Debt Princess

Phillipa_3

rayday2 wrote: »

Please speak to the CCCS they come on this board or Payplan you will get honest advice you never regret from them and they won't make a penny out of you!

This company will make it sound so simple and easy but what if your circumstances change in the next 5 years and it goes wrong I think you find once they have your business they won't care and you could be in another crisis.

The notion that CCCS don't make a penny is simply not true. There seems to be several comments here that are very misguided. CCCS it seems specialise in debt management plans and when you push for information about that it becomes obvious that they take a fee from the creditors from doing so.

Having shopped around a variety of IVA companies then I am comfortable that the advice given was impartial and fair.

The one thing that I have discovered over the past few days is that there are many people who claim to be doing chariable acts or acting in a "not for profit" manner but frankly in most cases that is smoke and mirrors.

The many IVA companies may get a fee for doing so but it isn't something that you will be paying - its the creditors.

lemma1968

I really don't mean to sound like a sceptic, but you aren't really a mole are you from Debt Princess?

You are so scathing about cccs and payplan who have actually noticeably helped people on this site that i just had to wonder.

Phillipa_3

I suppose I am validating my own actions and having taken people's advice and looked around things aren't as people say.

The advice I had was (as far as I would know) all fair enough - if you have wider experience you call them and tell me??

I don't think you can say I'm scathing about CCCS for just pointing out the fact about the fact they do take fees from creditors!!! You're being a bit sensitive!

lemma1968

I suppose the difference is in point of view i.e. if you go through CCCS then they may get a payment through the creditor but at least it means that it keeps their services free to those that need them as opposed to those companies that are purely set up to make a profit and take a cut directly from your money rather than the creditors.

I know which one i would rather support if I had to use either.:rolleyes:

SarahNeedle1872

Phillipa wrote: »

I suppose I am validating my own actions and having taken people's advice and looked around things aren't as people say.

The advice I had was (as far as I would know) all fair enough - if you have wider experience you call them and tell me??

I don't think you can say I'm scathing about CCCS for just pointing out the fact about the fact they do take fees from creditors!!! You're being a bit sensitive!

Surely its better for the CCCS to take a fee from the creditors rather than from you? If u do an IVA/DMP with a fee charging company, a lot of ur monthly payment goes in fees, before any money even gets to the creditors. I suspect that companies that provide a financial service are happy to 'donate' to CCCS/PayPlan etc because they get far more of their money back from people helped by them, than they would from fee charging companies.

I also think that if u take the time to look round this forum, there are many people that have been helped by CCCS/Payplan..... far more than have used a fee charging company

Sarah x

Phillipa_3

lemma1968 wrote: »

I suppose the difference is in point of view i.e. if you go through CCCS then they may get a payment through the creditor but at least it means that it keeps their services free to those that need them as opposed to those companies that are purely set up to make a profit and take a cut directly from your money rather than the creditors.

I know which one i would rather support if I had to use either.:rolleyes:

In my experience you get free advice everywhere it doesn't matter if its a charity, plc or whatever. Its the advice that is most important.

From what I understand with IVA's even if the arranger of that IVA is a plc then the money still comes from the creditor and not a cut of your money because when you do your income/expenditure statement the money you have available is the same regardless of who arranges the IVA.

CCCS/Payplan may give wonderful advice but they still get a fee income. So in my eyes that makes them no different from anyone else.

What concerned me this week was that everyone says "be careful" "XYZ takes a big fee" - call CCCS first; as if they have no income from anyone and actually when it comes down to it they get fees from the creditors for arranging debt management plans and IVA's.

From that point of view they are all the same.

red74

Phillipa wrote: »

The notion that CCCS don't make a penny is simply not true. There seems to be several comments here that are very misguided. CCCS it seems specialise in debt management plans and when you push for information about that it becomes obvious that they take a fee from the creditors from doing so.

Having shopped around a variety of IVA companies then I am comfortable that the advice given was impartial and fair.

The one thing that I have discovered over the past few days is that there are many people who claim to be doing chariable acts or acting in a "not for profit" manner but frankly in most cases that is smoke and mirrors.

The many IVA companies may get a fee for doing so but it isn't something that you will be paying - its the creditors.

I'm not sure why you think this should be a case of smoke and mirrors. CCCS are a charity which is funded by the credit industry (which, quite frankly, can afford to be donating money to worthy causes), and which allows it to provide a free service to those who need it (which, lets face it, if you need to phone them for help then you're not likely to have a lot of spare cash around to pay for financial help). CCCS are very upfront on their website about how they are funded - they don't appear to be hiding anything. And the credit industry benefit as well from good publicity and being more likely to get their money back.

However, only you can decide what is best for yourself.

Phillipa_3

SarahNeedle1872 wrote: »

Surely its better for the CCCS to take a fee from the creditors rather than from you? If u do an IVA/DMP with a fee charging company, a lot of ur monthly payment goes in fees, before any money even gets to the creditors. I suspect that companies that provide a financial service are happy to 'donate' to CCCS/PayPlan etc because they get far more of their money back from people helped by them, than they would from fee charging companies.

I also think that if u take the time to look round this forum, there are many people that have been helped by CCCS/Payplan..... far more than have used a fee charging company

Sarah x

Hi Sarah, the thing that I concluded was that the only thing that matters is what spare money you have left over after you have paid for essential items. So if I have £200 per month left over then the creditors are going to want that regardless of who sets it up.

If I only have £200 per month spare I don't really care if the creditors get £1 of that or £199. They are going to want me to pay £200 per month regardless.

The important thing is the advice and care itself. You using the word "donation" is just "fee" by another name!!

But each to her own. I owe a great deal and rent my house so I have taken one route out of my debt. If sticking 50p pieces in a jar works for you then great. My point is that my debt is causing me stress and there is no room in my head for taking a caring attitude to my creditors in that!!

Phillipa_3

red74 wrote: »

I'm not sure why you think this should be a case of smoke and mirrors....CCCS are very upfront on their website about how they are funded - they don't appear to be hiding anything. And the credit industry benefit as well from good publicity and being more likely to get their money back.

However, only you can decide what is best for yourself.

Sorry my comments came because in past posts people seemed to be pushing CCCS because of fees charged by others but in my opinion there is little difference. One gets fees donated whilst others get fees paid. How is that different??

red74

Phillipa wrote: »

Sorry my comments came because in past posts people seemed to be pushing CCCS because of fees charged by others but in my opinion there is little difference. One gets fees donated whilst others get fees paid. How is that different??

I've never had to deal with a debt management company so I cannot say for sure but, from looking at a couple of websites it looks as if you may end up paying the debt off over a longer period because a percentage of what you are paying goes to the debt company, so instead of paying £200 a month for 4yrs, you end up paying £200 a month for 5yrs. Because their fees are so difficult to find on their sites I'm not convinced that it is the creditor that pays up in the end. Happy to be corrected if someone knows for definite how they get their money.