DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 5)

Toffee_Penny

Kudox, hope it went well but interviews are always horrible aren't they? I hate the being on edge of it all, I'd rather they say at the end 'look you are shiit no chance' at least you'd know one way or the other but fingers crossed for you

Suziepoor - Please don't feel down about your debt, it doesn't matter how we got here what matters is what we do about it now and everyone will be familiar with this story;

got offered a credit card
paid credit card off a few times the limit increased
offered a loan - promised self to pay off credit card balance
paid off credt card balance. limit increased but ran up to limit again
now have loan and credit card debt
offered a new loan to consolidate the card and loan
still kept the card and ran up to the limit
offered a new card, ran that up to
offered a new loan or card
ran them up too
payments get too much
struggling to meet basic minimum payments
get behind with rent, bills, food shopping money goes down
feel alone and worried
join Martin Lewis site
find out about CCCS or Payplan
chat most nights to total strangers with funny nicknames about things you wouldn't even dream of telling your work colleagues or family
discover being in debt makes you stronger and that there are still weird people in the world but they tend to hang around on the internet

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Kudox

Thanks Toffee, don't think I got it, wish they would just say there and then but thats life I guess.
You have just summed up the whole debt scenario in one go, they should use that as a caution to anyone thinking of taking out a credit card for the first time.
I can actually remember the first card I got (lured by promise of free gift!) and the first thing I bought with it, (it burnt a hole in my pocket for weeks!):eek:
I would love to go back and kick my 21 year old backside!

Toffee_Penny

Kudox wrote: »

Great News Toffee:beer:

Thank God for hair dye is all I can say:j

Thanks Kudox, all I can say it's just a relief that he didn't have to go to the jobcentre and have that depressing jsa interview that makes you feel like you are begging when you just need reassurance and a little help.

I think its a bloke thing, if they are a worker and don't like being a home help then its hard for them isn't it?

I'm just glad that I didn't phone CCCS up or make contact with the creditors yet. It could all change as quick as a flash so I don't want to appear to gloat, but thank god we didn't have to go down that route just yet.

If we didn't have the debt we would have managed quite easy but its that horrible gut feeling you get when you feel like you are sinking slowly.

I must say though since being on our DMP we have managed to eat better than we ever did with home made soups and even beans on toast or jacket potatoes with tuna, cheap easy meals rather than take aways and oven chips a few times a month. I have been quite savvy with lowering the shopping budget now, well its a case of having to isn't it? I also stopped buying expensive shower gels because of the name and buy Tesco bubble bath and fill the shower gel and hand wash containers up with that, saved a few pennies just doing that.

What have others saved most on?

Toffee_Penny

Kudox wrote: »

Thanks Toffee, don't think I got it, wish they would just say there and then but thats life I guess.
You have just summed up the whole debt scenario in one go, they should use that as a caution to anyone thinking of taking out a credit card for the first time.
I can actually remember the first card I got (lured by promise of free gift!) and the first thing I bought with it, (it burnt a hole in my pocket for weeks!):eek:
I would love to go back and kick my 21 year old backside!

Oh I know, I was so chuffed when I got my first catalogue felt really proud ??? and when I was accepted for my credit card and had a limit of £1500, I felt so rich and then when I went to my bank to pay money in one day they offered me loan there and then. I realise I never ever needed that but someone offering you 3 thousand just like that, well you feel so rich again.

God I wish I could go back in time but its the same for everyone isn't it? We wish we could have found this site earlier like last year or the year before when the problems started with meeting payments on time but you bury your head in the sand and write another credit card cheque to credit your bank account until the next month. Keep robbing Peter to pay Paul until Peter tells you to sod off!

Althea

Toffee_Penny wrote: »

Keep robbing Peter to pay Paul until Peter tells you to sod off!

I see we know the same fellas ...

Toffee_Penny

suziepoor wrote: »

Hi all

Is there any advice about my situation with the loan, overdraft and bank? detailed a few posts earlier...

