Many years ago cowboys could be easily identified by their Stetsons, guns and horses. However, these days it's not quite so easy. We have all watched programmes about cowboy builders and plumbers charging a fortune for doing next to no work or for poor workmanship. Well, it appears that these cowboys have saddled up and move on to pastures new - debt advice.

The cowboy debt adviser only has one thing in mind and that is to sell you the product which makes the most amount of money for him, be it a debt consolidation loan, a debt management plan or an IVA. The problem is that although one of these debt solutions is the right one, the one which will be presented will be the one which earns the debt advice company the most commission.

Good debt advice involves carrying out a full financial review of your circumstances. From this, the key element to assess is your spending habits. If you are in control of your spending and have a good credit history then debt consolidation may be recommended. If you are under pressure from your creditors, find it difficult to keep a lid on spending and have a poor credit score then the appropriate debt advice would be to rein in your spending until it is under control and use a short-term fix like a debt management plan .

A common cowboy trick to be aware of is recommending an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) when bankruptcy is actually the best option. I know of several cases, where people whose sole income was derived from income support and benefits, being recommended an IVA. The correct debt advice should have been bankruptcy because after a year debts would be cleared while their benefits were protected.

A different cowboy debt advice strategy is to offer a debt management plan when either IVA or Bankruptcy is the best option. The cowboy debt adviser will recommend a debt management plan which could last over 8 years, based on very high monthly payments causing the client to be further stretched financially. After taking just a few monthly payments from the client, the debt advice company will call and ask them how they are getting on, calling it a case review. Usually the client complains about struggling with the high monthly payments and worries about the seemingly endless length of their plan with no guarantee of the interest being frozen. The cowboy debt advice company may then suggest to the client that they may like to sign up for a scheme which will involve some of their debt being written off, lower monthly repayments and being debt free in 5 years. The client jumps at the chance - wouldn't you? The only problem is the cowboy debt advice company has pocketed the monthly payments to date, which should have gone to your creditors- bad debt advice company!

Before you seek debt advice, carry out some research about the debt solutions available to you. You will then be in a better position to ask questions about any recommendations made. Only sign an agreement with a debt advice company if you are satisfied that they fully understand your debt problem. If you feel pressurised into making a decision, then walk away. If you feel that they have not explained their fee structure properly, walk away. If you feel that they are not friendly and customer-focused, walk away. The key to avoiding cowboy debt advice is make sure that you are happy with every aspect of the service that a company is delivering.

To make life easier for everyone, Debt Watchdog provides you with all the information you need on all the main debt solutions. You can even ask questions on our debt forum, where you'll find like-minded individuals ready to share their huge range of experiences of debt. Debt Watchdog does not pressurise you into making decisions - our goal is to find the right solution for you. Contact us now on 0800 970 2698 and start your journey to debt free happiness.