Our terms of business

Parties to this agreement & Terms of Business

This Debt Management Agreement (DMA) is governed by English Law and is between Debt Free Associates Limited and the Applicant(s).

Term of this agreement

This agreement is for the estimated term of the Debt Management Plan (DMP), as set out in the draft Statement of Affairs, and may be revised when more up-to-date information is provided by you or your creditors. This Debt Management Agreement should be read in conjunction with the enclosed ‘Important Points to Remember’ and the Statement of Affairs information pack provided.

The services

We will deliver the Debt Management Services that you have requested in respect of the debts you have instructed us to act upon from the date of our appointment until termination of this agreement, subject to us having a signed ‘Client Authority to Act’ form. We will make a commission payment to the introducing company for the work carried out by them and the introduction of business to Debt Free Associates Limited.

Costs

You won’t pay anything before the plan starts.

From the first six payments you make, we’ll take our initial management costs. These will never be more than 50% of the payments you make in that time.

From the seventh payment onwards, we’ll take a monthly management cost between £45 and £60, depending on how many debts are included in your plan.

If we arrange a Partial Settlement of a debt for you, we charge 25% of the money we save you (the difference between your actual balance and the reduced balance we negotiate). For a Full & Final Settlement of a debt, we charge 12.5% of the settlement amount.

We’ll give you a Plan Information Form before you start the DMP. This will show the estimated total cost of your plan and how long it’s likely to last.

Annual reviews

You will provide us with any necessary information or documentation required to review your financial affairs on or around the anniversary of starting your Debt Management Plan (DMP) or on or around the anniversary of your last review. We are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that you provide information about all your debts and assets when assessing your income and expenditure within the DMP. We reserve the right to terminate this agreement and close your DMP if you fail to complete the Annual Review when it becomes due.

How we will use your information

We may use your information as set out in our ‘Privacy Policy’ which is available on our website and our Data Protection Statement that is shown below. Your consent will be sought for use of your information for any other purposes, and this will be held on your record.

Cooling off period and waiver

You have a right to cancel this agreement at any time during the first 14 days of the term. The 14-day term commences from the date of signature. You can do this by contacting us online at www.debtsupportservice.co.uk or in writing to:

Debt Free Associates Limited,

8 Exchange Quay,

Manchester

M5 3EJ

or by calling 0161 375 3328, quoting your client ID and stating you wish to cancel. We will then refund to you any payments already made to us that have not been distributed to your creditors.

Termination

You may terminate this agreement at any time by either telephoning us or writing to us. We will give you at least four weeks’ notice in writing with a right of appeal, which should be addressed to our Operations & Compliance Manager. If you fail to make two consecutive monthly payments your DMP will be closed immediately without the four weeks’ notice. Upon termination of this agreement by either party, within 7 business days, we will notify your creditors that we are no longer acting for you. At the end of the notice period, we will refund all cleared funds that have not been disbursed to creditors from the client account minus any fees due to us. Our duties and obligations under this agreement will then come to an end. You have the right to request the return of any copy paperwork relating to your account at this stage.

Refund policy

We will review each refund request on merit. Any balance held on file after termination will be returned to you in the first instance if we hold nominated bank details for you. If we do not have your bank details and we are unable to contact you, we will pay the balance to the highest outstanding debt within 5 days.

Data Protection Statement

Please read this statement carefully as it explains what personal information we obtain about you and how this information is used as defined in Articles 6.1b & 6.1c of the General Data Protection Regulations 2016 and Data Protection Act 2018.

(1) Personal information is gathered directly from you once the first contact is made and also via your creditors as authorised by your ‘Authority to Act’ form. Further information may also be obtained as a result of managing your repayment plan.

(2) We will use your personal information to provide our services to you, and in particularly to:

(a) prepare and issue to you your repayment plan

(b) negotiate with your creditors on your behalf.

(c) keep you informed about your repayment programme and our services.

(3) We may also use your personal information to contact you to provide you with details of other products and services which we think may be of interest to you, including those offered by selected third parties. We may share personal information with selected third parties that may contact you directly to provide you with details of such products and services. You can let us know at any time if you do not want us to use or disclose your personal information or if you wish to amend the way in which we communicate with you.

