Chasing daydreams....

Happytogetdebtfree

Good luck with the energy supplier and meter changes in still in bed of back to snoozelville :-) x

true27

Thanks Happy! You having a good week off so far?

true27

I'm a bit miserable this morning...had a play with CCCS Debt Remedy and I seriously hope I've done something wrong. It said that based on the figures provided that we can afford to keep up the set montly repayments! We've been sending token payments for nearly 5 months now, putting things on hold while DH got into his new job. It can't be right, I mean according to my budget we have around £200 to meet the debt repayments while the orginal payments are about the £700 mark :eek: - I've got to have done something wrong....

Choc-addict

true27 wrote: »

I'm a bit miserable this morning...had a play with CCCS Debt Remedy and I seriously hope I've done something wrong. It said that based on the figures provided that we can afford to keep up the set montly repayments! We've been sending token payments for nearly 5 months now, putting things on hold while DH got into his new job. It can't be right, I mean according to my budget we have around £200 to meet the debt repayments while the orginal payments are about the £700 mark :eek: - I've got to have done something wrong....

Keep your chin up, i'm sure you've worked it out right and CCCS website is wrong! Have you heard much from your creditors since sending token payments? Perhaps you can work things out with your creditors yourself and arrange for interest stopping etc? I do this now after initially starting a dmp with payplan - went it alone and so far have had no problems. National debtline website and citz adv have some very useful templates etc. Just a thought, think there is a dmp support thread here too with some doing it themselves.

That said I know how scary it is when you get to that point that you just can't make the payments and having someone do it for you is far easier initially!

Hope it all works itself out x

true27

Thanks Choccy - I saw the CAB in January and had a chat and I've based my budget and the sending of tokens on the figures discussed with them. The plan has always been to self-manage tbh, I think the work that CCCS do is brilliant, but I don't like the lack of flexibility in their trigger figures - I mean my grocery budget is £170 a month (which I've worked really hard on) and CCCS say that I should be spending £240! I guess its figures like that that have thrown the calculations out.

Out of the 9 creditors, only Santander have stopped interest, HSBC have stopped charges but not interest and the rest are sticking both on. I think we've had default notices from about 5 of them now.

Think I'm going to let it stew in the back of my mind over the weekend - I have the afternoon off on Monday so I'll sit down and work it out properly then. I'd really like to be able to make some "proper" payments as of May's payday, I feel really guilty for only sending £1 a month to most of them, espcially while I've been chucking the odd few pounds at the HFC with the highest interest rate.

It's like a really stressful game of chess isn't it!

Choc-addict

true27 wrote: »

Thanks Choccy - I saw the CAB in January and had a chat and I've based my budget and the sending of tokens on the figures discussed with them. The plan has always been to self-manage tbh, I think the work that CCCS do is brilliant, but I don't like the lack of flexibility in their trigger figures - I mean my grocery budget is £170 a month (which I've worked really hard on) and CCCS say that I should be spending £240! I guess its figures like that that have thrown the calculations out.

Out of the 9 creditors, only Santander have stopped interest, HSBC have stopped charges but not interest and the rest are sticking both on. I think we've had default notices from about 5 of them now.

Think I'm going to let it stew in the back of my mind over the weekend - I have the afternoon off on Monday so I'll sit down and work it out properly then. I'd really like to be able to make some "proper" payments as of May's payday, I feel really guilty for only sending £1 a month to most of them, espcially while I've been chucking the odd few pounds at the HFC with the highest interest rate.

It's like a really stressful game of chess isn't it!

It certainly is! I'm sure if you wrote to them with an offer of payment and request for interest to be stopped etc that they will - especially now defaults notices have been issued - worth a go!

Know what you mean about the budgets- I was told to put down far more than I actually spend as it was their guidelines but i'd prefer the money to be going to the debts. By self managing offer of payments I can actually work towards clearing the smaller debts in full rather than taking 4/5 years at small payments. Everyone has actually been really understanding and as long as I send them a budget with income/expenditure they've continued to freeze interest or reduced interest rates.

Wishing you lots of luck! x

Happytogetdebtfree

Hi true don't be disheartened I'm sure abit of muddling on Monday will sort it out. It's been lovely so far on my says off the other day I slept hike 3pm I was shattered x

true27

Choc-addict wrote: »

It certainly is! I'm sure if you wrote to them with an offer of payment and request for interest to be stopped etc that they will - especially now defaults notices have been issued - worth a go!

Know what you mean about the budgets- I was told to put down far more than I actually spend as it was their guidelines but i'd prefer the money to be going to the debts. By self managing offer of payments I can actually work towards clearing the smaller debts in full rather than taking 4/5 years at small payments. Everyone has actually been really understanding and as long as I send them a budget with income/expenditure they've continued to freeze interest or reduced interest rates.

Wishing you lots of luck! x

Thats brilliant Choccy, will knuckle down and write to them all tomorrow and ask them to stop interest and keep my fingers crossed!! How long have you been self managing?

true27

Ooo I am aching today!! Spent most of yesterday digging the garden, DH had the wonderful idea of digging up all the grass and starting again. Great idea in theory, but our garden is 120ft long and turfed from top to bottom, so in practice not so much.

The meltdown of yesterday with the dodgy figures has been put firmly behind me - I know how much money we have, where it goes and how much we have to play with, so I'm pretending it didn't happen. I'm looking forward to tomorrow afternoon, really want to get this sorted and up and running. 15th May is going to be our official start date, I've decided !

Today I'm going to spend some time cleaning up and sorting the house out, and maybe dig a few bits out for ebay. Doing some work for my Dad in the mornings of next week which should net me a few squids to bung in the emergency fund that really could do with replenishing!

Happytogetdebtfree

Well done true yes put it behind you if you managing and not spending on credit cards etc then maybe computer got it wrong xx chin up and keep going x