Kensington Finance and their DMP Fees

[sups88]

Hi, I am new to this so please bare with me if this is the wrong place to post.

 

I am looking at a debt problem on behalf of my girlfriend who needed a hand. Upon looking at it I can see that she is using Kensington Finance and one of their debt management plans. Upon review I can see that they are charging a huge fee each month which obviously will slow down the process of paying off the debt.

 

I wondered what options were available to me/her. I would ideally like to pay as little (if anything). I have noticed some places like Payplan or CCCS don't charge but really am an amateur here.

 

Can someone give me some advice with regards to the fees?

 

Thanks a lot!

[renegadeimp]

Best option? Ditch them and go with one of the free Charities such as Stepchange.

 

I think you need to be in debt over a certain amount, but they are there every step of the way.

 

You can always do it yourself too.

 

Why not give them a ring and ask for some info? It's completely free, and if you want to do the DMP yourself, they can give you a hand with that as well.

[Wintry]

Hi, I am new to this so please bare with me if this is the wrong place to post.

 

I am looking at a debt problem on behalf of my girlfriend who needed a hand. Upon looking at it I can see that she is using Kensington Finance and one of their debt management plans. Upon review I can see that they are charging a huge fee each month which obviously will slow down the process of paying off the debt.

 

I wondered what options were available to me/her. I would ideally like to pay as little (if anything). I have noticed some places like Payplan or CCCS don't charge but really am an amateur here.

 

Can someone give me some advice with regards to the fees?

 

Thanks a lot!

 

Hi

 

Debt Management Companies have their fee structures that should be outlined and available to see.

 

Payplan & Stepchange administer Debt Management Plans for FREE, they get their money from the creditors out of your payments so to speak but all you pay goes off the debt totals which has obvious advantages I would say

 

http://www.payplan.com/debt-management-plans.php

 

http://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou/DMPDebtmanagementplan.aspx?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=200030&WT.seg_1=stepchange%20debt%20management%20plan&gclid=CK267JON07kCFWQ72wodSlwAgg

 

There is the option of self administering for those that feel they can and perhaps 'arguably' want more control and flexibility (see online CAB Debt Management Plan system below)

 

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/dmptour.asp

 

There are other self help systems & templates including mymoney steps

 

https://www.mymoneysteps.org/public/in/free-debt-management-advice/

 

Best to get full advice before changing (if that is what is decided) I would say to avoid / prepare for any confusion or potential issues

 

How much is she currently paying in fees?

 

My view:)

Edited September 17, 2013 by Wintry

[sups88]

Thank you so much for the above as I am very new to this and trying to read up as much as possible.

 

Maybe I am being naive in thinking it is a lot that she is paying but in proportion to the monthly payments it seems high.

 

She pays 150 a month of which 100 is to the creditors and 50 is made up of their management fee + review fee + to cover their bank charges ..

 

.. 50 out of 150 seems like a lot to me. As I say,

 

maybe I am just inexperienced in this field ...

[dx100uk]

DUMP THEM NOW!!

 

waste of money

 

did they do ANY checks on the legality of her debts?

 

do they all show on her CRA file? [see below links]

 

dx

[sups88]

What will this CRA check show? Which is best to use?

[sups88]

OK so after a lot of though I have decided that the first thing I will do is to start to administer the plan myself. I need to move away from these ridiculous fees being charged. I guess this leads me onto a few questions before I go an get started.

 

1. I assume I should get in touch with each creditor before leaving the DMP to esnure that if I deal with them directly the payments that are curretly agreed will not change. Is this right?

2. I assume I should obtain from them once we have the agreement their bank details as I will now be dealing with them directly

3. Is there anything else I should do before actually leaving the current DMP?

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

theres a list of CRafile providers below

noddle is free

the rest are 30day trial , make sure you cance l before the 30day.

 

you are now entering the info gathering stage

one source of which is her CRa file.

 

if you want:

list the debts she has and whom she is/was paying through the plan & what the debt orginally was.

 

if you wish

you can also look at challenging them to if the have the correct paperwork [signed consumer credit agreement]

to demand money from her.

 

if the debts are now with DCA's, that could be an eye opener.

 

in MY opinion,

i'd just cancel the plan

and await the creditors to chase her

and deal with them one by one

making a new thread for each.

 

I would not be telling them anything

but lets see the list.

 

it wont hurt if the debt are LEGIT , for a few payments to be missed.

 

just remember a DCA is NOT A BAILIFF

 

and has no such legal powers.

 

dx

[sups88]

OK so there are a few creditors, some look like the original and others looks like Debt Collectors. One confusing thing is that the statement received from the DMP show they are paying someone on behalf of the original lender but noddle still lists the original lender on some. I have read a lot about CCA and not sure how that works but anyway, for a start here is the list as it appears on the statement from the DMC and then from Noddle:

 

DMP List:

Llloyds TSB - 1,194.72

Blair Oliver and Scott (Halifax) - 3,409.94

Triton (Mint Card) - 2,262.54

CL Finance (Santander) - 133.55

Iden Servicing (M&S Money) - 702.62

 

Noddle List:

RBS Cards (Mint) - 1,414.00

Idem Capital Securities - 252

CL Finance - 134

Halifax - 3,473

Bank of Scotland - 1,228

Lowell - 179

 

Please let me know what you think?

[sequenci]

Are some of these debts duplicated?

Does your girlfriend have any assets?

How much was she paying to the DMP firm?!

