DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 6)

Erme

slightlyconfused wrote: »

Thanks but I think I may have confused you! Im not queryin that I need a credit card, I just wondered whether the decision to take the card away was as a result of me notifying them of the DMP

They took my card away when I started DMP - didn't miss it....No big deal. The less temptation to spend on my debt account the better as far as I'm concerned. So long as you have a basic bank account with access you'll be fine. Cash is King remember

E

Erme

Och guys I just wish I'd found you sooner when on the DMP last year. You're all fab and there's nothing like personal experience of these things... Am learning so much off you guys even though I don't think I help that much. I personally aim to be debt free in about a year or two's time DV. In the mean time I'll keep my froogle lifestyle and keep plodding. I mean anyone on a new DMP in a city who thinks it's not possible to live off £15 a week for food believe me it is (single person) and eat well for that! Last year I wasn't able to cook for myself so food was costing a fortune :eek: but now I can so food and toiletries and cleaning stuff averages about £15 a week with £5 (officially) for 'treats and whoopsies' (still working on that ). I smoke and my old DMP didn't allow for that but even with their food budget of £35 per single adult I could afford to do now. What's CCSS's food allowance for single adults (she asks out of curiosity). Just wondered.

Hope everyone is well. And how do you get stuff like a landline and like broadband when your stuff has been referred to DCA? Again these are questions I need answering before I contemplate going on a DMP again..

Ta

E

hayston

Hi,
Wondered if anyone has any advice.
I have rec'd some compensation and have put the money into a savings account. My thoughts were to earn as much interest as possible and then try and make final settlement offers to my creditors in the hope I can clear my dmp.
Do you think this is best or should I be trying to pay off as much as possible as i go with my dmp. I would not be in a position to pay any more per month to my plan.
I am with cccs. Do you think this would be frowned upon. Are you allowed to have savings whilst on a dmp?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

lozzam

I have been on a DMP for almost 5 years (DFD mid 2016 :eek:) Lloyds have been a total pain from beginning to end, randomly adding interest and charges, always claiming they haven't received anything from CCCS etc etc. I now get letters from MHA (Lloyds in house collection agency) on a monthly basis threatening lawyers, court, death of my first born (ok I made that last one up). Every 2 or 3 letters I ring them up to confirm that I can't pay any more and they tell me I can just ignore the letters.

When I rang up this time, someone explained that they have to keep doing this, as they have to have sent a minimum number of letters before they default the account. I didn't ask what that number was, but looking in my Lloyds file it is more than 7

It is good to finally understand why they keep bombarding me with stuff, yet seem so reasonable when I speak to them (I have no fear of ringing these people - after 5 years I know that there is nothing more they can get from me so I have nothing to lose).

So for anyone else out there getting worried about the avalanche of paperwork, don't worry! Set up you DMP, use your separate bank account, and keep paying it off - the end will come!

I'm hoping I get a decent bonus in my new job, that my car survives for another year or two, and that I can make some F&Fs to bring the DFD date in by a year or two!!

jenevieve

hayston wrote: »

Hi,
Wondered if anyone has any advice.
I have rec'd some compensation and have put the money into a savings account. My thoughts were to earn as much interest as possible and then try and make final settlement offers to my creditors in the hope I can clear my dmp.
Do you think this is best or should I be trying to pay off as much as possible as i go with my dmp. I would not be in a position to pay any more per month to my plan.
I am with cccs. Do you think this would be frowned upon. Are you allowed to have savings whilst on a dmp?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi,
I suppose it depends if the interest you would earn on your savings would offset any accumulating interest (albeit reduced) still being applied to your debts. And how long would it take to earn enough interest on your savings to put you in the position to be able to offer final settlements.
In my humble opinion, I would be tempted to throw it at the debts and get them reduced and gone as quickly as possible. If you gave a lump sum to CCCS, they would disperse it fairly amongst your creditors.

I'm not sure what CCCS's exact position on savings is but I would think that if you can use the money to reduce your debt in a shorter period of time, that can only be a good thing. However, there is a no harm and lots of sense in having some put aside as an emergency fund.

Maybe hold some back and put the rest into your DMP?

Erme

hayston wrote: »

Hi,
Wondered if anyone has any advice.
I have rec'd some compensation and have put the money into a savings account. My thoughts were to earn as much interest as possible and then try and make final settlement offers to my creditors in the hope I can clear my dmp.
Do you think this is best or should I be trying to pay off as much as possible as i go with my dmp. I would not be in a position to pay any more per month to my plan.
I am with cccs. Do you think this would be frowned upon. Are you allowed to have savings whilst on a dmp?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Speaking from the view point of someone not on a cccs or mainstream debt management program I'd put some of it aside in not easily touchable savings for major sos (like the washing machine dieing for example or losing your income or a major drop in income)..when I was on DMP I never told them about £400 I had in SOS in an account. I wanted that money saved...and I've never had to touch it in 2 years ..I think it's wise to have some savings even when debt busting for a rainy day (not an 'I want to shop day'). Whether you can trust yourself to do this is your call.

However if you think about these savings as being used to pay off debts FORGET IT...debt accrues interest all the time and the sooner it's paid off the better. Even if you're on a DMP the sooner it's all gone the better.

My chum across the road has still not woken up to reality and thinks debt is no big thing cos 'he's living the good life'. I personally think that's out of fashion and a tad deluded. But then he has the 'never ending bank of Pa' to bail him out....

just my two pennyworth

E

the_tooth_fairy

Erme wrote: »

Speaking from the view point of someone not on a cccs or mainstream debt management program I'd put some of it aside in not easily touchable savings for major sos (like the washing machine dieing for example or losing your income or a major drop in income)..when I was on DMP I never told them about £400 I had in SOS in an account. I wanted that money saved...and I've never had to touch it in 2 years ..I think it's wise to have some savings even when debt busting for a rainy day (not an 'I want to shop day'). Whether you can trust yourself to do this is your call.

However if you think about these savings as being used to pay off debts FORGET IT...debt accrues interest all the time and the sooner it's paid off the better. Even if you're on a DMP the sooner it's all gone the better.

My chum across the road has still not woken up to reality and thinks debt is no big thing cos 'he's living the good life'. I personally think that's out of fashion and a tad deluded. But then he has the 'never ending bank of Pa' to bail him out....

just my two pennyworth

E

Couldn't agree more. My washing machine died two weeks ago (it cost me £35 for an engineer to inform me of that!) Bless him, he really wanted to help, but the concrete block was disjointed and it took the whole drum with it. I didn't even know that washing machines contained concrete blocks!

Luckily, my son had some extra wages coming in and we split the cost of a new machine (£200 thank you, Beko) and I will pay him back come payday. I was even lucky enough to get £15 discount because it was an ex display model. There's the value in shopping locally, and not relying on the big companies.

Finally, I would def. pay any money off debt rather than put it in a savings a/c. The interest rates are grim, just get rid of the debt, I think.

ttf x

lauren123

good news! co-op have approved my cashminder account! Should get all details this week and then bye bye nationwide :j

Triggles

We keep some money in a savings account - it's absolutely necessary in case our washer or fridge/freezer break down. We couldn't afford to replace them otherwise and simply can't go without them.

lauren123

Afternoon all

I sent my agreement back to cccs with the relevent paperwork and also letters and tokens to all my creditors a week tomorrow.

Im wondering how long until I can expect replies from any of them? I didnt expect instant replies from the creditors but thought may get a letter from cccs just to let me know they recieved everything.

Thanks Lauren X