DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 7

Hopelessly_Hopeful

sarahowen wrote: »

DFD in 2 years and 4 months... Woohoo! August 2013, here I come!

Morning All

Sara, glad you got the pack ok and hope you have a smooth start up. Great to see that the thoughts of DFD is perking your spirits up. Don't wish to spoil the party but think the decent thing to do here is to help to manage each others expectations in order to avoid nasty shocks later by sharing experience. Please note that DFD is an estimate not a guarantee. It's made on the assumption all your creditors will freeze interest. Most people on here find that doesn't happen for every creditor, most creditors do come on board but again not all stop interest at first. Often balance outstanding rises before going down. To give you an example at the end of the first month after I began my DMP my balance had actually RISEN by 2.5%. 9 months in I have now paid off approximately 15% of the debt. My DFD went from 42 to 45 months, so adding 3 months on. All in the right direction though. We just keep plugging away!

Hope that helps

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

tlc123 wrote: »

Hi all

I haven't been on here for ages, but I'm thinking of signing up for a DMP. We can make our minimum payments, but have nothing left after wev'e paid them, and we have no life. Also, we have a leaking flat roof on our extension that needs fixing and the buildings insurance won't cover it. So basically, need to find £5k to do that.

So I'm thinking a DMP may be the way forward to repay the debts and allow us to have a life, but wonder what to do about the £5k?

Thing is, we have a mortgage and the fixed term comes up in Jan 2012 - if we're on a DMP does that mean we can't keep our mortgage? If so, it may not be possible for us as we want to keep our mortgage. I've read lots about DMP but can't seem to establish what it does to your credit rating.
Thanks in advance

tlc

Hi TLC


Sorry to hear about the roof, it's a pain isn't it.

DMP will shatter your credit rating for 6 years but to be fair I think most of us would agree it is probably shattered anyway which is why we need the DMP in the first place. DMP shouldn't threaten the mortage but will hinder the ability to borrow more. We're told it's technically fraud if you borrow money that you know you can't pay back or when you are already over committed. My viewfrom reading tons of back posts over the past year is that they will look very harshly on you if you extend borrowing when you are knowingly entering into a DMP.

Some additional borrowing can be allowed on DMP as long as agreed in advance wiht DMP provider. For example I was told by CCCS I may take a car loan out as I need a car for my job. Thinking is that if I have no car I have no job, no job means no money to pay debts so allowing me to have a car loan is the less of the two evils if you know what I mean!! That said I'm holding off for as long as possible I doubt anyone would give me a loan without extortionate interest rates in the offing, that being something I am hopeful is firmly in the past!

I would discuss the dilemma of the roof with your DMP providor and see what they suggest. Could be they suggest tokens for a few months or a low start DMP or part repair etc.

The important thing is you will be moving forward.

Good luck

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

the_tooth_fairy wrote: »

Amen to that!
May I say (and I'm not being boastful or C&%P like that, but hoping to encourage the Newbies amongst us!) but we are now 17 months in and lo and behold,we have gone from the Total Horror of £69k+ to the newly improved total of £51,940. It probably doesn't sound great,but in April we will be into the Fab Forties! That's all the extra charges, too.
Can you imagine how long it would have taken, paying minimum amounts with all the interest. Grim.
It really is worth it all, when you see an end to it, and can you credit it (sic) Sainsburys Bank Visa have finally reduced my interest to 0% two months in a row! OH is still in a running battle with his BOS card, they have plainly put him back into collections, letters, phone calls, but he spoke to them yesterday evening, and they have refunded his interest, albeit reduced, so we move on.

Keep going everyone, and we will all move forward, even if it's slowly!

ttf

Great news TF - Roll on April.

I get a huge buzz from celebrating landmarks like a key digit dropping into the next thousand etc.

The future is bright:T

HHx

secretshopper75

Good Morning, quick hello from me as off to friends for Sunday lunch but wanted to pop in and send everyone lots of encouragement.

debtfreewannabe321

Thank You Suze, even if they had given me cheques all of the money would have gone straight to the CCCS to get rid of the debt....so i may just try it then, i suppose i've nothing to lose!

darwins_mum

Morning all, I started on a temporary token payment DMP with cccs nearly 6 months ago when I was temping full time. A month later I secured a part time permanent job as this was the only work available. Obviously my income has decreased significantly. Once the 6 month period is up, what happens with my temporary arrangement with cccs? I am in less of a position to increase my payments to the DMP. I am currently looking at ways of increasing my income, such as letting out my spare room, but there is nothing concrete in place. I am struggling quite a bit with my part time earnings.
All help appreciated

the_tooth_fairy

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Morning All

Sara, glad you got the pack ok and hope you have a smooth start up. Great to see that the thoughts of DFD is perking your spirits up. Don't wish to spoil the party but think the decent thing to do here is to help to manage each others expectations in order to avoid nasty shocks later by sharing experience. Please note that DFD is an estimate not a guarantee. It's made on the assumption all your creditors will freeze interest. Most people on here find that doesn't happen for every creditor, most creditors do come on board but again not all stop interest at first. Often balance outstanding rises before going down. To give you an example at the end of the first month after I began my DMP my balance had actually RISEN by 2.5%. 9 months in I have now paid off approximately 15% of the debt. My DFD went from 42 to 45 months, so adding 3 months on. All in the right direction though. We just keep plugging away!

