Implementing the DMP yourself

If you decide a debt management plan is right for you and want to implement it yourself, there will be no cost other than your time. Beat My Debt will shortly be launching online software which will be available to registered users for free which will able you to manage you own debt management plan.

Using a Charity

Organizations such as the CAB and CCCS will offer to set up a Debt Management Plan for free. Sometimes this can be adequate, however, the waiting lists can be long.  In addition there is little evidence that the CAB or CCCS will have any more success than a commercial debt management company in negotiating the freezing of interest or charges.


Using a debt management company

Many people decide to pay a professional organization to handle their Debt Management for them. The service will be swift and efficient and the results can often reflect this although again the freezing of creditor interest can never be guaranteed.

Beat My Debt can organise a Debt Management service on your behalf for which you will be charged reasonable fees. Beat My Debt will not manage your Debt Management Plan for you internally. This will be done by one of our external debt management partners (see below). You will need to pay both an Instruction Fee and an ongoing monthly Management Fee for this service.

Instruction Fee

If you carry out a debt management plan with one of Beat My Debt's partners, you will charged an initial Instruction fee.  This will be 100% of the first payment you make into your debt management plan if your monthly payments are more than £250.  The charge will be 100% of the first and second payments you make into your plan if your monthly payments are less than £250.

The Instruction Fee covers services including compiling financial and background statements, providing repayment proposals to creditors, responding to creditor contact by telephone and in writing, and attempting to negotiate arrangements with your creditors on your behalf.

Ongoing Management Fee

You will then be charged an ongoing monthly management fee which is typically 17.625% of your monthly payment (subject to a minimum of £25 per month and a maximum of £100 per month). This fee is deducted from your monthly debt management plan payment.

The monthly management fee covers the cost of the ongoing communication with creditors, communication with you (the client), and the distribution of creditor payments.

Creditor Arrears / Effect on credit rating

You should understand that when you start a debt management plan, you will stop making your normal monthly payments to your creditors. This means that your accounts will go into arrears or further into arrears. This will have a negative effect on your credit rating.

External Partners

Beat My Debt works with an external debt management plan partner Bright Oak Ltd.

Once Beat My Debt has completed a fact find on your behalf, your details will be forwarded to Bright Oak so that they can begin the task of proposing your debt management plan.

Part of the instruction fee charged by Bright Oak will be paid to Beat My debt to cover the work we have done completing your fact find.

For a copy of the Brightoak terms and conditions of trading, please see the "Related Documents" box above. 

Cooling off period

You have a period of 14 days from the date on which Bright Oak receives your Initial Fee in cleared funds, within which to terminate your agreement. You must give notice to Brightoak in writing and in those circumstances the Initial Fee already paid to Brightoak will be refunded to you in full.

More Information: Expert articles

To read articles about debt management plans written by our experts please click on the expert articles and news link in the "Useful Links" box below.