DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 6)

pinkpower

Hi everyone. Haven't posted here for a while, all quiet on thecreditor front, so nothing to report. 1 M&S account still charging interest, CCCS say that eventually they will pass the debt to a collector and then interst will stop. All quiet from egg, although they haven't responded to my letter sent in November, and Ithink they are still caharging interest, so my debt is hardly reducing.

BUT ....a debt free Christmas, no overspend on the food budget, every one seems happy, but the credit cards didin't take a bashing - now I know it can be done, I wonder it took me so long to get my head round the idea! Lots to keep under control next year - money, weight, relationships. At least seeing some of the debt balances coming down means I'm moving forward not backwards. Good luck for the New Year everyone! PP xx

JES_F1

It's been a little while since I popped in here ... Apologies!

I've been on my DMP with the CCCS for almost two years now. My December payment brought my debt down below £30,000 - it's a good feeling to see that first digit change to a 2!

I've barely heard a peep out of creditors - only around the time when the agreed period of reduced payments has come to an end, and it's been nothing more than a formality to agree a further period (usually 12 months).

Nationwide had been my most awkward creditor (= polite description), made even more frustrating when the amount owed is comparatively small, starting at less than £2,000. After an endless stream of letters - all of which I answered with my own 'standard' letter about my DMP - my debt is now with their in-house debt collection people, KPR. Interest is frozen (finally) and they've accepted the DMP payments for 12 months.

The recession has proved a useful excuse, both this Christmas and last, for not going OTT. And taking full advantage of great deals in shops and online (e.g. Boots' 3-for-2 gifts) meant being able to get some nice presents without busting the budget. Buying 'family' presents (e.g. a big box of nice biscuits or bottles of wine) proved a great success but saved a fortune!

I used some of my profits from selling stuff online to treat myself to a delicious turkey, some salmon, and gammon from M&S. Part of me feels guilty for buying these (rather than doing something sensible with the money) but will not need to spend very much on other food for (at least) this week!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the very best for 2010.

Triggles

We've managed to go from £1 token payments this month to slightly higher starting next month. None of our creditors are happy with us right now (can't say I'm surprised!), but hopefully this slight increase will at least show them we are trying to make progress. We're hoping to increase it more in 2-3 months as well. As we shave slight amounts off our budget here and there, and fine-tune things a bit, we plan on upping the amounts slightly when we can, without putting ourselves in a position where it's expected every single month to pay more and more, as obviously we can't afford that.

I've got to look through the paperwork and see if there is info on where to make payment for standing orders, as I don't want to waste money buying money orders every month. If I can't find it, I will simply ask for the information for standing orders, and hopefully they will provide it, although I expect they will push for a direct debit (which they will not be getting). The bills are in DH's name, but will be paid out of a bank account with my name only on it - so I want to make sure I'm not in a position where they can just take money out of the account.

DH was worried as I want to pay £20 per month for our overdraft, as that bill has my name on it. He thinks it will look bad to the other creditors. I think that because it has my name on it, we need to keep paying enough on it to whittle through it, so that the only things on the DMP are things with DH's name only on them. My reasoning that since it has my name on it, if DH isn't paying or is paying smaller amount, they're going to come after me anyway, so may as well start chipping away at it, right? As my bank account is solely in my name, and DH's bills are in his name, if it's hauled into court, can they actually demand my bank information? Or DH's only ... the only one we currently have in DH's name is in overdraft. He is giving me his paycheck (direct deposited into my account) and tax credits so I can pay things with my account.

Some days it's like walking through a mine field.......

Mrs_Ryan

Hi everyone!

I'm so pleased with myself - I did really well at Xmas. Last Xmas I spent in the region of about 3 thousand :eek: ALL on credit. I've had some overtime come in from work so this year I spent 698 - I know that sounds a lot but I have a very large family and to me going from 3000 all on credit to 698 all on debit card (and I dont have an overdraft or anything) is a major achievement! (I got some really fab pressies with that as well! Everyone loved their presents)

Hope everyone's had a good Xmas!! xx

Toffee_Penny

Bloody hell Mrs Ryan, THREE GRAND!! :eek::D Well done for getting that down :T


I hope Christmas was nice and peaceful for all of you xx

doodle0269

madkitty wrote: »

PPI = payment protection insurance - its the insurance that some companies either make you take out or dont tell you about on your loans, credit cards etc

Thanks! How do you claim it back??

xxx

Toffee_Penny

Hi Doodle, didn't see you before, welcome :beer:

Payment protection insurance was a very expensive way of protecting your payments to your credit cards/loans in case of redundancy, sickness etc.

However the main reason why so many people have been successful with reclaiming their payments back is because the policies were full of exclusions sometimes only the deceased and bankrupt could make a claim on it, rendering the whole policy pointless, a total waste of money and just a massive bonus for the company you were paying.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance

Martin has provided information about how to go about reclaiming ppi including asking creditors for information on your accounts and sample letters to send.

There is also a section on this forum for ppi and there are loads of helpful people on there. You have nothing to lose except a few quid for stamps and a little time typing out letters. Go for it!

the_tooth_fairy

Hi everyone, like most people on here, I dreaded the post after last Xmas, with all the bills coming in along with a feeling of impending doom (just sorry it took until Sept. to realise that we could do something about it.)
Today, however, got my Mint bill, interest 0%, just like they promised. I get my bill before OH, so hopefully his will be the same. It seems as though you just have to keep plugging away, even if it's on a minefield (triggles!). Hope the post wasn't too scary for everyone else.

ttf x

Mrs_Ryan

Toffee_Penny wrote: »

Bloody hell Mrs Ryan, THREE GRAND!! :eek::D Well done for getting that down :T

I know lol. I spent well over a grand of that on my OH alone!!!

dlb

Just thought id pop on and wish you all a happy new year, not been on for ages and hope you are all getting on ok and not letting the creditors get to you.
Dmp wise..i dont even really check things very often any more, payment goes out of bank and thats it forget it till next month.
Iv now been on dmp for almost 4 yrs and the end is so nearly in sight, onwards and upwards.
donna
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