DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 5)

marfan_not_martian

Hi Donna
thanks you are a star! I am gonna put a covering note in with my DMP agreement when I send it off to CCCS and a copy of the court order so they know I am telling truth.

I have had a lovely letter from halifax this morning which I am totally gob smacked at saying

"thanks for letting us know about your financial problems we are sorry to hear the news we fully recommend CCCS or Payplan and look forward to hearing from them in due course. In the meantime if we can be of help please dont hesitate to contact us".

Feeling much more positive - off to make a brew and get my paperwork sorted.

have a great day everyone, no doubt I will be back with a few more questions before the day is out trying to get this DMP organised.

You are all angels and thanks for all your support it has made my day & future brighter and much more easy to face. xxx

mnm

marfan_not_martian

dlb wrote: »

Also a method i use since my dmp was up and running.

If you think you are in a postion to raise your dmp payments to clear the debt quicker, rather than doing it straight away, put the extra into a savings account or safe place and try to manage without it for a few months...if you manage to do this then yes you can cope without it so go ahead and up the payments.

Easier than raising the dmp payment then realising your streching yourself too much.

Great idea - you are so clever it would save a lot of worrying wouldnt it making sure you can cope before you over commit yourself.

Thanks xxx

2spicy

Marfan, I can only echo what youve been told. We made Decdembers payments at a scrape and only in January made the token payments. I wish we had made token payments in December too now as no one will thank you for struggling for the extra month to be a " good debtor". when the DMP is setup and running, the gloves are off and your paying on your terms, and, as far as i understand their threats of defaults and Debt Collection Agencys will only add to solidify you in your quest for debt freedom. As long as you make the payments ontime and in the agreed mannor, even a County Court would (from what ive read so far) only affirm the DMP or even lower the repayments further.

Also, the Giverm=nment has guidelines that give you allowances for things like haircuts, petfood, baby stuff etc. Get it all. its what your entitled to live on. You "might" have a pet next month also, if you dont use the money .. use it to supliment / save.
We worked our monthly allowance out to include whatever we could get away with. What we dont use will be saved or will be used to fund days out with our baby or to have the odd luxery. There is no need in living like a church mouse. If you can have one or 2 small luxerys, that makes the whole situation that much more tolerable

Just looking at our Budget, we have the following allowances for a family of 3.

Council Tax £135
Electricity/Gas £100
Water £42
TV Licence £11.75
Car Tax £20 per vehicle
£16 breakdown cover
Food £439
Clothing / footwear £60
Dentist / Glasses / Prescriptions £15
Pets £25
Hairdressing £24

Dont forget these figures are for a family of 3 and are what PayPlan have allocated for us.

marfan_not_martian

2spicy - thanks for the info - I guess its just making sure that I dont leave myself short on any expense - its best allowing a bit extra that way I can squirrel it away and in the event of an emergency I have funds to cope. Also like dlp says if I do find that I have more money each month I will put it to one side and if after a few months I am not dipping into it - I can then adjust my DMP accordingly.

This forum should be promoted so much more - there is so much usefull info on here I wish I had done this DMP thing a few years ago, but hey I am sorting it out now and thats what matters.

May treat myself to a cream cake in town tomorrow when I have popped all my DMP paperwork and letter to creditors in the post office.:beer:

newlywed

marfan_not_martian wrote: »

no doubt I will be back with a few more questions before the day is out trying to get this DMP organised.

You are all angels and thanks for all your support it has made my day & future brighter and much more easy to face. xxx

We've all had similar questions before we started the DMP. If it wasn't for this thread I'd never have even known what a DMP really was, let alone sign up for one! It took me a few months to get the courage up to sign up - and there were lots of questions that everyone here helped me with.

So we certainly know what it's like

The day you make your first DMP payment, such a huge weight will be lifted from your shoulders that you will feel as if you are 5 stone lighter

The first few months can be a bit tough, but knowing that you are dealing with it all and that you have money for food and petrol at the end of the month make it all worthwhile

dlb

marfan_not_martian wrote: »

May treat myself to a cream cake in town tomorrow when I have popped all my DMP paperwork and letter to creditors in the post office.:beer:

Make sure its a huge cream cake..you deserve it!! xxx:T :T :T

marfan_not_martian

to be honest newlywed I already feel 5 stone lighter just knowing that I am doing something positive rather than burying my head for another month of worry and sleepless nights.

Thanks DLP (Donna) will get the biggest cream cake that they have and think of all you when I am sat with my cuppa eating it.

:bdaycake: nearest I could get to a cream cake to cyber share with you all


xxxxxxxxx

2spicy

Just had egg on the mobile .... I guess they tried the house but got through to the local Domino's
SPoke to a very nice person who asked for a credit / debit payment. I declined to give one telling her they had recieved my token this morning, and thus have also seen my letter to them.
Mentioned DMP, gave the number, she was really cool about it, said she would issue a default and not the account and wait for Payplan to be in touch.
Very nice experience 4 more to go

simbalou

Hi all, hope everyone is ok, I've got a quick question please!

Been on dmp with cccs since July (I think) I had a letter from Alliance and Leicester this morning to say they would consider accepting £862.21 settlement against an outstanding balance of £2463. Obviously this is a good settlement in my eyes, I'm currently selling loads of stuff on ebay etc, husband had extra hours over December so we could just about pay them this. It would mean some of our buffer zone savings are gone but I think this is a good opportunity.

What do you think? It would pay our dmp off 10 months earlier too which is an added bonus.

I have to ring them (booo!) but as long as they put it in writing that they take it as F&F is this ok, I wont pay it until I have that letter from them. Is there anything else I need to say or do before I take the plunge?

Would really appreciate anyones advice, thank you x

dlb

Full and finals are great...once on a dmp you will start to get offered these and if your in a postion to do it fantatsic.

Just make sure you get it in writing that it is FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT, and that the account will be closed ater payment.

You could also be really cheeky and offer slightly less than they ask for, sometimes they say yes. So in your case simbalou you could say thank you very much for you generous offer, im only in a postion to be able to offer you £700, and so would only be able to take up your full and final if it was this amount, otherwise the reduced monthly payment will have to continue.
If they say no, phone back a few days later and offer what they originally wanted say a family member is prepared to pay the rest for you.

Good luck and well done.
xx