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Creation Financial Services Debt Collection – Must You Pay?

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Scott
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Scott Nelson

Managing Director

MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.

Learn more about Scott
&
Janine
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Janine Marsh

Financial Expert

Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.

Learn more about Janine
· Jan 18th, 2024
Could you legally write off some debt? Answer below to get started.

Total amount of debt?

This isn’t a full fact find, MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

Featured in...
Creation Financial Services Debt Collectors

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

Has a letter from Creation Financial Services Debt Collection landed on your doorstep? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Every month, over 170,000 people visit our website for guidance on debt issues. We’re here to help you understand your situation and discuss your options. 

In this helpful guide, we’ll cover: 

  •  Who Creation Financial Services are.
  •  How to find out if the debt is yours.
  •  What to do if you can’t afford to pay.
  •  Steps to take if you’re feeling harassed.
  •  Ways to clear your debt, including writing some of it off.

Some of our team have been in your shoes, dealing with debt collectors. So, we understand how you feel.

Take a deep breath and read on. We’re here to help you navigate this tricky situation.

Could you legally write off some debt?

There are several debt solutions in the UK, choosing the right one for you could write off some of your unaffordable debt, but the wrong one may be expensive and drawn out.

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find. MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

What is the reason for the contact by Creation Financial Services Debt Collectors?

You may or may not be aware, but the debt collection business is big, there are literally thousands of debt collection companies out there, who make money from your debt! Debt collectors like Creation Financial Services Debt Collectors can be found in a range of forms. There are the independent businesses, those which are part of the original credit company you owe the money to and there are even those who operate as sole traders. It is important to be aware of the tactics of debt collectors and the different disguises they may have.

Independent debt collection agencies and sole trader debt collectors business have the same model, which relies on purchasing debt at a fraction of the face value, which is often as little as 20% of the face value, and they make a profit by collecting all or some of the debt. In short, the more debt you have, the better off these debt collection agencies can become. They make money from your suffering, and to top it all, they don’t care about your individual circumstances. In their mind, you ran up the debt and you owe it, so you need to pay it back. They don’t really want to hear your excuses!

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form

Find out if the debt is yours

Are you sure you owe this debt? If you are unsure where the debt has come from and the total value of the debt, you should seek confirmation of this. The total cost will probably be substantially higher than the original value of the debt, due to interest and charges. Get all the facts before you even consider paying it.

In order to get the confirmation, you should contact Creation Financial Services Debt Collectors and request that they issue you a copy of the original credit agreement. If they say they can’t (or won’t!) provide this for you, you will not need to pay the debt. They should be able to provide this, without any issues.

Should I pay this debt?

If you have received confirmation and you do owe the debt, the best thing to do is pay it off, as long as you can afford it. You should not pay though if you will be left without money to pay your rent/mortgage or other essential bills. Only pay if you can afford it. Otherwise, you may be able to reach an agreement with Creation Financial Services Debt Collectors to pay in instalments or to make a partial payment to clear your debt.

Clearing your debt

If you are struggling with paying off unsecured debts, you may benefit from a debt solution.

There are several different debt solutions available in the UK, so I recommend speaking to a debt charity as soon as possible. Their advisors will be able to look at your finances in detail and help you work out which debt solution will work best for you.

I have linked a few charities that offer these advisory services for free below.

Debt Management Plan (DMP)

A DMP is an informal debt solution that lets you pay off your debts via a single monthly payment.

Because it is informal, it is not legally binding so you are not tied into a DMP for a minimum number of payments.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

An IVA is a formal agreement between you and your creditors. You agree to pay a monthly sum that is distributed amongst your debts, and your creditors agree not to contact you during your IVA.

IVAs typically last for 5 or 6 years, and any outstanding debt is wiped off when it ends.

Keep in mind that IVAs are not suitable for everyone. You need to owe several thousand pounds to more than one creditor to be eligible. You also need to demonstrate that you have some disposable income every month.

