help ive been scammed by debt management

[mummienatt]

hi I No the title seems unreal but i have been scammed good and proper signed up with an debt management told me they had upfront fees which i couldnt afford all at once so they kindly offered me to pay weekly think its 35 a week so anyway ive paid that for 8 weeks after that they shouldtake 73 pounds to send to my debtors well woke up this morning to find they have took one payment of£73 pounds plus £455 pounds !!!!!! rang them straightaway they said i was told of this i wasnt i asked what the 455 was for they said there fees well ive paid that 35 per week for the last 8 weeks they wont give me the money back until its gone to the compliance team as ive told them i no longer want there services i have to wait 4weeks for a decision wether i can have my moneyback or not .just doesnt seem fair.
That was my sons new schools shoes money in there plus food money i was supposed to go food shopping today as ive got litterally enough for today and thats it .theyve cleaned me out .ive spoke to the bank but because ive had dealings with this company and allowed them in essence to take my money before it cant be classed as theft or fraud so im at the mercy of the DM group .anyone anyideas what i can do i have litterally 4 pound in the bank and dont get my wages until 2nd of november .we have no food and sons desperate for news school shoes :/
Also contacted some of my debtors myself to find they hadnt even been contacted by the dm group at all now i defo think there scamming please any ideas i dont no who to complain to with this one thanks x

Why are you paying for debt management when there are charities who will help you for free?
My church has a local centre for this organisation No fees. No obligations. They also provide support and food parcels. I'm sure there are other similar charities.

I'd go to citizens advice for help in dealing with the scammers. Take any contract or paperwork that you've signed.

No obligations other than to stick to the budget they help you draw up.

Citizens Advice Bureau?

i didnt no there was anyone that did it for free until i read up on the onei was with not sure if i can name but the one im withis based in truro .never read somany bad reviews about a company they cold called us and kind of talked us in to it .ive contacted payplan via email as have read there free and are one of the best.
i will look into that thankyou

yes have been trying to get through no answer yet will keep trying .i signed via email online but i have a copy of the email

thanks for the advice

CAP centre in Truro

The CAP centre manager will have financial services training and may also be able to help you deal with the DM company. I would think if they have a bad reputation locally they will have come across them before.

from what i have read online they have the worst reputation ever
ive just got of the phone with cab who have booked me an appointment for next thursday .so hopefully they can help me sort this out cant belive i was so stupid not to look into them properly before signing things

Which debt management company are you dealing with?

I would call them and quote them the Office of Fair trading debt management guidenace Debt management guidance scroll down to page 50

Tell them that if they do not refund your money you will report them to the OFT/Trading standard, who will investiagte them and this can possibly withdraw their consumer credit licence which they need to trade!!

The OFT has really cracked down on such practices recently, it makes me mad that they do this to people!

hi its the money group /harrington brookes as they have used both these names

i have told them im going to the papers the lady was actually nice and said that i will get the money back but its down to the compliance team

cab are calling them on my behalf also to try and rush them along .
just wish id have read up before i went with them

cab told me to ring the dwp see if they will help with an emergency payment but i work so they wont help

The bank have tried to claw the money back but its long gone
and they wont offer me an overdraft because im on dm and in debt

just glad i had paid my rent already and ctax least there paid ,i get my wages again next week so just going to have to manage until then uhhi dont no how they get away with it there trying to say its a genuine mistake i fail to understand that tbh

If i would were you i would phone the compliance team and quote them the debt management guidance and tell then they are not treating customers fairly and you will report them to the Office of fair trading "OFT" and to DEMSA if they do not refund you today!!

we have a cap centre in my town going to ring them see if they can help in anyway
dwp have just told me i wont be entitled to a food parcell either because i work and there not back open until tuesday now .im sure the dwp are full of bull .they got donea few weeks ago for not giving people food vouchers as they didnt want the town to come out top in the poverty ratings or something it was in the local paper

Good luck i hope someone from CAP can help you

thankyou they seem quite good id never heard of them but they have a centre in my town centre so going to see what they say :) just a nightmare but could be worse at least i get my wages next week

www.locally.co.uk/truro-perranporth-and-st-agnes/foodbanks.aspx
This might help . It says on the Truro foodbank site that the CAB can also recommend you for a voucher . Wishing you luck.

hi rosa im not based in truro its the debt managent company im dealing with thats based there but thankyou .
im going to ask the cab for a voucher for my one so i can go when it re opens on tuesday xx

going to see some one at cap on tuesday they cant fit me in until then
spoke to the dm group again i am getting a refund as it was a mistake on there part but it has to go through the compliance team which can take up to 4 weeks asked them are they willing to send me some food as there now admiting there mistake and its there fault im left with out well ibet you can guess the answer
just canceled my bank card just incase and having my wages paid into my other account from now on i have 2 one for wages going in and one for working tax and household bills to go out of x

Was the payment made by debit card or direct debit? If direct debit, go back to your bank and tell them you want to make a claim under the direct debit guarantee as this was an unauthorised payment, they will have the money back for you in 24 hours.

hi no it wasnt a direct debit the direct debit was set up for £73 so that was DD but the£455 that they took was took by something called a cpo continious payment authority thats why i have to wait for them to send it back .ive cancelled my contract with this company now with what they have done and what i have read ill stay clear of them plus they havent contacted debtors but all in all with the money i paid upfront they have took nearly a thousand pounds for doing nothing .its so unfair .fingers crossed they make good on there promise and i get the money back like they said after the compliance team have dealt with it .
x

If the payment was taken via a CPA they have to abide by the principles laid down by the office of fair trading www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/cpa-principles/#.UmlXk9K-ocE

"If a CPA is to be used, the business should prominently disclose this to potential customers as soon as possible. In particular, the scope of the agreed authority should be clear. The consumer should specifically agree to the amounts to be debited (or the basis on which these will be calculated), the timing/frequency of payment attempts, and the account to be debited. These should be documented appropriately and explained to the consumer."

ive never even heard of a CPA tbh.
Just had a call of them and because this was a mistake the money will be refunded within 7 working days i tried to get them to do a same day transfer but they said they cant
i feel i need to complain to someone or somewhere about this company have already done a written complaint for the company itself but i have never agreed for a CPA to be used surely thats illegal they are saying the system wasnt showing that id already paid the upfront fee thats why the money was debited
There refusing to give me the £73 back because there going to distribute that to my debtors ive cancelled my DMP with them so i very much doubt they will send it to relevant people
just reading the link you sent seems they need my permission before doing a cpa .
just glad i realised before it was to late
ive found a new debt company now so hopefully these are better they have a lot of good reviews x

To operate they have to have a consumer credit licence issued from the office of trading, so report them to the OFT

For general enquiries and guidance on the work of OFT, please phone us on 08457 22 44 99 or email [email protected].

thankyou for that i will call them in the morning x

Google StepChange, charity and it's FREE that's who I used, speak to them very helpful they will advise

thanks will look into them :)

well i have reported them for what they have done also said what i have read on forums about these people so hopefully something will be done .
They rang me today to confirm i wish to cancel my arrangement with them so i have said yes also ive put it in writing so hope that works .
Asked them are they willing supply me with food for the next few days why i wait for the refund to which i got we dont do things like that lol
no they just like stealing peoples money and now were left with nothing so angry today had enough horrible people !! im back at work on monday so maybe ill feel better then until then i feel useless