Has anyone used 'Resolve Money Matters'?

LordFridge

Hi Everyone. I am new to this forum, so please be gentle on me.

Has anyone used a company called 'Resolve Money Matters'?

I had a cold call from them last week, and (unusualy for me) I listened to what they had to say.

I have got significant credit card debt that I am trying to clear, and so I was taken in by what they offer, but being very sceptical I am looking to see if anyone has experience of them - I haven't signed up to anything yet.

The service that they offer is this-

You run through your debt, outgoings and income, and they come up with a 2 year plan of what you can afford to pay each month towards your cards.

They then contact all of your card issuers to freeze the interest and open a legal dispute so that they can review the terms and conditions, and original contract.

They look for 'errors' in the contract that enable them to prove that the debt is 'unenforceable'. Which in turn then allows them to negotiate to reduce your balance. (The guy said that they find an average of 22 errors).

The guy said that he could help me clear my debts in 2 years, on the assumption that they could reduce the overall debt by 30%, and freeze the accounts from any more interest.

I questioned him as to how they make their money out of the scheme. This was his reply.
'The plan is in 2 phases - Debt Reduction, and Debt Clearing. During debt reduction, I pay the monthly figure to RMM, they keep 90%, and 10% is split between the creditors as a good will gesture while the legal dispute is open. Once the legal disoute is resolved, the ratio swaps found to 17.5% to RMM, and 82.5% to the creditors to pay off they revised balances.

What they guy couldn't say was - How long the legal disputes take to resolve on average, or what % reduction they were CONFIDENT they would be able to acheive, so I don't know what the fee will actually be or what I will get for it.

Now the sceptic in me is thinking -
Firstly, can they legitimately reduce my borrowing in this way, or is it just a nice carrot to entice me into a 'scam'?
Secondly, if i pay them £xxx for several months, while they run the legal dispute, and they don"t reduce the debt by much (or at all) then I will have paid them a load of money for nothing, and will still be left with my original debt.

Ok, so sorry for waffling, but has anyone got any experience of this type of scheme?
Does it work, or should I walk away?

Gary

thewhiteavenger

The best lies contain elements of the truth.


But this is a scam.


There are other threads on them but with a name like resolve, they are difficult to search for.


I suggest you approach Stepchange or Payplan or do your own research.

thecassman86

LordFridge wrote: »

Secondly, if i pay them £xxx for several months, while they run the legal dispute, and they don"t reduce the debt by much (or at all) then I will have paid them a load of money for nothing, and will still be left with my original debt.

Spot on. That's what will happen. I promise you their paperwork won't guarantee successful debt reduction and so it'll almost definitely not be! In the meantime, not only have you paid them a huge amount of money, but your creditors have only been given token payments so they're more likely to step up a legal dispute or, at the very least, the interest you'd have accrued on those debts would now be huge.

LordFridge wrote: »

Does it work, or should I walk away?

Walk away.


If you feel you're struggling with your debts and genuinely don't think your payments are affordable then talk to a free charity debt company like Stepchange.

FireWyrm

LordFridge wrote: »

Hi Everyone. I am new to this forum, so please be gentle on me.

We're all friendly here but we will tell it like it is.

LordFridge wrote: »

Has anyone used a company called 'Resolve Money Matters'?

No, but there are about a million new parasites all doing the same thing, I can guess what they are about and it almost certainly isnt in your interests.

LordFridge wrote: »

I had a cold call from them last week, and (unusualy for me) I listened to what they had to say.

You should have followed your instincts. You were right the first time.

LordFridge wrote: »

I have got significant credit card debt that I am trying to clear, and so I was taken in by what they offer, but being very sceptical I am looking to see if anyone has experience of them - I haven't signed up to anything yet.

Good. Dont.

LordFridge wrote: »

The service that they offer is this-

Lets get this clear right now. It isnt a service. A service is something that you wanted, is in your interests, you know exactly how much it is going to cost and you have shopped around for the best price. These people are bottom feeding scum feasting on the corpses of what the PDL and credit industry leaves behind.

LordFridge wrote: »

You run through your debt, outgoings and income, and they come up with a 2 year plan of what you can afford to pay each month towards your cards.

I could do that. Any of us here could do that (and routinely do, if you post as SOA). Anyone with a modicum of intelligence could do that. Why do you feel the need to pay someone to do what you could do yourself. It's throwing good money after bad because I guarantee these 'people' wont be doing this out of charitable intentions.

LordFridge wrote: »

They then contact all of your card issuers to freeze the interest

They ASK. They SUGGEST. They cannot demand, they cannot require, they cannot get issuers to 'freeze' interest. Creditors are under no legal compulsion to grant the request, therefore, anything these people tell you about what they can and cant do is a load of bovine excrement.

LordFridge wrote: »

and open a legal dispute so that they can review the terms and conditions, and original contract.

More male bovine excrement. I'm not even going to bother with this absurd assertion.

LordFridge wrote: »

They look for 'errors' in the contract that enable them to prove that the debt is 'unenforceable'.

:rotfl:
Rollocks.

LordFridge wrote: »

Which in turn then allows them to negotiate to reduce your balance. (The guy said that they find an average of 22 errors).

Rollocks

LordFridge wrote: »

The guy said that he could help me clear my debts in 2 years, on the assumption that they could reduce the overall debt by 30%, and freeze the accounts from any more interest.

A forecast based on an assumption of something they cannot legally enforce or guarantee and you want to waste your money on this?

They are after YOUR money, nothing more. They care nothing for you, other than you are a credulous mark. They are no better that con-men.

