Terms and Conditions

1. Appointment

You hereby appoint and authorise No Debt Now to act on your behalf as your agent, to negotiate with your creditors, deal with your creditors’ letters and calls and to distribute your payment to your creditors in accordance with the amounts agreed by you.

2. Start Date

This Agreement will start from the date of your signature on the Letter of Authority.

3. Cooling off period

You have the right to cancel this agreement within 7 days of the Start Date. If you tell us in writing that you wish to cancel during that time we will refund any payment you have made to us.

4. Agreement

4.1 You will provide us with full details of all your unsecured debts, income and current anticipated expenditure. Details of any outstanding County Court Judgements, court proceedings or any threatened legal action against you. Copies of any statements and/or correspondence received from your creditors in order for us to confirm the balances and status of your accounts. You must send original documentation where possible to confirm these details. We can only return originals if you request this prior to posting.

4.2 You agree to inform us if your circumstances change, to forward copies of any correspondence received from your creditors and tell us if you make any payments directly to your creditors in order that we can update your statement.

4.3 You can at any time increase the monthly payment and we shall, unless agreed with you previously, distribute the additional funds pro rata between your creditors in the agreed proportions, after deduction of our fees.

4.4 The monthly payment can be reduced if your circumstances worsen and your creditors agree. We cannot however guarantee that any of your creditors will accept lower payments than originally agreed with them.

4.5 You agree not to incur any further credit, including delayed or deferred payment terms whilst this agreement continues.

4.6 Throughout the term of the Debt Management Plan you must not make any payments directly to your creditor unless we have been notified in advance and have agreed that these payments can be made.

4.7 Through your Debt Management Plan we will reduce your payments to an affordable level through a single monthly payment, this may result in the debt being paid over a longer period.

4.8 You agree to pay to us each month the agreed figure for disposable income which we shall distribute to your creditors, as set out in your Debt Management Plan, and in discharge of our fees as referred to below. Your creditors may inform the Credit Reference Agencies that you are making reduced payments. This will remain on your credit file for 6 years and will have an adverse effect on your credit rating in the short term and possibly in the medium to long term.

5. Agreement with Creditors

5.1 We will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf and endeavour to agree repayment terms with them, on the most favourable basis for you that we can. Our services will include attempting to negotiate the cessation or withholding of actual, threatened or pending legal proceedings, suspension or waiver of any interest or penalty payments and extended terms for repayment.

5.2 Once agreement is reached with all of your creditors, we will compile a schedule of payments with them, based upon a figure for disposable income that we have agreed with you.

5.3 We will then prepare and issue your Debt Management Plan based on our discussions with your creditors and the information which was originally provided by you.

5.4 We will provide you with a monthly statement listing your creditors, payments made to them, status of any negotiations we may have had with them and the fees we have charged you.

5.5 It is not normal practice for us to arrange for a representative to attend a court hearing on your behalf, unless it is specifically agreed to do so. For this service there would be an additional fee arranged with you prior to the court hearing.

5.6 Whilst we try to agree a revised payment with your creditors, as stated in section 5.1, unfortunately your creditors can still enforce recovery proceedings, charge interest and other charges if they choose to do so. Although we will do everything possible to negotiate a favourable outcome with your creditors we have no liability for any enforcement action they may take or for any additional incurred by you as a result of any such enforcement action.

5.7 Payments to creditors will usually be distributed within 5 days of clearance. If we only receive part of an agreed payment from you, the payment will not be sent to your creditors until we receive the remainder of your agreed payment. The exceptions are if we have agreed this with you or if we decide to make a part payment for you.

5.8 We shall review your statement with you not less than every six months and advise you whether any revisions to the statement are necessary.

5.9 Occasionally your creditors may request a periodic review which we will do for you on your behalf.

6. No Debt Now will not:

6.1 We will not lend you monies or offer credit facilities.

6.2 We will not be able to assist on secured debts such as secured loans, mortgages, hire purchases, council tax, utility bills and rent, including arrears, plus any other similar debts. You must maintain payments to your priority debts as failure to do so could result in the loss of your home, imprisonment or disconnection of services.

6.3 We will have no liability to you for any loss, damage, costs, expenses or other claims for compensation that arise from information that you or your creditors have given if this is incomplete or wrong.

6.4 We will not have any liability to you if any information you or your creditors provide is late or does not arrive.

6.5 We will not be in breach of these terms of business or be liable for an inability to carry out our part of this programme if this is due to any fault of yours or your creditors, or where we cannot carry out our obligations because of anything beyond our reasonable control.

6.6 We assume no liability for your debts or any costs of litigation by your creditors as we act at all times as your agent and at no time will we lend you any money or pay your debts from our own funds.

7. Fees

7.1 The first two payments to your programme are a non-refundable arrangement fee, covering all of the work involved to put together your Debt Management Plan with you and your creditors. This payment will not be distributed to your creditors and your total debt is initially likely to rise before it falls.

