i have been enquiring about financial debt management , i have a company that will take my debts?

Question

for 80 a month and they say they will stop my creditors hassling me, they are not a IVA company
has anyone done this before is it any good,
am i doing the right thing or should i go bankrupt
if i pay this 80.00 a month it will take forever to pay
are these companys legal and can they really help you get out of debt

Answer 1

I did this, it's a complete rip off, avoid at all cost! Go to the Citizens Advice Bureau, they will help you manage your finances, contact your creditors & work out a repayment plan. You may not need to go bankrupt. Please don't go one of the debt management companies, they just cost you money in the end! They don't care about helping, they just want your money. Really, go to the Citizens Advice for debt management.

Answer 2

Heres what you need to do to get b ack on track with your money:

Start carrying a list and tracking all your expenses. Write down everything you buy even the .50 and $1 items. Do this for a few weeks

Now sit down with all your bills, paycheck and that list. Do a budget and see how much money you have left after paying your bills. Then look at who all you owe money too and divide the extra up amoung your other debts. Then you can call the creditors and tell them how much you can afford and they will be happy to take any amount you can pay. Once one debt is paid off take the amount you where paying to it and add it to your next debt. Use the snowball effect and it will work for you.

Next you want to see what bills you can get rid of or downsize on. Some examples might be cell phone, cable, home phone, internet etc.. Another thing is to look at that list and you will see you probably blow alot of money on things you could have paid less for. Examples are taking a lunch to work, making your coffee in the morning, quit or cut back on smoking, eat alot of soups, vegatables and pastas and if you have a car payment sell it and get something for a few thousand or take the bus.. these are just some examples to get you started but as you can see there are tons of ways to cut your bills down.

Now you should also have a 3-6month emergancy fund. You can either save 10% each month or instead of paying extra to your highest accuring debt pay the minium and save until you get that emergancy fund taking care of.

Remember to live frugally and watch every dollar you spend. You will seee you probably blow alot of money that you could actully be saving. Some other ideas might be to get a roommate if you have a extra room or get a second job. Once you are out of debt you must not fall back into th same trap. I would recommend getting a book by Dave Ramsey called The complet money makeover. This will help along the way. Just remember whatever your dreams are keep them in mind and that will help too. Good luck and happy holidays

Answer 3

Hello,

(ANS) My immediate reaction is if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is?? Be careful here, my question is where is the catch?? companies like this wont be offering help for nothing, how much are they asking from you to help clear your debts?? Some debt clearance companies ask as much as 20% of your total debt as a fee. For example if you have £100K debt then their fee might be £20K.

**What is this company doing for you that you couldn't do yourself for free, be very careful that your NOT throwing yet more money away?

**My sincere advise to you is DON'T DO ANYTHING until you've been in contact with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. They are a national charity and they are extremely good at helping people in financial difficulties. They are very experienced and well placed to advise you on how to handle your present situation (do this before you sign anything or commit yourself to any other clearance process). The CCCS can provide FREE debt clearance help too. You wont get ripped off I can assure you.

**The CCCS do have a website which I'm sure you will easily find via a quick search from Yahoo or Google. The phone number is on the site too. Do contact them.

**NOTE: Bankrupcy may well be a better option if your in deep levels of debt but again the CCCS can advise you better than I can, they will be able to look at your individual situation in fine detail.

**Unfortunately YES! debt clearance companies that take a fee from the client are completely legal here in the UK.

**£80 for ever doesn't sound such a great deal if you ask me? but there again its only like having a morgage I guess depending up on how you look at it.

Hope thats of use?

Kind Regards Ivan

Answer 4

Be very careful. These are profit making companies and you are going to supply their profit.
If it will take for ever to get out of debt then they are not really much use to you.
If things are that bad it may be better to go bankrupt and bite the bullet for a few years so you can start again without debt.

Answer 5

Debt Management companies are just middle men, contact your creditors yourself explain your situation and they will suggest a repayment plan. Say your thinking of going to a debt management company and they will go further to help you as the creditors dislike them greatly.

Answer 6

They're legal, and may help if you are unable to sort something else out yourself. Try the CAB, as the other responder suggests.

Just ask yourself why they're in business, they're not a charity . . .

Answer 7

The debt collector is trying to get more money out of your friend. They are violating the law. She should pay them nothing.