Trust Deed

IVAs are not available in Scotland. Instead, you will need to opt for a Trust Deed.

Trust Deeds work in the same way as an IVA – you pay an agreed sum each month that is shared amongst your creditors, they can’t contact you, and any leftover debt at the end of your Trust Deed term is written off.

Debt Relief Order (DRO)

A DRO is a good option for those facing financial hardship with no assets and little income.

For 12 months, you make no payments, but your creditors freeze your interest and don’t contact you.

If your finances haven’t improved during this year, you may be able to write off your unsecured debts.

Bankruptcy

If you have debts but no realistic possibility of ever paying them off, you may need to declare bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy has an unfair stigma attached to it as it may be your only way of getting a financial fresh start. That said, it is a serious financial situation that should not be taken lightly.

Sequestration

Sequestration is the Scottish version of bankruptcy.

If you have little income and no valuable assets, you may be able to apply for a minimal asset process bankruptcy (MAP). A MAP is a quicker, cheaper, and more straightforward version of sequestration, so worth considering.

How a debt solution could help

Some debt solutions can:

  1. Stop nasty calls from creditors
  2. Freeze interest and charges
  3. Reduce your monthly payments

A few debt solutions can even result in writing off some of your debt.

Here’s an example:


Situation

Monthly income £2,504
Monthly expenses £2,345
Total debt £32,049

Monthly debt repayments

Before £587
After £158

£429 reduction in monthly payments

If you want to learn what debt solutions are available to you, click the button below to get started.

Get Started

Fighting back

It is surprising that even after all the warnings from professional bodies, government guidelines, and other measures which have been taken to combat the behaviour of debt-collecting agencies, some of them still seem to pounce on the most vulnerable in society.

The behaviour of some debt collection agencies can be so severe that debtors have often been left in a poor state of mental well-being. You don’t need just to take this, though. You can fight back, especially if you seek help from the agencies which have been mentioned in this article.

As much as you may want to, you can’t just ignore your debt, however, you will be able to reduce the amount you need to repay and even spread the repayments over a period of time that works best for your situation. You can combat their bad behaviour by reporting debt collectors to the Financial Ombudsman, and this may cause them to lose their licence.

The Office for Fair Trading (OFT, 2012) put a set of guidelines in place for the debt collection business. These were designed to protect borrowers and ensure debt collectors were not resorting to underhand tactics to get their money. Some of these guidelines include:

  • Ensuring the fair treatment of debtors fairly and refraining from abuse, harassment or any other tactics to try and get the debt repayments.
  • Provide clear and transparent information, which is transparent and easy for the borrower to understand.
  • Show consideration towards debtors and the difficulties they are facing.
  • Take the debtor’s circumstances into account when determining appropriate action to take.

If you feel that Creation Financial Services Debt Collectors are intimidating or harassing you or basically just failing to abide by these guidelines, you will be able to report them to the OFT and they may lose their license as a result.

Some debt collectors may go as far as to say they are from an external agency when they working as part of the company you have the outstanding debt with. This is deceit, and should not just be accepted. You should seek advice and help if the debt collectors are lying about the situation.

How Do I Make A Complaint about Creation Financial Services?

If you think that Creation Financial Services has been unreasonable or behaved inappropriately, you can make a complaint. You can also make a complaint if you feel that they have broken any of the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) guidelines.

Fortunately, the Creation Financial Services complaints’ procedure is straightforward.

Make your first complaint to Creation Financial so that they have the chance to sort out the issue themselves. If you feel that they have not taken your complaint seriously enough or have not addressed your issue properly, you can escalate matters.

You can make any secondary complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). They will investigate and, if your complaint is upheld, Creation Financial may be fined. You could even be owed compensation.

Creation Financial Services Reviews

Unfortunately, Creation Financial Services does not have positive reviews.

