Eupho's attempt at doing her own DMP (Eeeek!)

Eupho

EssexHebridean wrote: »

Might be worth you having a look at Virgin Media's site - IIRC you can input your postcode there to check what is available to you.

Ohh.. I tried that before too.. once again.. not something that's available in my area.:rolleyes:
We are the last to get everything.. as I said the other day.. we cant even get channel 5 (not that we're missing much haha) .. unless we have SKY or whatever. Most places around here don't even have mobile phone signal.. :rotfl:

Eupho

I just told Egg a big fat lie!

I cancelled their DD last week.. and they just called me about it..

I havent yet sent my 'beggin' letters.. :lovethoug

He said 'Is there any reason you have cancelled the DD?'

Me.. 'Ermm.. yeah.. 'I'm switching bank accounts and I have just sent you a payment' .. (i haven't yet!!)

Him 'Oh.. okay.. but you DO realise you MUST have a DD set up to pay this account?'
Me.. 'Ermm.. yeah'

Him.. 'Right.. so when are you going to set that up?.. and how much have you sent us the payment for?.. and when did you post it?'

Him.. 'Is it a cheque?' .. Me .. 'Ermm.. yeah' (NO!!) ..

Him.. 'Is it for the correct amount.. £58?' ... Me.. 'Ermm.. erhh.. yeah' .. (NO!!!)..

What an IDIOT!!!.. (me. not him) .. ALL I had to say.. was 'now is not a good time to call.. could you please call me in about an hour' .. (because my son is here and he has big ears and will freak out)

But I didn't .. I panicked.. and LIED! :wall: :wall:

I guess I better send them a cheque for £58 and FAST! .. incase they recorded the call or something..

'Beggin' them to accept reduced paymenst and stop the interest for a while.. is not going to start off too well If I have already told them a big fat lie.

As you can see..
I'm going to be GREAT at managing my own DMP..

Eupho

The kids have soo much stuff they don't use/wear etc anymore..

I'm going to get them to get organising their stuff and sell them for the on Ebay.. They can keep the money (but they will have to pay their own 'costs') .. BUT!.. I will budget their money so they can't just blow it in a few days.

It's a way to get rid of some junk.. and a way for me not to have to give them pocket money for a while.

Karen_30

Eupho wrote: »

I just told Egg a big fat lie!

I cancelled their DD last week.. and they just called me about it..

I havent yet sent my 'beggin' letters.. :lovethoug

He said 'Is there any reason you have cancelled the DD?'

Me.. 'Ermm.. yeah.. 'I'm switching bank accounts and I have just sent you a payment' .. (i haven't yet!!)

Him 'Oh.. okay.. but you DO realise you MUST have a DD set up to pay this account?'
Me.. 'Ermm.. yeah'

Him.. 'Right.. so when are you going to set that up?.. and how much have you sent us the payment for?.. and when did you post it?'

Him.. 'Is it a cheque?' .. Me .. 'Ermm.. yeah' (NO!!) ..

Him.. 'Is it for the correct amount.. £58?' ... Me.. 'Ermm.. erhh.. yeah' .. (NO!!!)..

What an IDIOT!!!.. (me. not him) .. ALL I had to say.. was 'now is not a good time to call.. could you please call me in about an hour' .. (because my son is here and he has big ears and will freak out)

But I didn't .. I panicked.. and LIED! :wall: :wall:

I guess I better send them a cheque for £58 and FAST! .. incase they recorded the call or something..

'Beggin' them to accept reduced paymenst and stop the interest for a while.. is not going to start off too well If I have already told them a big fat lie.

As you can see..
I'm going to be GREAT at managing my own DMP..

He he....:rotfl:That whole conversation sounds like something I would do! Don't be too hard on yourself though, it'll get easier once you finally start speaking to them more regularly.

CornishMaid

Hi, just wanted to wish you the best of luck in everything. I'm doing a self-run DMP too, as CCCS couldn't help and, after 3 months, things are much better.
I also have an 8 year old boy who has been under CAMHS since last May and we are still working with them, so I can begin to appreciate how much stress you are probably under - I know that it frazzles me sometimes!
Anyway, whilst I don't agree with the "CCA everyone and dispute your debts" thing that some people seem to recommend to those in difficulty (not intending to upset anyone who does this but it's not the way for me), the one piece of advice I learned from here and would always recommend is to correspond in writing only. As you have seen with your call with Egg it is so easy to get flustered and make promises you can't keep. If you do it all in writing the process may be slower but the most important thing is that you have a record of everything that you and they have said. Of course everyone deals with things in different ways, so you must do whatever makes you more comfortable but I have found that phone conversations haven't done me any favours (especially with Egg!)
Anyway, best of luck and I shall be subscribing with interest,
CM, x

Eupho

CornishMaid wrote: »

Hi, just wanted to wish you the best of luck in everything. I'm doing a self-run DMP too, as CCCS couldn't help and, after 3 months, things are much better.
I also have an 8 year old boy who has been under CAMHS since last May and we are still working with them, so I can begin to appreciate how much stress you are probably under - I know that it frazzles me sometimes!
Anyway, whilst I don't agree with the "CCA everyone and dispute your debts" thing that some people seem to recommend to those in difficulty (not intending to upset anyone who does this but it's not the way for me), the one piece of advice I learned from here and would always recommend is to correspond in writing only. As you have seen with your call with Egg it is so easy to get flustered and make promises you can't keep. If you do it all in writing the process may be slower but the most important thing is that you have a record of everything that you and they have said. Of course everyone deals with things in different ways, so you must do whatever makes you more comfortable but I have found that phone conversations haven't done me any favours (especially with Egg!)
Anyway, best of luck and I shall be subscribing with interest,
CM, x

Hello hello!