7.2 Thereafter we shall charge a management fee by way of deduction of 17.5% of your monthly payments, subject to a minimum charge of ₤30.00 up to £100 and £35 from £101 to £200. The remainder of your payment being distributed to your creditors on a pro rata basis as outlined in your Debt Repayment Plan. In the month that your financial review is completed as per clause 5.8, the management fee will be increased by £40.00 for our review fee. Your monthly payment amount will not be affected but this will affect the payments that we make to your creditors. We reserve the right to vary the management fee at our own discretion upon 30 days written notice to you.

8. Cancellation

8.1 After the 7 day cooling off period (see 3 above) you may cancel this Agreement by giving us two weeks written notice, which you may serve at any stage, and whether or not you believe we may have been in breach of our obligations under these Conditions. You will not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid to us prior to the end of the notice period. All of your documents will be returned to you, as we will no longer be dealing with your creditors.

8.2 We may cancel this Agreement by giving you two weeks prior written notice. We will only serve notice if (a) you fail to make two successive monthly payments or (b) you are otherwise in serious breach of these Conditions (c) you file a bankruptcy petition (d) you become bankrupt (e) you make other arrangements or composition with your Creditors (f) you make an application to a court of competent jurisdiction for protection from your creditors (g) we have reason to suspect that you may be guilty of fraudulent behaviour or other illegal activity or (h) you are guilty of abusive or threatening behaviour towards any employee or agent of No Debt Now Ltd.

8.3 You give us notice by telephone or in writing that our agreement is terminated. On termination your account will be closed and your creditors advised accordingly.

8.4 Upon the agreement ending any company obligations between you and No Debt Now will cease. You will still be liable for any amounts outstanding that are owed to your creditors over and above payments made to them during the payment scheme.

9. Information and Data Protection

9.1 We agree to take and keep a record of only that information which is adequate, relevant and non-excessive for the purposes of providing our services.

9.2 We shall keep all such information confidential releasing it only to creditors where it is necessary to do so for the provision of the services.

9.3 We shall not keep the information for longer than is necessary in the provision of the services or stipulated by current relevant legislation.

9.4 We shall ensure that appropriate technical and organisational measures are being taken against unauthorised use, unlawful use or accidental loss of information.

9.5 You can ask us at any time, in writing, for a statement/copy of the information we hold about you and to whom we have disclosed it.

9.6 We will from time to time review your file and may offer other financial services which we feel may be of benefit to you, provided either by us or by trusted and ethical service providers.

9.7 If you have chosen to receive information by e-mail please be aware you are solely responsible for the security of your personal computer and every reasonable precaution must be taken to ensure no unwanted access to the information is allowed. If you feel that someone has accessed the information we have sent you or your computer is lost or stolen please contact us immediately.

9.8 Your personal information will be used for:
A Debt Management Plan prepared and issued to you
To carry out negotiations with your creditors for you
Update you on your Debt Management Plan and our services

9.9 The only information that will be disclosed is that required by law, court Orders or as requested by other government or law enforcement authority, this includes any company or other entity to whom we may either transfer or subcontract any or all of our obligations to you under this agreement.

9.10 Please be aware that calls may be monitored or recorded for training purposes.

9.11 This agreement is governed by English law.

9.12 A written copy of our complaints procedure is available upon request.

10. Complaints Procedure

10.1 How to make a complaint. If you are unhappy with the service we have provided to you, you should in the first instance discuss the situation with your Personal Account Manager. If you are dissatisfied with the explanation he or she has provided to you then your complaint will be referred to the company’s Compliance Department. Written complaints should be addressed to the Compliance Department.

10.2 How your complaint will be actioned. We will send you a written aknowledgement within 48 hours of receipt of your written complaint and will attempt to resolve the complaint within 10 working days. If this is not possible we will inform you of any difficulties resolving the problem and the approximate time we will require to resolve it.
A full investigation into the details of your complaint will be conducted. Upon completion of our investigation we will inform you of our response in writing and any measures, if any are required, we intend to take to rectify the situation. Hopefully this will resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

10.3 Regulatory Body. No Debt Now are members of DEMSA (Debt Managers Standards Association), an organisation founded to monitor and maintain high standards in the Debt Management Industry. All members of DEMSA are bound by the terms of the Code of Conduct established by DEMSA.

Any complaint must in the first instance be addressed to us, however, should the matter not be resolved to your satisfaction, provided that the dispute in question is covered by the Code of Conduct, you may refer your complaint to DEMSA.

Should you require a copy of the DEMSA Code of Conduct, please contact the General Secretary, DEMSA, West Point, Westland Square, Leeds, LS11 5SS. Tel: 0113 277 7610 or vist their website.

10.4 Financial Ombudsman Service. Should you still feel that the issue hasn’t been resolved to your satisfaction you have a further six months in which you can submit your complaint the Financial Ombudsman Service. Details will be provided at this point. Tel: 020 7964 1000,  email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk