I am averagely happy with the handling of my debt management but what I am most unhappy about is you never ever reply to ones emails. As for phone calls that is just impossible, the chances of ones call being answered is slim. The few times I have been able to speak to someone my problem is handled in a very professional manner which I am happy about.

Poor communication and lack of response on e-mail and phone no better. I have 4 years left about submit a review with bills that have gone up but income hasn't see if it will reduce my £350 which I'm struggling with.

Been on the line 20mins this is not the first time I'm so annoyed only got a mobile quick enough to take the monthly amount

IVA completed May 2014 now November still waiting for certificate and monies, been given every excuse under the sun for delay including, your case is priority, it will be ready in 10 days, there was an error in paper-work, now told it will be within 6 weeks,ect ect.incompentence or lies.

Hi everyone, I have completed my IVA with this company and I havn't had my certificate in over 2 years because of the pursuit of the PPI on the creditors behalf. Just before Xmas they sent me a deed of assignment in order that they may close my case which I sent back to them but when I contacted them to confirm that they had it,they send yes they did and then I received an email from a member of staff stating that they had not.After sending out up to 4 deeds of assignments so far I am ringing in only for them to say that they are not being received.I don t know what this is all about but please comment if you can help. Many thanks.

Even though DFD are helpful and give good advice helping you decide whether an IVA is for you, depending individual circumstances!! BE AWARE they do not tell you before! accepting the IVA, that in the 4th year of your agreement, you could be forced to remortgage your home or even forced to sell it!! if you have more than 5% equity in your home......to pay off the remaining 50% of your outstanding debt.I personally was not informed of this!! WHY wasn't I!! This is very important and should be highlighted before you consider an IVA. I only found out by new terms & conditions that came in the post recently!! so when I inquired about these new terms! I was told that this is the review 4th year reference old terms but only with your existing lender! So i asked what are the new terms then?? the reply was new side emerging companies (mortgage brokers) that can help with remortgaging your home on the 4th year without your exsisting lender being involved.I personally do not need another remortgage!! that's why I turned to an IVA program to avoid more debt.I was lead to believe that the IVA was an agreed sum arrange by the IVA and lenders/debtor!! but this is not quite the case!! as I am now thinking in my 4th year they could technically turn my life upside down after 4 years of almost seeing light!!! MY advice do not trust anyone and check all terms out before agreeing as no body really gives a damn!! If I knew what I know now then bankruptcy etc might have been an option, a lot less painful. Remember the IVA companies are in this for profit!! Make up your own mind to WHY they don't tell you at the beginning of opening your IVA!! I'm lead to believe,You may possibly have to pay the whole outstanding remaining debt back that you owed in the first place less interest of cause................... IF you cannot pay the remaining 50% off at the end of the 4th year hence no equity in your property!! you could be forced to pay for another year into your IVA program making this 6 years instead of the 5 years you were hoping for......not taking into account an extra year of non payment after the IVA finishes! as it will not be off your credit file until then!! so could take all of 7 years before DEBT FREE with all this disappointment put to you after 4 years of hardship and then......... thrown to the lions!!! think before you sign. I hope this helps. The biggest GREY area of IVA's.......................................... DFD, I will be seeking legal advise reference the new terms & conditions, will post soon for an update. Regards

Just not meeting U apart from this all agent well thanks this is for a long time so I hope u will be helpful in the long run. RO

I have been with DFD for 2 years in an IVA. Thay are ok but a real pain to get hold of by phone. Especially on premium rate numbers which are extra on my phone bill.!! When I had my initial chat i was told i could pay £170 a month but after everything was sorted this soon rose to well over double that. How convenient!!! You are left to live on peanuts in an IVA. (id love to meet the person who thinks you can live on £30 a month after your bills) They probably have a massive house with a butler and nannie!!. DFD are very choosy on what they answer and anything that might be deemed to be a bit of a touchy subject, they ignore completely and hope it goes away. Especially if you think your being done over or you have evidence of something!! When they e mail you they wont put their name at the bottom. WHY!!! I have asked many a time on how my payment was calculated but am still waiting 2 years on. I cant wait for this to be over. It feels (Not that ive been their!!!) like I can imagine for someone whos on police bail. Your every move feels like its being watched. These creditors are at fault also for giving stupid credit limits and helping to get people in this mess.