Suziepoor
xxx

Hi Suzie just to say I have a loan from Lloyds for £5k plus and an overdraft with Halifax for £1.5k on my dmp.

Lloyds were pains in the behind at first sent me constant letters telling me I had missed the required payments please make immediate payment, wanted a full breakdown of my income and expenditure I REFUSED TO DO THIS because CCCS had already done it for me and to me that was good enough but slowly they settled down. I'm not too sure if interest will be added to the amount owed at the end but I am just happy that they eventually left me alone and wrote to advise me recently that they have accepted reduced payments and will do so for 6 months.

Halifax have been great (unlike for OH loan and credit card) there has been no interest or charge on the account but I am within the overdraft limit even so I still owe them the money but they have never questioned the small payment from CCCS.

Don't worry about the overdraft increasing it won't, they won't keep taking your loan payments out, you will start getting letters to say that you have missed loan payments thats all.

As for creditors contacting you at work they should not do this and I'm sure its against the rules ??? There are template letters to send to creditors if you feel they are harrassing you over the phone and it is against Data Protection for them to talk about you to anyone else. They cannot say to whoever picks up the phone in your office 'Is Suzy there please, it's Barclaycard calling about her credit card debt'

They cannot do this, CCCS told me that.

Kudox

Toffee_Penny wrote: »

Thanks Kudox, all I can say it's just a relief that he didn't have to go to the jobcentre and have that depressing jsa interview that makes you feel like you are begging when you just need reassurance and a little help.

I think its a bloke thing, if they are a worker and don't like being a home help then its hard for them isn't it?

I'm just glad that I didn't phone CCCS up or make contact with the creditors yet. It could all change as quick as a flash so I don't want to appear to gloat, but thank god we didn't have to go down that route just yet.

If we didn't have the debt we would have managed quite easy but its that horrible gut feeling you get when you feel like you are sinking slowly.

I must say though since being on our DMP we have managed to eat better than we ever did with home made soups and even beans on toast or jacket potatoes with tuna, cheap easy meals rather than take aways and oven chips a few times a month. I have been quite savvy with lowering the shopping budget now, well its a case of having to isn't it? I also stopped buying expensive shower gels because of the name and buy Tesco bubble bath and fill the shower gel and hand wash containers up with that, saved a few pennies just doing that.

What have others saved most on?

Thats a good idea i'm going to do that from now on.
I'm going to start making my home brew, anyone joining me?:beer:

Toffee_Penny

oohhh you are a bit too far for me to have a glass of that! :beer:


Has anyone heard back from their charges reclaim letters yet or ppi reclaims?


If you research the net you will find creditors are sending out similiar letters to anyone who questions mis-selling of ppi. I have sent SAR's for Barclaycard and Monument, just waiting for basic response from the original letter for a lot of the others.

Kudox

Still trying to get my head around bank charge reclaiming, am thinking of claiming under the hardship rules, if successful it would wipe out the debt to the bank.
Never took out PPI, thankful for that, hope you're successful in claiming them back.

2spicy

Good to hear that so many are making headway with their DMP's. im really sprry to read some of the stories though .. really does make me sorry for the amount of Cr4p we have to contend with.

Well Letters with the Token payment went out on Monday, and, checking the bank accounts today, I see that 2 cheques have been cashed.
No letters of phone calls yet but its still early days.

Egg CC and loans wrote to me the day I cancelled my Direct Debits and reminded me I was in breach of T 's & C's but I have delayed them saying Im changing bank accounts. ( I hope to pay the Egg CC off before the DMP starts ).

Anyway, all other "Must make" payments are setup on the new account, and, using the money that has not been spent on repayments so far, we've managed to create a buffer of almost £1000 in the new account incase the new DD's are taken in Jan instead of Feb.

New Mortgage calculations have meant an additional surplus of almost £200 now per month from the origional DMP statement and, goivernment contributions have reduced childcare costs from £800 a month to £500.

We hope now that in the second of third month the DMP will run to increase our payments to Payplan from £640 a month to £1040 and still have an extra £100 a month to put aside for a family holiday / lump payment later on in the year.