DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 6)

DotNetter

Checked my Lloyds TSB statement when it arrived yesterday and it appears that they've accepted our reduced payment offer from CCCS!

I was making minimum payment of £265 a month (on a £13k balance) and I was being charged 22.9%APR so each month they would charge me approx £230 interest!

This month the expected payment is £179 (amount offered by CCCS) and they've reduced my interest to 0.482% per month which equates to 5.7%APR!

Excellent news

As usual, I have updated my blog aswell.

Cheers all,


Wayne

saskia1

bigmommamuppet wrote: »

It's my LBM Anniversary:T:T

1 year ago today it was payday and I finally realised that I couldn't continue with burying my head in the sand. Our wages had gone in and we didn't have enough money to pay all the bills including our mortgage etc and eat. We had also run out of credit, then main source of funding the shortfall for a long long time.

So I told DH the truth and the amount of debt we were in (82K :eek: I had managed to hide it for years), lets say that was one of the hardest conversation that I've had in my life and at time I thought he was going to leave.

But 1 year on were happily married, debts have reduced by £8k only owing £74k now . We've been paid today and I have money to feed us comfortably, take the kids to the cinema on Sat and buy them new shoes. No CC bills to worry about post Christmas which is a really really good feeling and will manage to squirrel away some money for a rainy day.

Yes in the beginning it was traumatic with calls & letters etc but it soon stopped, we don't have credit, but with budgeting you don't need it. We have a home which is full of fun and imaginative ways of entertaining ourselves cheaply;). And for the 1st time this year we're planning a holiday without credit (somewhere cheap and cheerful, and funded by me ebay sales and money I get for sometimes helping out my neighbour with her ironing.)

Take Care

Becks

Becks - wahoo!!! superb posting. :j

AM in almost the exactly same position - 5 months into DMP - never thought i would / could live without credit- but of course i can!! i lurve the feeling of seeing my account the day before payday & its STILL IN CREDIT!!!! (only by a £1.00 sometimes but hey!)

we are also going on hols and will be the first time i have never used a CC to book it / taken a cc with me - scary but i might get a prepaid cc just in case have an emergency.

good to see your balances really reducing - mine have just statred to creep down - but am on a low dmp for a year or so until i can increase payments.

take care

sas xxxxx

Triggles

We finally received an acknowledgement from one of our creditors, now that they've received our SOA. The problem is the letter insists they still want us to call them to "discuss arrangements." I was pretty clear in the letter I sent along with the SOA that we could only pay what was listed. I see no point in calling them, as the only reason they want to "discuss arrangements" is to demand more money up front or a higher payment, which we simply can't do. I also make a point to state in the letter that we wanted all communication in writing by post, which means, of course, that I do not plan on calling them either. :rolleyes: I suspect the letter is a form letter, as we have 2 accounts with this creditor with different cards, and received 2 copies, one for each account. Safe to just continue my payments and leave it at that for now?

iwillgetoutofdebt

I am finding Egg quite difficult at the moment. I am receiving daily emails and letters from them, plus there are about 4 calls a day logged on my phone from them. They were the first company that I contacted regarding my DMP as they were the only ones paid by Direct Debit. I have also spoken to them on the phone, but they seem unable (or unwilling) to communicate amongs themselves. Two days ago they sent me a replacement credit card :huh: then today I received a letter stating that they may default me if they don't hear from me in 48 hours.

I am not worried about being defaulted (in fact I am expecting it). It does seem very quick though (I have only "missed" one payment to them so far). I am guessing that their different departments will eventually speak to one another, but I am getting a bit annoyed with them saying that they haven't heard from me :mad:

funkyfish586

hi all am posting this on here as well as the main forum as i keep forgetting about this thread. i now have my new bank account with the coop its a current account as i am starting my dmp this month with payplan. When i did it on the phone i asked for no credit etc. Just checked my online banking facility for the first time today and i have a £200 interest free overdraft. Phoned the coop & they said it comes as standard, what should i do what will happen if i keep it? i obviously dont want to get in any trouble or anymore debt x

Twit_Head

funkyfish586 wrote: »

hi all am posting this on here as well as the main forum as i keep forgetting about this thread. i now have my new bank account with the coop its a current account as i am starting my dmp this month with payplan. When i did it on the phone i asked for no credit etc. Just checked my online banking facility for the first time today and i have a £200 interest free overdraft. Phoned the coop & they said it comes as standard, what should i do what will happen if i keep it? i obviously dont want to get in any trouble or anymore debt x

Hi funkyfish - I believe from reading this thread there is a basic account with the Co-Op that comes with 'no-frills.'
Luckily I didn't need to change bank acounts when I started on a DMP.
However, I still have a £200-00 agreed overdraft limit on my current account. I didn't want to upset the apple cart and have felt no need to inform anybody or change it.
But you must remember on a DMP the rule is no more credit so obviously you can't use the overdraft facility. Mine just sits there unused and doing nothing. If you really feel you won't be able to resist using it perhaps look at a different account? However I'm sure you will soon get into the way of living on a DMP where you become efficient at making you have go round and become proud to be a cash only person :T All the best to you.

'Twitty'

bendaboi

Hey Everyone,

Tried reading most of your comments but all the 1000 pages nearly of all the threads are getting confusing lol.

I am in diar straits and depressed with my debts, which are around £8,000. I am being threatened with baliffs and court appearances. I thought all was lost but then I found a company called Baines and Ernst - and to be honest it seems to good to be true, and after reading the comments on here it does. I have tried to phone payplan, and I have left my details with them and they are going to call back, and I found the CCCS rather useless, they just sent me a pack on DRO which I don't qualify for due to the fact I earn to much.

Am I protected from creditors and further action once I'm in a DMP? How long does it take for them to come into effect?

Please help me, all you fans of >>> :money: I can't go on like this!

Ben

londonfraggle

Hi Ben - this is just a quick reply as there will be others along who know loads and loads more than I do, but first things first... do not go to ANY company who charges you to help you with your debts! Both Payplan and the CCCS offer a free service and are as good - if not hugely better - than any company out there who "might" try and offer you a miracle solution.

I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with CCCS - I am on a DMP with them and they have been amazing. Did you phone them and book a full appointment with them? It can take time to get hold of them as they are busy but I have only got praise for the way they have helped me. I know others on here have also had v good experiences with Payplan too. I would honestly suggest you persevere and speak to one of them before making any final choices...

I would also say don't worry! There is always help available and you're in the right place to start asking questions about the next steps/options open to you. Maybe post your SOA so that those on here with more knowledge than me can start offering help.

Good luck, and don't panic!!

Fraggle X

no_pennies

hi all new poster here done all my crying i think lol just gonna get on with it now dmp starting in feb just wondering how long it will take barclays to twig that we are jumping to co op basic account (if they ever send details ) panicing here that wages will go in and will be used to pay overdraft off already canceled dd any advice !! and thanks to all you people who have given me a bit of hope that this will all work out

londonfraggle

bendaboi wrote: »

Hey Everyone,
Am I protected from creditors and further action once I'm in a DMP? How long does it take for them to come into effect?

Sorry, realised I hadn't answered these questions - although I'm no expert and there are loads of people on this thread who will be able to give you proper answers.

In my experience:

No - you're not "legally" protected from further action as a DMP is actually an informal arrangement, although in my experience (and I believe this to be in most cases - although of course not an absolute) most creditors are happy to deal with the CCCS as it shows that you are actively trying to remedy the situation, and they would prefer to have "something" from you that nothing at all! In my case even my most stroppy of creditors has accepted my DMP (although not all have yet stopped interest/charges - but I've only been in mine a few months and this can take a bit of time).

How long it takes to come into effect is entirely between you and your DMP company. It will take a little while (at least a month or so) to get all the paperwork/contacting the creditors/moving bank accounts etc sorted out so you will have to expect some delay. Sometimes DMP companies recommend that it's best to just send token payments to your creditors for a month (or even two months - which is what I did) while things are sorted out.

But...in my experience, once your creditors know you are dealing with the CCCS (or Payplan) and you tell them you are in the process of sorting things out then they are generally ok (ish!) to hang fire a bit.

Going onto a DMP is honestly the best thing I have ever done.

So, again, good luck. I know it's horribly daunting at this stage but it does get better, promise!