out there who used such a company and did they do what they said and stop the debt - or was it a shambles and the person ended up in more debt?

I just feel such an idiot now...

fatbelly

There are some sharks out there - and there are some companies who do a respectable job.

However, we don't see the point of paying for a service that you can get free, which is why we recommend CCCS or Payplan (or CAB or CAP in some cases)

The general rule is: when in debt the last thing you need is someone else to pay money to.

If you don't want to name this company, why don't you do a search in these forums and see what feedback comes up

GeorgeUK

Some companies are okay, some aren't - others are free.

The reason your friend's information MAY be correct is that while some companies set up a repayment plan (while taking their cut), they may not stop the interest and charges. This is entirely down to the creditors but it may be worth checking if they are actually getting the interest stopped or not. Either way i would suggest you at least speak to either Payplan or CCCS. You may be able to switch to them and save paying the fee to the company.

It may also be worth posting up a statement of affairs (SOA) incase there are any savings you can make from your existing expenditure.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

uphill-struggle

many thanks for the advice.

misspixierocktastic

Hi there i used one of theose people a few years back they held a lot of my money for a long time i don't even think they ended up distributing it to my creditors, I cut my losses cancelled the agreement with them (can't quite remember the whole process it was a few years back now)
I am now with cccs and have been for a short while, better to go to a free company than a paid one after all the amount that they take as their *fee* would be better served going to your debts
The only thing with the free charities right now is that they are very busy obviously they are under a lot of pressure but they've been great for me

jaywave

hi

i've been with debt fixers for almost a year. i've had no problems with them but i pay a fee of £35 per month. they got my interest frozen with my creditors and it is slowly paying off.

i'm looking to move to cccs as they are free and the fee could be used towards paying off the debt quicker.

i know there are scammers out there but some companies are genuine but like a few people have said try cccs.:)