DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

Spoonhead88 wrote: »

Going into the third month of my DMP

Pros:
Lloyds have now agreed to the dmp.

My debt is under £5000 for the first time in 6 years

Cons:
I missed the deadline for the second-month payments with SC because I wanted to pay by card (make sure I had the cash in my account) SC change systems and their telephone robot payment line wouldn't accept my card. Had to phone up each creditor and pay.

Two of my three debts are still charging interest so my total isn't going down

My SSP runs out this week so I applied for ESA but not sure how long it will be till that kicks in so might be looking at weeks with no income.

Sigh

Hi Spoonhead, good progress so far,

I think I'd be tempted to go to token payments if you don't know if/when you get ESA. It will concentrate the minds of creditors to consider cutting interest.

You can increase payments again when it's worked out.

Saz

Sorry folks, I know this isn't really the right thread for this enquiry but there are such a lot of really helpful and knowledgeable people on here and I feel like you are friends:A. I don't feel such a numpty here when asking about what might be obvious to anyone with more experience:o

When requesting SAR from banks prior to PPI claims do I send the letter to the bank's dedicated PPI department at this stage or just the general customer services department? It's Lloyds bank by the way.

Also, Martin's template for requesting SAR has a heading for 'account number'. Is this meant to be the loan agreement number (which I'm not sure about until I get the SAR paperwork back so Catch 22 situation;)) or my Lloyds bank account number?

I told you it's probably obvious but I want to get it to the right desk and with the information they'll need.

Thanks to whoever takes pity on my ignorance and replies:A

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere wrote: »

So.......

Having a really low couple of days - not sure why

Just feeling a bit gutted about having to count every penny and budget so strictly every single day. Work colleagues are constantly talking about things they have bought or that they have been out for a nice expensive meal etc etc etc - cant even budget for us to take the kids for a McDonalds let alone a proper meal out!!

I think it's also because the Easter hols are here and we can't afford to take the kids places, just feel sad as they are suffering because of our debt problems:( If anyone has any suggestions for cheap and cheerful activities I would be more than grateful!!

Just having to walk past nice treats in the supermarket because we can't afford it - little things like that - has got to me these last few days.

I think we may need to redo our SC review a bit earlier and drop the payments a bit just to give us more breathing space. It will extend our DFD (which is already 2028 :eek:) but i guess that's all we can do, especially as we only have one wage coming in.

Sorry for the long post - just needed to vent today and I know you guys understand.

Thanks for reading

BDFSH x

I remember those feelings so well although my kids are grown up so we don't have to worry about entertaining them.
I don't know how old your children are but what about Museums? Where I live we have natural history museums and Science museums which are free and can be good fun and educational at the same time. The weather is getting better so a picnic in a local park is a cheap day out.


When you are in it for the long haul you are bound to have times when it feels like it is never ending. I found I struggled around the halfway point (2 1/2 - 3 years in) and it felt like I would never get to the end. I keep myself motivated by having small milestones which are reachable in chunks, this gives me a goal and helps to keep me on track.


Originally my DMP was for 11+ years and I have managed to shave off over 4 years from that over the last 5+ years. I probably could have finished the DMP quicker if I had been stricter with my budget but I decided that I would rather have a bit of wiggle room and live some sort of life. I've taken up a hobby which is cheap to do and I've made new friends with the same interests along the way. This way I don't feel I'm missing out, not being able to socialise the way I used to do.


I must admit now I'm into my final year, I'm impatient to get to the finish line and it does feel as though I have been doing this forever but I just keep going with my spreadsheets and milestones and keep telling myself to look how far I have come. I even allow myself a glimpse into next year and have to pinch myself to think I will be debt-free after 30 years in debt:o


I also keep a diary and refer to it when I'm down, I go back to the beginning and look at when I was in complete despair and know that what I'm doing will all be worth it in the end.



Keep going, you have come this far! Look at your achievements and you never know what is around the corner


Post on here whenever you need to, we are all in (or have been in) the same boat, paddling along trying to get to the other side.:)


Take care
Ellie x

Disneydreams wrote: »

Does anyone have any dealing with Lowell, my Creation credit card has been transferred over to them even though when I ring and go through the automated info I can still get my account balance from them I only know from logging onto stepchange that it's been transferred, panic is starting to rise again that phone calls and letters are going to start.

Hi,

I changed from SC to self managed and wrote to Creation to advise them of this, they didn't respond. I then rang them and they said your debt has been 'passed' to Lowells and you will hear from them.. well a month later and I am still waiting to hear from anyone...!

At least when BC sold my debt to PRA they had the decently to write and let me know..! I wouldn't worry phone calls can be blocked or answered with the i'm in a dmp with SC and this is my ref number.. letters.. they are just paper..burn well when dmp finishes I understand...!!

Puzz. x