DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 7

Superbiatch

You need to cancel the direct debits if you cannot afford to repay them and have enough to live on, thats why I'm assuming you are going onto a DMP?

Therefore, only send token payments of a minimal amount per month in the form of postal orders until the DMP is up and running.

elle898

Ok I have now canceled all my direct debits and im going to post my letters tonight, I just feel scared that im going to get a lot of phone calls! and im not going to pay them for a couple of months! Ive always paid my bills on time, but at least im going to have some extra money to pay off people i owe money to and live.
Just another quick question- I had a mortgage at HSBC with my ex and i signed a contract that i no longer own half the property with him but my name is still on the mortgage and i have a credit card with £6000 on with HSBC will they try and do anything? I can see the mortgage and my credit card when i log onto my internet banking.
thanks

ianmak

elle898 wrote: »

yes Im sending my information to CCCS and i have written all the letters to my credit card companys, i just need to post them today. so i should cancel my direct debits today? or wait untill the CCCS write back to me and confirm? sorry im a bit confused!
I dont have any debt linked to my bank account so no need to set up a new one
Thanks

If you have an overdraft with your current account, then this will need to be removed as you can't have one while on a DMP as this counts as debt. If you're currently a long way into an OD, then this should really be included too.

As for paying your creditors, you've already cancelled the DDs, so send each creditor £1 token per month until the DMP is setup. This will show willing, and also allow you to setup a small slush/emergency fund if you can.

Twit_Head

the_tooth_fairy wrote: »

Despite my cunning plans, I mess it up too! We only tax now for 6 months, even though it makes it more expensive. But what can you do?
You just do (as I call it) THE BEST THERE IS TODAY.
It's a coping mechanism but there is no point in making yourself ill over this. Personally I've made myself pretty poorly over all this at times, but just think about all the people who become invisible and don't pay anything. Lucky beggars just get their debt 'written off'.

ttf

I think I'm going to be shot down in flames by many - but.....
I too still remember the weight loss, lack of sleep, being totally stressed out by the 'horror' of the financial meltdown. I never want to feel like that again.
However, a philosophical question - would the alternatives with extremely serious repercussions, such as an IVA, bankruptcy (with loss of home etc) been preferable to the long, hard slog of a DMP?
Much as I'd love to get my debt 'written off' I just wonder how I would feel if it was. Mea Culpa - I borrowed the money; therefore I must pay it back at whatever the cost??? How fantastic it would be to wake up tomorrow and be debt free, but could I live with myself?
Don't know how others feel? - answers on a postcard please!

'Twitty'

(PS. Not having a dig TF - had a couple of glasses of vino and getting a bit maudlin' )

inamess_man

i agree twit

dmp isnt the easy option imo but hopefully leads to a clearer head once running smoothly

tried ringing m + s were very rude may have got unlucky but reverting back to another letter now

good luck everyone

inamess_man

key thing to remember if u are doing a dmp yourself is if you get no joy keep writing the letters amazing how sometimes the 4th letter results in a positive reply

debtfree2010

Hey Guys,
Well today i received my first reply from MBNA and they want income and expenditure forms filled in, which i have actually posted on monday our letters must have crossed in the post, anyway i phoned them up, they havent received my letter yet..but the lady on the phone was lovely, going to phone them at the weekend when they have got all my details to arrange a payment schedule.:T

I have spoken to the Halifax too and they say they can put me on an arrangment to pay, but it wont reduce the balance of the debt...err thanks for that....NOT !!:p

No news from anyone else, and the phone is quiet......calm before the storm me thinks :cool:

But definatly feeling a lot more confident about everything, sooo glad we bit the bullet and only wish i had done this earlier

Good luck guys :cool:

londonfraggle

Hello all oldies and newbies.

Been quite a while since I posted - but I lurk a lot and am supremely grateful for all the help and advice and support this thread gives (even though I don't say thank you enough!).

Quick update - which may or may not help those thinking about going on a DMP....

I have now been on mine for 15 months and have managed to clear about 45% of my debt. Some creditors play ball and stop interest, while others just play "throw the ball at ya" - as you'll have seen on this thread a million times there seems to be no real consistency as to how you are treated. I should have got further than I have, but have had to have a few odd months of reduced payments along the way -a combination of work, being still rubbish with money and also some genuine emergencies. CCCS have been fab across all of them.

I am now looking at - if all goes to plan - clearing my debt in 18 months. And it was a LARGE debt (nearly 50K eeek). But make no mistake a DMP is hard work. I have thrown everything I have got at it and have had to make some serious life changes to do it. But it is definitely doable. And most importantly I now have a quality of life. 2 years ago I was living in constant misery - robbing peter to pay paul, using credit cards just to pay the bills etc. We've all been there! Whilst this is not the easy ticket out, it's certainly the most satisfying one.

There will be problems along the way. E.g. I want to get a mortgage with my fiancee (who I have not told about my DMP - I know I know but I have chosen to keep it to myself) at some point in the future - as my credit rating will be scuppered that's a bridge to cross - but not now. For now I am focusing on clearing my debt and that alone. The rest can follow.

So - just wanted to drop in - say hi - and tell anyone who might be thinking about a DMP - DO IT! (But make sure you use either Payplan or CCCS and not a fee paying company!).

Over and out!

Fraggle x

secretshopper75

Thanks for your words of advise Fraggle, well done on clearing so much of your debt, have you paid extra alongside your 'normal' repayment figure?

jules1973

Shop Direct are flatly refusing my offer of £25 per month. Should I send a second letter?

I was just wondering how ppl have managed Shop direct and what outcome was?