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Help during your CVPP

This service has now been closed to new clients. However, we’ll continue to fully support you if you’re already on a CVPP.


If you’re new to us, we can still help you if you’re struggling with your money. We can look at your financial situation, give you debt advice and recommend debt solutions to suit your situation. We’ll also help you set up and support your chosen solution. You can start debt advice here

This section has lots of answers to questions that may arise while you’re on your Covid Payment Plan (CVPP). We’ve arranged this section based on whatever stage you may be at in your plan.

On this page, you'll find...

Answers to the questions our CVPP clients ask us most often (and perhaps some you may not have thought of asking!)

A typical timeline that tells you what you can expect over the course of your CVPP.




Common CVPP questions our clients ask

If your creditor isn't freezing interest or charges on a debt you have in your CVPP, this means that you may not be reducing the debt but instead paying towards the interest and charges.

If this happens, you should contact your creditor to understand how the payments you're making to your CVPP are affecting your account with them.

When you have this information you may need to consider whether the CVPP is still the right option for you. We’d usually recommend speaking to your creditor about future arrangements, or getting debt advice from us.

If a creditor has rejected your CVPP they will still accept the payments we send on your behalf. However, they could continue to add interest and charges to your account.

Based on your current situation, you’re unable to increase the amount you’re paying, so it’s important that you keep making your payments to us as normal. If there are any changes in your circumstances, please let us know as soon as possible.

You won't be able to skip or reduce a CVPP payment during your plan. If you’re unable to make a payment towards your CVPP, we recommend you contact us so we can discuss your options.

It’s really important you let us know as soon as possible if you’re having any difficulties keeping up to date with payments.

If you receive a one-off sum of money during the time you're on a plan, we'd suggest you keep this as 'rainy day' savings to help your future financial situation.

If you choose to use this to make a one-off or ad-hoc payment directly to one of your creditors it may change the terms of your plan. Please contact us first if you want to do this.

If the sum of money you receive is sustainable enough to continue on an ongoing basis we'd suggest you contact us to increase your monthly payment towards your plan.

Don’t worry. Receiving letters from your creditors is a standard part of the debt collection process. The letters you may receive, such as statements and reminders for payment, have to be sent to you by law so you can see what’s happening with your debt. You don’t need to do anything, but please keep them for your records.

Your CVPP won't be affected if you've received a default notice for one of your accounts during your plan. This is a normal part of the debt collection process.

Being told you’ve defaulted on your debt isn’t pleasant, but it’s telling you what you already know: due to temporarily paying less towards your credit product, the original agreement you signed has been broken.

Your credit file must be kept up to date, and a default notice is confirmation that your credit file reflects your current situation. As a result, your credit rating will deteriorate.

If you get letters from debt collection agencies saying they’ve taken over a debt, all you need to do is contact us on 0300 3032 528 and give us their details. We'll contact them and start sending them payments.

If your financial situation shows a lasting improvement, you could increase the payment you make towards your plan. You’ll have the opportunity to make increases to the payments you make through the life of the plan.

We’d encourage you to do this, if it’s possible, as this’ll help you to return to your normal monthly payments sooner.

Please note that we need 15 working days’ notice for your Direct Debit to be updated before the next payment is taken.

If your financial situation shows a lasting improvement, you could increase the payment you make towards the plan. However, any increase will go towards priority arrears first. If you don't have any priority arrears it’ll be spread proportionally across the rest.

Please note that we need 15 working days’ notice for your Direct Debit to be updated before the next payment is taken.

If you're able to pay your contractual payments again before the end of your CVPP, contact us and we'll close your plan.

You’ll need to contact your creditors to come to an arrangement to repay the interest, charges and arrears built up on your account.

Your lenders will discuss this with you and may include increasing your monthly payment or increasing the term of your arrangement.

Once your plan closes, you’ll:

  • return to making full contractual payments to all your credit commitments, and
  • start to pay your creditors directly again.

If you want to add another debt to your CVPP after it has gone live, we’ll have to close your plan. This is because there may be another solution that would be better suited to your situation.

The following debts can't be included in a CVPP:


- Mortgages and mortgage arrears

- Rent and rent arrears

- Secured loans

- Overdrafts

- Hire purchases and hire purchase arrears

- Benefit overpayment repayments

- Fines

- Taxes

- CCJs / decrees

- Child maintenance arrears

- Insurance arrears

- TV licence arrears

A CVPP is designed to help you get back on track until your income returns to normal and gives you certainty of what you'll be paying in the meantime. However, you'll still have debts remaining at the end of the plan. You'll need to speak to your creditors at that point to agree your new payments.

What to expect during your CVPP

  • Day 1 - Your plan is active

    You'll set up your Direct Debit, so make sure you know when your CVPP payment is due. It's important that you continue to pay your creditors until your CVPP takes over the payments.
  • Week 1 - Talking to your creditors

    We’ve sent all of the creditors in your plan a proposal telling them how much they’ll get paid and giving them a copy of your budget. They may still contact you as it can take them a while to process this information in their systems.
  • Week 2 - Hello from us

    Check your inbox because we'll send you your first CVPP client newsletter. You'll get sent one every month, and it'll give you ongoing help and support to get your finances back on track.
  • Month 1 - Your first payment

    You’ve made your first CVPP payment to us but you may still be getting letters and phone calls. It might take a couple of months of regular monthly payments before things settle down. Bear with it, it’ll get easier.
  • Month 3 - How's it going?

    It’s been three months since you started your CVPP, so we'll get in touch to check how you’re getting on, and make sure the plan’s still suitable for you.
  • Month 4 - Interest and charges

    Some creditors may still be adding interest and charges to your debts. We know it can be disheartening, but keep paying your CVPP. As your debt moves through the creditor’s collections process it is likely that interest and charges will stop.
  • Month 6 - Your halfway point

    A lot can change in six months so we'll get back in touch and we wanted to check how you’re getting on. We also want to make sure the plan’s still suitable for you for the next six months until it ends.
  • Month 7 - Default notices

    You may start to receive default notices from your creditors. These will stay on your credit file for six years but are a normal part of the collections process. Just carry on making your monthly payment.
  • Month 8 - Debt collection agencies

    If you get letters from debt collection agencies saying they’ve taken over a debt, all you need to do is call us on 0300 3032 528 and give us their details. We'll contact them and start sending them payments.
  • Month 11 - Contact your creditors to set up your Direct Debits

    There’s only one more month to go until your CVPP ends, so you’ll need to set up the Direct Debit for your credit products again.
  • Month 12 - The end of your CVPP

    If you complete the plan successfully, you’ll return to making full contractual payments to all your credit commitments, and start to pay your creditors directly again. You may also wish to take steps to improve your credit rating. We’ll provide you with helpful tips on to do this towards the end of your plan.
 

What are your bank details for CVPP clients?

Our bank details for CVPP clients are below:

Business name: Foundation for Credit Counselling

Sort code: 20-48-67

Account number: 33251489

Payment reference: [please add your client CVPP number])

Please don't use these bank details for any other debt solution that we offer.