Thank you for that :beer: .. I definitely want to push to keep it all in 'letters' no phone calls. .. It's so nice to 'meet' someone dealing with CAMHs too.. I think it must be our Cornish air

So far..

I have FINALLY posted all my letters.. (13!) .. well.. all except the one to Barclays Bank.. as I cant seem to find the RIGHT address to send that to.. (and I rather not post it to my branch as some of them know me personally.. and I would die of shame if they read it)

Anyhooo.. I only posted them a few days ago.. so no responses yet. I cancelled all my DDs a few weeks ago... (they are only now realising that the DDs are failing.. because they were only due around now) ..

I sent them all 'recorded' .. Holy MOSES! how long does THAT take!.. I was at the counter in the PO for 25mins!!.. The poor one.. I was sooo embarrassed.. Obviously she could see the names on the envelopes and had to input all the addies into her computer.. Eventually she said.. 'Trying to sort out your finances then?' .. I was about to go .. 'Ohh noooo.. I'm trying to help my friend get out of the MESS she has got herself into' .... But I didn't.. I just said.. 'Ermm.. yeah' '

She winked at me.. and said.. 'Been there'

haha.. bless her! phew!

So far.. the only people to call/contact me have been HSBC.. they have used two telephone numbers to call me 10-15 times per day!! :wall: .. But to be fair.. I doubt they have seen my letter yet.. and just want to know where the DD payment is.

I am scared when I think that's only ONE of my creditors trying to call me.. 12 more to join THAT queue.. :eek:

I know this will be bumpy to begin with.. but hopefully it will all settle down a little after a while. In the meantime.. (and I'm sure its not he RIGHT thing to do) .. but I am keeping my mobile on silent.. land line unplugged when the kids are around.. and dont intend to speak to any of them on the phone until I have had some response to my letter.

a few GOOD things have happened though..

The school refunded me £300 back for a deposit I paid on a trip last year (that when my son got expelled.. couldnt go on) ..

I am in the process of claiming back six years mileage allowance doodahh from the tax office.. (dunno how much that will be.. not loads.. but something at least)

and DFS are in the middle of dealing with my insurance claim (for £720) when they Rrrriiiipppped my new floor.

The £300.. i neeeeed in my new (unattached to any debt ~ I hope SMILE account) I need that to help me tick over while everything moves to my new account smoothly.. my wages start to go in there as from June 1st.

AND!..

My eldest son.. for whom I was paying £25 per month college bus far.. AND his £30 mobile bill.. has taken on his own bus fare..

and.. ::drum roll:::

Got a weekend job! (he's 16.. its just KPing in a kitchen.. but!.. I wont have to give him money any more.. he says) Should be some evenings and hols too.

I'm planning on going to talk to one of our local food pubs any day now to ask if my daughter can waitress there in the hols/summer/weekends.. whatever.. Shes 14.. polite and a smart cookie.. She would be thrilled to earn some of her own money. (Plus the 'food pubs' (3 of them) .. are 2mins walking distance from home ~ so thats a plus too)

Sorry to ramble CM .. but I wanted to update my 'diary' too.

:beer: xxx

Eupho

Karen_30 wrote: »

He he....:rotfl:That whole conversation sounds like something I would do! Don't be too hard on yourself though, it'll get easier once you finally start speaking to them more regularly.

Hi Karen haha.. thankyou.. I hope so.

CornishMaid

Eupho wrote: »

Sorry to ramble CM .. but I wanted to update my 'diary' too.

:beer: xxx

You're not rambling! I honestly think it's incredibly therapeutic to write everything down - it kind of helps you to make sense of everything that's going on.

I can totally appreciate how you're feeling right now as I was in exactly the same situation 3 months ago: both my phones were on silent and I used to open the post with only one eye open cos it made it less scary :rotfl:

It DOES get better (apart from with Egg ) and it's such a great feeling to finally be pro-active in dealing with stuff. And Egg are currently receiving a huge amount of letters from me labelled in large type "FORMAL COMPLAINT" so hopefully they will start playing ball and if they don't, well, it just doesn't seem like the end of the world any more. I just keep repeating that famous mantra "... they can't have what I haven't got..."

As for the Recorded Delivery stuff the lady in my small local PO is so used to me sending letters to Egg, she just says "another one" when I go in and gets on with it!!! I think she knows the address off by heart now!

Anyway, my turn to ramble today! Wishing you the best of luck and sending lots of positive vibes your way :wave:

Keep us updated, CM, x

fabfuture

Eupho, great that you've made such changes in such a small amount of time - well done you! I had a thought on your Sky package. I phone family overseas and use a pre-dialing number and it costs 1p a minute - so can have the longest catch-up with my mum for about £1, so perhaps that might same you some?

Also, after a while you can just get out of the habit of feeling you have to answer the phone, especially if you have caller ID. DON'T tell your creditors your mobile phone number (they often ask for it "just for our records"). I have said in the past that I don't really use it that much or don't always have it with me, which is true, compared to other people. Also, if you can get a cheaper deal, then you could change your number and just give it to family & friends. It's like if someone knocks on my door, unless I'm expecting someone, I don't answer it. I also have a spyhole in my door so I can see who it is. If anyone has a problem with that, I could just say that is a security measure I take.

Great news too with your family working together on keeping your heads above water. Apart from the obvious immediate financial benefits, you're teaching them how to live within your means. Do you have family meetings, where you work out how to go forward, or perhaps even meal plan together? Was wondering if you sat down together to figure out a list of your favourite meals with mysupermarket.co.uk, so you could cost it all out, this might help you bond as a family as well as be a way of sharing the load of planning (so it's not just you) and budgeting. I'm also guessing that you might get some great ideas from your children too - they're all bright cookies. Good luck.

jayss

Well done on keeping positive and working so quickly through an action plan. :beer: