Please offer any advice you have :)

[Tiger56]

Hi everybody,

I am new to this site today and I am looking for any advice you have.

Ok here goes, me and my husband are in about £13000 in debt (I understand that this may sound a small amount compared to a lot of people). We owe 18 creditors in total these include, overdrafts, credit/store cards, mobile phone contracts, and the majority payday loans. I know we have got ourselves in this mess and we need to get it sorted. We started getting into this mess when we were 18 we got the overdrafts and mobile phones etc but my husband lost his job when we first moved in together but we were young and wanted to keep up with our friends. (I know no excuse) he got back into work. We entered a DMP Gregory Pennington who charge fees. My husband then got made redundant. Payday loans then seamed like a good thing money when you need it but we let it get out of control.

We now want help on getting on top of all these debts so we can start again. We are now 24 and 25 and one day would love to have a family but we know the mess we are in it feels like it will never happen. We are useless at managing our money it just seams to disappear.

I know my all this sounds like we deserve it and believe me we know it. We now want to get out of this more than anything but don't know where to start.

Sorry for long post, please help

[shellyruby]

Hi,
i owed roughly the same amount as you a good few years ago.
knowing nothing about dmps i rang a few and they charged.one told me to go bankrupt..anyway i went with payplan who were brilliant and dont charge.they were so understanding..i recently paid of the final payment with them.
someone with more knowledge than me will be along soon to give you good advice.
good luck.

[rising from the ashes]

Hi Tiger welcome to the site .... you've come to a great place for advice & support.

1st place to start is to complete a SOA http://www.stoozing.com/msoc/soacalc.php - once we can see exactly what's coming in, going out and the debts, you'll get suggestions on the best way forward. Best of luck

[Better_Off_1983]

How long have you been with Greg Penn, can you get rid of them and go to a free DMC?

[Tiger56]

Hi Shellyruby,

Do payplan charge and will it matter that we have taken out further debt since our DMP?

Thank you

[Tiger56]

I have been with GP for 11months now. Can you change debt management company's?

[fannyadams]

Hi Tiger welcome on board. You've made the first step by registering and posting.
another vote for the SOA here too. it'll be a real eye opener but you'll be glad you did it. also it'll mean you'll go through everything that you owe to separate companies and find out the APR.
the majority of people will pay off the ones with the highest APR first, as they are the ones that are costing you the most.
then work down the list of each one in order of next highest APR until each one is paid off.
don't try to save any money
go to the OS board and have a look around at how people eat for less.
I also like this wesbite for meal ideas

[Mort]

Hi Tiger56,

Payplan are one of the companies who don't charge have a look at this thread for more information. You can change companies but don't be surprised if GP try to dissuade you from doing so.

I have seen posts where Payplan and StepChange take a dim view of people taking out further loans when on a DMP with them so it is important that you break the borrowing bug. In your current position you will be a new customer so they will take account of all your current debt.
A good DMC will work out a sensible budget with you which will help you.

[tallyhoh]

Google reviews for GP, not good reading.

[eyeopener2]

Get on the phone to GP as soon as you can and dump them. Then get in touch with Step Change or Payplan to sort your new and final DMP.

You have to break the borrowing cycle and as your young you have loads of Time on your side. It's not easy but it is worth it and your future Will be a whole lot eeasier if your debt free.

Drop DP though they are a drain on your finances.

[shellyruby]

Originally Posted by Tiger56

Hi Shellyruby,

Do payplan charge and will it matter that we have taken out further debt since our DMP?

Thank you

yours will be a complete new debt with payplan so it dosent matter if youve taken further debt with your old dmp,you ll be coming off that..payplan dont charge and they were so helpful to me and non judgemental and so reassuring..i was horrified when i realised the extent of my debts but they dealt with everything..no more creditor letters or worry..wrapped into a payment that i could afford..payplan say no new debt once your on their plan, but i had an old debt resurface after a while when id been with them and they sorted that out and put it on the plan..the good thing is,is that you only pay what you can afford and it dosent leave you short,everything is covered so you dont need to borrow anymore.
also payplan will give you advice about cutting the ties with your old dmp company.

[Tiger56]

Thanks for all your replies, we have always tried to stick to a budget but our money just seams to disappear. Do you have any advice on how to make us realise where our money is going? What's a realistic food budget for 2 people? Thanks again

[rising from the ashes]

Originally Posted by Tiger56

Do you have any advice on how to make us realise where our money is going? What's a realistic food budget for 2 people? Thanks again

Try a Spending Diary - you need to write down everything ... even 30p for a paper, or 60p for the bag of malt*esers that just falls in your basket (well, they always seem to fall into mine!) etc. It's a real eyeopener!

