DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

blisteringblue · 5 February 2016 at 2:02PM

Brogden wrote: »

Step Change will insist you do it in a way which suits its mentors !!

Ah but before we turn it into a Stepchange bashing session, even I see their merit. Some people are not happy talking to creditors. Even if Stepchange are a bank creation, they do a good job. People can clear their debts without being at the mercy of the fee paying DMP sharks, and other than speaking to Stepchange the debtor can have somebody happily do this for them with minimal hassle.

I just don't think Stepchange see the whole picture, when a little common sense could remove a lot of peoples hassles with interest etc.

make_the_change · 5 February 2016 at 2:08PM

Blisteringblue and Brogden.... I am new to this journey and following your advice and stories closely. Would you recommend going at it alone? I know I can do it and be strict with myself but just not sure how to start negotiating freezing interest and managing token payments etc... I'm quite savvy at writing letters and can format them quite confidentially based on the info and advice this board has provided. Thanks.

January2015 · 5 February 2016 at 2:16PM

make_the_change wrote: »

Blisteringblue and Brogden.... I am new to this journey and following your advice and stories closely. Would you recommend going at it alone? I know I can do it and be strict with myself but just not sure how to start negotiating freezing interest and managing token payments etc... I'm quite savvy at writing letters and can format them quite confidentially based on the info and advice this board has provided. Thanks.

Hi

I'm sure Blisteringblue and Brogden will respond shortly, but thought I would throw my twopence worth in;) I've posted below how I quoted the Lending Code when corresponding with various predators when starting my DMP journey last year. The Lending Code is a really useful document to refer to and the full code can be found here under important links on the right hand side near the top.

January2015 wrote: »

Lending Code Section 224 states:
Subscribers should consider reducing or stopping interest and charges when a customer evidences that they are in financial difficulties. Such reduction/suspension decision should be based upon an income and expenditure statement indicating that they are unable to make repayments sufficient to meet contractual terms. Where a customer is able to make only token payments, their debt should not increase as a result of interest and charges levied. The assessment should reflect the customer’s lack of ability to pay rather than the stage an account has reached in the arrears cycle or whether they are using free sources of debt advice. Where a firm declines to allow concessions, they should be prepared to explain why to the customer or their adviser if requested to do so.

The Lending Code states a token payment is "An offer of payment of a small amount, e.g. £1, made by a customer who has no surplus income available for their ‘non-priority’ creditors and whose circumstances have a realistic prospect of improving so that they will be able to resume full or increased payments".

My argument on this one has been that our DMP sees us through to retirement age and whilst we are making more than token £1 payments our payments are still not equivalent to the required amount for the account to be in order and therefore our payments still constitute a token payment (my logic being that anything less than the required minimum payment must be a token payment).

Section 225 states:
It is inappropriate for interest and charges to continue to be taken where the result would be that the repayment period for the customer becomes excessive. In forming a judgement on what might be excessive, a subscriber should take into account the type of product and the individual circumstances of the borrower.

My argument on this one (the Hellifax OD) was that it was going to take more than 30 years to clear based on our token payments if they kept charging their daily fee. With no fees we could clear the debt by retirement age. I'm working on developing this argument into my complaint with BC re. interest charges. I need to be more awake when I do the figures, but if their interest is going to take us over the DMP period and into retirement then I think I would argue that makes the repayment period excessive - thinking cap needs to be firmly in place when I word my next missive to BC.

Section 227 states:
Where possible, subscribers should have consistent policies for customers holding more than one product type in terms of charges and interest concessions.

My argument on this one was how can you agree our relationship has broken down and agree to default our OD but not our loans - you need to treat us consistently.

