DMP with CCCS advice needed please!

Ascending

Hi

I am looking for some advice on wether to go ahead with a DMP with CCCS.

Currently myself and my husband are facing a battle financially, after all basic bills and miniumum payments to creditors we are left with about £130 per month to spend on food/clothing/emergancies and anything else, which we have managed on for nearly a year, but its getting harder as we have a 13 month old baby boy, and a baby girl due in Janurary.

CCCS suggest we should pay our priority debts, allow us a massive £355 for food/clothing/hobbies and emergancies, which leaves us £50 per month to pay to our creditors. My aim is to clear our debt as quickly as possible, allowing ourselves to live a little more comfortably than before, but still overpaying CCCS as much as possible to reduce our debt faster than the 16 years it would take at £50 per month - we owe arround £8000)

However...
Our family think that going with CCCS is a bad idea. One person has suggested we should stay as we are, and another thinks we should try to come to an agreement with each creditor individually.

Is there any benefit to speaking to my creditors myself, and not going through CCCS?

Being 30 weeks pregnant, and suffering from stress and ill health, i feel that CCCS would be a better option, as long as i can overpay when needed (which CCCS say is fine). I guess i am just worried after hearing all the warnings from our nearest and dearest!

Thanks
H

CCCS_Sue

Ascending wrote: »

Hi

I am looking for some advice on wether to go ahead with a DMP with CCCS.

Currently myself and my husband are facing a battle financially, after all basic bills and miniumum payments to creditors we are left with about £130 per month to spend on food/clothing/emergancies and anything else, which we have managed on for nearly a year, but its getting harder as we have a 13 month old baby boy, and a baby girl due in Janurary.

CCCS suggest we should pay our priority debts, allow us a massive £355 for food/clothing/hobbies and emergancies, which leaves us £50 per month to pay to our creditors. My aim is to clear our debt as quickly as possible, allowing ourselves to live a little more comfortably than before, but still overpaying CCCS as much as possible to reduce our debt faster than the 16 years it would take at £50 per month - we owe arround £8000)

However...
Our family think that going with CCCS is a bad idea. One person has suggested we should stay as we are, and another thinks we should try to come to an agreement with each creditor individually.

Is there any benefit to speaking to my creditors myself, and not going through CCCS?

Being 30 weeks pregnant, and suffering from stress and ill health, i feel that CCCS would be a better option, as long as i can overpay when needed (which CCCS say is fine). I guess i am just worried after hearing all the warnings from our nearest and dearest!

Thanks
H

Hi H

I can understand that this must be a very stressful time for you. Whether you choose to set up a DMP or administer the payments yourself, at least you are dealing with your debt situation and taking control!

With your baby due in a couple of months you really do not want to be worrying about paying debts.

A DMP with CCCS is not legally binding and is very flexible. The amount you pay isn’t set in stone. If your situation improves or deteriorates, the payment on your plan can be amended.

Our DMPs are free to our clients, so every penny goes towards repaying your creditors to allow you to be debt free much sooner.
You can also arrange to make payments to your creditors yourself, but this does mean paying each one separately, whereas you only need to make one monthly payment on a DMP.

Whichever route you choose to repay your debts, we can still offer ongoing help and support if you need it.:)

Regards
Sue

podperson

Hi,

While family and friends of course mean well it's not them that have to deal with the stress and worry Regarding the other options, you could perhaps carry on as you are but is it feasible long term? You say you are only making the minimum payments at the moment so the debts will not be reducing by much and with another little one on the way your expenses may be going up anyway.
You could do your own dmp which would give you a little more flexibility but if you are stressed and ill then maybe it would be easier for you at the moment to have a managed plan - you can always change to your own dmp in the future when you don't have as much on your plate.
I assume your family are offering warnings due to a dmp affecting your credit rating. Obviously yes it will but that would be the same if you came to individual agreements with the creditors. I know by the time I had got to that point I didn't want any more credit anyway
Another option to consider is that instead of overpaying the £50 to cccs each month then put any extra into a savings account and when it has built up then could look at making reduced full and final offers to your creditors.
At the end of the day just remember you need to think about what's right for you, not for anyone else. Good luck with it x

Ascending

Thank you both for taking the time to reply

I have my CCCS pack ready to send tomorrow, its a weight off my mind really. Like you say podperson, i dont intend geting any more credit, so although my credit rating is important, hopefully i wont need to worry about it! The real advantage of CCCS is that it removes the stress element, especially for my husband who understandabley feels uncomfortable talking about our debt.

Counting down the months now untill we are debt free!:T
H

saltnvinegar

Ascending wrote: »

Hi

I am looking for some advice on wether to go ahead with a DMP with CCCS.

Currently myself and my husband are facing a battle financially, after all basic bills and miniumum payments to creditors we are left with about £130 per month to spend on food/clothing/emergancies and anything else, which we have managed on for nearly a year, but its getting harder as we have a 13 month old baby boy, and a baby girl due in Janurary.

CCCS suggest we should pay our priority debts, allow us a massive £355 for food/clothing/hobbies and emergancies, which leaves us £50 per month to pay to our creditors. My aim is to clear our debt as quickly as possible, allowing ourselves to live a little more comfortably than before, but still overpaying CCCS as much as possible to reduce our debt faster than the 16 years it would take at £50 per month - we owe arround £8000)

However...
Our family think that going with CCCS is a bad idea. One person has suggested we should stay as we are, and another thinks we should try to come to an agreement with each creditor individually.

Is there any benefit to speaking to my creditors myself, and not going through CCCS?

Being 30 weeks pregnant, and suffering from stress and ill health, i feel that CCCS would be a better option, as long as i can overpay when needed (which CCCS say is fine). I guess i am just worried after hearing all the warnings from our nearest and dearest!

Thanks
H

Hiya

The thing with going with the CCCS is that it is an organization that your creditors will know and trust.

IMHO it is not a good idea dealing with your creditors individually. If any of them got wind that you were doing this they would apply the pressure unmercilessly to ensure that they got the biggest chunk from you.

Going on a DMP with the CCCS will ensure that all your creditors will be treated fairly at a rate you can afford.

And it is highly likely that your financial position will improve over time so after a couple of years you may find you can pay more or even not need the CCCS at all when you are back on your feet.

The important thing is you are dealing with your debts and are looking to get them cleared. Plugging on as you are is not going to help you achieve that.

Best of luck

SnV