Debt management

Eurodebt Ltd - handling debt management but does it deliver?

Inside Out looks at how a passion for shopping could get you into big trouble with debt.

What do you do when you find yourself owing thousands of pounds?

Many people turn to debt management companies.

One of the biggest is Bedfordshire based Eurodebt Limited.

The service isn't cheap, but does it deliver?

Spending spree

Tara Cooper from Braintree likes to shop - unfortunately she admits that she's not very good at keeping control of her purse strings.

Last year things got out of hand and she found herself in big debt.

In fact she owed her creditors more than £19,000.

Things went from bad to worse, and her debts were spiralling out of control.

She didn't know what to do or who to turn to.

A friend suggested she get in touch with a debt management company called Eurodebt Limited.

Debt management companies act on behalf of debtors, by trying to negotiate lower payments with their creditors.

It's a booming business.

Bedfordshire based Eurodebt Ltd is one of the UK's largest with a turnover of more than £7 million.

Eurodebt

An agent from Eurodebt Ltd came to see Tara Cooper.

Tara says, "The agent was very pushy and insisted I paid him, before he left. I wrote out three post dated cheques totalling £1,200".

The service wasn't cheap. As well as an upfront fee of £1,200, Tara was to pay £53 monthly to Eurodebt Ltd.

Of that £35 went to the company - just £18 would be passed on to creditors.

Tara started to feel that out of her monthly fee, not enough was going to the creditors.

Debt management companies have to operate within guidelines set by the Office of Fair Trading.

Credit Action is a charity which gives free advice to people in debt.

Keith Tondeur from the charity says that Eurodebt Ltd must do things according to the law:

"They're perfectly legal - but certain things must be explained.

"To get someone to sign post-dated cheques at a first meeting is a clear breach of guidelines."

Inside investigation

Many of the customers who've contacted Inside Out say agents promised them far more than the company then delivers, implying that Eurodebt Ltd would get them debt free and that creditors would take lower monthly payments.

So we made an appointment with a Eurodebt agent.

We filmed secretly as Andrew told Eurodebt Ltd that he's about £17,000 in debt.

Spend, spend, spend - instant credit makes it easy to lose track

An Eurodebt agent goes through Andrew's income and outgoings.

Just like our other two cases, Andrew is told not to deal with his creditors - Eurodebt will take over everything.

"If there was a call, if you just say that Eurodebt handle my affairs - here's my reference number, here's their phone number, call them", advises the agent.

"You do nothing," says the agent.

Andrew is led to believe Eurodebt Ltd can get him debt free, and that his creditors will write off much of his debt.

The agent goes on to tell Andrew what his new monthly payment to his creditors could be.

The minimum payment per month could be £85 per month according to the agent - and that would be on a pro rata basis between the five creditors, and would include the fee to the company - much lower than the £400 plus Andrew is currently paying.

The creditors, "Won't like it but they will take it," asserts the agent.

Our debt expert, Keith Tondeur, watched the interview and concluded that:

"There's no way a company can guarantee to help as they don't know what creditors are going to say - it's not fair to customers…

"About giving the impression they will get you debt free - this is incredible as they obviously haven't yet contacted creditors. They just can't make this promise."

Upfront fees

As well as a monthly charge - Andrew will have to pay an upfront fee to Eurodebt Ltd.

The agent says that Eurodebt Ltd charges a fee dependent on your debt level - £1,595 in Andrew's case.

But where can Andrew get that money - he's already in debt?

Amazingly the advisor suggests Andrew might use his credit card to pay the fee while he still can.

Keith Tondeur says that this is, "an appalling suggestion - to put more money on his credit card.

"I don't know if it's legal but it's certainly unethical."

Eurodebt Ltd told Inside Out that the agent denied this conversation took place.

They also deny their advisors imply they can free the customer from debt.

"The words 'debt free', they say, "would probably occur in any conversation amongst those… suffering from… debt."

But Keith Tondeur from Credit Action is more wary.

His advice to people in debt is:

"Go and get free advice from charities offering that service..."

Help at hand

For free information and advice try these organisations:

Credit Action
Credit Action is a national money education charity committed to helping people manage their money better. Its aim is to help people stay in control, rather than letting money control them and disrupting their lives through over indebtedness. It produces a range of resources to help everybody handle their money well. 0800 138 1111 - www.cccs.co.uk

Citizen's Advice Bureaux
Citizens Advice Bureaux provide free, confidential and independent advice from nearly 3,400 locations including in bureaux, GP surgeries, hospitals, colleges, prisons and courts.

Consumer Credit Counselling Service
CCCS is a charity offering free and confidential advice, from budgeting to debt management plans. 0800 1381111.

National Debtline
National Debtline offers free and independent advice on how to deal with debt problems. 0808 808 4000.

Its website covers personal budget planning, sample letters for writing to creditors, debt advice and debt management plans.

There's also a free phone number if you would rather talk to someone in person.

Payplan
Payplan are a free debt management company who make repayment arrangements between clients who owe money and the company they owe money to.

