photo by chmeredith
The following is a sponsored guest post on behalf of PayPlan:
In today’s testing economic times, many of us have found that often there are too many days in the month and not enough in the wage packet. However, what happens when money worries become more serious, and you have a huge debt problem? Is there anywhere you can go for help and advice?
The answer is a resounding yes. There are many places which offer both debt advice and debt management services, which are familiar with the different types of credit in the market. Some places offer their services for free and some charge. Two examples of companies offering these services are the Citizens Advice Bureau and PayPlan – both are free services but fundamentally very different.
It would be reasonable to assume that in times of financial difficulty it would be prudent to opt for the cheapest option available and not incur further debts. Many services which offer free advice are of great use and are there to help individuals find a suitable solution.
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is an organisation which has been providing debt advice, amongst other services for many years. However, the disadvantage of organisations such as CAB is that they often are very busy and individuals may have to travel some distance to their local office. The other disadvantage is that they aren’t always able to offer sufficient time needed on each individual case due to the overwhelming demand.
Payplan brings together the best of both the free and chargeable services. The credit industry is keen to work with customers to find a mutually agreeable solution in cases of hardship. Therefore, there are now debt management companies in the market who are able to offer in-depth debt assessment and management plans which are free to the customer, as they are funded by donations from various sources.
There are of course many companies in the market who offer debt management services but charge a set-up fee and ongoing management costs. Whilst in most cases these costs are reasonable and understandable (debt negotiation involves a lot of administrative work), the services on offer are not any different to the services offered by a free provider such as Payplan.
Citizens Advice Bureau, Debt Line and Payplan are leaders in consumer debt advice but of course there are many companies who offer similar services. Anyone considering a course of action should research all of the companies available before deciding on the best option for their individual
circumstances.
It is good to know where to go when one needs help.
I agree wit you when you say that it is very important to research and compare companies before deciding to go with one of them.
Another great article.
It’s also really important to get moving as quickly as possible on your debts. They’re like a serious illness, the longer you let them fester, the harder they are to deal with.
Definitely. I would hate for someone to wait until they are buried to realize their problem. By then it could take drastic steps to fix the problem!