DEBT MANAGEMENT - FEE or FREE

gemw22

Both are both a load of rubbish!

You can do both yourself! The company's that charge a fee DO work on your behalf and DO take the stress away...but they are only doing something YOU can do.

So called 'free' companies work alongside the very people you owe to! Yes they dont charge you but they do get money from the Interest from the money you pay them that goes to the creditors......

EITHER way companies are making money out of peoples misfortunes!

All you have to do is work out how much you have incoming...what you spend on essentials and work out how much you can afford!

So long as you provide them with the details of what you have worked out,,,most companys will accept your offer AND stop the interest!

Tixy

The fact is that if you use one of the charities (and not all are partially funded by the credit industry though obviously CCCS, the largest, are) then the cost to you as a creditor is no more than if you run a DMP yourself.

Some people do feel confident enough to run their own DMPs but there are a lot of people who are not confident enough to do so, or don't have a good enough grasp of finances generally, others simply cannot handle or don't want to handle the stress of doing their own DMP.

Charities running 3rd parties DMPs provide a valuable service to many many people and are certainly not a load of rubbish.

Fee charging companies well they are a lot worse than a load of rubbish.

robthesnapper

I wouldn't say either are 'rubbish'. People seem to have had success with them, although there does seem little point in paying for the service.

The reason we went 'solo' with our DMP was down to control. I wanted to set my SOA, set my payment dates and basically be in the driving seat. I can completely understand people wanting someone else to do all that though.

saltnvinegar

Being on a self administered DMP myself I agree that there is nothing that you can't do from an administration point of view than a fee or free DMP company can. But I don't agree that a free DMP company is rubbish.

What you have missed though is the credibility you gain from engaging someone like the CCCS.

The CCCS have to go through a very thorough due diligence process with the clients they put forward for a DMP. Therefore when creditors are contacted by the CCCS they will know that the situation is genuine, and that the offer put forward really is the maximum the debtor can afford. Therefore a lot of creditors are far more willing to accept the CCCS at their 'word' and also freeze interest and charges.

When you are in a self administered DMP getting this credibility is a lot harder. You sometimes are also subject to the creditors own 'evaluation criteria' which may not necessarily be biased in your favour (in my experience MBNA, for example, did not include clothing, car maintenance, emergency contingency in their income/expenditure which was a defecit of almost £100 in comparison to the CCCS I/E sheet!).

This is not to say you can't get the same results as the CCCS, just in my experience its frequently a longer road and requires more communication with creditors to prove your situation. You may also be required to show creditors the same information the CCCS require (proof of income, bank statements etc), where the general advice is not to provide this to creditors (especially debt collection agencies) leaving you in a catch 22 situation! (For the record I have never provided this level of information to any of my creditors and all but 2 have accepted my DMP).

As far as fee paying companies are concerned? Yes I agree completely they are rubbish! IMO they do nothing but compound peoples debt problems, and the 'services' they offer to justify their fees are not good value for money.

Best

SnV

CH27

gemw22 wrote: »

Both are both a load of rubbish!

You can do both yourself! The company's that charge a fee DO work on your behalf and DO take the stress away...but they are only doing something YOU can do.

So called 'free' companies work alongside the very people you owe to! Yes they dont charge you but they do get money from the Interest from the money you pay them that goes to the creditors......

EITHER way companies are making money out of peoples misfortunes!

All you have to do is work out how much you have incoming...what you spend on essentials and work out how much you can afford!

So long as you provide them with the details of what you have worked out,,,most companys will accept your offer AND stop the interest!

I think you are being very harsh about the CCCS & other charities.
They provide a very valuable service & companies accept what they put forward which saves untold hassle.

People get into debt for a variety of reasons & it is not for us to judge them or to look down on them for needing help & support to sort themselves out.
Rather we should be applauding everyone who takes any steps to get out of the quicksand of debt.

2009timeforchange

Having gone through CCCS myself I have found them fantastic. They have given me a clear understanding from day 1 about what is going on and what I need to do etc. We have ha to go to court twice and they have been brilliant with helping get paperwork ready. They have also been supportive and a friendly voice on the end of the phone when i have phoned them in the early days having had creditors on the phone and not knowing what to say.

Yes, I could have done it all myself but I didn't feel able to and their support and help has been what has got me through this. I don't care if they get money from the interest I pay them, they are worth it.

Sunnylooloo

I personally did not get on with a DMP company - so with help from National Debtline - I started my own. However that is because I wanted to be in control and also I had the time to do it all.

For many they just don't have the time to deal with various letters and phone calls from all over the place so it is therefore easier for them to deal with one company such as CCCS or PayPlan - I am not a great fan of Payplan, but I do realise that lots of people do use them and have had good experince - so I think you just need to do reasearch and find out what is best for you

bargainbetty

Free debt management companies make very little from the interest on the funds they hold, as the types of account they would require for such diverse distributions would be unlikely to be high-interest accounts. They are funded by the financial industry themselves, who pay a contribution to a central fund that is used for these purposes.

To lump them in with the scumbag fee-charging companies who make their livings from seeing how much they can get out of people for doing something that is available for free, preying on the vulnerable and desperate, is utterly wrong. CCCS, Payplan and the National Debtline (not the ones who are trying to hang onto their coattails) provide an essential support service for those who for whatever reason do not feel able to do it themselves.

Sorry, your post is somewhat offensive to me. I appreciate the sentiment of doing it yourself, but be cautious before you slag off those who can and do help others who might not be as forceful/strong-willed as you.