Re groceries, I'm terrible at these but I do know couples that manage on £140 / month (and some less!).

Try the Grocery Challenge on the Old Style Board - great bunch of people, loads of tips & some fab recipes at the start of the thread.

[moongarden]

you could consider doing your DMP yourself? All the letters can be found easily from here. One key thing to managing your finances is keeping records. I've been debt free for 5 years now from a similar amount of debt and I have learned the hard way that my notes and filing system are my best armour. that and a good calendar.

Often find these days that my records out gun pretty much any of the companies I've disputed anything with in the past few years.

[Tiger56]

How did you start to do it yourself? That is defiantly something I am interested in doing. At least that way you realise exactly how much work has to go into it. Not an easy option. At least I have control over everything then.

[Time to face the music]

Originally Posted by Tiger56

How did you start to do it yourself? That is defiantly something I am interested in doing. At least that way you realise exactly how much work has to go into it. Not an easy option. At least I have control over everything then.

You can do a self managed DMP via the CAB and it's all online. Check out

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/signup.asp

[moongarden]

Hi Tiger,

It depends where you are starting from. I had a couple of shoe boxes of scrappy paper and not a lot of info to go on so I divided my efforts between reading this site, applying for my credit report and setting up a filing system with folders etc.
Time to Face the Music also put a good link there for you. The basis of doing your own DMP is knowing exactly how much you owe, how much you have coming in and your SOA.

There are other things that you can do along with managing your debts - increasing your income;
check you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to
ebay some stuff
look for additional part time work
reduce your outgoings;
no spend days
change you power suppliers
grocery challenge
etc

Anything you can do to tip the balance in your favour will make the journey shorter.

[moongarden]

From my credit report I wrote to each company saying that I had just seen them on my file and could they please provide me with a signed copy of the agreement - there is a standard letter on here for this and you need to enclose a £1 statutory payment.

two of my 14 creditors dropped out at that point.

p.s. I only get online some evenings so sometimes a delay in replying

[Tiger56]

Thank you moongarden.

I am deffinatly going to have a go at doing this on my own. There are a few concerns I have.

• Should I cancel my current DMP now or wait until I have set up new arrangements with my creditors?
• The majority of my debts are not with the original lender they are with debt collection companys. Will this result in them coming to my home?
• Should I change bank accounts? The reason i ask this is because of the payday loans.

What do you mean that 2 of your creditors dropped out?

I have heard a people talking about snowballing debt, what is this? Would this be an option for me?

I am very greatful for all your advice this site is brillant and made me realise I am not on my own.

[Tixy]

Hi

Originally Posted by Tiger56

I am deffinatly going to have a go at doing this on my own. There are a few concerns I have.

• Should I cancel my current DMP now or wait until I have set up new arrangements with my creditors? I would cancel as soon as you can - check the T&Cs of your DMP (online if you cannot find your agreement) - most require written notice of 1 month or 14 days.
• The majority of my debts are not with the original lender they are with debt collection companys. Will this result in them coming to my home? Probably not, if they threaten a doorstop visit there is a template letter to send to state that you revoke their right to visit. If they do turn up then simply ask them to leave, they have no rights to take goods/enter your property etc, only bailiffs can do this, and that is only after a creditor has taken you to court to obtain a CCJ.
• Should I change bank accounts? The reason i ask this is because of the payday loans. Yes. And then do not give the pd companies your new bank details. Best to offer to pay them by standing order.

What do you mean that 2 of your creditors dropped out?

I have heard a people talking about snowballing debt, what is this? Would this be an option for me? Snowballing is when people can afford more than their minimum payments and its about paying the most to creditors who charge the most interest. That doesn't work if on a DMP, as you cannot afford the contracted payments.

I am very greatful for all your advice this site is brillant and made me realise I am not on my own.

Just one thing - You state that you are useless at managing money, I would only recommend a self-managed DMP if you are certain you will be able to change this, you will need to keep on top of your money and outgoings and will need to ensure you pay all your creditors the agreed amount each month and ontime. If you think you will struggle to do this then it might be better to consider a managed charity/free DMP.

If you decide to self-manage your own DMP then it might still be worth getting advice from one of the charities first - they'll help you put together an income & expenditure that your creditors are likely to consider reasonable - and therefore be most likely to accept your repayment proposals. They'll also explain about the importance of treating all creditors equally and provide you with a lot of useful template letters you can use.