Trying to arrange your own debt management plan

If you’re certain that debt management is the right solution to tackle your debt problem then there are two routes you can take; get a professional company to set up a debt management plan for you, or try to do it yourself.

There are advantages of the DIY debt management approach such as staying in control over your own finances and being able to deal with your creditors directly, however, there are potential pitfalls too, and here we’ll explore five of these in more detail:

• Time consuming – Depending on the number of creditors you have, it can be a very time consuming process to contact them all to discuss your situation and have to keep repeating yourself over and over again.
• Negotiating – For many people haggling over money is something they’d rather avoid and when it comes to negotiating with your creditors you may find that you’re out of your depth. Having a debt management expert negotiate on your behalf will make a difference when it comes to reducing your monthly repayment amount.
• Frustrating – If you’ve managed to successfully negotiate a reduced repayment with your creditors you may find that you still receive letters demanding full payment of the amount you owe. For example, the company themselves may not have updated their collection agency about your agreement and so you’ll have to make more phone calls to sort out this issue.
• Freezing interest and charges – Your creditors may take differing reviews to your DIY debt management. Many of them will oblige and reduce your monthly repayments for a time but may decide not to freeze any interest or charges which will continue to accumulate throughout the duration of your agreement.
• Creditor schedule – as part of your debt management process, your creditors will want to see a detailed schedule showing how much you’re paying to each creditor and also that the full amount being paid each month totals your disposable income.
  

It’s important that you consider all of the factors above before deciding to try and sort out your own debt management plan as they can all add considerably to the amount of anxiety you’re already feeling at being heavily in debt.

If you want a stress free approach to debt management then seeking professional help to organise the whole process from negotiation to collecting payments will provide it.

To find out more about any of our debt services, call us free today on 0800 043 4747 or find out how you can benefit from a debt management plan.