DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

Mrs_Trouble

HH - we just have had some luck for the first time as we fixed with C&G at 6.9% but move onto their SVR which is 2% above the BOE rate on July. We are lucky as C&G have a fixed SVR relating to our mortgage deal so as long as the interest rates don't rise too much we can try and make overpayments. If they start going up we will have to move to another deal with C&G - I understand that if you ate just moving deals then they don't do a credit check.

AmyV_2

iwilldoitthistime wrote: »

Hi

Im about to start my DMP but have just thought - will it effect my mortgage? Im on a two year fixed deal with Halifax - my LTV is at about 85%, so Halifax usually just move me to another deal at the end of the term. Will they still do this if Im on a DMP?

thanks x

We are with Halifax too. Our fixed rate came to an end a while back and we were on the normal rate. Then we heard about the possibility of rates going up so we decided to go back on a fixed rate so at least we know where we are every month.

We had no problem at all with Halifax. We haven't had any mortgage arrears and we were just swapping from one Halifax product to another so I don't think they do any credit checks. Its been plain sailing switching.

savvykaz

Thanks to those who've welcomed me on board :beer:. I just hope I've not under estimated our living costs and that we'll struggle but we couldn't go on as we were .
As soon as the first payment is made to CCCS I will do a signature with the detail on it - could someone give me a DMP member number please?

Hopelessly_Hopeful

savvykaz wrote: »

Thanks to those who've welcomed me on board :beer:. I just hope I've not under estimated our living costs and that we'll struggle but we couldn't go on as we were .
As soon as the first payment is made to CCCS I will do a signature with the detail on it - could someone give me a DMP member number please?

Ian keeps a track of the numbers. He will be along in due course, maybe worth dropping him an IM.

You can have an early review of your budget.

Best to keep a spending log.

Good luck

HHx

Growurown

savvykaz wrote: »

Thanks to those who've welcomed me on board :beer:. I just hope I've not under estimated our living costs and that we'll struggle but we couldn't go on as we were .
As soon as the first payment is made to CCCS I will do a signature with the detail on it - could someone give me a DMP member number please?

Hi SK, welcome. Everyone is a bit nervous starting out. It is pretty scary and no credit to fall back on. When the money runs out there is no where to go and I for one found that difficult to deal with.

As HH said, if you find your budget really isn't working you can always get back to CCCS and change things.

trainergirl

Growurown wrote: »

Hi SK, welcome. Everyone is a bit nervous starting out. It is pretty scary and no credit to fall back on. When the money runs out there is no where to go and I for one found that difficult to deal with.

As HH said, if you find your budget really isn't working you can always get back to CCCS and change things.

Good advice Growurown - I've spent this evening sorting my paperwork out for CCCS - letters to creditors, gathering statements etc.

Thankfully the bank details from the co-op have finally arrived so now I can start moving DD's and salary over.

The no credit to fall back on part is still making me feel uneasy - but the other option is worse and thats being in a even worse situation in 6 months time.

I'm trying to focus on the day I'm debt free!!:T

Bring_It_On

mrshughes86 wrote: »

I'm a frequent reader of this board but thought I would just share my story to give some hope to people.

In 2010 my husband lost his job when the building company he worked for went under. Not only did he not get any redundancy, he was still owed two months pay when the company went down (while the owner was on holiday in Thailand) and we never got the money as the guy was declared bankrupt when he returned.

We had a loan and some credit cards on 0% deals from when I had been studying , and we were managing with these until he lost his job.

Unfortunately we put living expenses on credit cards, hoping he would find more work quickly, but this didnt happen. Our debts quickly mounted, with bank charges and late payment charges adding to the problem.

In the summer of 2010 I decided to try and tackle the problem and added everything up and did a budget, but our debts totalled over £55k and our current income was way off the minumum payments on each. I started having panic attacks, stopped sleeping, and spiralled into depression. I felt under extra pressure to carry on going to work everyday because I knew how desperately we needed my wage.

We were hassled by several creditors phone calls and letters everyday, which made me panic more and more. Luckily I could just about cope with anti-depressants and forced myself to continue working.