(4) The only information that will be disclosed is that required by law, court orders or as requested by other government or law enforcement authority; which includes but is not limited to any company or other entity to whom we may either transfer or subcontract any or all of our obligations to you under this agreement.

(5) You can contact us at any time by writing to the Data Protection Manager, Debt Free Associates Limited, 8 Exchange Quay, Manchester M5 3EJ for any information you require and if you would like copies of any or all personal information we hold about you. Should you request this information it will be sent at no cost to you.

(6) Please be aware that we may record and monitor all calls to maintain or improve our services.

Enforceability & variation

If any part of this agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that part shall be deemed severed from our agreement which will otherwise remain in full force and effect. If at any time, we agree to allow you to breach any part of this agreement it does not mean we have agreed to you doing so on a future occasion. We may vary this Debt Management Agreement & Terms of Business from time to time. We will notify you in writing to give you at least 30 days prior notice of any changes.

Disclosure & cardholder consent

If you have opted to make payment via debit card, then you are giving us consent to store the card details for future payments towards your DMP until completion at the frequency you agreed (Weekly/2 Weekly/Monthly). This is referred to as a continuous payment authority, we will take payment on this basis with your consent. We use a system called Total Processing for payments made in this way. You can cancel and amend this payment method at any time by contacting us.

We encourage our customers to make on-going payments via direct debt, to process direct debits we use a system called London & Zurich. Payments made in this way are protected by a direct debt guarantee which will be explained and sent to you.

The transaction amount is shown within this agreement under ‘Costs’. You will be notified in writing if there are any changes to this consent agreement. Our contact details are shown above. This consent should be read in conjunction with our Termination and Refund Policies.

Other conditions

(1) By giving you written notice, we may transfer our rights and obligations under this agreement.

(2) All prior agreements, understandings or arrangements (whether written or oral) will be superseded by this entire agreement, this includes the provision of any services.

(3) We will offer no liability in relation to any other representation; promise or warranty made for this agreement. Entering into a Debt Management plan will cause you to go into arrears.

(4) Late, missed and defaulted payments are reported to credit reference agencies, and will remain on your credit profile for 6 years from the date they’re reported, this may make it more difficult for you to obtain future credit and could possibly affect the cost of credit on items such as mortgages. Potential employers may also request a copy of your credit file.

(5) If any event beyond our reasonable control prevents or hinders us from performing our obligations under this agreement, We shall not be deemed to have breached this agreement.

(6) You agree not to incur any further credit (the repayments of which may jeopardise your ability to make your agreed Debt Management Plan repayments). In the event that your financial circumstances change (for better or worse) you agree to advise us immediately for further advice and assistance.

(7) Your creditors are not obligated to agree to suspend collection activity whilst in the DMP and if they choose to or any debts outside of the DMP continue to go unpaid, your creditor(s) could commence further action to recover the debts owed, which can lead to a pre-action protocol / letter of claim (notice of claim in Scotland), if you were to receive a ‘letter of claim’ this will indicate the creditors intention to take court action against you and you must contact us immediately for advice as you’ll have limited time to respond to the letter.

(8) Your creditors will not accept changes to your personal details, such as a change in address, from a third party including Debt Free Associates Limited, should your personal details change at anytime during your DMP you should inform us straightaway and also inform your creditors of the same. We use the address to which your debts are registered when communicating with your creditors as this forms part of their data protection procedures and helps them to identify you / the account you hold with them.

Definition of terms

“Cleared funds” means any cash deposits, credits or cheques made payable to us which we have received from you.

“Client account” means the account where any monies held on behalf of our clients / customers are kept and which is not used for the purpose of our own business.

“Creditors” means all the businesses or people you have told us you owe money to who are included in your Debt Management Plan.

“Day” means any day which is not a Saturday or Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday in any part of the United Kingdom.

“Debt Management Agreement” means the agreement between us and you made on our Terms of Business.

“Financial statement” means a breakdown of your assets, income and expenditure.

“Client authority to act” means the form provided with this agreement and our terms of business; which we ask you to sign to give us authority to contact your creditors and to act on your behalf.

