Help I'm drowning

[ianmillington]

I have got a message to one of the IPs at Freeman Jones. If you are who I think you are he's not your Supervisor but would like the opportunity to look into your case.

If you can ring me at the freephone number from my firms web-page I can put you in touch with him.

Ian

[Adam Davies]

Hi
After having a Think Bank account for four years I have changed to the Co-op.
The Think account is good in principal as long as your situation is fairly straight forward,wages the same each month and DDs the same each month.If it becomes slightly complicated then mistakes are made that make you wonder why you are payimg £12.50 for the service.
Regards

[Soulgrowth]

Sharon ... take Ian up on his offer ... Melanie did this with me for McCambridge Duffy and it really did the trick, they really sat up and took notice! Just goes the show the power this forum is developing ... it's not what you know but who you know [:)]

Thanks Ian ... for being prepared to help people like us mere minnions out [:)]

Debbie

[aguise]

I agree Andy ,that must be the case as we have set debits set dates and have had no problems at all, none with the use of the card either,yet others seem to have these problems. I must also say that I am with Freeman Jones and have had absolutely no problems. the only thing I have noticed is the case managers change fairly frequently. Mine has just left again but I rang the other day and was told a new one would be in touch in a few days and she called 3 days later and introduced herself, gave me the new email and phone number and went completely through my review and answered all questions. I very much keep in touch with my case manager monthly sometimes for my own reassurance.
Take Ian's kind offer and hopefully it can be sorted out. Please dont think I am defending them but I do speak as I find and this shows how different things can be for different people.

All the very best Sharon.

Ang

[Skippy]

The Think account would be better if they had an online service so you could log on before you got paid and tell them how much money to transfer, rather than having to phone them up each month. That was another reason I moved to the Co-op as Think told me I'd have to ring them each month, even though my salary and bills were the same!

Sharon, as the others have said please take Ian up on his offer. Good luck x

[size5]

Reluctant to criticise GP/FJ but don't agree with the Think Bank account.

If you accept that the reason you need to change accounts is that you need to control your own money, then ethically it cannot make sense to have an account that is STILL not controlled by you.
Paying for it just adds insult to injury as far as I'm concerned.

[ianmillington]

Didn't hear from Sharon before I left tonight at 6pm. However, my friend at FJ has someone looking into it. Hopefully something will happen next week.

ian

[Adam Davies]

Hi
The Think Bank account,although a 'managed acount' is controlled by you because you can overide any monies put by for wages at anytime.
It works well for people in IVAs because all your main bill payments,including your IVA,are put in a seperate account and the surplus money transferred each month.There is less chance,therefore,that you will dip into this essential bill money.The debit card is useful as most,if not all,basic accounts only provide electron cards that are not always accepted.Another big plus is that apart from the £12.50 monthly fee you will not incur any other bank charges even if DDs are bounced.We all know how much you can be charged over a month !!
Fundamentally the Think account is excellent and value for money,you just have to keep an eye on it if your salary and payments are variable.
Skippy is spot on,an online facility[something that has been promised for a year now]would make all the difference.
Regards

[Skippy]

I would have most probably stayed with Think if they had online banking, but I found it inconvenient having to phone them as at the time they were hard to get through to. I also didn't like having to text for a balance, especially as Vodafone charged me 10p a time - not much, but it all adds up when you're on a budget!

[SharonOR]

Sorry Ian
Have been out of town so only logged on this evening. Will contact you on Monday morning.

s

[SharonOR]

Another big plus is that apart from the £12.50 monthly fee you will not incur any other bank charges even if DDs are bounced.

Hi Andy
Beg to differ I'm afraid - our fee is £17.50 (a weeks ready meals from Iceland).
s

[J-DOUBLEYA]

why bother with Thinkbank ? just open a basic bank account with someone that you have no financial relationship with..

[MelanieGiles]

What ridiculous drivel ** you appear to have been fed by the people who have been advising you about the ongoing conduct of members of my profession. Are you prepared to name and shame them on this site?

Your IP is duty bound to supervise the IVA you have chosen and agreed to propose to your creditors, and of course that means collecting your contributions - but it is very rare to pay 100% of the debt back otherwise there would really be no need for an IVA in the first place.

** The post Melanie is referrring to has been deleted by admin.

[J-DOUBLEYA]

Hello Jac , I have to agree with Melanie. Whilst I have come across clients who have signed up to a VA that effectively pays back 100% of the debt, these are extremely rare today.

Those that i had come across were a mix of unscrupulous practice (in my personal opinion) and also where the client had many months arrears and the creditors would not help. This formal agreement simply meant that they paid a fee for repaying all of the debt but at least the debt was fixed and reducing.

I dont like the factories, I have already made my feelings known on this and it was the factories that produced the 100%'rs. It is really not fair to tar everybody with the same brush. There are a number of IP's on this forum that post, realistic and sensible solutions and provide a support network that is second to none. There are many testimonials to this effect.

Go on, as Melanie has suggested, name an shame em !!

[Adam Davies]

Hi
Just to pick up on Jac's point....what is wrong with the IP trying to recover all the money that IS owed ?

Going right to back to the Think Banking post,it is £12.50 per month,but rises to £17.50 if you have a joint account and each have a card.
Regards