DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 7

Mrs_Trouble

I have been fairly lucky and not heard from anyone on the phone since I started my DMP until today.......

Northern Rock have written to me once asking for I&E but I didn't send it as they had clearly had it from CCCS as they acknowledged their correspondence. My first payment will have reached them last week.

So tonight they have called three times. As I am used to stupid cold callers after 6pm I didn't confirm who I was and when they said they were from Northern Rock I just instinctively put the phone down I don't even know why, the woman sounded ok - they have rung twice since - shall I ignore until they get bored?

Apart from that all is going very well. Anyone thinking about doing a DMP go for it, the relief is amazing!

ianmak

Mrs_Trouble wrote: »

I have been fairly lucky and not heard from anyone on the phone since I started my DMP until today.......

Northern Rock have written to me once asking for I&E but I didn't send it as they had clearly had it from CCCS as they acknowledged their correspondence. My first payment will have reached them last week.

So tonight they have called three times. As I am used to stupid cold callers after 6pm I didn't confirm who I was and when they said they were from Northern Rock I just instinctively put the phone down I don't even know why, the woman sounded ok - they have rung twice since - shall I ignore until they get bored?

Apart from that all is going very well. Anyone thinking about doing a DMP go for it, the relief is amazing!

Do you have a loan with them? It's quite important to speak to them I think as although communication can be through CCCS they are still your creditors. I have a temporary agreement with them (they are the only ones not to default me), and they sent me a letter last year saying how the agreement was coming to an end and if they didn't hear from me then they'd expect normal payments to resume. I foolishly ignored the letters and nearly paid the price! Luckily they renewed the agreement and all is well, and I won't ignore them again!

But, it's all down to you and how you want to deal with them. At the very least you need to tell them who to communicate with, be it with you, or CCCS.

Good luck!

vixx

It's great to read about other peoples experiences on DMP's, it makes me feel less alone...

I spoke to Payplan today and got the ball rolling to start a DMP.

I am unsure about on thing though, I spoke to the advisor and she said it's fine but if someone can help it would be great.

I work in a commission based job so my pay varies hugely, my basic take home is just over £1,000 per month, but some months I can take home up to £1,500.
Payplan said they would calculate my budget based on the worst case scenario of just getting my basic pay each month.

My question is, won't my creditors ask to see recent payslips? If so, then my last few months I have taken more than my basic, though things are slowing down a lot so my pay will not remain at that level.

My plan is to set up a DMP based on my basic salary, and overpay the months I do hit target. Payplan said this is fine.

The lady said, if all my creditors stop interest and charges, then I can make payments of aprox £250 per month and finish the DMP in around 8 years. I will aim to overpay this to get it to around 5 years.

The stress of worrying that I won't hit target and be able to pay my bills has made me very depressed in the last year, and I often work 12 hr days to get my sales in, it's just not viable long term and it's making me ill.

Thanks in advance if anyone can help

ianmak

vixx wrote: »

It's great to read about other peoples experiences on DMP's, it makes me feel less alone...

I spoke to Payplan today and got the ball rolling to start a DMP.

I am unsure about on thing though, I spoke to the advisor and she said it's fine but if someone can help it would be great.

I work in a commission based job so my pay varies hugely, my basic take home is just over £1,000 per month, but some months I can take home up to £1,500.
Payplan said they would calculate my budget based on the worst case scenario of just getting my basic pay each month.

My question is, won't my creditors ask to see recent payslips? If so, then my last few months I have taken more than my basic, though things are slowing down a lot so my pay will not remain at that level.

My plan is to set up a DMP based on my basic salary, and overpay the months I do hit target. Payplan said this is fine.

The lady said, if all my creditors stop interest and charges, then I can make payments of aprox £250 per month and finish the DMP in around 8 years. I will aim to overpay this to get it to around 5 years.

The stress of worrying that I won't hit target and be able to pay my bills has made me very depressed in the last year, and I often work 12 hr days to get my sales in, it's just not viable long term and it's making me ill.

Thanks in advance if anyone can help

Hiya and welcome,

Sounds good in theory, but till you're up and running it maybe worth sticking to that basic wage, and putting the extra away for emergencies, then make the odd overpayment if you have it available, say once every six months or so, rather than at irregular times.

Just my opinion though!

londonfraggle

Hi - wonder if someone can give me some quick advice. Since starting my DMP I've been able to increase the amount I pay and of course have managed to knock off one or two of the smaller creditors. The result being that, in theory, I am now paying ALL of my creditors over the basic contractual amounts. On the whole (bar 2 or 3) most of them don't seem to be kicking up much of a fuss (yet) about me "no longer being in financial difficulty" and therefore them not needing to stop/reduce interest.

However, just had an odd call with CCCS. There is a chance my OH will be made redundant in the next few months. I just wanted to clear my mind that should that happen I'd be able to reduce my payment. Of course she said. But she also said that, putting that issue aside, as I could now reach my contractual payments I should no longer be on a DMP. Eh?!?! I pointed out to her that a) when I started the DMP I could no where near reach the contractual payments and b) surely if I came off the DMP they'd just start whacking interest etc back on, putting right back to the start again.

In the end we left it as it is, as I need to see how things go with my OH's job, but I'm now concerned that at some point the CCCS are going to tell me I have to come off the DMP. This has frustrated me as surely anyone on a DMP will eventually reach the point (be it after 5 months or 10 years) where you are paying the contractual amounts.

Can anyone shed any light on this for me - am quite worried now!

Thanks - and hope everyone is happy on this gorgeous sunny day!