Like a lot of people my money problems had spiraled out of control, a colleague highly recommended DFD to me and I gave them a call after our conversation. DFD were very keen to take on my case and sent out a chap to collect my paperwork from me the next day. Initially I felt they were very persuasive and almost pushy. They were the first company I had contacted and as I felt I had nowhere else to turn and agreed to the IVA. It took about eight weeks from the start of the process for the IVA to be approved. However during that time I was given conflicting messages from different people at DFD about paying my bills. I am now four months into the IVA and I had hoped that the pressure from my creditors would have stopped, but I am still receiving phone calls and letters from debt collection agencies demanding full payment as they havent received the IVA paperwork from DFD. I have made numerous phone calls, sent emails, faxes and letters chasing DFD up and have had to send my creditors the paperwork myself as DFD do not seem keen on doing so. Another thing I would be wary of is the bank account that DFD recommend you use; there are other free high street bank accounts that people with bad credit can use. I found out the hard way that Secure Trust Bank, who DFD recommend have silly charges and make paying money into your account difficult. They are keen on getting you to save money but recommend a bank that has a set up fee, charge £12.50 a month to use the account and 50p each time you withdraw money. I am now in the process of changing this bank account. I would advise that you do your research before even contacting DFD as they can be very pushy. I have since learned that the Citizens Advice Bureau offer free advice and can help set up IVA's free.

My creditors where still contacting me long after I had received the court lettter to say everything was agreed.

Generally I've been happy with the service until a recent omission by a CS rep caused a payment change not to happen properly causing me undue stress. A simple reminder would've solved tha issue beforehand but it would seem they were just too busy. Nevertheless my complaint was handled well by the management team and I now consider this matter closed although it has dented their otherwise spotless record up to this point. As with a lot of CS these days being offshore I'm grateful that they still have their call centre manned in this country which is a big plus, they just need to brush up on the little niceties which turn average CS into excellent CS. Keep working on the little things guys and you'll soon be 5 star.

I am using Debt Free Direct. The staff are always friendly but sometimes I find that when im seeking help (which i often do as im not an IVA specialist) I receive contradictary responses and then because different people are telling me to do different things i end up worried that im doing things wrong and that ill end up being clattered further down the line. Also i have had to send things by post which I always do either special or recorded delivery and check that they have been signed for only to find out that im told these letters havent been received. A bit alarming when you are told that they have been signed for by someone in the office. Where do these letters go? This also worries me. I never get a reponse to any of the letters ive sent either so I just assume they have been dealt with and have kept the proof that I sent them.

I was happy with the IVA process as a whole (long and arduous though it was!) and am obviously now thrilled to be debt free for the first time in years. But there are two problems I had with it: I own NOTHING - have no car, house, own very little personal property.. yet at no time was I told that in these circumstances bankruptcy might have been a better option than a five year IVA. I feel I could have been better advised at the start. Oncethe five years were up, I feel I could have been sent something to mark it... a little advice booklet or SOMETHING (kind of a 'So now you're solvent,what can you do?'). Advice regarding future loans, credit rating, etc. would have been most welcome at this stage. Apart from that, it's been great - staff were always freindly and helpful when I called and overall I'm very gald I took the plunge. Thanks.

I would say that in the beginning DFD were very helpful in the set up of the IVA, but since it has been put in place, I have had a lot of contact from one of the creditors and when I have tried to get in touch with DFD there doesn't seem to be alot of help to deal with it. I would prefer to speak with someone on the phone when I have a problem not do it through e-mails

My intital phone call ok and friendly and then found working with DFD frustrating, stressful and not very clear(intially). A company who provide a necessary service to the needy financially, but have no after care once signature of the legal documents have been completed. Conversations with various people have left me just one of the many, no human compassion in the conversation (not everyone but I can count on 1 hand). As a customer I understand being busy, I understand people have an off day, but I found that I felt like a burden. I am now dealing with one person and that is the way I want to keep it, not quite sure if I would recommend the company but now I am tied to DFD to help my financial problems which now we have seemed to settle a little. Still waiting for information still after a few weeks since initial contact.

I was surprised that even though my income had decreased and my expenditure increased, a reduction in my payments was not suggested until I mentioned it. I thought the whole idea of the review was to check affordability and agree payments that can be afforded. Apart from that the review was conducted in time.