Advice on setting up a DMP

Mrs_Trouble

I am in the process of getting together my paperwork for a DMP.

CCCS have calculated my payment should be £750, I am actually paying about £1000 at the moment. Will the fact that I can pay not much short of the minimum payments mean that my creditors are less likely to consider stopping/reducing interest?

One of the cards is still on 0% but I have to include it in the DMP now and I am worried that once I default they will start me on sky high interest.

Above all, I am worried about the phone calls and letters that seem to follow from companies. My creditors are Barclaycard, MBNA, Northern Rock, Mint, Santander and Tescos. If none of them accept the reduced payments would I be just as well to go back to struggling and trying to pay them?

Very confused and worried

Hannah_10

Perhaps reading this will comfort you a little. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2673537

robthesnapper

Generally speaking, when people go onto DMP then their monthly payments will drop. It's kind of the point of doing it.

Phone calls - ignore them. Don't answer the phone unless you definitely know who it is, if you can. You'll get them then they'll calm down after a few weeks, same with the letters.

From my own limited experience...

Barcalycard.... moronic pains in the backside.
MBNA.... stretching it out for all it's worth.
Mint... no probs, just accepted straight away
Tesco... accepted straight away
Santander...asked to see a couple of statements but then accepted.
Northern Rock... no idea. They shouldn't even be in business!

glimmerofhope

Hi Mrs Trouble
The confusion and worry wane after time
I started a DMP just over a year ago - my payment was not much less than my payments had been previously but also included my OD which I had never tried to reduce. I sent off the letters and waited and waited..I didn't receive any calls and MBNA was my largest debt. I cannot comment on your 0% but MBNA and Natwest CC and Natwest Loans froze the interest immediately and accepted the payment with a letter within a couple of weeks. My OD accepted the payment but continued to have interest added for 6 months but I wrote every couple of months and eventually they froze it.
It is nervy at the start but the best bit is no more sleepless nights no more robbing Peter to pay Paul. You are in control of your finances and as many will agree this forum is not only invaluble with advise but slightly addictive :-). Budgeting becomes a way of live and the treats are exactly that
Wishing you lots of luck

Hannah_10

Do you realise they have no right to phone you? There used to be a template letter to stop that, not sure if there still is but I'm hoping someone knows for sure?

Mrs_Trouble

Thank you for all the replies.

In relation to the phone calls I will just make sure my work number isn't on their records as I can cope with not answering the phone at home.

Letters I think I can cope with as my husband has said he will open them and deal with them.

It just feels like a huge thing to do but having gone over the bills it is clear how the debt has accumulated month on month.

My main worry is that our mortgage deal is up in October 2011 and we will go on SVR and I know they will never touch me for a mortgage which may well leave my Husband stuffed, this is the only thing stopping me pressing the go button......

Superbiatch

You current mortgage provider may well offer you a further deal, might not be as competitive as going somewhere else but still its an option. I'm with RBS for my mortgage and I recently contacted them about the same issue and they offered me a fixed rate deal

Hannah_10

The thing is though, what is the other option than going for it? That's what you have to think about. It's not a perfect solution and it takes a few years for your credit file to get back to normal but if you weren't planning to take credit anyway (which if you're repaying a debt I'm guessing you're not) then it has no bearing on anything real.

Deep_In_Debt

robthesnapper wrote: »

Generally speaking, when people go onto DMP then their monthly payments will drop. It's kind of the point of doing it.

Phone calls - ignore them. Don't answer the phone unless you definitely know who it is, if you can. You'll get them then they'll calm down after a few weeks, same with the letters.

From my own limited experience...

Barcalycard.... moronic pains in the backside.
MBNA.... stretching it out for all it's worth.
Mint... no probs, just accepted straight away
Tesco... accepted straight away
Santander...asked to see a couple of statements but then accepted.
Northern Rock... no idea. They shouldn't even be in business!

Of that list, couldn't agree more about Barclaycard!

MBNA my largest creditor and have been brilliant from the start.

Apart from that, can't speak for the others.

Mrs_Trouble

*Deep breaths* I'm going for it - have gone back over the debt remedy and had to be a bit more realistic and I also got my income wrong ?? and payment now offered is £550 so puts it at a good few years but we are hoping if interest is stopped and our circumstance improve I can realistically pay it off quicker.

We are with C&G and have never missed a payment or been late, our plan was to go with the SVR which is 2% + the BOE rate, (we are currently fixed at 6%) so we may stay with the SVR until I have been on the DMP for a year to show that it is managed and working.

I have no intention of ever touching a credit card in my life, it is my poor Husband's credit rating I feel sorry for

Hannah_10

Have you read this?

• Marriage doesn't hurt, joint finances do.
  Simply marrying or living with someone with a bad credit score shouldn't impact your finances, as third-party data (ie, someone else's info) doesn't appear on your file.
  Yet if you're 'financially linked' to someone on any product, it can have an impact. Even just a joint bills account for flat sharers can mean you are co-scored. If one partner has a poor history, keep your finances rigidly separate, and it should maintain access to good credit for the other.
  In fact, there are only two common products that can infer financial linking: mortgages and joint bank accounts. As a note, there's no such thing as a 'joint' credit card. Technically, it's one person's account and the other just has access to it. It is technically possible that joint utility bills could be reported on credit files, though current practice is not to do so.
  If you split up with someone you've joint finances with, once the accounts are separated or no longer active, always write to the credit reference agencies and ask for a notice of 'disassociation', to stop their credit history affecting yours in future.