Payplan, How Many Of You Use Them And What Are They Like?

Poor_Churchmouse

After all the help I've received after my first post (thanks all) I think we know where we should be headed. The wife and I had a long chat last night. She's read this thread and we think a DMP could be for us. We think the time for saving a few sheckles here and there to try and make a dent has passed and the total number of bills that won't be paid this month has risen to 3. I cancelled my wife's Egg Card DD last night (due out on Wednesday) so that we have money for the essentials. Not good! We've also trawled Payplan's website and are pretty sure we'll give them a call. Monday is the plan as it happens!

So; Payplan, I see some of you have used them, what are they like? They seem reputable, is this the case?

Thanks again all, you've helped alot, especially those of you with similar stories.
:T
A

Pott5y

Poor Churchmouse.

First of all a big Well Done on taking the first step to becoming Debt Free.

I used payplan for 6 years and I have to say on the whole they were very helpful. Things always get a little frustrating from time to time but then you realise that it is the creditors that can be unpleasant and Payplan are just doing what they can. The main plus about Payplan and CCCS (worth a look too) is they offer their services to you for free.

You can also organise your own DMP which can be frustrating and you need to be confident that you can take the battering that you will get initially from the creditors (they can be quite nasty at times but remember it is not personal).

I am sure different people have different views on Payplan, but I would certain say they are worth a go.

Most of all good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Pottsy

Poor_Churchmouse

Pott5y wrote: »

Poor Churchmouse.

First of all a big Well Done on taking the first step to becoming Debt Free.

I used payplan for 6 years and I have to say on the whole they were very helpful. Things always get a little frustrating from time to time but then you realise that it is the creditors that can be unpleasant and Payplan are just doing what they can. The main plus about Payplan and CCCS (worth a look too) is they offer their services to you for free.

You can also organise your own DMP which can be frustrating and you need to be confident that you can take the battering that you will get initially from the creditors (they can be quite nasty at times but remember it is not personal).

I am sure different people have different views on Payplan, but I would certain say they are worth a go.

Most of all good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Pottsy

Thanks, I think I need to go through either Payplan/CCCS as I've heard they are reputable and free more importantly. I don't think I could handle arranging everything myself. I think a third party doing the legwork would enable to keep my cool and my sanity! I'm not looking forward to the initial period whilst things are setup, I'm dreading it in fact. It needs to happen now though!
Were you in a DMP and are you now debt free?
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Pott5y

Hi Poor Churchmouse

Yes I was on a DMP and owed about £78k when I started 6 years ago. Initailly i was able to pay quite a chunk every month and it would have taken about 6 years to become debt-free but then my circumstances changed and lower payments meant it would have now have taken me in excess of 20 years to become Debt-free.

But with a lot of saving and a bit of a family windfall I was able to make F&F offers at the end of last year and they all excepted so now I am debt-free. :j

Good luck

Pottsy

Poor_Churchmouse

Pott5y wrote: »

Hi Poor Churchmouse

Yes I was on a DMP and owed about £78k when I started 6 years ago. Initailly i was able to pay quite a chunk every month and it would have taken about 6 years to become debt-free but then my circumstances changed and lower payments meant it would have now have taken me in excess of 20 years to become Debt-free.

But with a lot of saving and a bit of a family windfall I was able to make F&F offers at the end of last year and they all excepted so now I am debt-free. :j

Good luck

Pottsy

Wow, that's good to hear and and you had a fair bit more debt than me. How were your creditors in the initial stages? Did they agree to freeze/lower interest? Did you have to deal with many nasty calls/letters? If so did Payplan advise how to respond or was it all a bit dauting?
Sorry for all the questions!
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Pott5y

Hi again.

It was all very daunting initailly, I would be wrong to tell you otherwise. It takes a while to stop feeling hurt or got at by these nasty people but eventually I realised that I was at least trying to do something to help my situation. There are many out there who aren't and you just learn to become harder and think well sod you thats what you are getting and there is nothing more.

I then just directed all calls and forwarded all mail through to Payplan (they will give you a freepost envelope for this). Any phone calls I refused to discuss with them and just gave them Payplans details.

Payplan are always on hand for advice but I find that letting them deal with the financial side of it and just ask on this fantastic site if you have any other worries. Just getting a rant on can help you feel a lot better.

It takes a while but once your creditors realise you are serious and not just trying it on they get the message and quieten down (well they did in my experience). It is hard and they can be rude, nasty and aggressive sometimes and even call at ridiculous times. Just be courteous and post here for advice. There are letters you can send to ask the calls to stop but they do not have to. After all they want their money.

The National Debtline website is great for template letters and maybe worth using one to send to your creditors now explaining that you are talking to payplan.

Once again good luck with it all. It is a huge relief when things start sorting themselves out.

Pottsy

Poor_Churchmouse

Pott5y wrote: »

Hi again.

It was all very daunting initailly, I would be wrong to tell you otherwise. It takes a while to stop feeling hurt or got at by these nasty people but eventually I realised that I was at least trying to do something to help my situation. There are many out there who aren't and you just learn to become harder and think well sod you thats what you are getting and there is nothing more.

I then just directed all calls and forwarded all mail through to Payplan (they will give you a freepost envelope for this). Any phone calls I refused to discuss with them and just gave them Payplans details.

Payplan are always on hand for advice but I find that letting them deal with the financial side of it and just ask on this fantastic site if you have any other worries. Just getting a rant on can help you feel a lot better.

It takes a while but once your creditors realise you are serious and not just trying it on they get the message and quieten down (well they did in my experience). It is hard and they can be rude, nasty and aggressive sometimes and even call at ridiculous times. Just be courteous and post here for advice. There are letters you can send to ask the calls to stop but they do not have to. After all they want their money.

The National Debtline website is great for template letters and maybe worth using one to send to your creditors now explaining that you are talking to payplan.

Once again good luck with it all. It is a huge relief when things start sorting themselves out.

Pottsy

Thanks, pretty much what I thought but hearing from someone with experience is great and you've helped alot.
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kimmi_b

Another (current) Payplan 'customer' here and I only have good words to say about them. I keep on top of what is going on and am in regular contact with my Case Officer - after 3 years on the plan, my debt is just over half what it was.

Not all of my creditors froze the interest however most did and those that didn't did reduce it significantly. I have demonstrated my commitment to paying back my debt by increasing my offer of payment each time I am able to (through pay rises at work or reducing outgoings by shopping around for utility providers etc) and I would like to think that is why my revised SOA's are always accepted with offers of continuing to freeze or lower the interest charges.

Good luck OP :beer:

Poor_Churchmouse

kimmi_b wrote: »

Another (current) Payplan 'customer' here and I only have good words to say about them. I keep on top of what is going on and am in regular contact with my Case Officer - after 3 years on the plan, my debt is just over half what it was.

Not all of my creditors froze the interest however most did and those that didn't did reduce it significantly. I have demonstrated my commitment to paying back my debt by increasing my offer of payment each time I am able to (through pay rises at work or reducing outgoings by shopping around for utility providers etc) and I would like to think that is why my revised SOA's are always accepted with offers of continuing to freeze or lower the interest charges.

Good luck OP :beer:

That online bank thing mentioned on the website looks good:

http://www.payplan.com/justabank-preview.php

Do you use it? How do you find it? I like the idea of being able to see where I'm up to and have an idea of how I'm doing.

dancingfairy

Just wanted to disagree every so slightly with Pott5y - your creditors do have to abide by your wishes to be only contacted in writing. There is a letter to that effect and you can report them for harrassment if it reaches that stage and they then may be investigated and possibly fined - so don't let that worry you. The other alternatives are to change your number of just ignore them - after a while as has been said they really should get the message.
I personally have no experience of Payplan so can't really help on that one but a large number of people do seem to have used them/are using them successfully. I know in the past there have been a few issues with them paying creditors a bit late but I haven't heard anyone say that recently.
df

dancingfairy

Oh - you will probably need a new bank account so that the people you bank with don't suddenly pull your overdraft or take the money out of your current account to pay their own credit cards off (yes they are allowed to do this).
Barclays and co-op have good recommendations on here for their basic accounts and you don't need to be credit checked to get a basic account from them. A new account puts you in control of who will get paid what and when - what you can afford and not necessarily what they think you can afford.
df