“Monthly management cost” means the monthly cost payable for our services. This amount will not exceed 50% of your Monthly Payment.

“Monthly payments” means the total amount, which is paid every month by you to us throughout the Repayment Plan. This is made up of the Monthly Repayment to be made to your Creditors and our Monthly Management Cost as agreed with you.

“Monthly repayments” means the share of the Monthly Payment to be paid by us on your behalf to your Creditors.

“Repayment plan / Debt Management Plan / DMP” means the programme of Monthly Payments by which you repay your Creditors through us including our Monthly Management Cost.

“Services” means the services we agree to provide you with under this Agreement and our Terms of Business.

“Statement of affairs” means the information provided by you that is contained in the enclosed documentation.

“Term” means the period running from the start of this agreement until we stop providing you with services.

“Us”, “our” and “we” means Debt Free Associates Limited, whose registered address is Debt Free Associates Limited, C/o Sedulo Group Ltd, Regency Court, 62-66 Deansgate, Manchester, England, M3 2EN. Company registration number: 06812829 or anyone to whom we transfer our rights and obligations to whilst in this agreement.

“You” and “your” means  the  named  applicant(s)  entering  this  Debt Management Agreement & Terms of Business.

Important points to remember

      How we will process your agreement:

• Following our appointment as your Debt Management Plan (DMP) provider, we will inform your creditors within 10 working days of our appointment.
• We will post your statement-of-affairs within 1 business day of completing your financial review with our debt adviser. This will summarise your income and expenditure, the unsecured creditors you have requested that we act upon and the estimated duration and total costs payable based upon your statement-of-affairs at the time of issue. Please check this thoroughly and sign and return it to us immediately, with any alterations clearly marked, as this forms the basis of the estimated repayments that we will then propose to your unsecured creditors.
• Wherever possible, please quote your client ID when corresponding with us or your creditors and their appointed debt recovery agents. Please state that you have authorised Debt Free Associates Limited to act as your appointed debt management company. Your creditors will have a record of our authority on their files.
• We request current balances from your creditors on the accounts that you have requested we act upon from your statement-of-affairs. We also ask that further interest & charges be stopped. The outcome will depend on your current financial relationship with each creditor but it is our experience that the majority of creditors will observe 30-days breathing space from our initial contact with them, allowing us to set-up and negotiate your Debt Management Plan.

Creditors included in your Debt Management Plan:

• We recommend that you stop paying the unsecured creditors that you have requested us to act upon. We will notify your creditors that we are acting on your behalf. We will endeavour to start distributing payments to your creditors within the first 28-days of the commencement date, subject to having cleared funds from you, the credit agreement numbers for the respective debts and a confirmation that the named creditor is still managing the debt.
• Please inform us immediately if either a creditor or their agent attempts to re-negotiate a payment arrangement with you once we are appointed; as this is a breach by them of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer credit sourcebook.
• We will confirm to you, in writing, how much your monthly payment will be and when and how to pay it. In the vast majority of instances, we are successful at freezing interest & charges during the DMP term, but there is no guarantee of reduced payments or freezing of interest & charges being agreed with every creditor. In addition we cannot guarantee that any current legal action or recovery can be suspended or withdrawn.
• Creditors should ensure that your information is removed from their credit-related marketing lists for the duration of the DMP.
• If the creditor chooses to sell a debt that is subject to a DMP, the debt-buyer or debt collection agency are generally obliged to honour the existing plan for as long as it operates in accordance with the negotiated terms. It is essential that you inform us if you are notified of a debt assignment.
• If you pay us on a weekly or fortnightly basis, we will let your creditors know.  We will save your payments up until you have reached your full monthly payment.  We will then distribute the money to your creditors on a pro-rata basis within 5 working days, minus any fees paid to ourselves. Any delay in payments may mean your creditors will apply interest and charges.

Priority creditors:

• Your priority creditors include payments such as your rent, mortgage, council tax, utility bills, water rates, child maintenance and car finance agreements. You must prioritise these payments, before any unsecured borrowings such as credit or store cards, personal loans and debts included in your DMP. Allowances are made for these payments in your monthly budget when we calculate your monthly payment to us. It is important you maintain these payments as failure to repay your priority creditors could result in a loss of goods or services. For example, failure to pay your rent could result in you being evicted from your home.

