Going it alone?

me123

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has or is managing thier debt without the help of people like CCCS etc? I called Barclaycard myself and told them I couldnt pay the minimum on my card as my circumstances had changed, they were great. They cancelled my CC and I am paying them £20 a month for 6 months then they will review my situation again. No hassle. However, I also owe to HSBC, Natwest, Creation (DFS) and 2 Catalogues from the Shop Direct Group. I owe around £7000 all in all.
I am not sure that these other companies will be so understanding though. Its not that I cant pay them as I can and I want to, just I cant afford the £400 that the repayments are coming to each month!

Thanks for reading

sofababe

Many people do manage their own DMP quite successfully, its fine as long as u can be assertive with the companies u deal with as most of them will hassle u for more money, but I refer u to the DFW catchphrase....They can't have what u haven't got!
Send the companies a letter detailing your offer and include an SOA. As long as the payments are on a pro-rata basis there's not much they can complain about. Set up standing orders with each on your date of choice, never a direct debit, and keep paying even if they hassle u for more.
If u feel they are phoning too often, or if u just don't want them to phone at all there is a letter u can send to insist all contact be made in writing.
Good luck

Homershairdo

Hi Me123,

I'm considering doing the same and working on a self administered dmp. Just trying to find some template letters etc to send off! Let me know if you find anything - we can make this our meeting place...!:D

Cheers!

H

sofababe

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6

Template letters here, options for pro rata offers or token offers. Good luck to u both

Homershairdo

sofababe wrote: »

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6

Template letters here, options for pro rata offers or token offers. Good luck to u both

Thanks for this!!

me123

Thanks for the info!

Recieved a letter from Barclaycard today confirming my reduced payment and after the first 2 payments my account will now show I am paying reduced payments of £20 each month glad that ones sorted....

Tomorrow I call HSBC to speak to thier collections department and Natwest also. Hoping they are as helpful! Fingers crossed ) I am going to get this sorted!

saltnvinegar

Hi

I decided to go this route in August (but got some help from CCCS with SOA and Prorata calculations).

Its been a rollercoaster, have a look at my LBM thread here

The important thing to remember is some of your creditors will apply a lot of pressure on you to try to get you to put them in preference to your other creditors.

As has already been said you need to be very assertive.

Personally I would ensure that all communication is placed in writing as you will find many of these companies will say things on the phone that they wouldn't dare put in writing.

But I get a lot of satisfaction of dealing with this myself. Its my mess and I intend to sort it out and although CCCS are great I don't want to 'hide behind' them if that makes sense?

I understand though that for many people the stress of dealing with creditors is just to much.

I have a 'DMP Folder' in which I keep all my correspondance with a section for each creditor too to keep organized.

Whichever route you go down best of luck!

SnV

bomechina

I'm managing my own DMP (3 months in now), and have a similar amount of debt as you.
I used iMoney Manager (http://www.imoneymanager.co.uk) after MSE Martin mentioned it.
It's so easy to use, but can take a while to input all your info.
It works out all your pro rata payments for you and lets you print the letters and an S.O.A to fire off to the creditors.
I would have gone with CCCS, however, they told me I didn't have enough surplus left to do a DMP.
I must admit, it can be a bit overwhelming to begin with, but most creditors have been fine.
I also feel in control which, sometimes when you have debt is the one thing you feel you have lost.
National Debt Helpline also have loads of template letters that are really useful.
Good luck with however you decide to deal with your debt.
The folks on here are great with their advice and support

me123

Thanks for the replies
I spoke to Hsbc today, they have accepted £15 a month (instead of £130 a month on loan repayments) for 3 months until after Christmas. Just until I get myself sorted out. Big weight off my mind and the lady in their customer credit service department was really nice. Feeling a bit more upbeat today and rather chuffed with myself for dealing with it. So far I have sliced off £130 a month off my outgoings even if it is for 3 months

Homershairdo

me123 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies
I spoke to Hsbc today, they have accepted £15 a month (instead of £130 a month on loan repayments) for 3 months until after Christmas. Just until I get myself sorted out. Big weight off my mind and the lady in their customer credit service department was really nice. Feeling a bit more upbeat today and rather chuffed with myself for dealing with it. So far I have sliced off £130 a month off my outgoings even if it is for 3 months

Hi me123

Have the banks said anything about the impact to your credit rating, or whether they will mark it as a missed payment / default?

Thanks!

H

little_miss_T

Natwest may not be as helpful.

my OH had a current account with them and due to circumstances beyond our control, he exceeded his overdraft. We knew it was going to happen and called the bank before hand to inform them and see if there was anything they could do. They were very helpful at first and allowed us to increase the OD to allow for extra charges and we aggreed a payment plan that would mean the whole OD was cleared in 6 months. The first payment was due on 1st Jan 2010, but on Xmas eve we got a very nasty phone call from collections advising that we were in breach of the payment arrangement.. We asked How is this possible when the payment arrangement has not even started?? Turns out the payment arrangement should never have been accepted as it was not conventional (it was 5 equal payments then a larger lump sum payment in month 6) and because of this the temporary OD extention was not applied.

So we were back to square 1. CCCS had advised us to make an offer of payment again and we called the bank
and offered them more than CCCS were advising. Natwest refused to accept this, they said that they wanted £100 more than we were offering but we couldn't afford that.

So the only opition was to get a debt consolidation loan from
them (which meant they would get more money back in the long run) but I was so sick of the hassle that we agreed.

We paid an affordability payment into the account an took
the paper work into a branch for them to fax off to the collections department, as we were advised to do.

So we waited and waited and still heard nothing.. Until my OH called them and they claimed that they had not received the forms and have continued adding charges on the account.

This matter is still not resolved and the debt is getting bigger and bigger as they refuse to freeze the account.

If only they had accepted the payment arrangement in December it woul have been all paid in June.

So just be very careful with Natwest and get them
to confirm everything in writing so they can't get out of it.