LordFridge wrote: »

I questioned him as to how they make their money out of the scheme. This was his reply.
'The plan is in 2 phases - Debt Reduction, and Debt Clearing. During debt reduction,
I pay the monthly figure to RMM, they keep 90%, and 10% is split between the creditors as a good will gesture

Seriously? Do you seriously think this is a good idea? They keep 90% of your payments (a LIMITED company no less, who can fold at any moment taking your money with them) and they deign to pay YOUR creditors a measly 10% of YOUR money as a 'good-will' gesture?!!!!

Why dont YOU pay YOUR creditors 100% of the money you have available to pay them.

LordFridge wrote: »

Once the legal disoute is resolved,

There is no legal dispute. This is unutterable rubbish of the first order. It is a lie, pure and simple.

LordFridge wrote: »

the ratio swaps found to 17.5% to RMM, and 82.5% to the creditors to pay off they revised balances.

17% to them, how generous.#

LordFridge wrote: »

What they guy couldn't say was - How long the legal disputes take to resolve on average, or what % reduction they were CONFIDENT they would be able to acheive, so I don't know what the fee will actually be or what I will get for it.

You want to enter into a contract, which (by the way) IS legally binding and you dont know how much you are ultimately going to be charged for this 'service'?!

LordFridge wrote: »

Now the sceptic in me is thinking -
Firstly, can they legitimately reduce my borrowing in this way, or is it just a nice carrot to entice me into a 'scam'?

No and yes. See above.

LordFridge wrote: »

Secondly, if i pay them £xxx for several months, while they run the legal dispute, and they don"t reduce the debt by much (or at all) then I will have paid them a load of money for nothing, and will still be left with my original debt.

Yes.

LordFridge wrote: »

Ok, so sorry for waffling, but has anyone got any experience of this type of scheme?

Sadly, yes. We see it all the flipping time. I'm sick of seeing people mugged in the street who are too blinkered by their own fear and conformity to authority to do what they can do for themselves. I'm talking about ALL the similar stories, not just yours.

You DO NOT need a some company to negotiate for you. Simply write to your creditor, explain the situation, offer either a settlement figure, or a payment plan. They cannot freeze interest and in some cases, simply wont - you cant force them to do so. However, a polite, coherent letter will most likely do the trick. You pay 100% of the money YOU can afford to your creditors. End of story.

If you really dont think you can manage, then Citizens Advice or StepChange are your only course of action. I've been known to write a letter or two for people who couldnt do it for themselves.

LordFridge wrote: »

Does it work, or should I walk away?

What do you think?

bargainbetty

It's also worth noting that if you do enter into these agreements to pay your creditors less than the contractually required minimum payment, it will trash your credit file for six years and substantially reduce your chances of getting good finance deals, mortgages etc. If you are currently managing to pay your debts then there is no point looking at a DMP.

Use the snowballing tools, find cheaper finance etc. Save up and pay it off the hard way.

LordFridge

FireWyrm
Thank you for your detailed response, and for confirming every single niggle that went through my head.


Everyone is correct, and I have already run through my finances. Myself and my wife are getting rid of the debt the hard way - by budgetting carefully and and paying off everything that we can afford.

My gut feel was spot on, and I am not sure why I really gave the guy the time on the phone. I guess that it was a 'spin' that I haven't' heard before, I wondered whether the story had any thruth in it.

Thanks everyone for confirming that my gut feel was correct, and for objectively replying to my questions.

Having discovered this forum, I think that I will be spending much more time here.

Cheers
Gary

Puzzcat

Well done Gary good decision, and lovely post by FireWyrm.

thecassman86

LordFridge wrote: »

My gut feel was spot on, and I am not sure why I really gave the guy the time on the phone. I guess that it was a 'spin' that I haven't' heard before, I wondered whether the story had any thruth in it.

At least you had the forethought to at least question it and, more importantly, come here to express your concerns before doing something with them. The frustrating and worrying thing is that the reason these companies exist is because people don't think and get blinded by the yarn that they spin. They'll have an answer for everything.

As you're now looking at sorting your finances out yourself, feel free to post up an SOA highlighting all of your incomings and outgoings and we can help you to find some savings in your budget

thecassman86

Oh, and welcome to the forum :wave:

You'll like it here.

heatherks

LordFridge wrote: »

The guy said that he could help me clear my debts in 2 years, on the assumption that they could reduce the overall debt by 30%, and freeze the accounts from any more interest.

I questioned him as to how they make their money out of the scheme. This was his reply.
'The plan is in 2 phases - Debt Reduction, and Debt Clearing. During debt reduction, I pay the monthly figure to RMM, they keep 90%, and 10% is split between the creditors as a good will gesture while the legal dispute is open. Once the legal disoute is resolved, the ratio swaps found to 17.5% to RMM, and 82.5% to the creditors to pay off they revised balances.

id stay away from any Cold callers that want to know about your finances

basically at 90% you are giving them money to pay their wages and creditors get very little
are you already on a DMP ?

gemgemz

I got a call off this scamartist/company a few weeks ago. I did laugh when he said "...see if the contract is unenforceable" Of course it isn't unenforceable, I've been paying it for 2 years already - doing so has meant I have accepted that it is my debt, so how does that then become 'unenforceable'? He hung up on me after I questioned every point he made with common sense!

I reported the company to ofcom - he wouldn't say where he got my number (I haven't applied for PDLs or anything similar, or put my mobile num on any forms, online or in RL) and they are scammers.