DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 7

BlushingRose

Bettingmad wrote: »

BR I cannot for the life of me understand the rationale paying your first payment to CCCS on the 10th and leaving yourself only £49 for the next two weeks. Starting as you are is enough stress to be getting on with without putting youself under unnecessary pressure with little money.
Ask yourself what difference will one or two months of token payments make in you 5-6yr DMP.
If you spoke to CCCS about your circs at this moment they would advise you to make a token payment this month.
Please don't put youself under unnecessary stress and pressure for the sake of your first DMP payment.
I've been there a short while ago and I can tell you that it has not made any difference on how I was treated by my creditors for making 3 token payments and having a small cushion behind me. By god it was just as well I did with the bad luck I had with repair bills at the start of my DMP.

PinotGrigio41 wrote: »

BR I really have to agree with BettingMad, I am sure the CCCS will advise you to make token payments if they were aware of your circumstances. You are both under enough stress and pressure and I doubt that worrying about the lack of money you have left is helping. We made two months token payments before starting our DMP this month , and it is nice to know we have a small backup fund, just incase.

Pinot x

I got Mr BR to ring the CCS earlier in the week and tell them that we were having to put the car into MOT soon and pay the car tax and we're expecting the car to need a not of work in order to pass, and the CCCS said to make a normal payment this month, to get it started, and to ring them after the MOT if we needed the money to sort out the car.
I was surprised by this, if I'm honest, and had asked Mr BR to request putting off the DMP for a couple of months so that we could build up a fund, but this is the advice we were given.

BlushingRose

See, now I'm all stressed that we're doing the wrong thing. Mr BR has said, when I mentioned it in the past, that he'd feel really uncomfortable doing just tokens and he wants to DMP to start properly asap.

secretshopper75

BR...it's hard knowing what to do for the best isn't it, we didn;t make amy token payments and just paid them fully so never got a small cushion behind us just in case of emergencies. Initially I was glad to do this as I'd struggled with the debts for so so long I just wanted the harrassment to be over and thought that it'd be better getting straight on the full DMP, looking back I wish I'd done a couple of token payment months as we've not really managed to save anything up in case things go wrong..this month I'm having to make a token payment as needed the money for the car so dreadiing what will happen once our creditors find out...

There's no right or wrong way just what you're comfortable with x

BlushingRose

secretshopper75 wrote: »

BR...it's hard knowing what to do for the best isn't it, we didn;t make amy token payments and just paid them fully so never got a small cushion behind us just in case of emergencies. Initially I was glad to do this as I'd struggled with the debts for so so long I just wanted the harrassment to be over and thought that it'd be better getting straight on the full DMP, looking back I wish I'd done a couple of token payment months as we've not really managed to save anything up in case things go wrong..this month I'm having to make a token payment as needed the money for the car so dreadiing what will happen once our creditors find out...

There's no right or wrong way just what you're comfortable with x

Thanks hon, I feel better for knowing that we're not the only ones without a stash of cash behind us.
When I was first posting, everyone said to go on a DMP and our thoughts were 'get it done as fast as poss as the faster we get on it, the better' and certainly Mr BR feels happier now that things are moving - it's just me panicking due to lack of money. Well, we'll see how we get on, I guess.

Lifeisforliving

Hello,

Great thread!

Just a quick question please, I have the welcome pack through from CCCS, but need to clear my piority bills that I did not pay this month (due to no cash at all this month).
Should I clear these before sending back my signed agreement and statements?
It will take me a 2 months to clear these bills (surplus income) as I have just recieved my gas bill too. So Feb & March wages.

Once I send back the Direct debit sheet, statements and signed agreement, do they take the first payment straight away i.e the following 1st/10th or do they ask you which month you would like them to start the direct debit? Giving you the option of 1/2 months of token payments.

Thanks for any info you can give me.

BlushingRose

In our experience, they take the money the following month, but it should give you a date in the pack when they'll be planning to take it out.
If you decide you want/need to not have that happen, them give them a ring and explain this to them.

Lifeisforliving

Maybe it wasn't a welcome pack then. It was the initial letter with the template you need to send to creditors informing them that you are in the process of setting up a DMP.
The agreement, direct debit form etc had no start date on it.

antonic

With me I contacted Payplan in Sept 2005 and made my first payment in Dec 2005.

So it will take time to sort things out.

Lifeisforliving wrote: »

Maybe it wasn't a welcome pack then. It was the initial letter with the template you need to send to creditors informing them that you are in the process of setting up a DMP.
The agreement, direct debit form etc had no start date on it.

BlushingRose

Lifeisforliving wrote: »

Maybe it wasn't a welcome pack then. It was the initial letter with the template you need to send to creditors informing them that you are in the process of setting up a DMP.
The agreement, direct debit form etc had no start date on it.

I'm pretty certain ours had dates on...perhaps once you send the bits and bobs back, they'll get back to you with the dates they'd like to start.

sickasachip13

We definitely made one token payment to most, but because of where the different payments fell, to a small number of creditors we made two token payments. I know we were given the option of having another month before the first DMP payment but we opted to get it moving quicker.