Frequently Asked
Questions
Is this a loan?
No. We always look at offering you best advice and if we could have provided you
with a loan, if that was your preferred option, we would have done so. Promise Debt
Solutions will consolidate your repayments into one affordable amount which you
pay to us each month, week or fortnight. We then distribute funds to your unsecured
creditors in a nationally recognised manner and deal with the ongoing administration
of your Payment Plan until either your debts are repaid or your situation changes.
How can you help if I just want a loan?
Many consumers are looking for finance, or at least, many consumers think that is
what they are looking for. Most of us want to have one place to send payments to
for the money that they owe, and one Company to deal with. Promise Debt Solutions
can do this without the need to apply for a loan.
What debts can you deal with?
Any unsecured finance, e.g. credit cards, store cards, catalogues, personal loans,
overdrafts, in addition to contracted services / goods that you no longer want or
use e.g. car / computer / furniture or any other form of hire purchase, mobile phone
debt, satellite and telephony. Speak to us, and we will be able to tell you if we
can help.
I owe a lot, how much debt can you deal with?
There is no upper limit, we simply look at your finances and if you cannot meet
the payments you originally agreed with you creditors, we can help.
Will a Payment Plan affect my credit worthiness?
We don't know. At the moment we do not know the position of your Credit file. What
we can say is that, by setting up a Payment Plan we will make sure that all of your
creditors are paid each month (subject to funds being received and cleared) and
the amount will be calculated based on nationally accepted guidelines.
In many cases customers have approached or been referred to Promise Debt Solutions
because of difficulties obtaining finance. One reason for this might be due to their
Credit file. If this is the case, paying creditors regularly (even though it is
a reduced amount) might improve the conduct of a Credit File.
How will I know that creditors are being paid?
Every month we will send you a statement confirming that a payment has been sent
to your creditors.
Will my payment remain the same until my debts are repaid?
No, circumstances change. Once a year we will review your financial situation. If
there is a need to amend the Payment under your Plan this will be done at this time
and your creditors will be notified. Should your circumstances change in the meantime,
let us know. We can revise the offer we make to your creditors almost immediately.
How long will my Payment Plan last?
There is no set period, as a number of issues will affect the term
- The amount you owe
- What you can afford to repay - this can also change over time
- Whether creditors suspend interest charges immediately
Whereas with the charging of interest, we will be pressing for this to be done immediately
and follow this request up, the amount owed and your own ability depend very much
on personal circumstances.
How much will the Payment Plan cost me?
We want you to be a customer of Promise for a long time, no matter what service we provide you with at the moment. Our fees are competitive and fall in line with many of our competitors. We will retain an initial fee based on the first two months payment of your disposable income and can be paid over the first two months. This fee is payment for the work we would have already done for you and preparing your documents for negotiation with your creditors.
Thereafter from month 3 onwards an administration fee of 11% of the amount that you pay us, (subject to a minimum of £40.00 and a maximum of £90.00), is charged each time we release funds to your creditors.
Why shouldn't I use a free service?
There are a number of 'free' services available, but it is worth taking into consideration
that you don't get something for nothing anywhere.
Outlined below are a few types of 'free' providers;
Voluntary Advisory Services Although a voluntary service can be perceived
as 'free', bodies like this can only offer advice. Once they have suggested a course
of action, it is up to you to maintain payments as they have proposed. Neither will
they deal with creditors on your behalf - Some creditors can be more persistent
than others in attempting to collect monies that are owed to them and should you
require immediate assistance, it is unlikely that there will a dedicated person
available to take your call, on demand.
Most volunteers are able to offer spare time to help out when they can. This can
be difficult in maintaining a working relationship with the volunteer should it
be necessary.
Voluntary Advisory Services also have a limited capacity to deal with correspondence
(if at all). There could be several weeks between you making a written enquiry and
receiving a reply. In addition, as the volunteers may be offering their help with
the best of intentions, they have to be able to respond to various queries not just
financial. Many services may be operated by staff without financial experience or
qualifications.
Backing via other means
Other companies are able to offer a free service because they are supported
by a parent company. This is because there is a perception surrounding a free service
which draws some customers to it. However, in many cases, this free service simply
acts as a filter to generate leads rather than having to advertise.
Other Companies are offering me incentives to sign with them. Why should I sign
with you?
Whatever the incentive, the money for the gift / incentive has to come from somewhere.
Would you prefer to buy a car for £10,000 or for £12,000 with £2
000.00 cash back? With increased administration fees charged by other Companies,
it also becomes less likely that lenders would accept a high fee for a service,
especially if those fees were seen to be offered as incentives to customers for
signing up with them.
I have spoken to another Company and they are offering a lower monthly payment.
Why shouldn't I sign with them?
