Below are some of the more frequently asked questions.
If you have a specific question which does not appear below, just email your question to admin@debtadvicenetwork.org

I own a company with 2 other people. Can we apply for a company licence and pay just one fee?
Unfortunately not. The joining fee allocates you district and also finances your 2-day training course plus on-going development. Each advisor MUST attend the two-day training. Therefore, only the person who attends the training will receive the licence.

I am with a mortgage network – how would this affect me with respect to compliance?
It doesn’t affect you at all because you would not be doing any FSA regulated business for the charity. In fact, it will make you more compliant in terms of adhering to the MCOB rules.

Is training compulsory?
Yes it is. You will not be “active” to receive enquiries until you have attended. Although you are an experienced mortgage advisor, the position is in effect a role reversal. (A Mortgage advisors' job is in essence to get people into debt, whether it be a mortgage or secured loan,  whereas a debt advisor's role is to get the client’s debts reduced).

How do you define areas?

We currently have a contract with a government agency. Allocations of districts are defined by their office locations. They have 800 offices nationwide and we are seeking to recruit a maximum of 300 advisors..

If I build local links in one of the districts which isn’t assigned to me what would happen to them if you recruit more advisors?
It has been our experience that although advisors are very territorial, very few advisors are actually prepared to nurture their local area and can’t see that changing. However, we do encourage advisors  to build successful links, and maintain a good relationship and build trust in their community. If you have established such links then it would be counterproductive on our part to allow another advisor to do the same, unless the demand was high.

Why can’t I have all the districts in my area? 

Each area may have several local authorities, Jobcentres and other good sources of enquiry generators. You may find it difficult to maintain a presence in every area and build relationships with these organisation. Besides, whilst we are building the network, it will be inevitable that there will be areas were we don’t have an advisor. In this instance the enquiries will be passed to the nearest advisor until one is recruited.

As a mortgage advisor I am used to covering a much wider area.
We understand that, but this is a completely different market. For example, there are 800 jobcentres in the country and approximately 17,000 people signing on for the first time each week. These people are not going to compare.com.

According to our sources, there isn’t a mortgage brokerage or network that processes that many mortgage clients a week, let alone a mortgage advisor capable of seeing 10 clients a day and, complete the relevant paperwork that’s required of them.

Rushing from one client to the next will, we believe, compromise the quality of service the client receives.  

How many referrals can I expect to receive?
We cannot guarantee the number of enquiries you will receive. However, we can say that every one of the 17,000 people signing on for the first time each week and needing advice will receive our leaflet from the government agencies around the country and those which are passed to you are pre-qualified.

Do you charge for the referrals?
No, there is no charge and you keep 100% of any compensation you receive from the service providers for the work you do. However, there is a flat monthly service fee of £100, payable to 5th Call, and a 6-monthly fee of £500 (due at the end of each 6-month period) , also payable to 5th Call. These charges are only activated once you have received your first enquiry and not before. The fee structure is therefore designed to allow you to reconsider your involvement at any time, without penalty. These fees cover the processing and admin support to advisors.

What if I decide it’s not for me and I don’t wish to continue?
The fees have been structured in a way that is fair to everyone. The charity needs your initial commitment of £500 to help offset start-up costs such as training days, initial promotion etc., it is also a sign of your commitment.  Further financial commitments will be between you and 5^th Call, the company that we have tasked with the administration of the project. These will be a monthly fee of £100, and a fee of £500 after 6 months and 6-monthly thereafter (by which time you will have a better idea as to whether you wish to remain involved or not).  Should you decide not to continue, you are free to leave with no further fees incurred. You are not tied to a contract period, but we would ask that you extend to us the courtesy of one month's notice so that we can replace you (in particular if you are holding surgeries). This is a co-operative that will grow together through mutual understanding and working together for common goals.

What if I don't want to develop my area, what if I just want to settle for the referrals you send me?
That's fine. It is not our intention to push anyone out of their own comfort zone. The offer for further development is there for those who really want to get involved.

Can I put a link on my website?

Yes you can. In the first instance you should send an email to brian@debtadvicenetwork.org. It adds value to your website but we cannot guarantee that any enquiries will come from your area.

I own a brokerage firm which has 15 advisors. If I pay their fee how can I monitor their activities?
We would need to know more about the agreement you have with the advisors before we would be able to answer this question.

Why can’t you build links with organizations in my chosen district before I join?
Not everyone is committed to what is required of them. We can only start work on building these links for you once you have joined because we need to ensure that an advisor will be available to cover them. We only get one shot at these organizations and if we can’t fulfill our commitment to them, we will not be given a second opportunity. It will also spoil the chances for another advisor and, we lose credibility.

Where else will the enquiries be coming from?

We have already established links with the Prison Officers Union (the POA) and with the RMT, we are also in advanced talks with the firemen's union (FBU) and are speaking to 12 others. We have also established links with British Airways and are working on similar large companies who have branches/stores nationwide. Housing Associations, Landlord Forums, NHS Trust and of course, not forgetting the website. Once you are established within your community, you will of course also receive your own referrals.