Assets / savings:

• You must disclose to us the details of any savings, investments or assets you may have or inherit in the future as some creditors reserve the right to off-set an outstanding balance.

Credit profile:

• Your credit file may show a 1 month lapse in payments to your creditors which may show as further arrears on your credit file. This is generally because of the timing between acknowledgement of our payment and the creditor monthly submission to the credit reference agencies. This may be especially the case where the debt is placed with a debt recovery agency, who have to notify the creditor of our appointment and payment.
• Your creditors still have the option to use the county court (in Scotland/Northern Ireland the Sherriff Court/Northern Ireland Court Service) system to pursue their claim against you at any time. There can be costs incurred by the creditor which they are entitled to add to your account, causing the debt value to increase and the repayment period to be extended. Judgment debts and default notices have an adverse effect on your credit rating and this is unlikely to improve until 6 years have expired or until the majority of your credit agreements have been settled and marked as satisfied on the respective credit reference agencies records.
• Creditors should place a default against each credit account included within your DMP in line with the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and they should place a DMP flag on your credit file for the duration of the arrangement to record your participation in a DMP.

Note: Late or missed payments towards your DMP may have an adverse effect on your credit file which may make it more difficult for you to obtain future credit.

Payments and further information about your Debt Management Plan:

• You have consented for us to deduct any payments, arrears or other notified contractual costs which may fall due, from the client account or via your current or previous payment method. If you have selected debit card as your current or previous payment method, then you may not raise any charge backs with your card issuer if we have distributed the monthly repayment to your creditors.
• You may choose to pay a sum greater than the agreed payment, for us to pay priority creditors on your behalf in accordance with any payment arrangements we have agreed with you. We will notify you if a surplus accumulates in the client account. If there is a shortfall then we will notify you who will be paid as a matter of priority. Any monies paid into the client account in respect of your agreement that is deemed to be a mixed remittance (i.e. not client money), will be reconciled within 1 business day.
• Debt Free Associates Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Registration number 659964. Payments into a Debt Management Plan are protected and compensation could be available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if there are any shortfalls in funds held on a customer’s behalf.
• It is your right to communicate with your creditors at any time but we recommend that you keep calls short, polite and always advise the creditor or their agent of our appointment, quoting your client ID. Please forward any postal communication you receive from creditors, their debt collectors or their legal agents to your personal debt adviser. We will hold this on your case record.
• Reviews are completed if there is a change in your circumstances or at least annually, based upon the anniversary of you starting your DMP or the last review date. Your creditors may periodically request reviews. If reviews are delayed or missed the creditors can terminate any payment arrangements that we may have negotiated.
• It is important that you do not ignore communication from your creditors and that you respond promptly to any request for signed documentation or additional information. Any delay in response may affect the outcome of our negotiations with your creditors.

Dealing with debt – 5 things you should know

1. There are sources of free debt advice and services. You can find out more by contacting MoneyHelper at:
   • moneyhelper.org.uk or
   • 0800 138 7777 (8.00am-6:00pm Monday to Friday, Closed on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays).
2. You should have been advised on all of the options for dealing with your debt and also the advantages and disadvantages of each product to enable you to make an informed choice.
3. You know the estimated total cost to you of the DMP and the estimated time it will take for your debts to be repaid under the DMP. Any money you pay to us to cover our costs will not be used to repay your debts. You have the right to a cooling off period as set out in the Debt Management Agreement.
4. We have been through a full and accurate budgeting process with you. This is vital to make sure that the payments you are asked to make are affordable to you and fair to your creditors.
5. If you are not happy with the service you receive, you can complain. You should refer such complaints to us in the first instance to give us a chance to put things right in accordance with our complaint policy. The complaint policy is shown overleaf and on our website. If you are still not happy with the outcome, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). FOS is an independent service who will look into your complaint and can award you compensation if they decide in your favour. Web site: financial-ombudsman.org.uk.