CCCS payplan CAB or nat.debtline

anchsa

Which of these do you think gives the best advice?

poorandindenial

Hi anchsa

I have no idea who gives the best advice, but there is nothing to stop you from speaking to a couple of them and seeing which you feel most comfortable with.

Why not post a bit more about your problem and people that have spoken to each of them about the same issue will be able to share their experiences with you.

HHH_2

I found CCCS to be very quick, you can do their debt remedy on line and I had my DMP running within a month.

immoral_angeluk

I volunteer for the CAB, and haven't had dealing with the CCCS or NDL... but I'd say it all depends on the advice you want. CAB can offer advice about anything from debt to divorce so will be able to help you with the wider picture face to face.. whereas CCCS and NDL can only advice on debt...
but haven't heard bad things about any of them to be fair.

fermi

Not much to choose from between CCCS and NDL in my opinion. They are both very good normally.

For me NDL seem to be a bit better at dealing with the more technical/legal questions, but that is only fractional if I'm not completely imagining it.

CAB are often good, but (with respect to IA) perhaps not as consistent on debt advice as the other two. Plus other people have said that it can sometimes be difficult to speak to an advisor who has expertise on the debt side of things. I'm sure IA will boost the standard though.;)

One thing you should be aware of is that no matter how good the reputation of an organisation, it's still possible to get 'duff' advice on the day if you just happen to speak to the wrong person. Bearing that in mind, don't be afraid to pick up the phone and ask the same thing from more than one.

immoral_angeluk

fermi wrote: »

CAB are often good, but (with respect to IA) perhaps not as consistent on debt advice as the other two. Plus other people have said that it can sometimes be difficult to speak to an advisor who has expertise on the debt side of things. I'm sure IA will boost the standard though.;)

That is true... unfortunately not all advisers are trained in specific money advice, and alot of the bureaus have specialist debt advisers who see clients on an appointment system. As you say where ever you go the advice you recieve is only as good as the adviser but you always have the right to ask to see a supervisor or get a 2nd opinion if you're not happy with the advice you recieve.

Edit: also a lot of the bureaus don't have the manpower to deal with telephone advice, and face to face clients are always a priority. This is simply because the CAB is mainly run by volunteers so often clients have to wait longer than we'd like or may have to make a return visit for more complicated cases with specialist caseworkers.

fermi

Yep.

Any small shortcomings that CAB may sometimes suffer seem to be to do with what it is, what it has to cover, and the way it is set up.

CAB seem to be just spread 'too thin' at the moment. It is a shame.

Then we get Councils like debt doctor's, who decide that their CAB is surplus to requirements. !!!!!!?????

rayday2

Our CAB is terrible - but its a small town and they don't offer appointments so you have to wait around for hours sometimes to be thrown out at kicking out time!

My mum lives in a big city and has a much better service and proper debt advisors which again ours lacks.

I deal with my own debt problems but with the help of the National Debtline website and once lost confidence and rang them up and they were excellent knew there stuff, boosted my confidence and not looked back since.

I know others deal with Payplan and CCCS and find it such a relief the initial being able to get advice off someone.

Its who you feel most confident with is the best option for you. And remember to tell whoever you choose everything the more information they get the more they can give you specific advice.

Any of them are better than the worry that builds up not doing something - course if you are a power freak you can always do it yourself

immoral_angeluk

rayday2 wrote: »

Our CAB is terrible - but its a small town and they don't offer appointments so you have to wait around for hours sometimes to be thrown out at kicking out time!

My mum lives in a big city and has a much better service and proper debt advisors which again ours lacks.

Exactly... a lot of the village outreaches are staffed by one person who comes from the main bureau. For the CAB to remain impartial it has to be available to all no matter where they live which is why you have one main bureau and then a number of smaller outreaches. It's not ideal as often the outreaches are very busy with people waiting for ages but it's impossible to make appointments unless it's specific cases due to the variety of cases we see. One appointment could take 5 minutes and the next could take 50.... you just never know whats going to walk through the door?

rayday2

The other problem our town has (a colleague of mine used to volunteer) is that it is run by some long term volunteers of an older generation and they are unwilling to change and grasp modern day problems. But what do you do when they have given hundreds of hours over the years and yet they are the stumbing block to a good service.

The government really should pour more revenue in or think about an impartial workable advice centre of their own!

immoral_angeluk

rayday2 wrote: »

The other problem our town has (a colleague of mine used to volunteer) is that it is run by some long term volunteers of an older generation and they are unwilling to change and grasp modern day problems. But what do you do when they have given hundreds of hours over the years and yet they are the stumbing block to a good service.

The government really should pour more revenue in or think about an impartial workable advice centre of their own!

You know what the government is like that... it'd be even worse! lol