Financial Support Systems Reviews 744

Very professional, very helpful friendly staff…

My IVA has finally been completed - 5 long years.
For the first 2 years, FSS were amazing, I had no faults whatsoever. Communication was great when I needed it & annual reviews were no problem.

However, when it came round to my 3rd annual review outcome being delivered, I got a really harsh email saying I was in breach of my IVA due to £1K of additional income being detected that was not declared to them. I was a student at the time, working part-time to get by and knew instantly that this was incorrect. After contacting FSS's review team via telephone call, I had to undergo very harsh 'pop quiz' like questioning for a good 45 minutes on my bank statement. After answering all their questions, it came to their realisation that they miscalculated £1K in additional income, they wiped this and marked my review as complete. I still think to this day, how do you miscalculate this?

My 4th year was completely fine, no issues whatsoever and a complete turnaround from the 3rd annual review. Very quick turnaround time from submitting evidence and receiving outcome.

My final review was another tricky one. I submitted my evidence, and again another £1K of additional income was miscalculated. After looking at their calculations, they had made assumptions for my September & October pay and miscalculated my earnings from earlier on this year from my P60. Again, I had to contact their review team to get this sorted out by supplying more evidence. I can't recall the member of staffs name I spoke to, but he was incredibly apologetic and got the situation resolved.

Overall, the experience with FSS was okay. The miscalculations at the annual reviews did stress me out. They did make me wonder at times who have they got doing these calculations for them to be so wrong? Children?
However, the most of their staff members are extremely friendly over the phone. Contacting them via email takes ages for a response, so your best bet is to call to get an issue/query resolved quickly.

My IVA completion certificate took about 6 weeks to come through when they told me up to 6 months, this was a really nice way to finish the process.

Thanks FSS for the support across the 5 years.

Straight forward and much easy going with their clients.

From the very beginning of my journey them, I was treated with understanding, respect, and patience. Dealing with financial difficulties can be extremely stressful, but the support I received made the whole process far more manageable.

Everything was explained clearly and honestly, so I always knew where I stood. Whenever I had questions or concerns, they were addressed promptly and professionally, which gave me real peace of mind. Communication was consistent throughout, and I never felt left in the dark.

Most importantly, I felt supported as a person, not just as a case. Thanks to their guidance and commitment, my case has now successfully come to an end, which is a huge weight off my shoulders.

I’m genuinely grateful for the help I received and would confidently recommend their services to anyone going through a similar situation.

Amazing, understand and helpful through every step. Highly recommend

Financial support were exactly that . Kept me informed, helped me keep on top of things . But I am so glad to say thank you and bye bye

Been a very good company to work with over the past 5 years and nice to be debt free.

Thank you for everything nothing was a problem every step was easy phone up any time I wasn’t afraid of any problems coz you done it all thank you to all that helped me thanks

Customer service good cannot fault my experience

Great company. All staff I spoke to were polite and knowledgeable. From the day I signed up to the IVA to the end of the 5 years, I didn't hear from any of my creditors and only need to interact with FSS once a year during the yearly financial review. All in all, a very good experience during a difficult period.

My experience was really great as I was helped through every step

FSS has been so helpful throughout. Easy to deal with professional and polite at all times

When trying to contact them to get through to discuss anything it was a nightmare! you was passed around and communication was poor meaning trying to sort any issues was hard work.
Also I feel I was pushed and miss lead in to a IVA when I now I know there was other option at the time that would have being a better option and solution to my situation! it was during the COVID period when wasn’t able to work leaving me in financial difficulties and desperate so before going down this road of an IVA have a look at all other option available no matter how good there make an IVA sound to sorting you situation! Have a look at other options that might be able to help like a charity called step change. Locking in to a 5year financial plan and not being able to do anything credit wise for 6 years is a very long time to put your life on hold.

Brilliant service. Excellent customer service. Really helped me when needed and a painless process from start to finish.

Very good service thank for ur help

Honestly the most stressful and frustrating service, company and experience ever. I regret perusing an IVA with FSS more than I regret getting into debt in the first place.

My 5 year plan was totally fraught with stress and anxiety caused by a lack of communication, threatening emails, human and system error, and at times, just completely being ignored.

One year I was reviewed twice in the space of a 6 months, which is a time consuming process and very stressful, but I was told that because of ‘department changes’ it was therefore lost in communications and my obligation to re-review.

On another occasion I was served a false breach for a debt that THEY had mistakenly duplicated 2 years after my IVA commenced, they accused me of not declaring a debt and threatened me with court proceedings. I received no help in rectifying the breach despite calling constantly for answers, it took for me to reach out to my old debtors and prove to FSS that it was a mistake on their end. I received no apology just a ‘we have corrected the mistake’ email.

I then received another false breach at the end of my IVA, because they ignored 3 of my emails containing documentation, and then accused me of withholding bank statements. Another threatening email received, this time telling me they could and would file for my bankruptcy. At the END of paying a debt for 5 years, you can imagine how unsettling that fear would be.

A year out from the end of my IVA I requested a settlement after 4 years of back and forth issues. I provided all the evidence required to settle including proof of funds and a signed letter from a willing donor, and then went on to be ignored every single time I requested an update thereafter. I was never able to settle, and remained locked in for the remaining year.

In the 3rd year of my IVA, I was made redundant and informed FSS. They offered no support, did not reduce my payments and a few months later, actually whacked another £100 on to my monthly debit.

All in all, absolutely the WORST experience of my life. In hindsight and knowing what I know now, I wish I had never volunteered into the scheme and just held on tight and cleared my debt slowly on my own. I was in my 20s when I was convinced into going insolvent by an advisor at FSS, I wish I’d had the wisdom behind me to know there was a better way to sort my debt out.

I would implore anyone to really think about their debt options before approaching FSS. They are a disorganised, uncommunicative and have a total lack of empathy. Going insolvent under their supervision, might just be the worst thing you ever do.

I felt listened to from the beginning, they were always available to listen every time I called for information. The communication has always been punctual and detailed

Always made annual reviews easy and pain free, and would help with them any way they could, nothing was too much trouble over the phone or live chat, 5 years flew by.

Always been efficient helpful from the word go I have had no issues whatsoever five stars from me