Beware Of Dodgy Debt Advice!
If you need help coping with your debts, tread carefully and don't get caught out by this scam.
I want you to imagine this awful scenario: you're heavily in debt and struggling to make your monthly repayments. Keen to get out of debt, you enlist the help of a professional debt-counselling service. After taking this firm's debt-management advice, you start making payments to it.
Horrifyingly, after months or even years, you discover that the whole operation is one big swindle. Instead of forwarding your payments to your creditors (organisations to which you owe money), your money is siphoned off and used to enrich your debt counsellor. Aargh!
Sadly, this is allegedly what happened to customers of Matthew St John Crossley, also known as Matthew Crossley and Matthew Prevett. Crossley used two websites (now shut down) to promote what was described as `free, independent and impartial debt advice'. However, his advice was none of these things. In fact, it was allegedly fraudulent and led to several borrowers losing their homes.
Crossley's clients allege that he misled them about the services provided, failed to pass on some payments to creditors, charged hefty fees, and refused to return money to unhappy customers. In some cases, he encouraged customers to remortgage (arrange large loans against their homes) in order to repay their creditors.
Unfortunately, it is alleged that chunks of this money ended up lining Crossley's pockets. In some cases, customers parted with tens of thousands of pounds, only to be worse off than before. Indeed, one customer had to sell his home and another was bankrupted as a result of taking Crossley's so-called `advice'.
In March 2007, Crossley's dodgy dealings were exposed on the BBC's Watchdog programme. After an investigation earlier this year, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) closed down Crossley's firm, the Debt Advisory Company. The OFT also revoked his consumer credit licence, which prevents Crossley from providing debt-management advice in future.
It is believed that Crossley has skipped the country and is now living abroad. I'd be delighted if Crossley were to return to the UK, only to face fraud allegations and possible criminal charges. What he did -- preying on the desperate and vulnerable -- is disgraceful. Regrettably, this could well turn out to be the tip of the iceberg and, as the economy weakens, I expect to see similar stories emerging.
In summary, if your debts are getting on top of you, be sure to take advice only from a reputable and independent debt-counselling service. My advice is to contact one of the following organisations, all of which have an excellent record of helping Brits to dig their way out of debt:
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) (0800 138 1111)
National Debtline (0808 808 4000)
Citizens Advice (you can find the local number in your telephone directory)
Finally, you can seek help from the fabulous Fool community by visiting our Dealing With Debt and Living Below Your Means discussion boards, and in our Get Out of Debt centre.
Many thanks to BBC News and Watchdog for breaking this story.
More: The Death Of Secured Loans? | How To Tackle A Large Debt | Fight Your Way Out Of Debt Darkness
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searches have revealed he is now trying to pull the same con in a different industry. he seems to run advancedcurrenciesfx.com however he is NOT a trader. The address on the site is for an empty regus office and the telephone number does not work. Avoid this one like the plague.
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I eventually got through on the telephone to my local CAB only to be asked for my address so they could send me a pack which included a list of expenses (utilities mortgage etc) which I had to put the relevant amount next to then work out what was left from my monthly income and then contact my creditors myself and arrange with them an amount of money which I could afford to pay each month. Total waste of time as I had tried this myself before contacting the CAB and was met with a rather negative response being told I owed this money and they wanted it now at an amount which I just did not have available each month.[br/][br/]I also contacted Churchwood, a Debt Management Company who wanted £200 per month from me to divide between several debts. They asked me to complete a Direct Debit Mandate which I did and said they would set it up but wouldn't apply for the first payment until I had paid them an initial £200 for setting up an account up with them. I never did send them the money as I just couldn't get it together as I was still having to make payments to my creditors in the meantime. However, without my consent or confirmation or their payment of £200 they applied for the first £200 payment twice which as you would expect wasn't in the account as I wasn't aware they would be applying for it. The outcome was I was landed with two lots of charges for not having enough money in my account to pay a Direct Debit. This totalled £76 and when I questioned my bank about it they told me what it was for and said I should contact the company and tell them they had broken the rules of the Direct Debit Mandate and ask them to bear the costs for this as they should not have applied for the money without my confirmation. To this day I still have not heard from them except the regular text message telling me I am a valued customer who the would dearly love to hear from as they are sure they can help me. Beware if you are going down this route. Some companies whether they are "legitimate" or not will push you to sign up with them because of the percentage they take each month out of your monthly payment to them. My husband and I eventually managed to pay up the smaller debts we had that were chasing us and set up payment plans for the larger ones ourselves. Much cheaper and every penny is going to clear off our debts.
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Bobfruit, your concern about CAP only helping Christians is, I am sure, well-intentioned, but the good news is, that isn't true. The charity openly publicizes the fact that it works with people of all religions and the majority of its clients are from a non-Christian background, including Muslims, atheists and Hindus.[br/][br/]With regards the CAP account that is set up for clients, many of those who approach CAP for help are in such a desperate financial situation and have so many diverse debts that managing these from a centralised point makes life a lot easier for them. It saves them having to remember to pay about 20 organisations different sums of money each month and helps them on the road to recovery. Every penny that clients pay into their account is paid out again on their behalf.[br/][br/]The CAP account enables clients to save as well; something that many in the UK have forgotten how to do. Whilst some people may believe that this encourages dependency, when clients become debt free, many have happily closed their CAP account and continue to enjoy a debt-free life; proof of the longevity of the charity's ministry. Many also continue to keep their account open as they recognise the value of having help in managing their finances.[br/][br/]If we are ill, we go to the doctors for help and there is no shame in that. Why do we attach such a stigma to those who approach external organisations for help with their finances and why do we doubt its effectiveness? That this service is provided by Christians should have no bearing on your judgement of its financial veracity or efficacy. Let the results - and the success stories - speak for themselves.
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23 September 2009