PayPlan and StepChange: Services, Fees and Choosing Help

PayPlan and StepChange both offer free debt advice and Debt Management Plans. The right choice depends on the service you need and whether the recommended solution suits your circumstances.

We’ll answer your questions about:

•  The role of PayPlan in a debt management scheme
•  How StepChange can help with a Debt Management Plan (DMP)
•  Ways to write off some debt 
•  The differences and similarities between PayPlan and StepChange
•  How to contact StepChange and PayPlan

Debt can involve both credit commitments and priority household bills. Keep rent, energy and other essential costs in the budget before offering DMP payments.

Compare the advice, fees and ongoing support before choosing a service; there is no single best provider for every person.

What is the role of PayPlan in a debt management scheme?

PayPlan is one of the largest debt advice providers in the UK. 

They offer free help and financial advice to their customers to help them get rid of their debt problems. Payplan is funded through contributions from the credit industry and commercial partners.

Moreover, they provide freephone debt line and debt help tools through their website.

How can StepChange help with a DMP?

If you have a Debt Management Plan with a commercial debt management company, your monthly payments could be going to the debt management company as fees. 

However, switching to a Stepchange Debt Management Plan will make all your monthly payments go towards paying your debt.

This could help you pay off your debts faster. 

You can also get other debt solutions and debt relief from Stepchange. They will be able to talk you through their options when you speak to their advisers.

What are the similarities?

Both provide free debt advice and DMPs. Fees can apply to other solutions, including IVAs arranged through associated insolvency providers.

They provide confidential debt advice which is for free. The advice could be taken through a call or online. 

Free advice and a free DMP do not mean that every product or insolvency procedure is free. Ask for a written explanation of the costs of any recommended solution.

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form

What is the difference?

While both offer free debt advice and debt management plans, there are some differences between the two. 

Payplan provides help with a large number of debt solutions, such as IVAs (through their partner companies).

PayPlan is a company, funded by donations from the credit industry, while Stepchange is a registered charity.

Stepchange also offers some debt solutions, including IVAs through Stepchange Voluntary Arrangements.

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For free, impartial help and access to not-for-profit debt advice, visit MoneyHelper.

What if I am unhappy with their services?

Individual experiences vary. A positive review or a provider’s size does not guarantee a particular outcome.

If you are unhappy with either company, the best thing to do is make a complaint to them.

Follow StepChange’s current complaints procedure and keep a copy. An acknowledgement or investigation target is not a guarantee that every complaint will be resolved within four weeks. See related guidance.

Follow PayPlan’s current complaints procedure. If the issue cannot be resolved promptly, ask for confirmation of the investigation and the expected response date. See related guidance.

Complain first to the firm and named insolvency practitioner. Unresolved complaints about a practitioner’s conduct can go through the Insolvency Service Complaints Gateway to the relevant regulator. The Financial Ombudsman may handle a separate eligible complaint about regulated debt advice; it does not automatically cover insolvency-practitioner work. The FCA does not resolve individual claims. See related guidance.

For an eligible financial-services complaint, you can normally go to the Ombudsman after a final response or eight weeks without one, usually within six months of the final response. Redress depends on what it finds; it is not automatic.

What do people say?

The reviews below are individual historical examples, not a current representative survey of either service.

This person used Payplan to start clearing their debts. Sometimes having some extra support can make all the difference!

This reviewer used Stepchange to get their DMP up and running.

Contact a free debt-advice service to compare suitable options. Ask which legal entity provides the advice and which practitioner would handle any insolvency arrangement.

Payplan Contact Information

Stepchange Contact Information

References

1. StepChange Personal Debt Statistics in Scotland 2022