Debt resolution we ARE, debt management we are NOT! ~ Debt Managements and Consolidation

A debt resolution company which made headlines in last week’s DMT newsletter has hit back at claims that they work in ‘debt management’.

First Step Finance (FSF) claims it is frequently mistaken for a ‘debt management’ company, which has presented the firm with a number of challenges. FSF is currently subject to a review of its Consumer Credit License, which was instigated in December 2010. The company is fully co-operating and engaged with the OFT during the review process. The OFT raised a number of points which FSF claim are non-debt management issues, and un-related to the OFT Debt Management Guidance Review in September which saw 129 firms threatened with losing their consumer credit licenses.Ahmad Butt, Legal Director at FSF, said: “The Debt Resolution Forum (“DRF”) have been very supportive in giving guidance where none had been given prior to joining DRF and a detailed and independent audit by the Insolvency Practitioners Association has recently taken place on our systems and processes.”FSF is un-associated with the large number of traditional debt management companies that the OFT took action against in its review last year, and the company is a keen advocate of the review into practices and standards of conduct with the aim of removing rogue, non-compliant companies. Managing Director Christine Whitehurst said: “The company remains committed to always working in the best interests of our clients, to resolve their financial difficulties, observing high professional standards and best practice guidelines whilst proactively improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our service to create sustainable growth.”Unlike traditional ‘debt management’ companies that simply manage consumers presenting debts with their respective creditors, FSF actively assists its clients to resolve their debt difficulties in the ‘shortest possible time’ (typically 12 to 36 months), focused upon their clients individual personal circumstances through its unique approach. FSF was established in 2007 and claims to have saved its clients millions of pounds and disbursed payments to creditors in excess of £2 million.
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