I have tried searching for the website but it didn’t come up in Google
It won’t just yet, but we are still receiving enquiries in areas where advisors have been active. We offer free face-to-face advice and until we are able to fulfill that claim by having access to a team of advisors spread throughout the country, we cannot optimize it. It’s called the chicken and egg syndrome. The public website is here, but we cannot promote it in the search engines until we have adequate coverage. When the allocation of advisors is completed, we intend to place advisors' details on clickable areas on the website maps.

How can I be sure this is for real and not a scam?
We are listed on the FSA Money Made Clear Website and in the printed leaflet of the same name.

Who owns the client?
Nobody “owns” the client. The charity and advisor have a joint responsibility in fulfilling the charity’s aims in respect of the client’s needs. Once the client comes out of the plan the charity’s work is done. At this point the advisor should, where appropriate, continue to work with the client in getting them back to prime.  The relationship between client and advisor will continue for as long as the client wishes.

You say we are encouraged to form our own local links. Can I use a local IP or Debt Management company?
No, you may only use the services of those on our approved list of service providers. We do encourage advisors to form their own local links to generate enquiries.
If, however, you are aware of a reputable service provider, you may nominate them and we will do our due diligence.

Can we produce our own literature?
If this is something you want to do the cost of producing literature is born by you. We will provide the content. If you wish to use your own content this must be sent for approval.

Is the fee an annual cost?

Yes it is, but as explained above, only the initial £500 fee is paid to the charity. After that, your commitment is with 5th Call.  The fees in year 2 will be used to expand our reach and promote the benefits to clients using the network. It will also finance the monthly fees some out-reach centres charge in order for the advisors to hold surgeries. Some centres don’t charge whilst others charge around £40 a week. The money goes in to a pool and 5th Call pay those centres direct. Fees paid to 5th Call are used to fund the processing and to provide the admin support to advisors.

What happens if I am on holiday?
You are able to turn your availability on or off, as the case may be. If you are showing as unavailable then the enquiries will go to the nearest available advisor until you have turned your availability back on.

Will this interfere with my mortgage business?

Not at all. It is up to you to determine how much time you want to devote to this. Providing we know your availability you will only receive the level of enquiries you are able to cope with. It is not our aim to poach advisors away from the mortgage industry. On the contrary, the aim is that having worked so hard to be a part of that industry, we would hope that this provides you with the stability to remain a part of it so that when the market does recover clients will still have access to best advice

Where do 5th Call fit in on all of this?

In respect to this venture, 5th Call works to our guidelines. It is responsible for forming a network of advisors; we are responsible for providing appropriate training to the advisors, whereupon 5th Call is then responsible for distributing and managing the client enquiries we filter through to them.

In the past I have referred clients to CCCS and PayPlan.

You may continue referring your own clients to CCCS and PayPlan. We are not in competition with any organisation. We are happy to work with them all in order to maximise our reach and to help relieve thousands of people of the financial difficulties they are experiencing and to help them to return to a life of normality. 

We have our own aims and objectives which we firmly believe in, and principles that we stand by. We do not turn anyone away simply because they have no surplus income or their debts are all priority debts (mortgage/rent/utilities etc). We operate a policy of total inclusion and we do not discriminate. Whether they have a £500 debt or £50,000 debt, whether they are employed or unemployed, have equity or no equity, is irrelevant. They are all entitled to the same level of customer care and are all presented with all of their options.  Everyone receives a routine benefits health-check. With over £8bn of unclaimed benefits each year, we ensure that our clients are not missing out on their entitlements. These extra entitlements can go toward repaying their debts or toward making their life a little less stressful

Can you guarantee how many enquiries I would receive?
Much of where and how the enquiries will be received has already been covered so we hope you can understand that we cannot predict, much less guarantee which part of the country the enquiries are going to come from on any given day. Nor can we spread them evenly across the week – they are distributed as they are received.

I have been informed that the area I work in is available, why do you require payment so
quickly?
It is not intended as a pressure tactic. Applications are time and date stamped and allocated strictly on a first come basis. Some districts have a waiting list and it would be unfair to expect them to wait indefinitely. Once your payment is received, those on the waiting list will be informed and allocated a different district. We are also working to a very tight timescale and those who have paid are keen to complete their training. Having a team of trained advisors at the ready means we can also start optimizing the website and start generating independent enquiries.

If you prefer to wait, that’s your choice – but your post district and the organizations within it will be allocated to the next person in line. So if you run an office in your preferred district and that district is subsequently allocated to someone else, you will not be able to publicize our service from those premises should you decide to join at a later date (i.e. posters on the shop front). This is the only way we can be fair to everyone.

Is there a recognised qualification for Debt Advice?

We encourage all our advisors to take the Debt Resolution exam for which grants are available. It is a qualification that sits well with your current qualifications and your profession.

Debt Advice Network is a registered charity, reg. no. 1124322