DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 7

Twit_Head

scouselad1974 wrote: »

Hi

When you are in the inital process of setting up a DMP, things always seem much worse than they really are in my opinion. You are in the process of gathering all of the information that CCCS/Payplan require and you are also trying to keep your creditors informed of your intensions. All of us act differently in difficult situations so what is right for one person may be totally wrong for another.

I have quite a lot of creditors on my DMP and my intension was to treat each of them in the same manner. TBH most of them accepted my DMP from the start and were good enough to freeze interest and charges and continue to do so. This is really good of them in my opinion, as I signed up for the credit under their terms and conditions ( they didn't twist my arm) and now I have broken their terms.

I have a couple of (rogue) creditors and have had to handle them differently than the rest. These creditors refused my DMP initialy, so I decided to contact them directly. Originally I telephoned them, but after going around in circles and having to explain my situation over and over again I decided to do it in writing. I now have all of my creditors on side, although I do still have problems with Halifax and need to keep an eye on them constantly. I have even had to get The FOS involved just to make Halifax acknowladge my letters etc. To be fair though Halifax were great for the first six months of my DMP, I really do think it depends on the person who is dealing with your case.

My advice regarding setting up A DMP with CCCS or Payplan would be to give your creditors a call and explain that you are entering a DMP with CCCS or Payplan and give them your reference number.

If any of your creditors refuse to accept your DMP then give them a call and explain your situation to them, ask them to reconsider their decision and to help you as you are struggling financiallly. If this method fails, then write to the creditors complaints department explaining your situation and efforts to repay your debt. Lastly if the creditor will not offer you any help at all, then pass your complaint to The FOS who will look at your case and ask the creditor to treat you fairly.

If the creditor continues to telephone you on a daily basis, then send the correct templates from this forum, if they still continue to telephone you, then complain to the creditor originally and then The FOS.You can of course refuse to answer the creditors calls or refuse to answer their Data Protection questions, although this does become tiresome.

Hopefully you will not have to use these methods and your DMP will run smoothly.

One last bit of advice, do not rely on your DMP provider to do everything for you. Let them distribute your payments monthly and keep them informed of any problems etc, but always try to deal with a problem yourself if you can, as you will receive a quicker outcome, obviousley get your provider involved should you continue to have problems, for example copy them in on all letters sent to your creditor etc.

Sorry to rant

Not a rant at all Scouse - just really good, sound advice. :T
And I fully agree with your last paragraph. Always helps to try and deal with problems/blips yourself. It's your account and money so have a say in what is going on!

'Twitty'

the_tooth_fairy

sunfleur wrote: »

Hi Sarah

Me thinks you are right LOL No you don't need to send them anything. All of the letters that creditors send us are designed to get us to either ring them so they can be nasty to us on the phone - confrontation is what they are paid for but not what we want or need - or to get more information out of us. You could do what I am going to do and just ring CCCS to make sure they know the details of this for THEM to pay these jokers. As long as whoever has the purse strings is in on the game that is all that matters. x

Couldn't agree more, our creditors were up to all sorts of tricks at the start, including Next, who sent me another credit agreement to sign (it went in the bin thanks to advice here). They also pretend not to have received anything from Payplan or CCCS to try and frighten a payment off you, so keep strong, repeat the mantra, (CCCS/Payplan a/c no. and creditors phone number, etc) and all will be well.:)

ttfx

jupster

Fantastic advice i would never have had the courage to enter the plan if it wasnt for people like you sharing their experiences. Its the best thing i have ever done and i cant wait to be debt free.

TightbudgetJO

Hi! I am a newbie, been burying my head in the sand for far too long. Today i posted all the statements and the signed agreement to CCCS and sent the last of my creditor's letters. I am just waiting for my Coop bank account details and i can sort out the DD's and income into my new account. I am feeling so much better already! Has anyone got any advice on how to make this run as smoothly as possible. All advice greatly received!
Also please can i have a number? Thank you :-)

bomechina

Had some fab news today.
LloydsTSB have accepted my payment offer, they are handing me over to their collections dept, and are stopping the interest and charges :T

FPC who are collecting for Vodafone have also accepted my offer with the added bonus that they will not contact me unless I miss a payment (which I will do everything in my power to prevent).

