Getting Out Of Debt Homepage

Question: Is a debt management plan a bad idea?

(Posted by: Jessrabb on 2009-03-19 12:25:49)

I was thinking of entering a debt management plan to pay of some bills to leave myself with more cash at the end of the month, however I seem a little bit weary of this, is it a bad idea and has anyone ever entered one. I contacted a company called Chase Saunders who appear to be very keen to help me out with my debts, can anyone advise me whether this could be a bad idea to do this or whether its just best to work out my debt problems myself to keep a credit rating at least

Posted by: Alvie on 2009-03-19, 12:34:35

A non-profit consumer group that helps people restructure their debts you can trust. But a company that seeks to make profits from people in debt very likely will make your debt problem worse in the long run. Because probably they'll find some way for you to borrow more money to pay them and to find some temporary relief for yourself. But in the long run this will make your debt problem even worse than before.

Posted by: worried on 2009-03-19, 12:37:38

Have a look at the Consumer Forums on line you will get a lot of information on there. Hope this helps. Good Luck

Posted by: red devil on 2009-03-19, 14:22:41

Hiya, i had one,and it is a rip of.say you have agreed to pay £100 per month to pay your bills of.they charge you another £80 plus for there monthly charges.so you pay £180 a month,but only £100 pound of that is coming of your bill.i was advised to go to Citizen advice,taking my paper work for all my bills with me.they rang the people i owed money to,and arrange for me to pay a set amount each month,by Direct debit.they did all my bills for me.im now paying out £85 a month.i owed £7,700 in all for 3 debts.so i pay 2 of my debts at £25 each and the other one £35 a month.and i don't pay ant extra for them doing it,as i paid the debt management £100 just for me using there service.so going to Citizen advice, its a free service,and you don't pay any charges for them helping you.its saved me a lot of money going to CAB.hope this helps.

Posted by: bluebell on 2009-03-19, 16:30:09

A debt management plan is a wonderful idea, but going to a company and paying them for the service is not. Anything they can do, you could do yourself, and keep their fee in your own pocket. Chase Saunders is a company, doing business to make a profit (they would need to, to pay their staff). They need to make money out of you. There are lots of online pages about debt reduction that you can google, or you could contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau. In Ireland, the MABS service has good advice, and there are links to similar advisors outside Ireland at mabs.ie/ links.html I cleared my debts by being systematic. You can too. Good luck !!!

Posted by: snvffy on 2009-03-19, 16:45:19

In a perfect world Jessica, the idea of abdicating your responsibility to get your payments to your creditors on time is a good idea. But, 1. you have to abdicate your responsibility in favor of the third party company 2. you have to pay third party company BIG BUCKS for being a go-between 3. and your credit gets trashed too An intervening third party automatically hits your credit report similar to a chapter 13 bankruptcy. My advice is to cut down on your living expenses and pay off the debts. Dave Ramsey has a great book The Total Money Makeover which has a great idea for getting this done. Good Luck

Posted by: evie on 2009-03-20, 03:14:24

Its a good idea to cut your monthly outgoings but dont go to a company that charges a fee. The Consumer Credit Counselling Service do it for free. But you still have your debts. If they are credit card or personal loans then try to get them legally cancelled. Go to bdebtfree.info and they will sort it for you.

Posted by: i-resources on 2009-03-21, 05:12:45

Hi, Were you recommended this company? Be VERY careful when entering a debt management plan as they can sometimes be worse! THere are a number of shady companies out there who will recommend the product that provides them with the best return which is not necessarily in your interest. There are a number of different options available and it depends on your level of debt and how many creditors you have. Contacting your creditors yourself s always a good idea but the benefit of the using a company it that they are used to dealing with these companies therefore know who to speak to and what to aim for, something that you may not be able to do as effectively yourself. Your credit rating will take a knock whatever option you go for but it does not take long to repair itself. If you can provide some additional information it would be helpful.