Edit: I should have said these were just the arguments I used based on my interpretation of bits of the Lending Code I thought applied to our individual circumstances and I do realise the arguments I made may not work for everyone (and indeed may not work for me with all of our creditors - but it did feel good to quote the code verbatim when some of them phoned us following our complaint letters - because different departments deal with complaints about different products even though it can be the same bank/creditor). I felt I knew more about it than the poor so and so's phoning me

make_the_change · 5 February 2016 at 2:25PM

January2015 wrote: »

Hi

I'm sure Blisteringblue and Brogden will respond shortly, but thought I would throw my twopence worth in;) I've posted below how I quoted the Lending Code when corresponding with various predators when starting my DMP journey last year. The Lending Code is a really useful document to refer to and the full code can be found here under important links on the right hand side near the top.

Thanks January2015

Brogden · 5 February 2016 at 2:55PM

make_the_change wrote: »

Blisteringblue and Brogden.... I am new to this journey and following your advice and stories closely. Would you recommend going at it alone? I know I can do it and be strict with myself but just not sure how to start negotiating freezing interest and managing token payments etc... I'm quite savvy at writing letters and can format them quite confidentially based on the info and advice this board has provided. Thanks.

Based upon the information you have given about yourself.....the answer is yes......do it yourself

!!

I am constantly annoyed about people who make big assumptions and say things to me on the internet without knowing anything about me or my circumstances so I don't want to be one of those.........

Blisteringblue is right and there is no place for a 'Step Change bashing session.' Step Change have turned lives around and may also have saved some lives too. However.......does everybody need them? Simply....no they don't.

You can speak to them any time or sign up with them at any time in the future if that is what you want to do or you find 'self-management' is not what you want. I consulted with them but didn't sign up. I was in an emotionally bad place at the time and I didn't opt to self-manage I just fell into it but as time passed it became increasingly obvious that this was the best way way to do it.

Self management doesn't just have the advantages we have already mentioned. You should hear some of the guys on this thread wondering why their SC balances aren't what they thought they would be and debating the changes in collection / payment dates etc. It's beaurocracy and a complex middleman that I, for one can do without.

I still have to say that they have their place......where do you go when you don't have a clue who you should talk to about your problems...? How much better do you feel when you do have a friend out there?

All the best whichever way you go

.

make_the_change · 5 February 2016 at 3:03PM

Brogden wrote: »

Based upon the information you have given about yourself.....the answer is yes......do it yourself !!

I am constantly annoyed about people who make big assumptions and say things to me on the internet without knowing anything about me or my circumstances so I don't want to be one of those.........

Blisteringblue is right and there is no place for a 'Step Change bashing session.' Step Change have turned lives around and may also have saved some lives too. However.......does everybody need them? Simply....no they don't.

You can speak to them any time or sign up with them at any time in the future if that is what you want to do or you find 'self-management' is not what you want. I consulted with them but didn't sign up. I was in an emotionally bad place at the time and I didn't opt to self-manage I just fell into it but as time passed it became increasingly obvious that this was the best way way to do it.

Self management doesn't just have the advantages we have already mentioned. You should hear some of the guys on this thread wondering why their SC balances aren't what they thought they would be and debating the changes in collection / payment dates etc. It's beaurocracy and a complex middleman that I, for one can do without.

I still have to say that they have their place......where do you go when you don't have a clue who you should talk to about your problems...? How much better do you feel when you do have a friend out there?

All the best whichever way you go .

That all makes perfect sense and at first I felt I needed that middleman to assist me in something that was possibly quite complicated and daunting. But reading all these posts, it's been of great assistance to me. I guess my worry is how to tackle things on my own...

I have done the first step, sent my creditors letters stating about I am making token payments. I want to build an EF so I guess my question is how do I delay starting my repayments? What excuse or reason do I give?

Next, maybe I'm being a little too hasty but I like to be prepared is how do I go about starting self management and agreeing a realistic and affordable repayment schedule with them?

How do you 'try' to get them to stop or reduce interest?

I feel these are my main concerns but if I am ready and confident to tackle them, then I am more than capable of going at it alone.

January2015 · 5 February 2016 at 3:03PM

For me SC was a starting point in discipline myself and my DH about our finances

We had clearly not been disciplined in previous years and the debt piled up - borrowing more to service the existing debts.

