Debt financial advisors / debt solution companies

Mr_davies_uk

greetings.
I have been recommended to use a finanacial advisor company called lightside based in Clevedon.
I have three main creditors. The debt i have is approx £26,000.
I am seeking for them to assist in reducing the debt i pay back.
A fee of £500 has been quoted for me to pay. This is for the services of lightside.
can someone please comment if this is a fair price?

Numpty_Monkey

Hi :hello:
Do not use them

instead contact one of these Non-profit Debt Counsellors' List

The people in the link are immpartial, on your side and don't charge a fee

also you can ask us for help, and more advice, sometimes all that is needed is a tweak in your budget
if you post your SOA (Statement Of Affairs) list of all incoming and outgoings,
we might be able to suggest ways top help

Mr_davies_uk

many thanks to the Numpty Monkey.
Just thought i would add some more detail to my situation and maybe the answer will be the same!
I pay debt on behalf of my wife, who i am separated from and she lives in Australia. She has done so for the last 4 yrs ( she is an aussie national ).
I pay debt on her behalf, this is as follows --- Northern Rock £13 a month to go towards an original debt sum of £5000.
Plus £15 a month to go towards a similar figure with Natwest.
Both these are my wife's debt. These will take a long time to pay off.
I pay £287 to Natwest for a loan that was taken out in both our names. This is also my wife's debt, but i pay it as she no longer has the means to pay. This loan was to cover previous credit card debt she had.

My Budget is in good order despite this debt. I am paying the amounts reasonably well. However i am seeking to live in Australia and do not want the debt to linger.
Un official advice was to leave and not pay!
I think this maybe be awkward though.
Would a non profit organisation be better suited then to deal with creditors under the circumstances above.

ladybez

As I understand it if the debt is in your wifes name only, you are not obliged to pay it anyway. The advice about using a non fee taking organisation remains the same, The £500 they are asking for could then go towards reducing the debt in joint names, as could the full monthly payements, as many of these organisations also charge a monthly fee. It is certainly worth a phone call to the organisations Numpty has cited, to see what they would recommend.

Deep_In_Debt

Worth trying a non-profit, they will advise in your interests. Do not use a fee paying company - you'll be debt free a lot quicker with one of the non fee paying companies ad ALL your money will be going to pay your debts and not lining their pockets. Also charging a fee when people are already in debt is just not on.

CCCS have a debt remedy online tool which you can do if you have all the paperwork and that will show the best way forward.

If you didn't pay and had to come back for whatever reason, these debts could catch up with you years down the line.