Yesterday, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced that over 100 debt management
companies could be at risk of losing their licence for a failure to comply with the rules set out. The OFT completed a review looking at how the debt management plan sector works by reviewing company websites, conducting "mystery shopper" type applications in an attempt to improve standards.
The fact that so many companies in the sector are providing poor advice and are simply not complying with the rules highlights the fact that it is more important than ever to ensure that you find a suitable debt solution.
There are reputable schemes and companies out there who do comply with the rules and do have your best interests as their priority.
A reputable debt management plan company will be able to help you by enabling you to reduce your monthly debt bills. They will liaise with your creditors and yourself to figure out a plan which will allow you to pay back your debt over a longer period of time but at a lower rate. Many people find this of benefit to them as it makes their monthly costs easier to manage.
As long as you are able to eventually pay all of your debt back within a reasonable amount of time, then for most people a debt management plan is an ideal way to get their unsecured debts paid back. Avoid missing any payments on your debt management plan, as this could be recorded in your credit history and impact the way you get credit in the future.
Another way in which is a debt management plan can help you is by getting interest and penalty charges which have been applied to your debt frozen. Many experienced debt management companies are in a good position to this and will negotiate with your creditors for you. This, however, cannot be guaranteed in every case.
A debt management company will also handle distributing your payments between your creditors. What this means is, that you will pay the company a single monthly amount once a month and they will then pay your creditors the relevant amounts from this sum. Many people find this is much easier than paying a variety of amounts at different times of the month. It allows you to keep an eye on your finances and simplifies payment of debts
In addition to these services, a debt management plan company will also be responsible for dealing with letters and calls from creditors, meaning that you will not be required to answer to demanding creditors.
Many people find that using a debt management plan is the simplest and most straightforward way out of debt. For more benefits and information please check out the link on this article.