Do the right thing, Adviser's and creditors experience of best practice ...

Once an arrangement hasbeen set up, people in debtand their advisers will stillneed information and supportfrom creditors. Repaying debts over long periods oftime can seem like an endless task forpeople in debt. Furthermore, whilepeople might regain control of theirfinances, or even see their financialsituation improve from time to time,things can still go wrong. Forexample, they may gain and loseemployment or a relationship mightstart and then end. To help peoplecope, creditors need to make therepayment process easy andrewarding, and they need to beavailable when problems arise: Making payments should be cheap and easyCreditors should offer a range of free andeasy-to-access payment methods. Creditorsshould not insist on direct debits, to avoid anyexcessive and erroneous payments beingrequested. The direct debit guarantee assuresconsumers a full refund if errors are made. But itis of little help to those on very low incomes whocould be left with no money if they can’t resolvematters instantly. Furthermore, some people willprefer to retain control over payments and otherswill have accounts that do not allow for direct debitpayment. Instead, creditors should provide peoplewith standing order details or free-to-use paymentcards that are accepted in a wide range of outletsacross the UK, such as newsagents andpost offices. 17