Customer LoginCreditor Contact on your DMP
When your DMP first starts it can be a confusing time. Your creditors may still continue to write to you within the first few months but this is normal. However, it’s important you are able to tell which letters you can dismiss as normal correspondence, and which letters you should send to us.
Letters you don’t need to send
There is no need to send us regular statements or other standard correspondence such as:
Annual Statements
If you receive one of these letters, it’s completely normal. Whether you’re on a DMP or not, lenders are legally obliged to send you these letters every year. You do not need to send us your Annual Statements.
Arrears Letter
An arrears letter is a reminder that your account has fallen behind. Often, the letter will state the amount of arrears outstanding (this is usually the difference between your contractual payments and the payments you are making now. They are issued to let you know that you’re not meeting the contractual (original) payments that you agreed to. This is not in addition to your outstanding balance.
Default notices
As you’ll be paying less than your contractual (original) payments through your debt management plan it’s quite likely you will be issued with Default Notices. A Default Notice is a formal notice that your lender may send you if you miss a number of payments towards your debts. It’s a legal requirement for lenders to issue one of these before they can take any further action. If a Default Notice is issued, it will be registered with the Credit Reference Agencies and will stay on your credit report for six years from the date it’s issued. Once the account is paid in full, the lender will update the Credit Reference Agencies to say your account has been ‘satisfied’. Default Notices and any other adverse information, such as missed payments, will affect your ability to take out future credit. For example, your ability to obtain a current account or mortgage. It is recommended that you do not apply for further credit while on a debt management plan.
Letters you need to send
Letters of assignment
You may have received some of these letters before your DMP starts, and it’s possible to receive them throughout your DMP.
It’s also worth remembering that these letters are for information only. Some collection agencies make these letters look and sound threatening, they are not. Nothing really changes for you or your DMP, it’s just now that your debt is owed to someone else.
These letters notify you when your debt has been bought by a third party – usually a debt collection agency. Your original lenders are allowed to do this, and these kinds of letters are completely normal.
Letters threatening court action
Your creditors are entitled to take legal action at any point during your DMP. If you receive a letter threatening legal action, you should notify us immediately. The quicker we know about this the quicker we can act on your behalf to try and stop your creditor from pursuing this line of action.
Contact from unknown creditors
It might be possible for some customers to receive letters from creditors that they were unaware of. In most cases these will be letters of assignment like we mentioned above – you don’t need to send these. However, you may receive a letter from a creditor you overlooked, forgot about or didn’t know you had when setting up your DMP. You should let us know about any contact you receive from these creditors.
Creditor calls
You should also make us aware of any calls you receive where the creditor is demanding payments or threatening court action. In all instances, advise the creditor that Financial Wellness Group are assisting with your solution, provide our contact number below and your customer reference number.
How to make us aware
- Upload new lenders via the FWG app or your online account
- View lenders and report contact via the FWG app or your online account
- Live Chat
- Text / email / call
