I'd just like to add that I am with DFD and never had a problem until my husband lost his job. They took 2 months to get back to me about a payment break and I had already missed 2 payments. I find phoning them is useless - they just tell you to put everything in writing. I have found the staff friendly and helpful as far as they can be, but it would be so much better if you could speak to someone who is actually dealing with your case!
I would say you can get more advice and help on this forum than you can from calling someone at DFD!!
DFD are one of the largest (the largest ?) IVA firms. Companies like DFD make their money on volume, not individual service. They have a huge number of agreements per IP and to keep costs down and most of the work is carried out by adminstrators. So 'speak to your IP' just won't work with the likes of DFD.
I wouldn't view Bankrutpcy as a 'last resort'. Bankruptcy remains pretty much the only debt relief option that looks to get your debts put behind you and get you up and running again as soon as possible with the minimum of fuss. It is also well suited for someone with no assets and you will pay far less on an ongoing basis than in an IVA.
Unless you are familiar with the process (and that won't be the case for most people!) it can be daunting and you might well want to seek some professional advice. However this needs to be from someone who will properly explore your personal situation and advise accordingly - and it does seem unlikely that this would come from a cold-calling form-filler.
If you want an unbiased (and totally free) opinion you could do worse than visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
Best Regards
Last edited by go_4_broke on Sun Jan 11, 2009 9:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DFD are by far the largest IVA firm, with almost twice as many cases under their supervision than their nearest rival.
Their costs are no lower than firms where IPs take a very hands on approach - indeed in certain instances they have been a lot higher. Fees are now largely dictated by creditor preference and are pretty bulk standard across the board.
I agree with GoforBrokes' advice on bankruptcy, and the CAB do a damn fine job, albeit with very limited resources at the moment.
Im sorry but if the IPs at DFD "dont take calls" They should at least employ people who know what they are talking about.
Of course everybody's IVAs are different but the advice some of these guys give is totally wrong. This just causes the debtor a lot more worry.
I agree with you Mrs Skint, there is no excuse for having staff who don't know what they are talking about and giving wrong advice, making an already stressful situation much worse.
Yes I could have put that better Melanie, what I mean is that if you replace IP functions with much cheaper administrators where possible = more profit for owners/shareholders given the same fee income.
However as others have said, if they are going to employ a lot of administrators the least they could do is make them responsive to customers.
Better news is that C.A.B have received some additional cash from the government for providing additional advice, it's Mr. Browns way of getting extra help on the cheap for those suffering from the credit crunch, as of course most C.A.B advisers are unpaid.
I think the service from the CAB is fantastic.
Just a shame they just dont have enough staff for the ammount of people needing their services.
I would work for them for free, im just not clever enough.
Well now is certainly a good time as they are on a recruitment drive and one of the aims of the extra money is to increase opening hours.
You certainly don't have to be a genius and you only need to learn a basic framework covering the main topics. Everything else you can look up on the computer and will be checked anyway.
The main thing they are looking for is the right attitude and most of the hands-on training is about interviewing skills which applies to anything.
Also a lot of advisers won't do debt at all as to use a common phrase it 'does their head in', so just a willingness to do it is a definite plus!