I needed the first year with SC to give us both that discipline and structure to our financial lives. I needed SC to bring my DH onboard that this was an acceptable way forward with our lives. He would never have thought it possible to default on debts without the wrath of courts raining down on us. He would never have taken the time to read, learn, digest the masses of information on this forum. He thought a debt charity supporting us clearly meant it was 'approved' in some manner or other.

We've both had our eyes opened in the last 12 months with how to deal with predators, their rights, our rights, and what they cannot do etc.

I cannot thank SC enough for being that place we could go to get started on the road to becoming debt free, but I feel so much better and more in control now we are self-managing

make_the_change · 5 February 2016 at 3:06PM

January2015 wrote: »

For me SC was a starting point in discipline myself and my DH about our finances We had clearly not been disciplined in previous years and the debt piled up - borrowing more to service the existing debts.

I needed the first year with SC to give us both that discipline and structure to our financial lives. I needed SC to bring my DH onboard that this was an acceptable way forward with our lives. He would never have thought it possible to default on debts without the wrath of courts raining down on us. He would never have taken the time to read, learn, digest the masses of information on this forum. He thought a debt charity supporting us clearly meant it was 'approved' in some manner or other.

We've both had our eyes opened in the last 12 months with how to deal with predators, their rights, our rights, and what they cannot do etc.

I cannot thank SC enough for being that place we could go to get started on the road to becoming debt free, but I feel so much better and more in control now we are self-managing

Thanks for this, I shall be following your story closely and wish you well.

January2015 · 5 February 2016 at 3:09PM

make_the_change wrote: »

That all makes perfect sense and at first I felt I needed that middleman to assist me in something that was possibly quite complicated and daunting. But reading all these posts, it's been of great assistance to me. I guess my worry is how to tackle things on my own...

I have done the first step, sent my creditors letters stating about I am making token payments. I want to build an EF so I guess my question is how do I delay starting my repayments? What excuse or reason do I give?

Next, maybe I'm being a little too hasty but I like to be prepared is how do I go about starting self management and agreeing a realistic and affordable repayment schedule with them?

How do you 'try' to get them to stop or reduce interest?

I feel these are my main concerns but if I am ready and confident to tackle them, then I am more than capable of going at it alone.

We moved from StepChange to self-managed this month. I had been paying creditors for almost one year through SC. Some payments as low as £14 per month and some as high as almost £200. In total we were paying just under £1,000 per month. However, when we changed to self-managed I wrote and advised them all of this and advised we would be making token payments of £1 for Feb and March. I didn't give a reason, I just advised the amount they would get from April. All but one have written and accepted and the one that didn't is only a few pounds a month anyway. Our income and expenditure statement clearly identified we could afford to pay more than £1 each month in Feb and March - I just told them they were only getting £1 though. No explanations of why.

We've also revised our budget and our total payments will now be just over £700 per month. This gives me wriggle room in our budget and the ability to save for F&F offers.

As I said, I didn't give reasons, just told them what they would be getting and when. It seems to me as long as you keep them informed, pay what you agree and when you agree, the predators are okay.

make_the_change · 5 February 2016 at 3:12PM

January2015 wrote: »

We moved from StepChange to self-managed this month. I had been paying creditors for almost one year through SC. Some payments as low as £14 per month and some as high as almost £200. In total we were paying just under £1,000 per month. However, when we changed to self-managed I wrote and advised them all of this and advised we would be making token payments of £1 for Feb and March. I didn't give a reason, I just advised the amount they would get from April. All but one have written and accepted and the one that didn't is only a few pounds a month anyway. Our income and expenditure statement clearly identified we could afford to pay more than £1 each month in Feb and March - I just told them they were only getting £1 though. No explanations of why.

We've also revised our budget and our total payments will now be just over £700 per month. This gives me wriggle room in our budget and the ability to save for F&F offers.

As I said, I didn't give reasons, just told them what they would be getting and when. It seems to me as long as you keep them informed, pay what you agree and when you agree, the predators are okay.

Great...

When you sent over your income and expenditure, was it something you created yourself? Or their forms? Or something that can be accessed online?

DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

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