Advice UK
Advice UK is the UK's largest support network for free, independent advice centres. Just click on Advice & Links on the left hand side of the page.

Legal Service Commission
The Legal Service Commission offers free high-quality legal information to help you deal with your legal problems.

Links relating to this story:

• Credit Action
• Citizens' Advice Bureau
• Consumer Credit Counselling Service
• National Debtline
• Legal Service Commission
• Payplan
• Advice UK

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

Rooks - brainy birds

Biggest rookery in Britain - the Rooks of Norfolk

Could Rooks be the world's most intelligent bird?

The East of England boasts one of nature's most remarkable sights.

Up to 80,000 Rooks gather at a wood in Buckenham, Norfolk, making this the biggest rookery in Britain - maybe even the world.

Every morning and evening the birds fly in and out of the rookery en masse, making it an incredible spectacle.

Gamekeeper of the Buckenham estate Joe Callum keeps an eye on the rookery.

"They just belong here," he says.

"They're even mentioned in Doomsday Book."

Rooks on the wing

According to Norfolk based Mark Cocker, author of Birds Britannica, numbers of Rooks are increasing, and the birds have no natural predator.

But they don't have the best reputation.

"Well it's a very beautiful scene when they all fly.

"The birds gather every day to sleep in Roost for protection, the mass resolves and they all fly as one organism," says Mark Cocker.

"Hitchcock has a lot to answer for.

"Black is the colour of evil … so they are often seen as omens of doom."

Folklore and farming

Jennifer Westwood, an author and expert on superstition and folklore who lives in South Norfolk, explains why Rooks feature heavily in folklore

"They are mysterious because they are so clever.

"Folklore suggests they are the cleverest bird. In some countries it was suggested they sat in circles or parliaments, and debated.

Rooks in the skies over Norfolk at dusk

"In East Anglia it's considered very lucky to have them near your house, and if they go then it's a bad sign - the family is about to fall on bad times."

But local farmer Richard Hurst from Ormsby isn't a fan.

He is aware that their numbers are on the increase and he says they lay waste to about 35 per cent of all his seed crops, and eat Sky Lark chicks.

He arranges for the birds to be shot to keep the numbers down.

Bright birds

Whatever your view, Rooks are fascinating creatures.

Professor Nicky Clayton at Cambridge University has been studying the birds for some years:

"The reason we're interested in Rooks is because they are highly intelligent, highly social and it's often thought that our type of brain is key to high intelligence.

"We're finding they have a completely different type of brain that gives different but still high intelligence. That's exciting for all kinds of reasons.

"These studies have found that some corvids are not only superior in intelligence to birds of other avian species (perhaps with the exception of some parrots), but also rival many nonhuman primates."

Increasingly, scientists agree that it isn't physical need that makes an animal smart, but social necessity.

Group living tends to be a complicated business so for individuals to prosper, they need to understand exactly what's going on.

So highly social creatures like Dolphins, Chimps, and humans tend to be large-brained and intelligent.

Like apes, many birds employ tools to gather food, but it isn't clear whether birds like Rooks appreciate how these tools work.

It may be that they simply discover their usefulness by accident.

One thing is clear - these birds are amongst the brainiest of our avian population.

For more information on watching the Rooks:
The roost at Strumpshaw Fen can only be viewed at certain times of the day and during the winter months.

Contact the RSPB for viewing details on 01603 715191.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Radio 4 - Rooks
• RSPB
  RSPB - Strumpshaw Fen
  
• Birds of Britain
• Norfolk Wildlife Trust

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

No room at the museum

Storage headache - these butterflies are filed away

Are you one of those people who always wants to look behind the door that says 'do not enter'?

If so then, the feeling is probably strongest in a museum - just what are they keeping out of view in all those dusty cupboards?

Inside Out has been given exclusive access to delve behind the scenes at the Saffron Walden Museum in Essex.

David Whiteley is given a fascinating peep at treasures usually out of sight to visitors - and also uncovers a serious concern.

Crammed cupboards

Like many museums Saffron Walden only has room to display a fraction of the 170,000 exhibits in its care.

Cupboard love - how can these gems be better displayed?

The rest are crammed into every nook, cupboard and cranny they can find.

The situation has got so desperate that hundreds of items, including geological specimens and fossilised bones, are having to be stored in a large lock-up garage, which has flooded three times in the past five years.

Put simply, the museum is full.

But what's more, as more development takes place around Stansted Airport, the museum is duty-bound to take any artefacts that are uncovered.

Building for the future

With time running out and little funding, the museum has ambitious plans to solve the problem and is trying to raise funds for a new research centre.

Carolyn Wingfield - Curator of the Saffron Walden Museum says:

"We've already got a problem as it is because over the last five years there has been work around the airport and along the new A120.

"There are two huge archaeological archives still with the excavators which we simply haven't got room to take.

"If there are further developments beyond that there could be up to 250 sites affected, according to archaeologists estimates, and that's going to be an enormous number of finds we need to find a home for."

Links relating to this story:

• Saffron Walden Museum
• Stansted Airport

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites