DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 6)

muddlemess

cocker100 wrote: »

You would simple revert back to your mortgage providers standard variable rate. Considering that interest rates are at an all time low, this is not a bad thing!:D

Cocker:)

Thanks cocker, not a bad thing at all we're paying almost 6% in our fixed rate!!

Hope people don't mind all my ranting and questions

xx

cocker100

TottalyLost wrote: »

Hi everyone, I have started a thread on BR forum as this was my first thought (going BR)

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1750187

but still a bit in 2 minds...

Yellowmonkey (thanks) directed me here (looking at a DIY version of DMP now as one of possible options) so just making my way through the posts.

What has terrified me first though is the fact that whatever DMP one manages to set up, it is enough for one of the creditors not to freeze interests and all goes to pieces as one will NEVER be able to pay the debts off....

Grrrrrr

Hiya,

There is always the possibility that a creditor will not freeze interest and charges, however most seem to give in eventaully or decide to simply write the debt off and sell it onto a DCA.

A DCA would then be much more likely to accept a repayment offer and stop all extra charges.

You might see your debt increase in the first few month, but the majority of people on this thread eventually start to see their debt start to decrease.

It also must be stressed that nearly everyone agrees that a DMP has totally changed the lives and given them a chance of one day becoming debt free, however long in the future it may be. As you read through the pages of posts in this and the previous 5 parts of the DMP thread, you will come accross countless comments along the lines of "A DMP is the best thing I have ever done" or "It's a pity that I never started a DMP sooner"

I personally can relate to these statements. If I had known about DMP's several years ago, I wouldn't have taken out a secured loan against our house and I wouldn't be stuck in negative equity now!:mad::rolleyes:

Cocker:)

cocker100

TottalyLost wrote: »

Ok, made my way through quite a few pages and have to admit some thigs I do not understand:


1) Phone calls from creditors - how do they get your numbers? Especially work number?
None of my creditors got any phone number for me, my house number I have changed (only called BT and told them I get nuisance calls - they changed my number for free)is ex directory , I have changed the mobile number and never gave it to them, my work number has never been given to anyone. How do they get the numbers to call?

If you haven't given them your numbers, then they shouldn't be able to contact you! The reason why some do have numbers is because they were taken when the account was opened. i.e. when you fill out the initial application form for credit and you write down your home/mobile/work number on it in the personal information section.

TottalyLost

Coocker - thanks for your reply. Still, it is so easy to change the phone number - why suffer all those calls?

Just to clear things up, I used to have a DMP set up with CCCS but broke the arrangement in October last year (only after a few months) as was off work (stress) for nearly a year and on reduced pay.

Right now I am trying to find out who my debts are with (as most of them I believe were sold on to companies by original creditors), what the amounts are etc before I try to set up another DMP but this time a DIY style as the budgets set up by CCCS or PayPlan are not something I can reasonably live on.

According to my own calculations, I can pay up to £500 per month towards reducing my debts which I thought will get rid of them (provided interests are frozen and no charges are being added) in 60 months (5 years) but only today found out that since October, MBNA (via Abbey) have added about 2k to the original 7k (roughly) debt increasing it to almost 10k now. So this may be the case with the rest of my creditors. And that would be no good at all of course as my total debt from around 27k would have risen to well over 30k.....

Looked at my EXperian and Equifax Credit Reports today - Experian had NOTHING about my current debts on, Equifax had some but with different amounts to the ones I got off from CCCS last week (those were from October last year).

Also, when I was on DMP with CCCS, they used to send me a letter every month showing what the reduced debts are which later proved to be wrong figures as CCCS assumed interests were frozen which was not the case.. so it was a false joy for me.

Trying to do a DIY DMP then but not sure where/how to star as (as mentioned above) firstly I need to find out where those debts are and how much are they at the monet.

Since October, when I stopped paymenets to my odl DMP - I have not opened one letter, shredded them all and had my head deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep in the sand.

Hmmmm

See the term CCA here and there - what is that please?

ianmak

Hi Tottalylost.

A CCA is either a Credit Card Agreement, or the Consumer Credit Act. I think in most cases it's the former, and you can request a copy of this to see if your debt is enforceable. See Cocker or Geoffmr1? for advice on this...

My DMP is (so far) the BEST thing I have ever done... seriously. Debt will occasionally increase when you start one, but this can supposedly be written off at the end... but I've never spoke to anyone who has actually experienced this. But the way I look at it is that 10 years to be debt free, is a billion times better than paying minimum payments forever...

The DMP has changed my outlook on various things, I've cut down on food and alcohol, and budgeted for the first time in my life. An example of this is a gig I went to tonight in London with a chum (he paid). We had free tix, we bought a bottle of vodka and some fruit juice, split into to water bottles, and drank that as we walked the 2 miles to the venue. We also had sausage rolls for munchies. I believe this came to a grand total of £12 (for the two of us) for the whole evening.

In the past I reckon we will have spent in the region of £30 (at least) each, plus the gig tickets. Now I know we are both skint, but I thought that was pretty impressive (and also a little pikeyish, but who cares!).

ianmak

And also one of the best things I did on the DMP was to speak to the creditors. I know it's not always advised, but I found honesty the best policy, and it certainly got them off my back.

The only thing that concerns me is that I changed my home tel number recently, and one of my creditors has managed to get hold of the new number, and I have no idea how.... it doesn't bother me as I'm happy to speak to them, but I do worry about the how!

sunshine38_2

Good Morning

Just a quick one as I'm off to work shortly (ugghh! )

Wanted to say THANK YOU for the lovely congratulations messages. Baby is due end Jan/early Feb 2010 so still some way to go yet. Feels like it's going to be the longest pregnancy on earth :rotfl: Still, that will give me plenty of time to think of a DMP pregnancy action plan. When I've been pregnant before, credit was readily available and needless to say, you can get a bit silly buying everything and anything - whereas now being an experienced mum (ahem!) I know that you dont need to buy everything in sight - even though I want to, ha ha. That's one of the great things that you learn whilst being on a DMP - the difference between needing and wanting things.

I also just wanted to reassure anyone who is considering the pros and cons of being on a DMP that despite the fact that our overall total has barely come down over the year it is still honestly the best thing we have ever done. We rarely get bothered by any creditor now, everything is via CCCS. Most of our creditors have stopped interest and charges and I'm pretty sure that now things seem to have settled, that the debt will start to come down much more over the next year. It is not an overnight magical solution, it still has some ups and downs but its definitely worth it

Have a good day everyone!

Sunshine x

DevonGirl

TottalyLost wrote: »

Also, when I was on DMP with CCCS, they used to send me a letter every month showing what the reduced debts are which later proved to be wrong figures as CCCS assumed interests were frozen which was not the case.. so it was a false joy for me.

This is slightly annoying but obviously CCCS cannot know what each creditor is up to. I go into the CCCS website every month and update my balances.

Also intend to set up an Excel debt spreadsheet for my own at-a-glance balance, when I can get round to it... Actually, does anyone have such a thing set up, including all the automatic calculations, that they could PM me, or is there a web version I can use???

Many thanks
DG

sandalwood_2

Morning everyone,
Havent posted much recently,still be reading every day though,becoming a unhealthy obbession me thinks....

Any who-thought I would just update my situation...
First Payment went to creditors this month via pay plan-havent really had much contact from them in the past few weeks(fingers crossed)
Next were first to accept DMP (which I thought was great considering what I have read on here)
HFC (sofa) accepted and then Abbey,even though they are sending me letters to say that I have missed a loan payment-guess it is automaticly generated
MBNA loans keep sending me letters even though I have spoken to them a few times and explained my situation-again automaticly generated letters-have sent CCA request letter on Tuesday so am hoping will get a reply on that soon,also sent one to Abbey just for my records-if they both cant supply or dont reply will be sending the second letter
MBNA c/cards keep adding interest and charges..ggggrrrrr..:mad::mad::mad::mad:..hoping this will die down in a few weeks
Worst have been natwest-piling on the charges and interest for the Overdrafts on accounts we have-have asked them to down grade account as I was paying for a account with extras that I didnt even use!! Sent letter last week asking to stop the charges and interest and also down grade-still waiting for a reply
A couple of credit cards are on line accounts and we have been frozen out of these so no way of knowing what the hell is happening there...
the rest have been pretty quiet to be honest-hoping this will stay the same(not going to put all on here incase they try and be slippery and read the threads u never know...)
As said,going ok at the moment,but in a few months will have to reduce payments by half as my OH is going on Mat leave and her package at work is terrible,so I reckon I will start getting more letters about that......probably will be the reduced payments for a while but hoping my money will go back up while she is off(had to take a pay cut a few months ago) and then start paying more and hopefully when the company starts to recover from the recession(which it is slowly) then I may get a bonus and that will go towards FF settelements....

Thats it,the thing that is filling my head at the moment is the prospect of looking after a little person soon(scary stuff) All good though
And a big welcome to newbies and oldies that havent posted for a while
I know it has been said many,many times,but starting a DMP was the best thing that I have done-actualy sleeping at night now(well until the baby arrives anyway:rotfl::rotfl:)

Eupho

grrrrrrr... flippin Hitachi Capital (who totally ignore me, and anything I have sent them.. and who flatly refuse to give me any payment info for them!) :wall:

Wrote me a stinking letter saying they were 'Very disappointed' in me.. That I 'have failed to respond to our previous attempts to collect the arrears' (less than £40 :rolleyes:) ..

Well!!!.. Not as disappointed as I am in YOU completely ignoring me.. Idiots.

:rotfl:

Anyhooo.. they say if I don't pay up.. they will default my account.. (for a fee of £50) :rolleyes:

Which is good!.. Because I already sent them a letter yesterday .. Saying that if (after asking three times) that they STILL refuse to accept my reduced payments.. They may as well default my account, as I cannot pay them more.

Maybe if I get passed to a DCA someone might actually listen to me there instead. :rolleyes:

Afternoooon :wave: