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Frequently Asked Questions
The Questions:(click on the questions to see the answers below)
The Answers:
1. What advantages does EuroDebt offer to help me with my debts?
EuroDebt is a specialist Debt Management Company. We do not introduce or broker any re-financing services and our policy is not to encourage people in unmanageable debt situations to borrow more money. We will, however, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of re-financing if this remains a viable option, based upon your circumstances.
Our service is very personal, including a home visit by a Regional Advisor in almost all cases and the appointment of a Personal Case Manager once you are on a EuroDebt plan. You will receive as a minimum a monthly statement and, if you elect to, diary notes of all correspondence relating to your account in the previous month.
Key features of our service are:
- It is confidential and non-judgemental, you are our client
- You receive immediate confirmation of your Advisor appointment once you contact EuroDebt by telephone. Our aim is for a Regional Advisor to meet you within 2 working days of contacting EuroDebt.
- Urgent processing of court documentation, for example; to try and stop bailiffs entering your property or get a variation order on any judgment debts you may have. This applies to approximately one in four of our clients.
- Upon approval of your Debt Management Agreement (DMA), EuroDebt will contact your creditors within 2 working days (or 14 days if you have not waived your right to the cooling off period) to advise of our appointment and to request up-to-date balances and request that interest and charges be frozen. We have a specialist Creditor Liaison function and their role is to ensure that we deal with the right contacts within each creditor organisation, which can change on a regular basis. Moving your account from one of the collection departments or debt collection agencies to a specialist "hardship" unit can be a very important first step.
- On average, our clients have 8 creditors and around £20,500 of unsecured debt, though it is not uncommon to see clients with over 20 creditors and £100,000 of debt. In such circumstances, dealing with so many creditors can be very difficult without professional and experienced support. EuroDebt's core business is Debt Management.
- Your Single Payment Plan can sometimes comprise of one or more payments per month into a client account that EuroDebt manages and then is responsible for promptly distributing to your creditors. This payment includes EuroDebt's monthly management fee. We offer many of our clients an Allpay payment card that allows them to make weekly or ad hoc payments at the Post Office or any shop showing the Payzone sign. We also accept payments over the Internet or over the telephone. Flexibility is very important when administering payments when you have the funds available.
- EuroDebt offers its clients the opportunity to apply for a Cashplus prepaid MasterCard that can be used anywhere displaying the MasterCard brand mark. This is not a credit card. Your salary or wages can be paid onto the card, if you do not have access to a basic bank account. The card allows you to take advantage of many cheaper purchasing channels (e.g. on the Internet) that would not normally be available to someone in serious debt. Again, the intention is to optimise your income in your day-to-day activities and reduce the stigma of being in debt.
- Whilst EuroDebt is not bound by Distance Selling Regulations, we do offer a 14 day "cooling off" period after you sign the agreement. You will be offered the opportunity to waive this right if you want to immediately move onto a plan.
- On average our clients stay on a EuroDebt plan for 57 months, demonstrating that we have an excellent record of keeping our clients on their plans and consistently making creditor payments, which is important for most creditors in continuing to freeze interest and charges and agreeing to full and final settlements if your circumstances materially change.
- We offer to negotiate full and final settlements with creditors with the objective of reducing the final balance paid to settle the debt. This would then be shown as a "satisfied" balance on your credit file, which for many lenders has the benefit of improving your credit standing. This is most common where someone entered a Debt Management Plan because of major adverse changes in personal circumstances (e.g. divorce, bereavement, illness, accident), but their position positively changes during the term of the plan.
- We offer regular financial reviews, but no less frequently than the anniversary of you joining the plan or your last annual review. Creditors' may also request reviews which we will deal with at short notice.
- We deal with clients that are self-employed, retired or on benefits.
- We will support you in dealing with arrears on priority debts like your mortgage, rent, council tax or utility arrears.
2. Do I have to borrow more money from EuroDebt to pay off my debts?
We do not lend you any more money (you do not need to do this) and we do not pay off your debts for you. Our financial management plan allows you to pay off your debts at a rate you can comfortably afford.
3. Will I need to inform my creditors that EuroDebt will be acting on my behalf?
No, once you have given us all of your details and ensured that we have all your latest account information and statements we will be able to deal with your creditors directly. We will contact your creditors and verify with them that the information you have given us is correct and from that point they will be aware that EuroDebt will be dealing with your financial matters. We also then request all further communications to be through EuroDebt.
