Customer Support

Customer Support

Understanding the processes involved in resolving debt problems can take some time – and so can finding out what help is available. ClearStart works hard to make sure that you are well informed, with access not only to the best advice but also to third-party support where appropriate.

Three terms you may not be familiar with at this stage are “Authority to Act”, “Standing Order Authority” and “Income and Expenditure form”. This page explains these terms in more detail.

You may also want to take a look at our useful address page, which gives you contact details for some of the organisations that may be able to offer you further help as you work towards establishing a better future.

Authority to Act

This is a legally recognised document that gives Clearstart authority to act as your Agent. Once you have nominated Clearstart to “act on your behalf”, we handle all matters relating to your application including delivery and collection of documents and receiving information from organisations that you owe money to.

Standing Order Authority

A Standing Order Authority tells your bank to pay a specified amount to Clearstart on a regular basis (usually monthly), directly from your account.
You control standing orders yourself, so to arrange a Standing Order Authority you will complete a mandate online or via your bank branch giving the following information:

• who you want to send the money to
• their account details
• the payment amount
• which day of the month you want the money to leave your account
• how often the payments are made.

Income and Expenditure form

An Income and Expenditure form creates a budget designed to give an accurate picture of your financial position. It shows you how much money you need to live on and how much you are able to set aside for payments to your creditors.

The form has four parts:

1. Income
Your total income (including those of a spouse). This statement can be a joint proposal for a couple.

2. Living costs
Every expense, excluding any debts (eg your weekly rent), should be included in this section. Arrears are not included and neither is a monthly hire purchase payment, where the whole balance counts as a debt.

3. Priority debts
These are the debts that you regard as priority, such as your mortgage.

4. Non-priority debts
All of the debts not included in section 3 go here – even if a creditor tells you otherwise.