Fraggle x

System

londonfraggle wrote: »

Hi - wonder if someone can give me some quick advice. Since starting my DMP I've been able to increase the amount I pay and of course have managed to knock off one or two of the smaller creditors. The result being that, in theory, I am now paying ALL of my creditors over the basic contractual amounts. On the whole (bar 2 or 3) most of them don't seem to be kicking up much of a fuss (yet) about me "no longer being in financial difficulty" and therefore them not needing to stop/reduce interest.

However, just had an odd call with CCCS. There is a chance my OH will be made redundant in the next few months. I just wanted to clear my mind that should that happen I'd be able to reduce my payment. Of course she said. But she also said that, putting that issue aside, as I could now reach my contractual payments I should no longer be on a DMP. Eh?!?! I pointed out to her that a) when I started the DMP I could no where near reach the contractual payments and b) surely if I came off the DMP they'd just start whacking interest etc back on, putting right back to the start again.

In the end we left it as it is, as I need to see how things go with my OH's job, but I'm now concerned that at some point the CCCS are going to tell me I have to come off the DMP. This has frustrated me as surely anyone on a DMP will eventually reach the point (be it after 5 months or 10 years) where you are paying the contractual amounts.

Can anyone shed any light on this for me - am quite worried now!

Thanks - and hope everyone is happy on this gorgeous sunny day!

Fraggle x

Hi Fraggle and thanks for your post.

Hope you don’t mind me jumping onto this thread.

This doesn’t sound right, if you want to send us a private message with your client reference number I will get somebody to look into it and contact you.

Kind regards
Mat

londonfraggle

CCCS_Mat wrote: »

Hi Fraggle and thanks for your post.

Hope you don’t mind me jumping onto this thread.

This doesn’t sound right, if you want to send us a private message with your client reference number I will get somebody to look into it and contact you.

Kind regards
Mat

Hi Mat - thanks for this - I can't seem to PM you for some reason (my technical illiteracy perhaps!!). BUT....got my courage up to call back - and indeed spoke to someone else who told me that whilst it can be a bit of a grey area, in my case it was fine to carry on with the DMP. They said if perhaps someone only had one or two smaller creditors and you could meet those payments no problem then perhaps they'd recommend going it alone but generally it was fine to stay on the DMP. Does that sound right?

Slightly conflicting info there, but at least I've got it resolved now.

Thank you for your reply - helped me get the guts to call back and ask for some clarification.

Fraggle x

System

londonfraggle wrote: »

Hi Mat - thanks for this - I can't seem to PM you for some reason (my technical illiteracy perhaps!!). BUT....got my courage up to call back - and indeed spoke to someone else who told me that whilst it can be a bit of a grey area, in my case it was fine to carry on with the DMP. They said if perhaps someone only had one or two smaller creditors and you could meet those payments no problem then perhaps they'd recommend going it alone but generally it was fine to stay on the DMP. Does that sound right?

Slightly conflicting info there, but at least I've got it resolved now.

Thank you for your reply - helped me get the guts to call back and ask for some clarification.

Fraggle x

Hi Fraggle and thanks for getting back to me.

Yes that sounds more like it. I'm pleased it's resolved for you.

Kind regards

Mat

massivedebts

betsy_pig wrote: »

Hi

I have just come off the phone with CCCS and have decided to do a DMP. They originally suggested bankruptcy which made me cry but then after talking to them again and discovering that the house was at risk (even in negative equity) and imminent 25% paycut in my husband's salary they suggested a DMP with very small monthly payment of a couple of quid. Although I am feeling a bit better - especially after almost entering into an IVA with Debt Free Direct which it turns out we wouldn't be able to do anyway -I am still feeling down.:(

I know the debt will still be there and take an estimated 17 years (!) to pay off but at least we will be paying something. I was really tempted by bankruptcy because then at least it would all be gone and we could start a new slate but the possibility of losing the house isn't one we could do with. I feel like I should be feeling better but i am very anxious and stressed. Will the DMP stand once it is set up and that's that forever?

Thank crunchie for this website! :T

Hi BP

You sound in a similar position to where I was in Jan 2009 - we have massive debts (hence the name) and we were offered BR as a first option and low start DMP as second option - BR scared the hell out of me too! We opted for the DMP with a long DFD and all is doing fine! It's a little rocky at the start and you will feel anxious and stressed (we all did at the start) but that will soon settle down. I would just concentrate on here and now for the DMP.....17 years DFD is a little way off yet, lots can happen in that time, payrises, lottery win etc. The best piece of advice I can give (especially as you're in it for the long run like us) is to not set your budget too tight. This is a long term commitment and you want to be able to stick to it and also have a little bit of life at the same time...there are some great 'tips' on this thread for when you set your budget.
Take care and good luck, all will be fine!
MD xx

creditcrazy

Hi all,
So my dmp is almost off the ground,first payment comes out 1st July.So far I have heard from 2 of my creditors.MBNA/virgin are accepting our reduced payment, freezing interest and stopping all charges!!Tesco sent a very nice letter explaining they would have to default us etc etc but I think all will be fine with them judging by the letter!(fingers crossed anyway)HBOS,we have 2 overdrafts,a loan and a credit card with them,our biggest creditor but have heard nothing from them,nano,zero,zilch not a peep.I have sent them 2 letters and a token payment but they do not seem to be acknowledging anything,oh they have placed a restriction on my cc online account but thats it. Does anyone have any experience of hbos,is this the norm for them?? Its kinda worrying me the fact they are not responding...at all!?:(