DMP and pets

gettingready

To cut a long story short - while on DMP, one is allowed £25 per month for pets on SOA.
.
I was told there is no variation to consider the size or number of pets.

My insurance alone for Zara and Tiger is £51 per month (no, can not get the amount of cover I need cheaper somewhere else, already checked).

Hmmmmm

Any thoughts on that "allowance" amount being set at £25 per month regardless of how many pets/what kind of pets one has?
Rehoming seems to be ther preferred "suggestion" but obvioulsy not one many pet owners/lovers would ever consider.

So?

walwin

Maybe I'm being dense, but I haven't got a clue what you're talking about :rotfl:

What's DMP and SOA?

Probably really obvious, but I'm lost

Fire_Fox

It's a difficult one. If you were allowed an unlimited number of pets and thus an unlimited allowance on your DMP, I can see a lot of creditors not wanting to agree to the DMP. I know on the Debt-free Wannabe board the suggestion is you slightly exaggerate other costs to accomodate your one luxury (which essentially a pet is ).

I am on a low income (not a DMP) and, since adopting Noah, have gone semi-vegetarian in order to cut my grocery costs down. This leaves me leeway to afford Noah's insurance and food without constantly cutting into my savings. Not sure if you have a friendly butcher locally, but I have heard reports of people getting quantities of meaty bones and offal free! :money:

DMP = Debt Management Plan
SOA = Statement of Affairs (budget plan).

Ruby_Moon

Cancel the insurance. Sorted. Put the £25 allowed in a high interest account every month.
It soon adds up. After a year you have £300 and its a good start for any treatment if needed. If not, then its £600 the year after.
I never get why folks buy the insurance anyway because it doesn't cover boosters or vaccinations and thats the main reason for a vets visit. (Unless you are neurotic I guess lol)

foreign_correspondent

Ruby_Moon wrote: »

Cancel the insurance. Sorted. Put the £25 allowed in a high interest account every month.
It soon adds up. After a year you have £300 and its a good start for any treatment if needed. If not, then its £600 the year after.
I never get why folks buy the insurance anyway because it doesn't cover boosters or vaccinations and thats the main reason for a vets visit. (Unless you are neurotic I guess lol)

.. in that case, what would you do if there was an unexpected emergency?

My dog ran up a vets bill of just over £500 a few months ago, after she ate some food from a broken glass jar, and swallowed some glass... of course, this resculted in an emergency operation which could not have been predicted or planned for.

Someone I know's dog shattered its shoulder after getting its leg stuck in a hole whilst running, which again was an unexpected emergency, and cost £2000...

gettingready

As this is not "what should I personally do" but rather "general what if" question - please note I am not asking for any advice for myself, rather wanted to raise the point to discuss in general.

Some people have cars and have running costs for those, on DMP this is not questioned (under BR it is but it is another matter), some people do not have cars but have pets.You would not be expected to run a car on £25 per month.

Maybe not a good comparison but the only one I can think of at the moment.

Thanks for posting.

EDIT:
SOA - Statement of Affairs
DMP - Debt Management Plan

emlou2009

i've been on my DMP with the CCCS for a couple of years now, and have only had my cats since july. well, i got one in july and another in november if we're being pedantic

IME the CCCS are very helpful, and help you to "jig around" the figures when you call for a reassessment.

at the end of the day, i dont smoke, i dont go out for either meals, drinking or to the cinema, and i rarely drink at home, i already survive on £175 for my monthly grocery shop which is less than they advise for a family of 3, so if anyone tells me to get rid of my cats, well they can go stick something in a painful place, then i will adjust my budget to allow me some funds for entertainment, which i currently have left out of mine, against their advice, which would mean that overall i pay less

they do actually recommend pet insurance if you dont have it, and i think they put pet insurance down on another part of the SOA as "other insurance" or something

MrsTinks

If you can't fit it under the "pet" allowance then you need to save from another section of your DMP and use this allowance instead. Be that food, entertainment or clothes etc...
Worth remembering is that if a creditor thinks you're not taking the DMP seriously that they will be difficult and carry through the threats of getting a CCJ... they may not get any more money but you WOULD have to explain your SOA to a judge and if they think you're being frivolous in areas they CAN and WILL take this into account when they set the CCJ amount!

£50 for pet insurance a month... wow... really? Are they pedigree pets???

cyberbob

MrsTine wrote: »

I

£50 for pet insurance a month... wow... really? Are they pedigree pets???

We have pedigree cats and dog and our insurance isn't that high (about £40 for 6 cats and a retriever). We have good coverage as well (its not basic). It could be to do with the age of pets if you start insuring them late in life it can be pricey

MrsTinks

cyber - I guess it could be a pedigree though if it's a breed prone to particular conditions? Like a Russian Blue cat probably wouldn't have many inbred illnesses (at least that I know of! I could be very wrong!) where as Burmese are moer prone to URT issues due to the (in my view) malformation of their faces, noses and nasal cavities. This can also lead to eye problems etc so maybe that could account for a very high premium...
I pay about £20 a month for the highest level cover for 2 cats aged 9 and one extreemly accident prone dog aged 4. No pedigrees though LOL

cyberbob

What I have found with insuring pedigree cats is that most insurers don't do it by breed they just put a couple of pounds on top of the premium due to them being pedigrees. Our 2 moggies are about £2 cheaper each a month than the other 4 pedigrees. Though we get a good discount due to the amount of cats. Insurance is a bit of a mine field anyway. £51 for 2 animals sounds very high to me but Gettingready has obviously found the cover that they are happy with. As cheapest isn't always best

Also I love Russian Blues. Though I don't have the pleasure of owning one. I know a breeder and they are such lovely cats