DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 7

Mothermercury30

Hi all

I'm very sorry if this post is a repeat of countless others, but this is a busy forum, so I have to start somewhere.

I have just been stiffed to the tune of £5000 by DCM money solutions ltd. Who haven't been paying my creditors. I was with them for 2 years, and I started off with a debt total of 21500, and I'm now in debt by, as near as dammit, £22000!!!

I have sought the advice of the CCCS, who have advised me to renew my monthly contractual payments as my wife and I have a reasonable income per month. Trouble is, my wife's income fluctuates a bit, and to pay the agreed contactual payments would mean I wouldn't have much of a life. At all.

Cleardebt solutions have taken over DCM's client base and have offered all existing customers DMPs with absolutely no fees at all as a goodwill gesture. When I phoned them and asked them what was in it for them, they told me that it would, in short, generate a lot of good PR for them. Nothing else.

They did, however, tell me that paying £200 (My monthly payment with DCM) would mean I would spend years and years paying off debt with little light at the end of the tunnel, and that an IVA should have been considered unless I could have afforded about £375 a month.

Either way, I am now confused, miserable and tired. I feel very lost, along with my wife, and haven't got a clue what to do for for the best.

Any suggestions? I am sure at least one of you will have an opinion on this

jules1973

Started self admin DMP a few weeks ago. Creditors have been mixed in their reaction
Nrock, Next, Nationwide o/d have been fab.
Post office credit cards and Shop Direct have been the worst.

If they ask for bank statements and payslips, should I send them

Twit_Head

Mothermercury30 wrote: »

Hi all

I'm very sorry if this post is a repeat of countless others, but this is a busy forum, so I have to start somewhere.

I have just been stiffed to the tune of £5000 by DCM money solutions ltd. Who haven't been paying my creditors. I was with them for 2 years, and I started off with a debt total of 21500, and I'm now in debt by, as near as dammit, £22000!!!

I have sought the advice of the CCCS, who have advised me to renew my monthly contractual payments as my wife and I have a reasonable income per month. Trouble is, my wife's income fluctuates a bit, and to pay the agreed contactual payments would mean I wouldn't have much of a life. At all.

Cleardebt solutions have taken over DCM's client base and have offered all existing customers DMPs with absolutely no fees at all as a goodwill gesture. When I phoned them and asked them what was in it for them, they told me that it would, in short, generate a lot of good PR for them. Nothing else.

They did, however, tell me that paying £200 (My monthly payment with DCM) would mean I would spend years and years paying off debt with little light at the end of the tunnel, and that an IVA should have been considered unless I could have afforded about £375 a month.

Either way, I am now confused, miserable and tired. I feel very lost, along with my wife, and haven't got a clue what to do for for the best.

Any suggestions? I am sure at least one of you will have an opinion on this

Sorry, I'm way out my depth with this one, but are you basically saying you are still locked into a contract with a fee paying company? (who from the sound of it have given you rubbish advice anyway )
Hopefully someone with greater experience will be along to advise you soon. But personally I would ring both CCCS again or PayPlan (or make appointment for Citizens Advice Bureau) and thrash everything out with them. Get expert advice for your options (IVA, DMP etc) and find out exactly where you stand in all this confusion at the moment.
And because I'm not known as 'Aunty Twitty' for nothing on this forum, I'm sending both you and your wife a big hug. It's not surprising you are tired and confused. These are your black times. Look after yourselves now at this trying time. Take some expert advice, and it WILL get better for you soon.

'Twitty'

Mothermercury30

Thank you Aunty. That's lovely and much appreciated.

I'm not locked into a contract- the Cleardebt group have bought DCM's client base, and as a goodwill gesture they're going to act on a no fees whatsoever basis for the former clients of DCM.

The CCCS were really helpful, but they are suggesting that I resume normal contractual monthly payments with my creditors-this would mean I'd not have much of a life at all after they'd been paid along with everything else.

I will make a decision within the next week- the creditors have been fine, and all of them have placed my accounts on hold until I get this sorted. The next decision, however, will be the one I am happy with.

Thanks again for the good wishes!:beer:

Twit_Head

Mothermercury30 wrote: »

Thank you Aunty. That's lovely and much appreciated.

I'm not locked into a contract- the Cleardebt group have bought DCM's client base, and as a goodwill gesture they're going to act on a no fees whatsoever basis for the former clients of DCM.

The CCCS were really helpful, but they are suggesting that I resume normal contractual monthly payments with my creditors-this would mean I'd not have much of a life at all after they'd been paid along with everything else.

I will make a decision within the next week- the creditors have been fine, and all of them have placed my accounts on hold until I get this sorted. The next decision, however, will be the one I am happy with.