[sups88]

Well as I say, the DMP is paying the below people:

 

Lloyds TSBBlair Oliver & Scott (Halifax)Triton (Mint Card)CL Finance (Santander)Idem Servicing (M&S Money)

 

On the Noddle report there are some names mentioned, but the amounts owed are similar and tie into the original names provided on the DMP. I think any difference in amount comes down to the balance reporting date so I belive there are no duplicates.

 

With regards to assets, no there are not any assets available.

 

The creditors are being paid 114.74 a month and the fee to the DMP is 43.45

 

Do you need anything else?

[sequenci]

Thanks for that. The reason I asked is that your girlfriend may be able to consider a Debt Relief Order should a revised financial statement show that the surplus she has available to her creditors is less than £50 per month:

 

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=37_debt_relief_orders

 

*some* commercial DMP firms are notorious at not allowing people sufficient money to live on so as to maximise the money they can try and make themselves.

 

Do have a go at completing one of the online money advice tools that Wintry has kindly posted up.

[sups88]

Thanks very much. She will have more than the £50 available though so I don't think this is an option.

 

From what I have read here and on other threads maybe my first option should be to cca all of the companies listed on the noddle report even whilst I am finalising the leaving of the dmp. Does anyone think this would be a bad idea? Will this work against me in anyway as I am still in the dmp at present and am doing this outside of it by myself?

 

Waht exactly is need to cca the accounts if you think this is a good idea?

[sequenci]

Sending a CCA request could be a useful move for sure, especially now some of the debts have passed to collection agencies (although a couple of them are in-house).

 

Do you know when the agreements were taken out originally?

[sups88]

I know that she joined Kensington Finance in December 2008 but that is all I know, plus she is on holiday whilst I try and sort this out.

 

You say that some are in house and that is what is confusing me and don't know how to shed the light on it. For example, on the Noddle report the Lender is stated as Halifax, but on the statement I receive from the dmp it states that Blair Oliver & Scott are being paid for the Halifax and they must be the same thing as the balance is very similar on both statements. Seems strange to me ...

[sups88]

Think I may have found on another Forum that Balir Oliver and Scott are part of the Balifax and Bank Of Scotland group... I guess that explains the above!?

[dx100uk]

halifix is HBOS

 

and blair oliver scot spells?

 

now you are seeing the dubious trails these debts take!

 

cl finance

idem

and lowlife

lowells

 

are certainly the one to CCA for now

 

someof these look like credit card debts?

 

ifso bet shes a few PENALTY charges to reclaim [£12 fees letter/over/late/phone call]

 

and wht about any PPI too?

 

look like you're doing a great job already

 

dx

[sups88]

This is so helpful, really do appreciate and and apologies for so many quesitons. I will start to work on the CCA's to the above 3 right away.

 

Which is the best thread to get me started with CCA's?

 

Thanks again guys, so grateful!

[dx100uk]

adapt the following text to YOUR details.

DO NOT SIGN THE LETTER!

get a £1 BLANK Postal order

write on the back

for statutory £1 CCA FEE ONLY.

leave the payee BLANK

post the two off by 1st class post, get proof of posting from PO counter

they have 12+2 WORKING days to comply.

 

firm demanding money

 

street,

 

town,

 

county

 

postcode

 

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

 

 

Re:- Account/Reference Number 12345678

 

I do not acknowledge any debt with your Company or Associates

 

This letter is a formal request pursuant to s.[77/78/79]

[***DELETE AS NECESSARY FOR YOUR TYPE OF ACCOUNT***

77/78 - everything bar HP agreemwnts, 79 for HP]

 

of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

I require you to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreement relating to the above account, together with any other documentation the Act requires you to provide, including a detailed statement of the account.

 

 

 

I expect you to comply fully and properly with this request, within the statutory time limit. You are reminded that should you fail to comply with my request, the provisions of s.77 will apply.

 

 

 

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA 1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties.

 

 

 

Your attention is drawn to ss.5(2), 3(b),6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).

 

 

 

I enclose a postal order in the sum of £1.00, which is the statutory fee. Note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose.

 

 

 

If you are unable to comply fully and properly with this request, you should confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity, and certainly within the statutory time limit for compliance, and return the fee.

 

 

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

 

 

Yours faithfully

 

Mr A N Other [PC print yourname - do NOT sign it!]

[sups88]

I have just spoken to Kensignton Finance (who the debt it handled by for my girlfriend) and they have no original credit agreements on file for any of the 5 creditors. Is this normal?

 

I want to take this DMP off of them but want to be in a position too with all documentation before I do so. Should I just CRA all of them, that will get me all agreements and statements I beleive.

 

Lastly, with the letter above, will it cause issues if I put my address on the letter so that I receive the reply (will sign it off as girlfriend) or will they only reply to what they have on file?

[dx100uk]

oh god not Kenny's........

 

just type their name in the gray toolbar search up top and read.......

 

sadly as you are finding

I've never know any dMC to ever do any checks

be them free, fee paying or charity.

 

ok it can be said that's not what they are there for

but

you'd atleast think DMC's would actually like scratch the surface abit

and not blindly accept what crap is written on various threat-o-grams

from various dubious debt buyer & DCA's.

 

sadly though, as we've seen here before

 

many fee paying DMC are run by ex employees of debt buyer or even

through a tangled web owned by debt buyers.

 

as for the CCA requests

as long as they are not bank accounts or mobile debts

then the CCA applies.

 

not sure on the address usage

that might cause issues.

 

dx