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

I use payplan - they've been brilliant.

I'm on a dmp and have been for about 4 years, they contact me to check all is ok and for the annual review and they deal with all my creditors no I have no hassle from people wanting money

yes so many people have told me payplan is the best think i will definately be going with them
fighting a losing battle with the other guys they obviously lack common decency .scrapped a pound in copper up so goign getting son some chips tonight and hes having the last of the sausages with them .this is a nightmare not slept all night with worry .
roll on next week wen i get paid because im not relying on them to put the refund in fed up sons got a halloween party at school on wed he was supposed to dress up for now ive no money for the ticket or a costume !!
someones told me to go to the papers about this company think i may do

Hi all well still no refund of them have emailed the papers now I now have a poorly little boy weather is awful and no food or gas arghh could be worse I no but these ppl are infuriating they have no morals !! Sorry just so annoyed I've been left with nothing through incompetence .food banks r open on Tuesday but I feel really uncomfortable going plus still Need a voucher just going worse think the weathers depressing me tbh

I am sorry you havnt got your refund yet
I suggest you contact debtwizard at www.debtwizard.com he has lots of media contacts as well as using payplan so drop him a line i am sure he will help you x

I think there bring very awkward tbh .payplan I've spoken with them today gave account numbers for debtors gone there sending me welcome pack etc so that's done. Will try that then thanks

Just a quick update they have now said there sending me a cheque out for the full amount as they don't refund to bank but last week they said it was being sent anyway I think they've only sending cheque due to me getting everyone in authority I can think of to help me with it .hopefully it will teach them a lesson not to scam anyone else .x

Hi been told the dwp don't do crisis loans anymore and you do have yo be on benefits to get access to the short term advance they've put in place

Step change are a debt charity. They are excellent. Call them for some advic on how to deal with this. Hope you get sorted

Payplan are setting up a new dmp for me and have already contacted my debtors and explained the situation regarding old dmp so at least there of my back .working tax got paid in last week but after gas electric and school photos and dinner money plus got food for son I get my wages next week so il be ok then there was nothing left after that .i have asked about food bank and I can get a referral from cab but I just don't feel I can go I'm so embarrassed for allowing myself to get scammed .i got some good out of working tax for my son so aslong as he is eating I'm happy .payplan have been excellent and can are helping me to complain to all relevant departments about the debt management .

My partner has recently looked into setting up a dmp. They worked out he owes around 1800 between 6 debtors. They wanted to charge him over 3000 to settle all his debts over two years. To me, its just another way you are being scammed. You can help yourself by ringing all debtors, explaining your situation and only paying the minimum amount. A lot of companies take as little as £10 a month, depending on how many debtors you owe money to, it may work out cheaper than paying for a company to be the middle man. And if you find at the end of the month you have some extra money, you can ring a debtor of your choice to pay off a bit more.

Payplan and StepChange (used to be called CCCS) are the 'good guys' in DMPS - they don't charge you anything and all your money goes to your creditors. You should NEVER go to a company that charges you for setting up a DMP.

Have you been through your debt options with CAB at all? It may be that you qualify for a DRO (debt relief order). If it'll take you years and years to repay with a DMP, a DRO would be a better option. But you can't do it if you're a home owner, have debts over £15,000, more than £300 in assets or savings, a car worth more than £1,000, more than £50 disposable income per month.
If reading this you think you may qualify DO please enquire about it.
Good luck

Contact Stepchange, they are brilliant.

Hi all thanks for the replays a DRO it does sound like I'd be elegible for one I'll speak to some about that Thankyou maybe payplan could help with that .
Still waiting for the cheque they so called sent aswell I'm starting to believe they haven't sent it :/

If you're eligible for a DRO, please go for one. Don't waste years making token payments to credit cards.

have you had a cheque yet?

Hey no not yet ringing them up today beginning to get a joke now with them im litter ally skint it's not fair what they have done tried to get a loan but because I've been involved with debt management and have debt no one will touch me not even my own bank !! It's not fair my sons school shoes are leaking in and I can't afford to replace them yet because they stole my Money for the month .went to good bank they gave me enought food for 3 days x