DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

gizmo111

snpjaw wrote: »

Can anyone give me a bit of advice?

My DMP has just started and I am starting to receive letters from creditors regarding my offers of repayment.

First Direct have accepted my offer but are now asking me to sign a Consumer Credit Agreement which will sign me up to the agreed payments over 12 months and then a final payment to clear the balance which I won't be able to afford.

It is set out to look like a further loan agreement to me so I haven't signed it on advice from CCCS and have written to them to explain why, however I've now received another copy and another signature request.

I am right not to sign it aren't I??

Yes you are - in any event the DMP terms are that you do not take out further credit which in effect this is.

trainergirl

Earthmother wrote: »

I opened a cashminder account and can recommend it. The staff on the phone are really friendly and helpful, their online banking is straightforward too. I also have a smartsaver with them to transfer money that is to be saved for car insurance etc.

Thanks - loads of good advice, I think the smartsaver account sounds good for putting a little bit aside too x

trainergirl

Yet another question from me... one of my debts is CC with Halifax. This is a new card which I opened last month in a panic as it has a 0% rate and I did a balance transfer to here of £4k.

Will Halifax do anything as I won't have made any payments at all before the DMP starts??

Time_to_face_the_music

trainergirl wrote: »

Yet another question from me... one of my debts is CC with Halifax. This is a new card which I opened last month in a panic as it has a 0% rate and I did a balance transfer to here of £4k.

Will Halifax do anything as I won't have made any payments at all before the DMP starts??

Sometimes you get a bit of hassle over "recent use of account" so this may happen, e.g. we used a HBOS card about 3 weeks before our DMP started and at first they refused the DMP ... but still accepted the CCCS payment. They gave us earache and LOTS of letters for about 6 weeks but then it all calmed down and now they have frozen the interest too.

The Co-op bank is great and I do all my banking online, I wish we had changed years ago.

Good luck and well done on setting off on your path to being debt free :T

trainergirl

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Sometimes you get a bit of hassle over "recent use of account" so this may happen, e.g. we used a HBOS card about 3 weeks before our DMP started and at first they refused the DMP ... but still accepted the CCCS payment. They gave us earache and LOTS of letters for about 6 weeks but then it all calmed down and now they have frozen the interest too.

The Co-op bank is great and I do all my banking online, I wish we had changed years ago.

Good luck and well done on setting off on your path to being debt free :T

Thanks for the advice TTFTM - I'm worried about the amount of contact I'm going to get when the DMP starts as I've always managed to make the minimum payments every month so I've never heard anything from my creditors.

I've got no idea what they're going to say or how much contact they'll make. Will I get inundated with calls and letters?? Also I'm worried that they'll call when I'm work, my dad does odd jobs for me and I would be mortified if he found out my situation.

Growurown

trainergirl wrote: »

I've got no idea what they're going to say or how much contact they'll make. Will I get inundated with calls and letters?? Also I'm worried that they'll call when I'm work, my dad does odd jobs for me and I would be mortified if he found out my situation.

You will get all the standard letters everyone gets when they don't pay. As to the phone calls you can request they don't contact you by phone and request to be contacted by letter only. I've never had a creditor contact me at work but other people have, some creditors can be very aggressive. If they call home when your dad is there they shouldn't tell him anything because the of the data protection act. If they do you should put in a complaint.

BlushingRose

snpjaw wrote: »

Can anyone give me a bit of advice?

My DMP has just started and I am starting to receive letters from creditors regarding my offers of repayment.

First Direct have accepted my offer but are now asking me to sign a Consumer Credit Agreement which will sign me up to the agreed payments over 12 months and then a final payment to clear the balance which I won't be able to afford.

It is set out to look like a further loan agreement to me so I haven't signed it on advice from CCCS and have written to them to explain why, however I've now received another copy and another signature request.

I am right not to sign it aren't I??

Absolutely do not sign it x

2spicy

Just a little reminder for all those new members embarking on the adventure that is a DMP.

Remember a few golden rules...
1. No matter how much you are harrassed and chased for money, if you donot have it, they cannot have it .. Stick to your guns, donot be bullied for an "extra payment"
2. Some Debts MUST be kept up to date ... Council Tax / Mortgage being the ones. The council have statutory powers to recover costs or arrears - Bailiff with powers of entry
3. If your threatened with court action, by a creditor and have a history of up to date payments on yoru DMP, there is no need to panic .. the court is likely to see you have kept your dmp is good order and is not likely to side with the creditor
4. Any threats of debt collectors comming to your door are literally threats. "appointment letters" with no date or time do get sent out as a scare tactic. a simple letter to all creditors advising them that your are on a DMP and referring them to Payplan / CCCs etc is all you need.
5. Be honest with your self regarding your incommings and outgoings. There is no reason to live like a church mouse. You can allocate funds for "Pets" and "hair dressing", even if you donot have any. use this surplus to make like a little easier when on your DMP. if you can, put the cash to oneside, use it for the occasional luxery to remind yourself your still human! - learn to play the game
6. if in doubt, if your low, if your sad .. post on the forum. weve all been there, and there is a lot of useful infomation in the previous 8 incarnations of this thread.. someone will be along that will beable to help / advise you
7. rememer, were all in it together. The fact you have recognised your in the grip of debt means your 80% there ... the worst is over, now all you have to do is be strong and hang in for the duration.
8. Remember, they will hound you for money, but if you donot have it, you cannot give it to them.

2spicy

Just a quick update on our previous posts, the Standing Order is now in effect, and the money left our account as it should. Just waiting on our creditors recieving their money.

One creditor did record a missed payment on our credit file, but our credit score is currently sat at 852 ( a lot healthier than the 348 it was at when we started our DMP ).

Of all our creditors, the only ones to issue details were EGG, and that was within 3 months of us starting the DMP.

So I guess even being on a DMP has had a positive effect on our Credit scoring ... were making regular payments, this is being reflected in the report.

sunfleur

Sounds like a good name for a book LOL Hi everyone. Not been around for a while but with good reason. My husband and I have separated after 22 years of marriage. He moved out at the end of January. He works I do not. I am a full-time carer to my daughter, who has special needs and whom I also educate at home.

We had a joint DMP which began in 2010. We continued to pay it up until March this year. I then dissolved this one and set up a single one in my name and my husband is in the process of setting up his own too. We split the debt and I ended up with the smallest amount as I am trying to take on the mortgage which has a lot of debt in it through remortgaging anyway. It was a pretty quick turn-around and I only managed to miss one payment but I'm back on track and should be out of debt in 2 years or so. The mortgage is a whole other animal and whether I end up staying here or not I'm not quite sure. It's complicated.

Because I knew what to expect and had done the research in advance, all of the benefits came through as expected after a few weeks and I managed to get ahead on the bills by not spending any money for the first month and I am now about a month in front so I can pay all the bills as it was tricky in that I get paid every four weeks and of course all of the bills go out every calendar month.

I'm almost at the end of the process and by the end of April I hope I can continue steadly for at least a few years. I'm paying interest only on the mortgage for the next year at least with a possible two more years available but I want to start paying the mortgage as soon as possible so we will see. Work opportunities are a slim possibility with looking after my daughter but I will see what I can do. Just thought I would post this in case anyone else finds themselves in a similar position. There is light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Sunfleur