At the time of writing, there are over 800 Google reviews with an average of 1.7 stars. The general consensus seems to be that their customer service is not a positive experience and there are sometimes miscommunications about bills and payments.

Keep up to date and accurate records should help prevent any errors that have an impact on your overall credit score, but poor customer service can’t help!

Thousands have already tackled their debt

Every day our partners, The Debt Advice Service, help people find out whether they can lower their repayments and finally tackle or write off some of their debt.

Natasha

I’d recommend this firm to anyone struggling with debt – my mind has been put to rest, all is getting sorted.

Get started

Reviews shown are for The Debt Advice Service.

Creation Financial Services Contact Details

Post: Creation Customer Enquiries
Chadwick House, Blenheim Court, Solihull, B91 2AA
Phone: Card customers 0371 376 9214*
Loans customers 0371 402 3419*
Finance agreement customers 0371 402 8905*
Insurance (incl. motor) customers 0371 376 9200*
Motor finance agreement customers 0371 512 1983*
Website: https://www.creation.co.uk/

Other Debt Collectors to look for on your Credit Report

There are hundreds of debt collectors in the UK and they each collect for different companies.

It’s surprisingly easy to not notice that you’re in a debt collector’s crosshairs.


I’d suggest you spend time checking your credit report. If a debt collector purchases any of your debt, it will appear on your credit report.

Some of the biggest to look out for include Cabot, PRA Group, and Lowell.

So if you see anything relating to their names, then you’ll need to investigate further.

FAQs

Could you just ignore the debt?
Creation Financial Services buy the debt from the original creditor, so they lose money if they don’t get any payments from you. You could try ignoring them, but you probably wouldn’t be successful as they will keep chasing you until you do.
Are Creation Financial Services allowed to take you to court?
If you don’t respond to debt collectors, they could turn up at your door. They could also apply for a County Court Judgement, and if this is successful, it will be held on your credit report.
Will you end up in jail?
Creation Financial Services could take you to court about the debt, but you won’t end up in jail. If they take you to court, you will end up with a County Court Judgement letter.
Is it possible to just ignore a CCJ?
You could end up in more trouble if you ignore the CCJ. It is best to respond to this.
Can Creation Financial Services you with a warrant?
If you continue to ignore the debt collectors, and the CCJ you may find that bailiffs are sent to your house and they may remove some of your possessions to make up the debt.
Are Creation Financial Services allowed to act as baillifs?
Creation Financial Services do not have the right to ask for an arrest warrant or try to send you to prison. They can request a CCJ, and they are able to send bailiffs if you do not acknowledge the CCJ or make the payment.
Can Creation Financial Services visit your home?
Creation Financial Services are not bailiffs. They could, however, request a County Court Judgement which means that the courts could send bailiffs. You will receive warnings before they attempt this.
Can Creation Financial Services force their way into your home?
Creation Financial Services may send someone to your home to try and recover the debt, but they do not have the legal powers to do anything, so you can ignore them if you wish. On the other hand, if you have a County Court Judgement, the courts would be able to instruct bailiffs to come to your house.
Will Creation Financial Services ever stop contacting me?
Creation Financial Services will probably not stop contacting you, until you respond to them. They may even try to speak to people you know to try and recover the debt.
Does the debt expire at some point?
Creation Financial Services could realistically chase you for up to 6 years, at which time, the debt would expire.
How long are they able to chase the debt?
Under the Limitation Act 1980, a debt collection company may only chase you for 6 years. The 6 years is from the last time there was contact between you and the debt collector.
Can debts ever be written off?
As per the Limitation action 1980, you can be chased for 6 years, but that does not include a County Court Judgment being issued. The Limitation Act does not apply in this case, so they can continue to chase you for as long as they want.
Could you legally write off some debt?

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find, MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

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The authors
Scott Nelson Profile Picture
Author
MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.
Janine Marsh Profile Picture
Debt Expert
Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.