Hope that helps

HHx

That's true and well worth remembering. Halifax stuck on all their interest at the start of our DMP, which raised the total by 6k, it was easy to feel really disheartened by stuff like that. Also my Sainsburys Visa is only down by about £150, even though we've given them £56 per month, for 17 months. More cheerfully, all the other c/c companies froze their interest pretty much straight away, so if you think how much that saves, it's swings and roundabouts really.
It's better than having your head in the sand, at any rate!

ttf

the_tooth_fairy

darwins_mum wrote: »

Morning all, I started on a temporary token payment DMP with cccs nearly 6 months ago when I was temping full time. A month later I secured a part time permanent job as this was the only work available. Obviously my income has decreased significantly. Once the 6 month period is up, what happens with my temporary arrangement with cccs? I am in less of a position to increase my payments to the DMP. I am currently looking at ways of increasing my income, such as letting out my spare room, but there is nothing concrete in place. I am struggling quite a bit with my part time earnings.
All help appreciated

Morning, my advice would be to call CCCS and talk to them about you situation. Open communication seems to be the key factor in all my dealings with creditors and Payplan. They may even be able to put your mind at rest, after all you can't pay what you haven't got, and you are being straight forward about how things are.
Good Luck, let us know how you get on!
ttf

debtmountainclimber

Hi this is my first forum post as i'm in financial difficulty and have been advised by national debtline that a dmp is my best way forward (I've been trying to get a loan to consolodate some cc debts where the interest is rediculous but apparently i have too much on credit for me to be offered new credit or so one lender told me), i'm also holding down a full time job while studying part time with an aim to getting a better paid job to help with my problems its distance learning but aiming to finish it by september although there;s no guarantee of a job at the end of it. i've always kept up my repayments and at the moment mt credit rating is really good, however i'm aware this will change if I go into a DMP so i am wanting to here from some of u who are in dmps about the pros and cons of them i've been reluctant to enter into one as i've been scraping by for the last 2 years as me and my gf wish to buy a house together but because of mortgage restrictions weve been stuck for the last 2 years both living in our own houses and seeing each other when we can made more difficult living 20 miles apart and my gf working shifts but were still very much together but i would like to here if anyone has been through trying to get a mortgage while having a dmp? I understand there are people in far more difficulty than me but i really need some advice Thanks.

ianmak

debtmountainclimber wrote: »

Hi this is my first forum post as i'm in financial difficulty and have been advised by national debtline that a dmp is my best way forward (I've been trying to get a loan to consolodate some cc debts where the interest is rediculous but apparently i have too much on credit for me to be offered new credit or so one lender told me), i'm also holding down a full time job while studying part time with an aim to getting a better paid job to help with my problems its distance learning but aiming to finish it by september although there;s no guarantee of a job at the end of it. i've always kept up my repayments and at the moment mt credit rating is really good, however i'm aware this will change if I go into a DMP so i am wanting to here from some of u who are in dmps about the pros and cons of them i've been reluctant to enter into one as i've been scraping by for the last 2 years as me and my gf wish to buy a house together but because of mortgage restrictions weve been stuck for the last 2 years both living in our own houses and seeing each other when we can made more difficult living 20 miles apart and my gf working shifts but were still very much together but i would like to here if anyone has been through trying to get a mortgage while having a dmp? I understand there are people in far more difficulty than me but i really need some advice Thanks.

Hiya and welcome!

Pros:
Finally sorting your debt out, with an end in sight!
Living without credit (I never want it again). Learning to budget, which is quite fun!
It's just (for me at least) about making a fresh start.

Cons:
It's a 'gentleman's' agreement with your creditors. There's no guarantee.
As such, they don't have to stop interest.
You will get defaults, which will mess up your credit rating. But, see above!
You won't be allowed more credit while on the DMP (so will have to get rid of any overdrafts). But again, see above.
Expect lots of phonecalls and letters at the beginning demanding money. A lot on here say to communicate in writing, I believe in being honest and answering the phone and explaining my position. They will make you feel guilty, and ask you to make an extra payment, so you must be strong enough not to fold.

Those are the ones that mean the most to me.