Debt Management
What is a 1-Call Debt Management Plan?
A 1-Call Debt Management plan is an informal programme that allows us to take control of your debts by making arrangements between yourself and your creditors and any other company you are in debt with. We will arrange a rate of re-payments that is affordable and agreeable for you.
Additionally, we monitor the market regularly and if we find better options available that will ease your re-payments, we will let you know so that you can make an informed decision to take control of your finances.
What payments will I make to the plan?
We assess your circumstances to allow us to review what payments are possible based on your circumstances. We always keep you in the loop so that our analysis is full and complete. We will also look at things like future bills and living costs to factor this in against payments.
With this information we then make an informed calculation for repayment. We also request that interest on your debts is frozen to stop this debt from accumulating.
Once we have spoken to the creditors on your behalf, we will confirm with you feedback from them on outstanding balances and will also agree a mutual arrangement for repayment.
What’s included within the plan?
Your plan only includes your unsecured credit arrangements. You will still need to make sure that you pay what we call “priority expenditure.”
What is priority expenditure?
Certain expenditures carry serious consequences if left unpaid. This could include repossession of your home, further fines or even prosecution and imprisonment. These are called priority expenditure. Some examples of this include:
- Mortgage payments, rent payments and secured loan payments
- Tax – council tax, road tax and other types of government tax
- Court fines
- Utility costs such as electricity and gas
- Child care costs
Will creditors agree to freeze interest and charges?
Creditors don’t have to freeze interest and charges and if they didn’t but you still reduced your payments then it would take you longer to repay the debt and cost more over the term.
However, that’s where we come in because we use our experience and “know how” to negotiate with them and do all we can to seek agreement.
Will creditors stop taking action against me?
A creditor may still take legal action against you, however, we will work to stop them from going ahead with this.
How will it affect my credit rating?
Lenders provide credit reference agencies with information about how well customers keep up with repayments on credit agreements and the information is held for 6 years. This is then used by other lenders to help them make decisions when they receive an application for credit in the future. Your credit file may also be checked by future employers or if you apply for a mobile phone contract, for example.
The information includes details of late or missing payments as well as if a lender has issued a default notice. A default notice is issued when the customer cannot keep to the payments that are due under the agreement and the lender has decided that the relationship between them has “broken down”.
When you take out a debt management plan lenders may enter this information onto your credit file and they may issue a default notice. This means that you probably won’t be able to obtain further credit in the short term – in fact getting more credit is the last thing you should do as it will make your situation more difficult to manage. In the medium to long term you may find it will be harder and cost you more to get credit.
Remember that your credit file has probably already been affected by missed payments and possibly default notices.
What happens if my creditors contact me?
Well first of all don’t ignore them! Let them know that we are working on your behalf and that we’ll be contacting them soon. Feel free to give them our details and ask them to contact us. You can also send them the “appointment letter” which we have included in this pack. This lets them know all correspondence should be sent to us.
What if my circumstances change during the plan?
We undertake a review of your plan at least every 12 months and we’ll consider whether debt management is still the most suitable option for you, if it isn’t we’ll advise you on other appropriate solutions.
What fees do I pay?
Our fees cover administration and negotiation costs and consist of the first month’s payment into the plan followed by either a monthly management payment of £25pm or 15.24%, which ever is higher.
Why do you retain the first monthly payment?
As we spend a lot of time negotiating with your creditors aiming to get them to freeze interest and charges, we retain the first monthly payment in full. This means that your creditors will not receive a payment in that month, which will show as a missed payment on your file. Distributions to creditors will start in month 2, after our monthly fee has been taken.
Can I change my mind?
Yes. You can change your mind within the first 14 days after receiving the terms of business and you will have nothing to pay. If you have already paid your first month’s payment we will refund it in full.
After the 14 days you can cancel your plan – we just ask, that you give us 4 weeks’ notice which will give us chance to deal with your creditors and make any payments that are due.
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How can we be of assistance?
You may not know how much 1-Call Debt Solutions could do to relieve the strain of spiraling debts.
- Aim to stop debt collectors, letters & calls
- Combine all your debts into one realistic and affordable payment
- Strive to stop pending legal action