Your Disposable Income is arrived at by reviewing your financial situation and arriving
at realistic amounts for your income and outgoings. If another Company has been
given the same information, they should arrive at a similar Disposable Income. When
your Financial Statement is reviewed by your Creditors they will assess the validity
of the proposal and if they consider that they achieve a greater amount by referring
your file to Court, they will do.
Promise do not want to undercut a competitor's Disposable Income simply for you
to become a short term customer of ours. Should a Creditor receive a sub-standard
proposal from us, our reputation with you and the Creditors would be damaged. We
want to begin building a relationship that will continue after this Payment Plan
has ended.
Will my plan be accepted by my Creditors?
The only companies who can guarantee that an offer is accepted, are your creditors
themselves. What Promise do is to present them with a reasonable proposal, justifying
your outgoings where necessary, to ensure that there is no reason to reject the
proposed offer. Our proposals are fair and reasonable, which is why Promise obtain
such a high acceptance rate. This is also why many customers move from other companies
to Promise.
What if an offer is rejected?
We enter into a dialogue with your Creditors whenever an offer is rejected, in many
cases this can be because of a factor outside the Plan it's self, e.g. negotiations
had broken down prior to our involvement or creditors want to receive more than
they are entitled to. A Creditor may require a minimum amount, for example £10
each month. Creditors are aware that our offer is fair and reasonable.
What is a Full and Final settlement?
Should you receive some funds e.g. from a remortgage or inheritance which would
allow you to repay some of your unsecured Creditors, but not all. Promise can try
to negotiate with your Creditors to clear more debt, than the money you have available.
Do I inform my Creditors that Promise is getting involved?
No. That is what we are here for. As soon as your first payment has been received,
we will write to your Creditors explaining of our involvement.
What happens if I am contacted by one of my creditors?
We, will have a signed Letter of Authority giving us the ability to discuss the
account on your behalf. Should a Creditor contact you, simply explain that, Promise
Debt Solutions is now dealing with repayments and you no longer have the most up-to-date
information , then ask them to contact Promise Debt Solutions.
Some creditors may say that you are their customer, not Promise Debt Solutions -
we would agree, you have placed the matter in our hands and under the Data Protection
Act your creditors are legally required to deal with us.
Will I be able to obtain finance in the future?
Yes. Once your circumstances have improved, let us know. We will conduct a review
of your situation. It may be that Promise can help - please remember that it is
always advisable to ensure that your finances have stabilised before considering
additional or replacement finance.
I am with another Debt Management Company at the moment, can I move over to
Promise Debt Solutions?
Yes. We will go through a Financial Statement to insure that we can help and post
paperwork out to you the same day. If you send them back to us subject to our normal
Terms of Business, we could have a Payment Plan in place by the end of that week.
If I have any further questions, what can I do?
Either telephone us or click on the 'ask us' icon, submit
your question and we will reply to your enquiry as quickly as possible. We want
you to be comfortable with our Service and ready to proceed as quickly as possible.
The sooner we can answer your questions, the quicker we will able to put your Payment
Plan in place.
Example of a Fee Estimate and Comparison
To help you understand the benefits of the Payment Plan as compared to a loan, the following information is offered assuming that:
- Your ability to repay does not change during the course of the Payment Plan
- No payments are missed during the course of the Payment Plan
- Our fee structure does not change during the course of the Payment Plan
- Your Payment Plan runs its course at this level of repayment
We have assumed that a loan would be on the following terms:
| The amount of debt / borrowed |
£20 000.00 |
| The Term would be |
120 months |
| The variable APR |
14.9%* |
| Repayment amount based on 120 months |
£253.43 |
*This rate is the mid-point available from the sample used. Please feel free to make a similar assessment should you prefer.
Promise Payment Plan Estimate of costs
| Amount owed |
£20,000.00 |
| Initial Payment paid to Promise Debt Solutions |
£253.43 |
| Month 2 fee paid to Promise |
£253.432 |
| Ongoing monthly fee paid to Promise Debt Solutions |
£40.00 |
| Net amount to be paid to Creditors each month |
£213.43 |
| Number of months to clear @ £213.43 |
91.90 |
| |
|
| Breakdown of Fees: |
|
| Initial fee |
£253.43 |
| Month 2 fee paid to Promise |
£253.43 |
| £40.00 x 90 (this is the term of the Plan) |
£3600.00 |
| Total repayable |
£24,106.86 |
NB – In this example,
term is reduced by approximately 30 months
Typical loan repayment
| Amount borrowed |
£20,000.00 |
| Repayment amount |
£253.43 |
| Term |
120 months |
| Total repayable |
£30,411.60 |
On this basis, with the above assumptions,
the money you would save in repayments is
£6304.74
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