has any one used payplan before?

The_barber

hi there,

sorry i also posted this in loans section! but only saw iva forum after!

just wanted ask has any one used pay plan for an iva before and if so were they good?

i am consering an iva with them they say i don't pay them the bank does? i have read mixed reviews about them, just wondered if someone maybe had used them and could advise me about them?

thanks

Charco_2

I'm not a fan of them.

There are other companies which are much better (in my opinion). But I also don't like certain things about them like some of their terms and consitions.

I'm sure there will be others along soon who have used them and you'll get the usual array of mixed reviews.

I was sure there was some OFT Directive that said you weren't allowed to say that you "don't pay them, the bank does" - however it's true, but it's true for all IVA companies.

You make your monthly payments and the IVA company negotiates their fees to be taken from that pool of money.

snicz

Hi Barber,

We're with Payplan in an IVA. We're two years into our sentance and so far so good.

The way I see it (although we didn't 'shop' around) the IP is a just the middle man between you and your debtors. Unfortunately, nothing is free and their fees are steep, which is ironic since you're mortally broke hence the need for an IVA.

Fortunately, with them and many others no doubt now, the set up is free so once you're up and running it is the end of the pestering...well, mostly.

Pro's (in our opinion)

Very friendly and sympathetic staff
Relatively straight forward to start
Massive relief if accepted (as with all I imagine)
No increase in monthly payments despite fluctuations in pay (so far!)
Ability to heal credit rating 1 year after completion

Cons

Still get letters from our debtors (no pre paid envelopes to fwd on)
The feeling of complete ownership by Payplan
IMMENCE strict living, every penny counts - TINY Contingency
Quarterly worry of surprise monthly payment increase
At annual review, we were made to feel like we had massive surplus amounts of money despite struggling to eat daily...I suppose they have to ring you out as much as possible.

I hope this hasn't put you off and is purely our life with them and 'it' day to day. I'm sure everyones journey is slightly different but I guess we made our bed...

Hope you have a smooth ride.:)

Payplan_company_representative

Hi the barber,

I was just about to reply to the other thread.

I'm not quite sure what you mean about you not paying us and the bank paying us.

Our IVA's come with no upfront fees like some others. Once your IVA is approved you will make your monthly payments into us and we will take a small percentage of that for our fees and the creditors receive the rest. In theory it is the creditors who lose out.

Hi snicz
If you are still receiving letters from your creditors you need to let your case officer know if you haven't already as this should have stopped by know. If you don't have any of our envelopes left, give your case officer a quick email and she will send some out for you.
I am also worried to read that you feel like we own you, I can assure you that we don't not want you to feel that way.

If you do have any further queries please do not hesitate to ask.

Lizzy.

Anjiedee

Hi we are also with Payplan and come to the end of our IVA in March after 5 long years, we can honestly say we have had no problems with them and we know if we need any more advice they are only at the end of the phone.

FoggyBrain_2

To be honest, Lizzy, I think we all feel a little "owned" by our various IP companies. After all, finances are often kept to ourselve and to have a 3rd party supervising your budget takes a little getting used to.

notmyrealusername

I was with Payplan for my IVA (completed after 3 years by way of full & final third party offer). Had no issues with them, everything ran smoothly and would recommend them.

Melanie Giles also gets excellent 'reviews'. She is an IP and is a regular contributor/poster on an IVA forum www.iva.co.uk/forum/

yorkshire_terrier_owner

I finished my IVA with Payplan last November. I had no problems, they provided me with a stack of pre-paid envelopes at the beginning so no postage costs, any letters I received from creditors I just sent to them and they dealt with them with no fuss. Annual expenditure reviews were all pretty painless (although I still found them stressful) and although my pay went up during the 5 years, so did my cost of living, so my payments remained the same all the way through. I found Payplan to be understanding, and they seemed to actually care that I had enough money to live on. I have to say that I didn't feel 'owned', but I would say that I felt supported - they were more than happy to answer my many many questions and help with anything like sorting out insurance etc.

My only quibbles are:
4 months after making my last payment, I still haven't had my Certificate of Satisfaction. They say the delay is to do with queries from creditors and the fact that they only run disbursements to creditors once a month. The have, however, removed the charge they had on my property.

Their phone number is an 0845 which is expensive to call (which I couldn't understand as all their clients are living on strict budgets!!!). I stuck to emailing my case officer (free!) - she was pretty good and would usually reply to my emails within an hour (often within minutes).

Hope this helps!

debtinfo

Charco wrote: »

I'm not a fan of them.

There are other companies which are much better (in my opinion). But I also don't like certain things about them like some of their terms and consitions.

I'm sure there will be others along soon who have used them and you'll get the usual array of mixed reviews.

I was sure there was some OFT Directive that said you weren't allowed to say that you "don't pay them, the bank does" - however it's true, but it's true for all IVA companies.

You make your monthly payments and the IVA company negotiates their fees to be taken from that pool of money.

Charco

Please can you make it clear to people in your footer which IVA firm you work for.

I do not doubt that you know your stuff and have helped many people on this board but it is unfair to be constantly bashing other firms that are in direct competition with your firm and that affect your own position. This is a clear conflict of interests. Despite what you think of other IVA providers which may or may not be accurate (i am not in a position to judge) you should make it clear in every post where your loyalties lie.

Additionally you have mentioned on many occasions that you object to part of pay plan's T&C's but have yet to provide any evidence (unless i have missed it). As you are very familier with them please can you post a copy of those T&C's and show how your own firm's T&C's differ for the benefit of those contemplating an IVA, otherwise i can only presume that you are sniping for commercial gain

Thank you for reading

Debtinfo

FoggyBrain_2

To be fair, Debtinfo, I don't believe Charco is "sniping for commercial gain". As far as I am aware Payplan is the only main target (I think largely due to the obtuse way they explain their fee structure) and, if he were after customers then he would be only to keen to display his company -- after all, to lure customers to given company it is helpful if that comapny were signposted -- which it is not !

debtinfo

yet i see no evidence just hearsay, who knows we might agree if he can prove it.

Payplan and CCCS, basically the charitable organisations that provide the biggest competition to the private sector