If you contact a debt managment company your first point of contact will be what are commonly called in the industry as an ‘advisor’. Like all salesman they have one interest; money. It is not uncommon for advisors at debt solutions companies to earn in excess of 50k a year. These people are multilingual in that they are all able to speak various dialects of bullsh*t.
Firstly, get this notion out of your head. There is no way you can solve your debt problems in a day. No way at all. Not even a chance. Before calling anyone make sure you know how much you owe. You will be asked and its best to know from the start to minimise the chance of wasting time further down the line. Once you have chosen a company to call (I would suggest calling at least three) you will mostly likely in the first instance speak to an ‘assessor’ who will take basic details off you like name, address, how much you owe etc…You will then be put through to an advisor and here is where you must be careful.
Advisors are the most reverend members of any debt management company. Why? Because they bring in the money. Some debt management companies will monitor what there advisors are saying and ensure that they are giving decent, honest advice. Others will not. If an advisor claims anything like the following politely decline any further advice:
‘We can freeze all your interest and charges today’
‘We have special relationships with creditors’
‘Our proposals are always accepted’
‘We can offer a better service than other debt management companies’
Any statements like these are nonsense, I’ve heard many different variants of the above statements and most of the time the advisor will have no idea of the inner workings of an IVA or a Debt Management Plan. A good advisor will begin by assessing how much debt you have and how much you are able to pay each month after which he will identify a solution that best suits you. Never make a payment straight away. Never. Not even if you are 100% sure that the company you are talking too and the company you are going to go with. That first payment is not going to creditors, its going to the company so don’t pay anything until you have thought about your circumstances and what the company in question are offering to do for you.
After you have spoken to a an advisor they will likely send you a welcome pack that will include a nice cover with a couple smiling on a beach or on a sofa (because that’s what people in debt do) and statement of affairs (income and expenditure details) and a letter of authority. Make sure that if you are not sure about anything you call your advisor to ask them to explain in more detail and be sure that you are happy with what you have been told.
Advisors from poorly run companies will hound you to make a payment from the minute you have put the phone down on them. If you feel that you are being given the ‘hard sell’ move to another company. The closer you get to the end of the month the more advisors will hassle you because they will be getting closer to the deadline for when they must get there first payments in.
In short use your head. If someone is telling you something that sounds too good to be true then it is. Shop around and don’t commit to anything into you are sure.
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