4. Who do I need to contact if I have any questions concerning my finances?
Each of our customers will have their own designated Personal Case Manager; whenever you have any questions you will be able to discuss matters with them personally.
5. How will I know my creditors are being paid?
You will receive a fully itemised statement every month. This statement will clearly itemise the monies received from you and how much each creditor has been paid on your behalf. Furthermore you will normally continue to receive statements from your creditors.
6. Will this affect my credit rating?
If you are experiencing debt problems and you are, or have been, behind with your payments it is probable that most of your creditors will already have recorded information concerning this with the UK consumer credit reference agencies, who are Callcredit, Equifax and Experian. If you opt to ignore your financial problems, hoping that they will sort themselves out, the credit reference agencies will almost certainly be informed by the creditors or via the courts if legal action is taken against you. If you attempt to borrow more money when you are already in financial difficulty your applications for credit will also be recorded on the respective credit reference agency files. Recent attempts to obtain credit, whether successful or not, may be taken into consideration by creditors when deciding whether to accept reduced payment proposals.
Whilst entering in to a DMP may adversely affect your credit rating, it our general experience that those who approach us already have an impaired credit record. Over the term of the DMP it is our objective to ensure that your credit file reflects regular payments to an agreed plan with each of your creditors. Where we are able to settle accounts we aim to ensure that these are shown as satisfied on your credit file. Each credit agreement on your credit file can be marked to indicate that you are on a Debt Management Plan and that a payment arrangement is in place. At the very least your credit file should demonstrate that you have taken a responsible attitude towards tackling your current financial difficulties.
Where you give us permission, we will pay for the cost of obtaining your Experian credit report under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. You send us your file and we will assess the impact of the DMP on your credit rating and provide comments on the content of your file relative to the information provided on your Client Financial Planner.
7. What happens if a creditor contacts me?
Simply forward any correspondence to us. If you get a telephone call, ask the caller to 'phone EuroDebt and speak to your Personal Case Manager. Any calls/letters will usually cease once a regular payment system has been established.
8. What happens if I want to stop working with EuroDebt?
You are free to give written notice to terminate your Debt Management Agreement with EuroDebt at any time during your plan. However, we request that you give us at least two weeks notice so that we can formally inform your creditors that we are no longer acting for you. You may also ask to have copies of your paperwork returned to you.
We will also advise you of the probable consequences of ending your EuroDebt plan before you have repaid your debts or put in place alternative arrangements with your creditors. Creditors are not duty bound to freeze interest and charges, so one immediate consequence of cancelling your plan early may be that collection calls and letters will resume once your creditors are told that you have cancelled your debt management plan.
9. Are there any incentives for me to use EuroDebt?
Yes! If you feel we are working well and you would like to recommend us to anybody else who may need help with their debt, be sure to join in with our thank you scheme. Between three key stages we offer up to £200 in shopping vouchers, a free weekend for 2 in Paris, Brussels or Bruges and a holiday for 4 in the Mediterranean sunshine - Free. For more information about how EuroDebt can give you something back as well as financial freedom click here
10. Can you help with credit card debt?
We can help you with your credit card debt problems, as well as your other debt liabilities, by offering advice about debt to help resolve your current financial difficulties.
- Whilst lenders are not obliged to freeze interest and charges in 89% of current cases we have referred to them they have done so*. Where a lender does not freeze interest and charges the amount you owe and the period over which you repay that credit account may increase, though we will continue to request interest and charges be frozen once several payments have been made to your DMP.
- Whilst entering into a DMP can adversely affect your credit rating it is our experience that those who approach us already have an impaired credit record. By entering into a DMP you will be showing your creditors that you are taking a responsible attitude to resolving your financial problems and this could help you in the future.
- With your permission we will pay for a copy of the Experian Credit Report for each signatory to the Debt Management Agreement and provide an assessment of the impact of the DMP on your individual credit file. We will also match the information on your file to that on your Client Financial Planner to improve the accuracy of our initial statement of affairs that we issue to you.
Need more questions answered?
Contact Us today to speak to an Advisor or call us on our FREEPHONE number: 0800 298 9798
24 Hour Freephone 0800 298 9798
€uroDebt Financial Services is a trading style of Pentagon (UK) Limited, registered in England with registration number 03267970 at the registered office and head office address of 7 Franklin Court, Stannard Way, Priory Business Park, Bedford, MK44 3JZ.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA)
Licensed under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCL No: 421901)
Data Protection Reg. No: Z7134790 VAT No.: 694 3030 35