We decided the only thing to do was move into the spare room at my husbands parents house to cut our expenses as much as possible, but we still couldnt make minimum payments and our debts still kept increasing due to interest and charges even though we hadnt used credit cards for months and ploughed every penny we earn't into paying them off.

In October 2010 I read about CCCS. As soon as I got off the phone from them I felt like a great weight had been lifted.
They told me to immediately stop paying the money that all my creditors were demanding, as things like food, rent and heating were more important - something I'd seemed to lose grasp of!
They suggested a debt management plan of 6 years, and although it seemed a long time, at least there was an end date!
I was so happy that at last there seemed a resolution to our problem.

All of our creditors accepted our plan (Lloyds TSB loan, Lloyds TSB CC, Halifax CC, Tesco CC, First Direct loan, Santander CC, HSBC CC, Lloyds TSB overdraft, First Direct overdraft, as well as Argos store card and Next store card)

They stopped charging interest, accepted our reduced payments, and at last I saw our debts start to actually reduce!

We have now been on our plan a year and a half, and in that time my husband has found a job and we have increased the amount we pay each month.
What started out as a 6 year plan is now looking like it will be finished in around 4 years.

We had a few minor blips along the way, with our car gearbox dying and costing £2k to repair :-( but CCCS were always supportive and informative.

The thing that gave me most strength is knowing I can't be controlled by the creditors. We still get the odd phone call, but now all I say is "I'm on a DMP with CCCS, my client number is xxxxxxx - please direct your enquiry to them". This has helped no end with my stress and I am now feel back in control and am gradually reducing my anti-depressants.

Our initial £55k debt is now £38k and shrinking all the time!

As our earning situtation improves and items we had on hire purchase come to an end we can increase our monthly payments further and speed up our DMP. We started out paying just £600 a month of our debts, we now pay £800, and by June I hope to get this up to £1100.

I'm so pleased I rang CCCS that day! Thank you!

Thanks so much for sharing your story it really does give hope to us newbies starting out. I am so glad things worked out well for you and now you can concentrate on getting your health better

anubis77

Hi,

Looking for some advice please. Have been on a DMP with CCCS for a year now, the debts are down to £30k and all with the original creditors. Main creditors are MBNA and First Direct.
I think MBNA have defaulted me to to be honest not really sure.

We have recently received a lump sum of c.£20k.

Should we:
a) deal direct with the creditors
b) leave it to CCCS

Also, should we:
a) Just offer the £20k or
b) Offer less ???
c) Ask the creditors what they want to settle?

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks.

Bring_It_On

savvykaz wrote: »

Hi all,
Can I join this thread please? It's taken my husband and I 22 years to acknowledge that we have been spending way beyond our means and it all came to a head when he lost his job in January! He has since found work but for 3 months he wasn't bringing in any money and I've had to cash in 2 sharesave schemes I had through work. About a month ago my husband said he thought we ought to sell our house and rent to get out of debt but I felt physically sick at the thought and I contacted CCCS; the advice was that we took on a DMP which will take us 6 years to clear:eek:.I know it's going to be very hard with a restricted budget but I honestly think it's the kick up the bum we've needed. I've been a member on Martin's site for a few years now and I know how valuable the support given on here can be, co please, can I join you all?

Great to have you on board - good luck keep us posted

Bring_It_On

Up to now Tesco, MBNA and Simply Be (Reliable Collections) have accepted DMP and stopped interest charges woop woop, 3 down 12 to go be great if they all stop the interest but I am not expecting it to be so easy, I suppose any reduction they offer is a bonus and means we get to be debt free sooner!

I am struggling a bit with the old budget and my first payment has not even gone out yet, I did really think about my budget before I finalised it but I do wish I had joined this thread before I submitted it and I may have made a few adjustments to allow a bit more breathing space.

I think I am just so overwhelmed at actually having a food budget every week and not robbing Peter and Paul to pay for it somehow, that I keep going over my budget, need to go back to the calculator and a list me thinks :money: