setting up DMP with CCCS what happens now??

Katief07

hi all just looking for some advice over the last few months we have really been struggling to pay the bills we have now hit a point where we just cant! i posted my SOA a few weeks ago and got some great advice from you guys, thank you so much! but even with the cut backs reduction in shopping costs etc we are still really struggling. Anyway i have now decided to go through CCCS to set up a DMP, so just want to ask a few questions i know i can phone them tomorrow but i just have so much buzzing around in my head.

we have 7 unsecured debts (credit cards, store cards) and a HP agreement (car) totaling £18,000

here is my questions?

my partner works different shifts every week, so his earnings are up and down i have gave an estimate of his earnings based on his minimum contract hours (44hrs) is this ok ?

if i took a second job over christmas to be able buy my kids christmas presents would they expect me to increase the amount i pay to them ?

one of the ways we have been paying some of the bills we cant afford to is using credit cards (stupid i know!) i.e. this card to pay that card and so on. we have two still to pay this month and we just cant make the minimum. What should we do? should i just pay what we can manage ?

Do we have to get rid of the car ?

How do we set up another bank account, what do we need to do this ?

sorry for all the questions, i am pretty sure i have more but my mind has gone blank! my head is all over the place i just cant think straight!!

thank you

Katie

Hannah_10

my partner works different shifts every week, so his earnings are up and down i have gave an estimate of his earnings based on his minimum contract hours (44hrs) is this ok ?
It's a very sensible move actually, if you used an average of his earnings or anything higher than the basic minimum you could get caught out, always better to overpay than underpay.

if i took a second job over christmas to be able buy my kids christmas presents would they expect me to increase the amount i pay to them ?
Yes, if they know about it they will expect to be paid it.

one of the ways we have been paying some of the bills we cant afford to is using credit cards (stupid i know!) i.e. this card to pay that card and so on. we have two still to pay this month and we just cant make the minimum. What should we do? should i just pay what we can manage ?
These will be going into the DMP though surely? In which case don't worry too much, they will soon get the same letter every other creditor gets.

Do we have to get rid of the car ?
It depends if you can meet the repayments? The CCCS will talk to you about it, but secured debt is different from other debt and that means you may be able to keep the car and pay the HP as you were doing, then pay everyone else out of what is left after that. As true HP and a car loan can be hard to tell apart then the CCCS will help you more with this.

How do we set up another bank account, what do we need to do this ?
Go into a bank and ask to open a basic account. It helps if you know the name of the type of account so you know you're opening the right type. Some will let you open an account online or on the phone too. Where is safe to bank depends on who you already owe to but as a rule of thumb the Co-Op Bank will give anyone a cashminder account (thier basic account) and unless you owe Co-Op bank or Britannia Building Society money your cash is safe there. They can be opened on the phone. Click this for more info http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1193206368743,CFSweb/Page/Bank-CurrentAccounts?WT.svl=copy

Katief07

thank you i am going to give them a call tomorrow so hopefully things will seem clearer! i know this is probably bad but the thing that worries me the most is not being able to buy my kids any christmas presents, i dont want them to suffer for the errors we made!

goingforward_3

Katief07 wrote: »

thank you i am going to give them a call tomorrow so hopefully things will seem clearer! i know this is probably bad but the thing that worries me the most is not being able to buy my kids any christmas presents, i dont want them to suffer for the errors we made!

I am about to start my DMP with CCCS.

I dont know if you have done the debt remedy with them but they do allow you a pretty decent food budget for a family of 4 (far more than i have at present) so maybe with a bit of budgeting you can squirrel some of that away for xmas?

Also every year in October i ebay all the toys they have outgrown.. i've found that wii & ds games go for more on there then you get for trade-ins and then i put that money towards Christmas.

I have also drastically cut down who we are going to buy for at xmas... apart from parents anyone over 18 in the family isnt getting anything.

Good luck with your dmpx

Katief07

some great ideas thanks, my partner can usually work overtime but it is not always available, so hopefully we can save some from that it would help. We are only going to buy presents for our kids and if we have anything left over we will buy for the other kids in the family and thats it the adults should be able to understand our situation.

Katief07

ok all proofs etc are ready to sent back to CCCS, was going to post it today but when i got to the direct debit mandate i figured we would be better setting up our new bank account first. How quickly can i do this we were planning on doing this tomorrow in town, Who should we avoid ? We currently bank with Lloyds and have an overdraft with them that is going in to the DMP, so this is the reason for changing banks, also a card with halifax and Barclays are any of these linked with others ? What do we need to take with us to open an account?

goingforward_3

I set up a coop cashminder over the phone it took about 10mins and was approved there and then, it then took about 10 days for my husband to get his debit card and pin number(they forgot to order mine but it was quickly sorted out).

Katief07

where you able to get your sort code and account no straight away? we need to get an account set up asap as we have a loan, credit card and two overdrafts with Lloyds and bank with them!!

goingforward_3

Katief07 wrote: »

where you able to get your sort code and account no straight away? we need to get an account set up asap as we have a loan, credit card and two overdrafts with Lloyds and bank with them!!

No we didnt get the acc num/sort code straight away.. i dont think they are allowed to give them out over the phone... maybe if you go into a branch though and open the account in person they can give them out straight away.

Katief07

thank you i phoned and set up an account last night. Can you deposit money in to the account through any bank or does it have to be the Coop bank as our nearest is over 20 miles away.

NorthernLas

You can deposit money for the co-op bank at any post office.