123debtsolutions have taken money!!!
I contacted 123 who told me to pay £300 into their account. I did this believing they'd start paying back to my debtors. This was 3rd July. A week later I phoned to cancel who told me I'd get a call back. They didn't call so I wrote to them on 23rd Aug and to date I've had no contact from them and no refund of £300 . Do you have any advice? It would appear they've ignored my cancellation request and taken my money!!!
[}:)]
Do you know what you paying for? was it for a debt management plan or IVA? Or for the advice?
If you are looking for a debt solution you may want to speak to a few companies before you make a decision on how to proceed, all the companies featured on this site will no charge for advice.
PJG Recovery have a free online advice channel at www.debtadvicetv.com. If you are ready to ask us for specific advice or help, then get in touch at www.pjgrecovery.com/contact-us.asp . I look forward to speaking to you.
I dont why 123debt solution always request money upront from client before setting up IVA. I contacted them almost a year ago regarding an IVA and they want to debt my account with £600.00, which they claimed is the fees to set up creditor's meeting and other services and i refused to comply with their plan.
If you are not happy with the fees request or have concerns about the company you can always seek advice elsewhere, 5 years is a long time if you enter an IVA and you want to be sure you are happy with the company you choose
PJG Recovery have a free online advice channel at www.debtadvicetv.com. If you are ready to ask us for specific advice or help, then get in touch at www.pjgrecovery.com/contact-us.asp . I look forward to speaking to you.
If you have asked for refund of monies from this firm, and they have refused to acknowledge this, nor return the monies to you, you can report them to the Financial Ombudsman. There is no need for this in today's marketplace, indeed payments upfront without distributions to creditors have been stopped under the Debt Management Protocol.
When did this Debt Management Protocol become effective? I paid over £1000 to an IP who put forward a non-protocol compliant proposal which, unsurprisingly, rejected. Have lost complete faith in them I moved IP but the first IP refused to refund the 3 months upfront payments. They told me that this was money for work they had done, earlier I was told that these payments would be paid over to creditors.
Very interesting: I wonder if this DM Protocol only applies to IVA companies?
I too had to pay an up-front fee to 'Debt Advisory Line' who charged my for 'advice' and 'packaging' my IVA for their sister company Mitchell Farrar - my eventual IVA firm. (Both companies are regularly nominated for industry awards, and DAL have won several in the past, so I cannot believe that they are 'cowboy' firms).
OK, in my case it all went well in the end, with my IVA being approved. But I very much felt that I was taking a gamble at the time.
The way I see it now, the upfront fee went on an overdraft included in the plan, so it didn't really cost me anything after all in the end.
Can IVA companies do as mine seemingly did, and circumvent this 'ban' on up-front fee charging, by using a partner debt 'advice' company?
Or is this 'ban' on upfront fee-charging a very recent development?
My opinions are just that: Based on my experience and being a self-employed IVA customer.
Protocol compliant Debt Management Plans have enhanced management charges spread over the first six months rather than set up fees spread over the first two months. This way creditors receive a reasonable payment in the very first month.
It should help with the freezing of interest early on in a plan
The DM Protocol only applies to debt management plans.
IVA's have their own protocol.
Many IVA firms ask for a 'set up fee' to cover the costs of advice given and preparation of the IVA. It will tell you in their terms & conditions whether it's refundable and how long your 'cooling off' period is. If you have cancelled with your chosen company inside of a week, in my opinion, you should be entitled to a full refund, however it's best to check the small print of the T&C's.
There are many debt management firms and IVA companies who do not charge set up fees or charge for advice. In my opinion, you should not have to pay for good quality debt advice and it's pays in the long term to do your homework.
If I were you, I would take your complaint further with 123 or failing that, go to the ombudsman.
Good luck!
Last edited by ClareSilver on Tue Oct 22, 2013 12:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Yes, I wish I had found this forum before I started my iva. I damn sure would not have paid a bean upfront, and would have chosen a different ocompany.
If only I had searched 'insolvency practitioners' rather than 'debt management company' on the web from the outset, and not got sucked in by the anti -iva rubbish published on a well-known 'money saving' website, l would be at least a year further down the line by now.
Live and learn don't we!!!
My opinions are just that: Based on my experience and being a self-employed IVA customer.
Yes, I wish I had found this forum before I started my iva. I damn sure would not have paid a bean upfront, and would have chosen a different ocompany.
If only I had searched 'insolvency practitioners' rather than 'debt management company' on the web from the outset, and not got sucked in by the anti -iva rubbish published on a well-known 'money saving' website, l would be at least a year further down the line by now.
Live and learn don't we!!!
My opinions are just that: Based on my experience and being a self-employed IVA customer.
The Debt Management Protocol may indeed only apply to DMPs, however the spirit of the protocol, coupled with debt management guidance and the attitude of the Insolvency Service, is that monies should not be requested on an "up front" basis for simple consumer debt IVA proposals.
As with most expensive and long-term purchases of services - it really does make sense to shop around and compare standards, quality and delivery.
