debt management fees

kelise

was just wondering because we could claim bank charges on loans and mortgages etc if there was anything i could do with my debt management. i was with them over 3 years paying them a fee of £50 a month for them to pay my creditors with the money i gave them each month. Yes they did get me out of trouble 3 years ago but i have now cancelled it as my creditors wrote to me advising i could pay them what i was paying through the debt management direct. so for 3 years and 7 months i have paid out over £2000 that i could have used to clear my debt. is there anything i can do to claim this back./

geordie_joe

kelise wrote: »

was just wondering because we could claim bank charges on loans and mortgages etc if there was anything i could do with my debt management. i was with them over 3 years paying them a fee of £50 a month for them to pay my creditors with the money i gave them each month. Yes they did get me out of trouble 3 years ago but i have now cancelled it as my creditors wrote to me advising i could pay them what i was paying through the debt management direct. so for 3 years and 7 months i have paid out over £2000 that i could have used to clear my debt. is there anything i can do to claim this back./

I doubt it, you were paying for a service which you appear to have had.

But then again, there are many people on here who are smarter than me. So wait for others before making up your mind.

Debt_Free_Chick

My view is that you were paying for a service too ... sorry, not what you want to hear, but I guess they offered to manage your debts for a fee and you accepted that offer.

kelise

i understand what you mean but they never advised me that i could actually contact my creditors direct and sort out an agreement with them instead of putting myself in a debt management scheme which is what my creditors have advised me

geordie_joe

kelise wrote: »

i understand what you mean but they never advised me that i could actually contact my creditors direct and sort out an agreement with them instead of putting myself in a debt management scheme which is what my creditors have advised me

Of course they didn't, if they did that they would be doing themselves out of business.

You wouldn't but a loaf of bread at your local shop then expect them to tell you that you could get it cheaper at Tesco's, would you.

I don't wish to sound harsh, or imply that it is your fault. But you bought a product/service then found you could have gotten it cheaper (or free) from some where else.

It's your fault, you should have shopped around and got the best bargain. No business has to point out that what you are buying from them can be bought cheaper from another business, It's down to you to find the best price.

I don't think there is anything you can do about it, just accept that you didn't get the best deal. You did what you thought was best at the time, then later found there was a better way.

Just put it down to experience and take comfort in the fact that you weren't the first and won't be the last to be in this situation.

kelise

i was told i was not allowed to speak to the creditors i owed money to as they would not allow me to do a payment scheme with them and if i mentioned i was in trouble money wise they would not like that. As much as i know people are here to help i feel that last post was out of order and was not needed for.

jobbingmusician

I don't agree that the last poster was rude: the post seems to me to summarise things very well.

However, you are now saying that the DMC lied to you. This is serious, although you may have problems proving it. Personally, I have mystery shopped a DMC and thought that they were absolutely appalling: if I had not had known better I would have assumed that their service was free, and they did not ask enough questions to be sure that a DMP was correct for the few details I did give them.

I can only suggest that you report them to the Financial Ombudsman: details can be found from here: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

The FO might do something like commissioning some (more) mystery shopping to establish whether your allegations are likely to be true, I suppose, so that if the company regularly behaves in this way, they will get found out!

Good luck, and let us know how you get on!

geordie_joe

kelise wrote: »

i was told i was not allowed to speak to the creditors i owed money to as they would not allow me to do a payment scheme with them and if i mentioned i was in trouble money wise they would not like that. As much as i know people are here to help i feel that last post was out of order and was not needed for.

I didn't mean the post to sound rude, I was just pointing out the facts. I suppose it's how you read it, or how you imagine the poster meant it.

Any way, a week ago you wanted to claim back charges because they

"never advised me that i could actually contact my creditors direct and sort out an agreement with them"

Now you are saying they specifically told you that you are not allowed to contact them. Why didn't you mention that a week ago when you made the first post.

There's a big difference between not telling you that you can contact your creditors direct and telling you that you are not allowed to contact them direct.