1) How much will I have to pay into my debt management programme ?
It depends on your circumstances. It's important to keep up with your regular monthly payments, or your creditors may cancel the agreements we have made on your behalf. This is why we will work out an affordable monthly payment, based on your earnings and expenditure. Minimum payments are £125 per month or £30 per week.

2) How long will the programme last ?
Until all debts have been paid in full. Due to the reduced payment levels, this will be longer than the terms of original credit agreements and may incur addition interest payments as the term of the credit agreement is extended.

3) How do I know I'm getting the best advice ?
If your circumstances are not best served by a Debt Management programme, we will advise accordingly. As we offer all types of debt solutions we are able to offer impartial advice as to the best course of action.

4) How do I know my debts are being paid ?
Once up to date balances from your creditors have been received, your monthly payments between them are pre-portioned based on how much each is owed. A statement showing how much each creditor will receive will be issued. This remains fixed unless your circumstances change. You will be issued a quarterly statement showing all transactions on your account. In addition to this, you will still receive statements from your creditors.

5) Will this affect my credit rating ?
When entering into a debt management agreement, you will be breaking the terms of your initial repayment agreements with your lenders. This may have an adverse effect on your credit record. Due to time required arranging and distributing payments to creditors and delays in making first payment into the programme from clients, contractual payments to creditors may be missed.

6) Will my creditors/lenders definitely accept your proposed debt management plan?
Creditors and lenders do not have to accept our proposals, but most are willing to accept them if we can prove it is beneficial and agreeable to both parties. Please note that there is no guarantee that existing or threatened proceedings will be suspended or withdrawn. Your creditors may also continue to issue default notices and add additional costs to your debt. Please be assured that we will do all we can to ensure your creditors understand the difficulties you are in, to ensure the best possible outcome.

7) Is this a loan?
No. We neither lend you money nor pay off your debts. Your payment plan is a solution that allows you to repay your creditors at a monthly rate that you can afford. If you do not make payments into the plan, we cannot make payments to your creditors.

8) Will I be credit checked before acceptance?
No. Since we do not lend you any money, we do not need to credit check you.

9) Can I come on plan if I already have CCJs against me?
Yes. You can even use the plan to make payments against any existing CCJs that you have. Just make sure that we know exactly what your current situation is when you talk to us before coming on plan.

10) Does it make a difference if I am a homeowner or tenant?
No. It makes no difference whether you are a tenant or homeowner or even if you are still living with your parents.

11) Do I have to be in full time employment?
No. To be accepted onto debt management, you only need to have a surplus of income above what you need to live on.

12) Do I have to tell my partner?
We believe that it is always best to be honest with your partner. However, you only have to tell your partner if you have shared debts and/or you need your partner’s income to be taken into account to support the plan.

13) Will you be dealing with every company I owe money to?
No. Some of your debts may be regarded as priority debts due to serious consequences if payments are not made. An example is your mortgage or utility bills. These will be taken into consideration when calculating what amount is available to distribute to your other lenders and it is very important that you continue to pay these in full yourself.

14) What is the difference between a secured and unsecured debt?
A secured debt is a debt secured against an asset that you own. Typical secured debts will be a mortgage, a secured loan, a car loan, etc. An unsecured loan is any loan not secured on an asset, such as a bank overdraft, a personal loan, a credit card, store card, etc.

15) Do creditors always accept reduced payment offers?
Creditors do not have to accept any offer of repayment below the contracted minimum. However it is our experience that they are prepared to accept reduced repayment offers where we are able to demonstrate that the offer is reasonable and that you are committed to repay your debts by use of our debt management service.

16) Will the plan affect my credit rating?
Because coming on plan will result in your not making contracted repayments on your unsecured debts, you should expect that your credit rating will be adversely affected. However, your credit rating may already be poor if you have arrears or a history of missed or late payments.

17) Will I receive a Default Notice?
By coming on plan with us, you will be in default on your original credit agreement and your creditor is therefore entitled to send you a Default Notice. Creditors send out Default Notices to protect their own legal position.

18) Will the plan prevent my creditors taking further recovery action?
We cannot guarantee that your creditors will not take further action, including court action to recover debts from you but, if they do, we will help you respond so that any repayment that is required is within your ability to repay.

19) What if my creditors continue to pursue me for payments?
Certainly in the short term, your creditors will continue to take action to recover your debts. Do not ignore them. Deal with calls politely, informing creditors that you have appointed ourselves to act on your behalf. You should forward any letters to us to deal with on your behalf.

20) How long will the plan take?
Because you are making reduced payments on your debts, it will take longer for your debts to be paid off. As part of our initial consultation with you, we will provide you with an estimate of the likely time you will be on plan. Please understand that a debt management plan is not an overnight solution.

21) What if my circumstances change?
Because a Debt Management Plan is an informal arrangement, it is easy to change it as your personal circumstances change, and even to replace it with an alternative arrangement if that becomes more appropriate at a later date.

22) My bank says they will not deal with you and will take me to court if I use you. What do I do?
A creditor cannot refuse payments from a debt management company and then take you to court for non-payment. Some credit companies may prefer not to deal with us so they can apply more pressure to you, however you have a legal right to have anyone you wish deal with your finances.

23) My bank says you have not written to them, but you say you have. Why?
Employees of a creditor's collections unit have one job, to try to get you to pay money. Unfortunately, some will do this any way they can. Once they acknowledge we are dealing with the account, they know they have to negotiate through us. If they tell you they have not heard from us then they have more leverage. If they make you think we are not doing our job properly, they will convince you to cancel the agreement with us, and then they can use any tactics they like to get the money from you.

If this happens inform them that we are dealing with your affairs, contact us immediately and we will then issue a further copy of correspondence to them.

24) My bank has said they are going to send a bailiff round to collect their money, can they do this?
No. A bailiff can only be instructed and sent by a County Court or Sheriffs office, this means a bailiff can only call if you default on a court order. A debt collector may try to trick you by saying, “if you don’t pay this bill, we could send a bailiff round” this is not true unless you’ve defaulted on an earlier court order.

25) Can I keep one of my credit cards just for emergencies and not count this debt or credit card as part of a debt consolidation programme?
No. If any of your other creditors find out that you are treating another company better than them, they will reject any offers made to them and probably look to collect money through court action. All creditors have to be treated equally.

26) Will I be charged if I change my mind?
We will provide you with a 7 day “cooling off” period from the date you accept our Terms and Conditions for Debt Management or, if earlier, from the date your first payment is received. If you decide not to continue with the plan within the first 7 days, we will refund your initial fee.

27) What do you charge for this service?
So that we can initially set up your programme and negotiate with your creditors, your first two monthly payments cover our implementation costs. From this we make a token payment to creditors. After that, our ongoing administration charge is 17.625%. This is included in your monthly payments - not added on.

28) How are the fees collected?
Every time we make a distribution to your creditors on your behalf, we deduct our fee for that distribution. If we do not make a distribution, we do not take our fee.

29) Can I cancel my plan at any time?
Yes. All you have to do is give us 2 weeks written notice of cancellation.

30) Do I incur any charges if I cancel my plan?
No, you can cancel with us at any time without any further charge.

31) How is my money held until it is distributed to my creditors?
We hold all monies sent to us for distribution to creditors in a client trust account with our bankers. This means that your money is completely protected in the event of our insolvency.

32) What happens to any money held for distribution if I cancel?
We will refund to you any monies you have paid us which we have not yet distributed at the time you cancel with us.

33) Do I get interest on my payment that I make to you?
Because your payment is only held for a maximum of 14 days before being distributed to your credit companies no interest is paid.