In Arrears With Very.co.uk?

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In Arrears With Very.co.uk?

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012 at 5:49 am

We always look at individual companies and the way they handle customers who are in debt and one of those companies that have been brought to our attention is Very.co.uk.

Many people who are experiencing financial difficulties that have contacted Very.co.uk seem to be having a hard time making any type of arrangement to pay their debt.

We have had reports from customers who have had a well paid account for years only to fall into financial difficulties, receiving very little support or empathy

On top of this, it seems like Very.co.uk are trying to charge their customer who are already in debt, £12.00 every time a phone call is made to them!

If any representatives of the company are reading this; £12 per phone-call…Are you serious Very.co.uk?!

Not only is it against the lending code, which states that they shouldn’t increase the alleged debt through interest or charges once notified of financial difficulties, but it is just down right atrocious that a company would levy a £12 charge to a good customer who is going through financial difficulties for the privilege of a phonecall.

It seems that Very are “very” unwilling to communicate via post with many of our readers saying that their payment offers went unacknowledged. We also had one customer who tried to organise a reduced payment plans only to be informed that it had to be arranged through the Citizens Advice Bureau or a similar organisation. They also advised that they would keep adding interest and all other charges until the account is brought up to date.

If you are confronted by a company that refuses to negotiate a reduced payment plan with you directly, you should point out the Lending Code and the OFT guidelines to them. Under the Code, a common financial statement in writing should suffice if a person wants to negotiate a reduced payment plan. Many creditors actually accept such things over the phone which is really what VERY should have done.

The only way to deal with this company at the minute seems to be making everything official. If you are sending a letter to them, ensure that it is recorded. One of our readers’ finally got some success when they sent SAR request to get their unfair charges back. They then got a letter back confirming they would be freezing interest for 12 months and accepting a reduced payment plan.

So there you have it, Very.co.uk seems great when it comes to offering deals and promoting their services. They are not so great, however, when genuine, long term customers get into financial problems and try to negotiate a payment plan with them.

Cleardebt Manage DCM’s Client List

Thursday, April 28th, 2011 at 6:35 am

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Have you heard of DCM? Well DCM is a debt management company in the UK that went into administration itself! Ironic…

It gets worse as well! DCM’s client lists were actually taken over by ClearDebt and they have reported that there appears to be money missing that was paid by the customers but did not find its way to the creditors.

DCM has a total of 1,036 clients which were paying DCM nearly a quarter of a million per month in repayments.

ClearDebts statistics show that some of those unfortunate people who took out a debt management plan with DCM actually has their debts increase. Some 18 percent of people saw their debts increase under DCM’s management and 39 percent of people saw no improvement in their overall debts despite paying into their debt management plan.

DCM, also traded under the name Apex, and the figures that have been released show that some customers had paid thousands to the company which was not paid towards their debts by the time the company went under.

ClearDebt is unsure how many people this could affect but it is anticipated that there could be tens of thousands of pounds missing.

ClearDebt director of marketing, Andrew smith went on record as saying: “… it’s very difficult to make more than very general conclusions – the administrators have a duty to report on the conduct of directors in any insolvency case: We think they will find plenty to say in the case of DCM Money.”

DCM was founded by John Baird and Sentley Robert Wilson. Both Baird and Wilson had actually been made bankrupt previously.

If you are currently in any type of Debt Management scheme with DCM you should have already have been contacted by Cleardebt. Clear debt will assess each customer’s circumstances and maintain their plans. Customers should be aware that they can switch Debt Management companies so that another company can negotiate their debt situation

Given DCM’s plight it’s more important than ever that you seek advice from a reputable company if you are considering any type of Debt Management Plan, IVA or Bankruptcy.