To DMP Or Not to DMP

MeeBroke

lxpeanut wrote: »

They froze it completly. After the 12 months they started adding interest at a lower rate. I was with Halifax and they said their policy was to allow the account to be frozen for 12 months. It will vary from creditor to creditor but they will have a policy on it.

thanks so much for this info. This may be the single thing that will keep us off a DMP. Everything is manageable as I said in the beginning, except the exorbitant switch from 0 to 29% on this big CC balance.

I should mention that we have a car we can sell which should fetch a minimum of £10,000. I was waiting for the weather to get nicer to market it but it's clearly time to step things up on that front.

The really great thing about all of this is that we have really opened up our communication about it all. For too long we've said nothing to one another about it. One of us comes up with another idea every 10 minutes now that'll save us money or allow us to put more on our CC debt. We are going to see if our Mortgage provider will allow us a payment holiday and spend a few months plowing that money into our CC debt as well.

gratefulforhelp_2

As teachers, how aobut taking on some exam marking? Can be quite lucrative and you can do it when the kids are in bed. Good luck.

MeeBroke

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

As teachers, how about taking on some exam marking? Can be quite lucrative and you can do it when the kids are in bed. Good luck.

Great idea but we already work til 10pm most nights on our own work-I'm being totally serious here. We put the kids to bed at 7 work until 10 and then go to sleep and repeat. It's this hard working that has lead us to indulge in overspend during the holidays-and gotten into this mess (the spending that is). Be more plausible to get a job during the holidays.

Donedoingdebt

MeeBroke wrote: »

So how can you have both credit card debt and bad debt? My understanding is that all debt has to be included in a DMP, and that you are not allowed to seek new credit during the DMP?

Sorry for the delay. Just recovering from Wales' magnificent 6 Nations win over Scotland!
It's a self administered DMP so not subject to any rules set by anyone else such as CCCS etc.
I have never missed a payment on the DMP so the Creditors are happy with what they're receiving.
I didn't really want to use credit cards but like everyone else, bills have cropped up along the way over the years. My sheddy R reg Escort cost nearly £900 for it's last MoT in December, for example & we need the car for my OH's job as she works in the community.
By "bad debt", I meant loans & other cards that I defaulted on in 2000.
My credit card debt, although not good, is being managed properly & I manage to pay over the minimum payment each month.

gratefulforhelp_2

Ok Meebroke, but I am in the same job, and by being disciplined with your time it is possible to mark. Knackering, admittedly, but possible - depends how much you need the money.

cozasmom

many thanks for taking the time to answer me , given me something to think about.

MyLastFiver

Can I ask why you're so anxious not to damage your credit rating? You already have a house, and you certainly won't be wanting to take out any more credit for years to come.

Credit ratings are a form of psychological control to keep us all in line, behaving and paying up on time. For me, one of the most liberating things about facing my debts and going on a DMP was learning not to give a stuff about my credit rating.

I suppose the only reason it would matter is if you wanted to take out a new mortgage some time in the next decade or so. So don't move house.;)

MyLastFiver

Oh and a word about exam marking - it's a lot of extra work for not much money. A much better option for teachers is private tuition. A Level tuition is £25 her hour. I tutor two A-Level students together, and give them a discount for doubling up, but I still get £40 an hour for that.

MeeBroke

Thanks SOOO much everyone! I feel much better about things. We deffo going to avoid a CCCS DMP.

We may go for a self enforced one for our credit cards. We we don't want to do basically is have any of our debt written off. We are responsible people in all areas of life but have let our responsibility slip in this area. We intend to correct it. We reduced our outgoings in January by about £500. It's looking even better for Feb. What we need to do is freeze the situation as it is-which I know is one of the hardest parts! We do plan to remortgage in a year and we also hope to move in the next few years,