Financial Management Client Questions

Below are some of the most typical questions we receive from our clients. If you have a question not answered here, please call Client Support on *0871 559 2877

If you can't find an answer to your question here, please email  client at harringtonbrooks dot co dot uk or call us.

I'm still getting phone calls from creditors and debt collectors.

In the early stages of a Financial Management Plan, it is normal for the collections department of one or more of your creditors to continue to call you. For a explanation of why this is and what to do, please see - Dealing With Creditor Contact.

A creditor tells me they don't have a contract with Harrington Brooks.

A financial management plan is non-contractual arrangement between you, Harrington Brooks and your creditors. At the beginning of the plan we ask you to sign a letter of authority which we pass on to your Creditors to let them know that we are working on your behalf.

We then send them a letter detailing the offer of repayment that you can realistically afford, taking into account your income and expenditure. If it is in the early stages of your plan then your Creditor may not have received the Letter of Authority that we have sent to them.

I've received a letter about arrears.

You may receive arrears letters from your creditors, particularly at the beginning of the plan. These are in relation to your original contractual arrangements. The arrears on your account is the difference between your old contractual payments and the amount we are paying now built up every month. This amount doesn't get added to your outstanding balance, it is stated for information purposes in case you would like or are able to bring your account back up to date. Please send copies of any correspondence that you receive in to us.

I've received a default notice.

When you are on a financial management plan we cannot guarantee to stop all collection activity from your creditors. For the majority of our clients, this activity stop, but in some case it does not. A default notice is an official notification regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 which states that you have defaulted on the original contractual arrangement with that creditor. As you are now on a debt management plan and we have reset up new lower arrangements these letters are issued for informational purposes. However we are unable to get a default stopped or removed from a client's credit report. Some creditors will not issue default notices once a new arrangement has been made through a financial management plan.

I've received a statutory demand.

We have a team of experienced advisors that can help you with this. It is important that you notify us as soon as possible. Please see Legal Support » Statutory Demands for more information.

I've received a letter from a Solicitor.

Many creditors assign collection companies to gather outstanding debts on their behalf, quite often these can look like solicitors letters. Please send in a copy of the letter so that we can action it.

Many of these letters are sent from collection companies who are dealing on behalf of your original creditor or have taken over the debt. The letters they send may be quite threatening asking for payments to be made in full otherwise court action may commence. Most of these are standard letters as these new departments/ companies do not know you are now on a debt management plan. In this case, we just need to know the details of the company so we can inform them of the situation and this should stop them contacting you. If you do believe that this is an actual Solicitor's letter and something more serious and you wish to talk to one of our advisors, please contact us.

I've been threatened with a CCJ.

If you've received paperwork threatening court action please send this is to us. Please see Client Support » Legal Support for more guidance.

One of my debts has been sold - I'm getting calls from a new debt collector.

If you receive letters or a call from a new company stating they have taken over an existing debt, this is due to the original creditor selling your debt to a new company. This new company will more than likely be unaware you are on debt management. Please inform the new company that your debts are paid through a debt management plan you have set up with Harrington Brooks. We will need to set up new arrangements with the company and send them the Letter of Authority that you have signed to allow us to work on your behalf.

They should have provided you with written confirmation of this transfer; If they have please send a copy of this notification in to us. Alternatively you can email us to inform us of the new company and any new account numbers, and also to let us know which debt has been taken over so that we can change it over on your plan.

My Payday Loan has taken money straight from my bank account.

This is due to the contract you have signed with the payday loan companies. We can not stop them taking out these payments as you have consented to them having your bank details. We would suggest changing bank accounts so they are unable to access your funds. Please refer to Current Bank Accounts With Secure Trust for how we can assist you in this.

I'm receiving letters saying the arrangements have come to an end?

The arrangements we set up with creditors differ; some creditors only set up short term arrangements for 3 months at a time, whereas most set the plans for 6 or 12 months. If you do receive a letter stating an arrangement has come to an end don't worry. Please call and we will be able to get in touch with your creditors and renew the arrangements.

I want to add an extra creditor.

If you want to make any amendments to your plan please phone us.  We need all the relevant information of the new creditor so we can add this to your plan as we need to make sure this is a new debt which isn't currently on the plan and not a collection company who may have taken over an existing debt. We will then review your plan and begin the process of re-negotiating offers with the creditors already on the plan. The team will review this with you to determine if you are able to increase your monthly payments to accommodate for this new debt or not.

I want to pay a creditor directly.

We would not recommend that you make direct payments to any creditors on your Financial Management Plan unless told otherwise. If you start to make payments directly then they may start to contact you for future payments. This also breaks any arrangements we have in place and the creditors may try to amend payments back to the original contractual amounts.

I have received a statement from my creditor but there is no payment showing?

Depending on which date we sent the payment and how quickly the company process the payments, it may have missed the statement due date, which would mean the payment will show on the next statement. This doesn't necessarily mean the payment is a late/missed payment as we have come to arrangements directly with the creditors for payment dates which are around the date which you pay us. If you are worried they haven't received the payment call us and we can check our payment reports and chase this up with your creditors.

I need to miss or make a reduced payment.

It is important to make regular, affordable payments in to the plan to maintain arrangements with your creditors. If these arrangements break they will start to contact you directly for payment and interest and charges may be applied. If your circumstances have changed we will review your plan to ensure that it remains as the best financial solution for your needs. If you are struggling to make payments please contact us as it is most beneficial for yourselves to keep us updated so we can inform your creditors of any problems. For more guidance, please see Client Support » Changes In Your Circumstances.

I haven't paid towards my account for over 3 months?

Your account will be currently closed due to none payment for over 3 months, however we are able to re- activate your account. Please call and we will be able to assist you further.

I want to increase my payments.

Great news! Please call into us. An advisor will review your plan as we will need to amend your Income and Expenditure and re-issue new offers to your creditors. This will also allow your debts to be paid off more quickly.

How do I set up a direct debit or standing order to pay into my plan?

If you want to set up a regular payment method please call client support.

I want to know how long left I have on my Debt Management Plan?

Please call or email and we can get in contact with all of your creditors to gain up to date balances from each. We will then be able to give you estimate of how long you will have left on your plan based on how much you pay per month. Please be aware this can take the team up to a week to gather due to having to request this information, in some cases by letter, from many creditors.

I've come into a lump sum of money and want to use it to pay my debts.

Harrington Brooks have a team of skilled advisors who negotiate favourable final settlements with clients every day of the week. For some clients we have been able to make over a 50% saving on their actual debt level. Please contact us to discuss this option further.

I'm having problems with my online portal.

If you are experiencing problems with your portal please call us. This is usually an easily fixed problem in regards to your login details.  We'll resend you a new username and password.

I've spoken to another company who claim they can reduce my payments.

Your financial management plan with Harrington Brooks is based on how much you can realistically afford. We have spent time with you reviewing your income and expenditure to work out how much money you have available to pay creditors. Other companies may offer to reduce your payments, however we ensure that your plan is set up correctly and is a true reflection of what you can actually afford. If any information our account is incorrect, this may hinder the arrangements being accepted resulting in interest and charges continuing to be being applied. This honest reflection of your disposable income helps us to negotiate to freeze interest and charges on your accounts. The less that you pay into a financial management plan, the longer it will take to pay your debts off.