Today has been a good day.

ex-rayday

I don't see a problem in changing phone numbers, very rarely do companies back up what they say verbally in letter form and if things go pear shaped its your word against theirs!

However, if you do down that route I ensure I send payments whether they agree or not, never wait for them to agree and I acknowledge all there letters with a response, computer generated or not.

It is very liberating to be able to answer your phone to people you want to speak too. It also depends on your strength of character I am a good letter writer but hate phone calls, I like to open my letters when I am ready, calls come when you are not prepared and companies know if they have your phone number the chance of pressure will work it is part of the training they receive.

As with all debt problems there is more than one solution and do what is right for you.

sherry16

Morning All!

Hope everyone is having a good DMP day

I have this morning received my welcome pack from CCCS so going to crack on with letters to creditors today and photocopying statements etc.

Just two questions please:

1) I've read various things about not signing the template letters you send in case creditors use your signature on something else - is that right?! Surely I have to sign my letters or they don't count

2) In the template letter from CCCS it doesn't mention requesting that creditors freeze interest and charges, is this something I should add in myself along with the fact I'll be making a token payment next month until the plan is set up?

Thanks for the advice everyone!

x

the_tooth_fairy

TightbudgetJO wrote: »

Hi! I am a newbie, been burying my head in the sand for far too long. Today i posted all the statements and the signed agreement to CCCS and sent the last of my creditor's letters. I am just waiting for my Coop bank account details and i can sort out the DD's and income into my new account. I am feeling so much better already! Has anyone got any advice on how to make this run as smoothly as possible. All advice greatly received!
Also please can i have a number? Thank you :-)

Hi Jo, Welcome to the madhouse! It sounds as if you are really organised already. There is a bit of waiting at the start, but as you have sent everything off, that's ok. It's great you are feeling better already, and very soon when some creditors stop interest and charges, it feels amazing! :T
I think, from our experience, the best thing to do is to try to take creditors calls, (if you're feeling up for it, which isn't always). For us, as soon as we mentioned Payplan, then most of them were pretty ok. I agree with Ians post, which said they might to start thinking you've legged it if you don't answer! I'm sure he will be along with a number for you soon.
Finally, under no circumstances give any payments over the phone! No matter what they say, remember if you did that, you would be favoring one creditor over another, and that's a no-no in DMP Land, so keep your cool! :cool:
Good Luck,
ttfx

Twit_Head

sherry16 wrote: »

Morning All!

Hope everyone is having a good DMP day

I have this morning received my welcome pack from CCCS so going to crack on with letters to creditors today and photocopying statements etc.

Just two questions please:

1) I've read various things about not signing the template letters you send in case creditors use your signature on something else - is that right?! Surely I have to sign my letters or they don't count

2) In the template letter from CCCS it doesn't mention requesting that creditors freeze interest and charges, is this something I should add in myself along with the fact I'll be making a token payment next month until the plan is set up?

Thanks for the advice everyone!

x

Hi
I have copied part of a reply I made to another member recently re: signing letters -
'Letters shouldn't be signed with your true signature as there have been cases where a DCA or bank has taken the signature from one letter and placed it on another or a credit agreement that the debtor never signed. That's also why a postal order is recommended instead of a cheque.' I would suggest you print your name or use a completely different style font to your own signature on a computer generated letter.

As to asking to freeze interest I would just get the whole thing set up first and wait and see how it all pans out. Later when you've got solid answers/replies from your creditors then you'll be a stronger position to respond to your situation.

Good Luck!

'Twitty'

MadamMim2013

Umm, was just wondering what to do when you've heard nothing......:o

We've received the conformation letter regarding the Direct Debit to the CCCS and nothing else (no welcome pack yet) and Natwest have not contacted us at all, EVER to complain/demand payment??? I'm feeling a bit worried... Natwest credit card sent info to give to CCCS but that's it....????

I know they say no news is good news but surely not in this case... are they waiting to suddenly be really mean???