Thanks again for the good wishes!:beer:

No probs - I'm fighting in your corner!
But my understanding (and experience) of a DMP nearly 2 years in, is that although it's tough, at the end of the day you should have enough to live on. We're not talking villas in the South of France here but a basic, standard of living that keeps body and soul together.
I'm really suprised that CCCS would advise you to resume a payment that didn't give you a basic standard of living.
Hey - and if you want advice on living the good life on a budget you're in the right place here! '3 Meals From A Pack Mince of R Us'
Got to go now but Good Luck and keep posting.

'Twitty'

Flash-bang

Hello all,
Slowly making progress in our DMP set up. So far we have had 13 responses, 2 of which say they are not dealing with it any more. So still waiting to hear from 21 creditors. I'll give it another week and then send what I have to CCCS. I'm actually disappointed when there is no post.

Mothermercury - as Twitty says, try CCCS and Payplan, but you could also consider a self-managed DMP.

the_tooth_fairy

Mothermercury30 wrote: »

Hi all

I'm very sorry if this post is a repeat of countless others, but this is a busy forum, so I have to start somewhere.

I have just been stiffed to the tune of £5000 by DCM money solutions ltd. Who haven't been paying my creditors. I was with them for 2 years, and I started off with a debt total of 21500, and I'm now in debt by, as near as dammit, £22000!!!

I have sought the advice of the CCCS, who have advised me to renew my monthly contractual payments as my wife and I have a reasonable income per month. Trouble is, my wife's income fluctuates a bit, and to pay the agreed contactual payments would mean I wouldn't have much of a life. At all.

Cleardebt solutions have taken over DCM's client base and have offered all existing customers DMPs with absolutely no fees at all as a goodwill gesture. When I phoned them and asked them what was in it for them, they told me that it would, in short, generate a lot of good PR for them. Nothing else.

They did, however, tell me that paying £200 (My monthly payment with DCM) would mean I would spend years and years paying off debt with little light at the end of the tunnel, and that an IVA should have been considered unless I could have afforded about £375 a month.

Either way, I am now confused, miserable and tired. I feel very lost, along with my wife, and haven't got a clue what to do for for the best.

Any suggestions? I am sure at least one of you will have an opinion on this

I was just wondering if your original total debts are £15,000? This may prevent CCCS or Payplan helping you. If I remember rightly,your debt had to total that or more in order for them to step in. That is the only reason I can think of for them to advise you to pay minimum amounts.
Please tell us how this works out because if you owe at least £22,000 then one of these companies should be helping to sort it?

I wish you well,

ttf

Superbiatch

jules1973 wrote: »

Started self admin DMP a few weeks ago. Creditors have been mixed in their reaction
Nrock, Next, Nationwide o/d have been fab.
Post office credit cards and Shop Direct have been the worst.

If they ask for bank statements and payslips, should I send them

No!

I made the mistake of sending these with my initial letters in the days before I found this fab forum They questioned my spending etc and its actually none of their business and you don't need to send it to them.

Send them the SOA from the national debtline (downloadable) if you want to show your outgoings, but beware the cheeky beggars will quiz you on it all.

the_tooth_fairy

Twit_Head wrote: »

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' )

Guess what hun, it's my turn for a few glasses and to have "a rant" (it was recommended to me by HH, so here it is!),
I loved the fact that you were playing 'Devils Advocate', who doesn't think of the 'What If'..My late Grandfather always said that was the name of the racehorse he would buy.We all should think outside the box at times!
My lack of sleep, (sadly no weight loss at present) and horror of financial meltdown meant nothing, because my OH's profession have a code of conduct, (never mind the current climate) where IVA's become a no-no, and bankruptcy are striking off offenses, so no matter how much or little you earn, even as a government employee, you are completely bound by a code of ethics.
Believe me, I would have probably with lived myself reasonably well! However, I believe what goes round comes round as well, so best foot forward, and let's get on, I think.
What a brilliant point to put forward, Twitty, it certainly made me think!
What does everyone else think? Are we mad, or just 'Doing our Best?

ttf

the_tooth_fairy

Squirrel29 wrote: »

So far M&S stopped interest, on Justabank it said MBNA had rejected offer, however they have written and said they accept it and stopping all interest etc! Barclaycard kept writing and saying they not heard from re re arrears so I was naughty and rang them today. Spoke to the loveliest woman ever who was emphatic and didn't make me feel ashamed. We had chat about the rising cost of living and struggling to make ends meet. She putting a note on file so fingers crossed they stop charges too. And it's a gorgeous day, my family are healthy and at the end of the day.. what else matters?!!

Exactly!
Isn't it great when you gather the strength to pick up the phone and find another human being at the other end?

ttf