I want to thank you and your team for offering to help me when I was at a crisis point back some 9+ years ago. The way GWF managed this was excellent and that took away a lot of my painful stress, thank you. I cannot put in words the relief I have for paying the creditors back in full "my hair may start to grow back!" and I look forward to the future.
Debt Management is an informal agreement between you and the unsecured creditors you owe money to. A Debt Management Programme looks to reduce the amount you pay on a weekly / monthly basis, towards your debt, to enable you to pay your priority debts and living expenses comfortably. Usually, only one payment is made, per week or month, which is then distributed between all the different creditors based on how much is owed to whom. If you are using a company, like GW, to act on your behalf, this is all done for you.
GW continually review your circumstances to ensure you get the best advice on how to get out of debt at the earliest opportunity – this could be by re-structuring your Debt Management Programme or recommending alternative solutions you may be suitable for – both in house and by other organisations / providers.
* A Debt Management Programme does not cover priority bills or some types of debt. See ‘What can be included in a Debt Management’ for information on what you can include
** We cannot guarantee your creditors will agree to this
*** providing your creditors freeze interest and charges, they remain frozen throughout the programme, your payments are maintained. If your payment amounts change the timescale will be subject to change also.
Debts which can be included within a Debt Management Programme include:
It remains your responsibility to make payments to priority commitments outside of your Debt Management Programme, for example; your mortgage / rent, secured loans, vehicle Hire Purchase, council tax (where arrears have not been added to your Debt Management Programme), HMRC debt and taxes, child support and fines. Failure to pay these could lead to repossession, loss of access or use of essential goods or services or even imprisonment.
If you are in arrears, or are concerned about your ability to pay commitments like these, GW may be able to offer advice and make suggestions to ensure you get back on your feet with priority expenses, if we can’t help you, we will point you in the right direction.
Can’t I get a Debt Management Programme for free?
Yes you can. There are companies who are similar to us who do not charge a fee. We have provided details and contact information of free debt advice sources on our ‘Home page‘ and also on our ‘Useful Information’ page The reason they are able to act for free is because they receive funding from some creditors and other sources.
Are my creditors obliged to accept this?
Whilst your creditors are not obliged to accept lower payment offers, they cannot refuse a payment, so your creditors will always accept payments made through us. Part of our service is to build a detailed financial statement outlining your income and expenditure, current circumstances and proposed affordability, this gives creditors the bigger picture about your circumstances and certainly makes it easier for them to see why you are in need of reduced payments.
So will you ever keep my payments?
As mentioned above, your creditors will always accept the payments we send, so we will never keep hold of the payment we are distributing. We distribute payments within 48 hours of receiving, unless your payment is made over a Bank Holiday, in which case distribution is within 72 hours. We do charge a fee though, which is deducted from your payment to us prior to distribution.
What happens if my creditors send me letters?
We deal with any letter correspondence from your creditors, as part of our on-going service. We will send you pre-paid envelopes for you to forward on to us. If you are worried by any of correspondence then call and we will explain what it means. Lots of letter correspondence is automated but should not be ignored, we are happy to liaise with your creditors for you. Letter and telephone correspondence should become less frequent as arrangements are accepted and regular payments made.
What happens if my income or circumstances change?
We hope your circumstances change for the better and you are able to increase your payments and clear your debt quicker, but if they don’t, all you need to do is let us know and your Personal Account Manager will complete a full review of your account. As part of our on-going service we complete a review annually, as a minimum, offer advice on where you can save money or reduce your outgoings and in some cases offer a different financial solution that is better suited to your new set of circumstances. If you receive a cash windfall we can also negotiate a settlement with your creditors.
To give you an idea of how Debt Management might work for you, the fees and timescales, see our below example. We would be happy to provide you with something more specific and tailored to your personal circumstances. Just complete our online enquiry form and we will call you back, or call us on either 08081 292 010 or 0161 476 9500.
Before Debt Management:
Debt Level: £12,087.03
Number of Creditors: 7
Disposable Income: £206 per month
Month 1 – 4:
DMP payment would be £206 from which 50% (£103.00) would be distributed between creditors and 50% (£103.0.00) would be retained towards set-up fees. A total of £412.00 would be distributed and £412.00 used to complete the set-up fees.
Month 5 onwards:
DMP payment would be £206 from which £39.95 would be deducted to cover the on-going monthly management of the DMP. This would mean £166.05 would be distributed between the 7 creditors.
Total Repayable: £15335.48
Total Fee’s: £3248.45
*Assuming the interest and charges are frozen on the first request, the balances remained the same as the initial estimation and the payment were made on time, each month.
*On the assumption that the interest and charges are frozen
This example is formulated using GW initial business ‘average client’ data from 2024.
