DMP - Budget item queried by creditor, CCCS want to shut down plan!?

maureenjscott

Hi there, i'm wondering if anyone can offer some friendly advice.

I have had a DMP with the CCCS for 15months, and so far has mainly run smoothly. After I finished uni last summer, our income dropped when DH went to college (his bursary being less than mine was).

It took a few months for the benefits to sort themselves out and by November the rearranged payments were in place. By January, however, we got letters from 3 of the 9 creditors saying that we were paying less than expected. I spoke to them and they hadn't had the most up to date budget/figures. I spoke to CCCS at end of Jan and they agreed to resend the info to all our creditors. So far so good.

Except today, CCCS called and said that one of the creditors (a small one whom we only owe about £250 to, and who have never had more than £8 a month, who are now getting £5 from the dmp) are querying an item on the budget. This is under the donations/charity/church box. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as such are commanded by our Heavenly Father that 10% of our income is paid in tithing. This has never been a problem on the DMP and CCCS have never mentioned it as a potential problem.

However, they now say that as a creditor has queried it stating that the amount i pay in tithing is about £10 more than gets paid to the CCCS each month, that i will have to reduce it or they will close the plan and no more DMP! I have two weeks to get back to them.

Not paying tithing to the Church is not an option. The premise of the commandment is that by obeying it we will be blessed for doing so. The months in the past when we have not paid it for any reason, we find ourselves struggling with little money/food/large bills/etc. When we do pay faithfully and fully we quite often have extra.. whether food/money/or other blessings eg baby due in 6weeks needs nothing other than nappies/wipes - all clothes/bedding/etc have been 'donated' from other church members and i know that this is because we faithfully follow His Commandments.

Hoping that someone can give some advice,
thanks for listening
maureen x

heppy23

maureenjscott wrote: »

Not paying tithing to the Church is not an option.

Not sure I agree with that. Whilst I admire your stance and commitment you might be about to ruin the DMP. If the DMP stops then you will really be in bother.

I would talk to your minister/priest/elder and see what they say. If they insist you must stick to the 10% then that would surprise me. There must be some flexibility somewhere - what if you had zero income?

Madison

What does it say in the budget guide about giving to religious organisations or charities? I'd imagine it has a 'must be justified' clause in it.

DGJsaver

It`s not surprising that a creditor resent you giving more to a religious organisation than to them is it ?

DGJsaver

tedsd wrote: »

Hi, no it isn't surprising because they have a different value system... if they had the same religious background they would probably think it was a perfectly acceptable thing to do...

It`s fair to say that most business`s dont hold the same values as the rest of us ....religious or otherwise

immoral_angeluk

As far as I'm aware, there is nothing regulated which includes tithing as essential expenditure and therefore it's at the discretion of creditors as to whether they accept or not and it's bound to vary from creditor to creditor. I could be wrong though as it's not something that's frequently seen in my bureau and I haven't got access to my debt advice handbook at the mo as i'm not at work.
Surely there has to be some room for leeway with your minister/priest?? If your circumstances are dire as such as to need a DMP surely they must be able to accept that it is an unaffordble expense at the moment, especially if the tithe will put you into further hardship by risking your DMP?

Tixy

How much did CCCS want you to reduce it by? I'd agree that giving your time/expertise may be a way forward rather than all in cash. We have had other people on here with a similar query relating to tithing. Do speak to your minister about the situation. Maybe in the short term you could pay 5% of your income & then give in other ways.

I have also seen people who tithe suggest that it should be 10% or X% of your disposable income not you actual income. Whilst I know people can interpret these items differently I do not think your minister would want you to be put in this position because of the tithing alone.

Finally you could consider a call to Christians against poverty - just to ask their advice - I wonder if they would be more receptive to do a DMP which includes tithing in the budget?

OrkneyStar

heppy23 wrote: »

Not sure I agree with that. Whilst I admire your stance and commitment you might be about to ruin the DMP. If the DMP stops then you will really be in bother.

I would talk to your minister/priest/elder and see what they say. If they insist you must stick to the 10% then that would surprise me. There must be some flexibility somewhere - what if you had zero income?

Then it would be 10% of £0- in other words £0 surely!
Surely it is discrimination for this to be questioned ?
Is there no other expense that could be reduced and the tythe money come from that?
I am not of your faith but completely understand why paying the tithe is not an option! Could you discuss it with a Church Elder (or whoever else leads your group) ?

thewad

Will the church bail you out if you can't afford the rent?
You owe people money but you'd rather give it to the church, think you need to get your priorities in order.
Great move by the church though promising blessing if you give them 10% of your income, bit like pay per view pay per blessing.
Wonder who's making money out this scam.
Sorry if I'm not sympathetic but I think you can see where I'm going.
For once I'm on creditors side here.
What happens if, in the last week of the month you have no money for food?
That 10% would have fed you instead of lining someone's back pocket.


John

immoral_angeluk

thewad wrote: »

Will the church bail you out if you can't afford the rent?
You owe people money but you'd rather give it to the church, think you need to get your priorities in order.
Great move by the church though promising blessing if you give them 10% of your income, bit like pay per view pay per blessing.
Wonder who's making money out this scam.
Sorry if I'm not sympathetic but I think you can see where I'm going.
For once I'm on creditors side here.
What happens if, in the last week of the month you have no money for food?
That 10% would have fed you instead of lining someone's back pocket.


John

I do have to agree with this point. Would the church help to pay for food out of the tithe money?

immoral_angeluk

I think it should just be mentioned that we need to keep this from going into a religious debate about the ethics and morals behind tithing, and that we should focus on tithing in relation to a financial statement.