Speirs & Jeffery Ltd

Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Very high fees, no debt management performed

...I have to agree with the other reviewer - please, please never ever use Churchwood Financial Ltd (or any of the other companies they trade as). I went to them because my repayments and interest were becoming unmanageable. When I finally left them almost six months later, I was simply more in debt than when I started. They promise to take care of everything... If only this was even half way true. They promise to liaise with creditors, set up repayment agreements that will stop your interest and charges. THEY DONT! One of the first things they tell you (\"advise you\") is to stop taking any calls or replying to any letters from creditors. Just give them all to them. They also say stop making payments. Although I was struggling, I was making all payments on time and had never been charged extra fees up until I contacted Churchwood... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap Insurance
Disadvantages: Too many companies involved when you want to make a claim

...Star do not deal with claims themselves, but pass them to a company called “Motorcare Services Ltd” to deal with. “Our repairers will liaise direct with our in-house motor engineers to ensure that your car is inspected quickly to enable the repairs to be started immediately, without the need for you to spend precious time obtaining estimates.” A company called Northern Assessors sent an Engineer to look at the car (Yes, that’s right, not in house at all!), and value the damage. The cost of repair was about £3000. Did they write off the car? NO. It took over a week to decide what they were going to do with the car, but eventually, they decided to repair it. After all, the Assessor valued the car at £4000. A car which is on an N plate, and has done over 130,000, worth £4000, who are you kidding! So, now we’ve got 4 companies involved... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Very fast service, accurate impartial advice, help people with credit problems
Disadvantages: Telephone line only open in business hours, don't offer unsecured loans

...I was in a real mess with my finances and finally admitted to myself that I needed to do something about it. I had seen all the adverts on TV about consolidating your credit cards and thought i'd give one of them a call. The service I got from the company I called wasn't great and it felt like they were pressurising me. At this point I decided to go onto Google and do a search for companies that actually offer advice, rather than trying to force finance down your throat. I found www.spdirect.com, the loan site of Stirling Partners Ltd. I tried their number but it was about 9 at night and it was on a voicemail, so i filled in their online form instead. The next day first thing I had a financial adviser call me back and go through my situation. They listened to what I had to say and offered good advice, they sounded like... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful