Just an idea...

Chrisblue1962

Hi, folks, I am on a DMP with CCCS.

I have six creditors, five of whose debts are in the region of £2,500 to £4,500 and one that is just £451.00 (old Co-operative Bank overdraft). It would be nice to get rid of the Co-op debt, which would in turn free up £5.00 per month to other creditors.

Would it be ok to save up the £451.00 and pay off that creditor, either directly or through CCCS? I believe if I sent the lump sum to CCCS that they'd give everyone a bit and the Co-op would get a pittance...

I read somewhere on the Forum that I could save up the money and say to CCCS that a friend / relative has offered amount owing to the Co-op for the espress purpose of paying them off.

All ideas and advice welcome...

Tixy

Yep - CCCS would have to split it between all.
As you've read a way round this is to simply offer it to the creditor/DCA yourself but to say its not your money but is a gift on the condition it pays off a debt (some people haven't bothered with this detail but I believe you might risk CCCS cancelling the DMP - not sure how likely in practice).
As you are in a DMP and presumably have a default for the co-op overdraft you might want to consider offering a reduced full & final settlement, of a lower amount, which could be quicker to save up).
If you pay off Co-op by settlement then you just inform CCCS afterwards, say a relative paid it and they'll just rejig how much the other creditors get each month.

Chrisblue1962

Thank you Tixy for your very quick reply and useful advice.

I will shortly set a savings account into which I can slowly "drip feed" any spare cash which can build up towards paying off the Co-op...might be a while yet though!

I think paying the Co-op off would provide a good psychological boost to paying the off DMP, which at the moment is really starting to drag - Have any other DFW'ers have experienced this after a couple of years once the initial flurry of activity has died down?

DevonGirl

Just to agree with everything that Tixy has said, and to add that I've done this with 2 of my smaller creditors and psychologically it does help having paid these debts off.

You do run the risk that the other creditors will kick up a fuss, but thankfully it didn't happen to me - nothing was said at all. Either the other creditors didn't notice, or they were glad to have a few extra ££s every month.


p.s. extra support is always available on the DMP Mutual Support Thread, and also try the Long Haul Supporters thread for those of us whose DMPs seem to stretch on far into the distance....

Chrisblue1962

Thank You DevonGirl, I / we have had a bad month this month with vets bills and car tax due at end of August - Can't even see the tunnel, never mind any light at the end of it

DevonGirl

Chrisblue1962 wrote: »

Thank You DevonGirl, I / we have had a bad month this month with vets bills and car tax due at end of August - Can't even see the tunnel, never mind any light at the end of it

Oh dear, life has a habit of getting in the way, doesn't it?!

Just remember to keep paying into your emergency fund, it's a vital part of your DMP as you don't have access to any credit. Whilst paying off creditors is definitely a good thing, don't be in such a rush that you leave yourself without any money for unforeseen emergencies like vet bills etc. (For example, maybe if you manage to underspend on groceries by £20, put only £10 into your F&F fund and the other £10 into your emergency fund).

I don't know if this would work for you, but I find a debt graph showing the amount I owe going down each month helps (a bit like a weight loss graph). I still owe a lot of money and my DFD is 2017, but seeing it go down really does help!

Chrisblue1962

Thanks DevonGirl, like the idea of a Debt Graph as it's a visual representation of the progress being made