DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

Time_to_face_the_music

Reznor wrote: »

Just wanted to say hi and that I started a dmp with pay plan last month so i will be on here posting rather then watching from a distance.:j

Hi Reznor and welcome :wave:

Well done on taking the first and most difficult steos to becoming debt free :T

There is plenty of advice, experience and support on this forum so please stick around and join in

Growurown

Reznor wrote: »

Just wanted to say hi and that I started a dmp with pay plan last month so i will be on here posting rather then watching from a distance.:j

:hello: Hi Reznor - welcome to DMP land:D

speshfesh

Growurown wrote: »

Welcome Speshfesh. £3k seems like a lot of money to me to be paying for a service you can get for free. However if you are happy to pay then make sure you get an excellent service from them. I don't know what percentage the free services will give for getting interest stopped but out of my creditors only one is still charging interest. It seems to depend on how much you owe and how much you can pay and the whims of the creditor.

For example we have two overdrafts with the Halifax. One was for £2,300 and the other for £800. The first we are being charged for the second we aren't. We both had Virgin CCs with about £5,000 on each card. Mine has been passed to a DCA but the other one hasn't. The only difference between the two I can see is that mine was being charged at a higher rate of interest because I earn less than OH, therefore I am a greater risk.

It is a roller coaster journey but eventually we will all land with a bump:D

Thanks for the reply. I agree, £3K is a lot of money but I'm happy to pay it over the term if they keep my creditors off my back and deal with all the bumps that will surely come up.
As I said before, I would've paid this in interest anyway but, if they can get the interest frozen (fingers crossed), this gets me out of debt at least 2 years earlier than I would've been.
I'm definitely waiting for the proverbial to hit the fan though!:D

speshfesh

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Hi speshfesh and welcome

Sorry in advance but I am going to ask/say some things you probably won't want to hear

1) Why on earth are you paying fees for a DMP? Every penny you are paying this company should be going towards paying off your debts, not feathering their pockets.

2) £24 K debt + £3000 fees at £630 per month does not add up to 40 months. Have you questioned this?

3) Have you questioned their 95% success rate? I could say I would give you a 98% success rate at getting all interest stopped and I would just be pulling figures out of the air. Where is their proof?

4) Do you know that some companies claim to pay off your debts and actually hold on to the money some times for months? Or that some companies make you think all is going well and at the so called end of your DMP, you find out that you still owe thousands or tens of thousands?

I'll stop now but there could be dozens more questions but I'll just add one more ...

5) Have you signed on the dotted line and if so, when did you do it?

Hi TTFTM, thanks for the reply.

Firstly, my apologies, I was a little quick to put figures in my original post. My debt is nearer to £22K and I was originally going to pay £730pm to clear everything in 35mths. I insisted on a lower monthly payment (£630pm) which resulted in a further 5mths added to the plan (now 40mths).
To be honest, I totally understand where you're coming from in relation to using potential DMP fees to reduce the debt but I don't feel that I would be able to manage the process very well myself. Not because I'm not capable but more because:
1. I simply wouldn't have the time (very demanding job including a lot of travelling)
2. I would really like someone else to bear the inevitable stress this process will throw up (at least some of it anyway)
I did ask for clarification on what the 95% actually meant and was told that this is actually their current success rate getting interest frozen whilst taking into account a 5% failure rate to cover those times when they couldn't. They also stressed that there will always be occasions where creditors they've not dealt with before may mean they fail in getting interest frozen (essentially the message was that no one can guarantee a 100% success rate).
As part of my plan, I will be receiving a breakdown of my creditors, the payments agreed to each, and a quarterly statement.
I signed with them a week ago but I'm in their 28 day cooling off period at the moment and they won't accept any payment from me until this period has ended. In the meantime, they have all my debt and creditor details and have asked me to direct any creditors chasing me for payment to them quoting my reference number and my DMP managers name.
I'm sure none of this helps make the case for going down this particular road but I really do feel more comfortable this way.:o
Always open to more advice though:D

Hopelessly_Hopeful

speshfesh wrote: »

Hi TTFTM, thanks for the reply.

Firstly, my apologies, I was a little quick to put figures in my original post. My debt is nearer to £22K and I was originally going to pay £730pm to clear everything in 35mths. I insisted on a lower monthly payment (£630pm) which resulted in a further 5mths added to the plan (now 40mths).
To be honest, I totally understand where you're coming from in relation to using potential DMP fees to reduce the debt but I don't feel that I would be able to manage the process very well myself. Not because I'm not capable but more because:
1. I simply wouldn't have the time (very demanding job including a lot of travelling)
2. I would really like someone else to bear the inevitable stress this process will throw up (at least some of it anyway)
I did ask for clarification on what the 95% actually meant and was told that this is actually their current success rate getting interest frozen whilst taking into account a 5% failure rate to cover those times when they couldn't. They also stressed that there will always be occasions where creditors they've not dealt with before may mean they fail in getting interest frozen (essentially the message was that no one can guarantee a 100% success rate).
As part of my plan, I will be receiving a breakdown of my creditors, the payments agreed to each, and a quarterly statement.
I signed with them a week ago but I'm in their 28 day cooling off period at the moment and they won't accept any payment from me until this period has ended. In the meantime, they have all my debt and creditor details and have asked me to direct any creditors chasing me for payment to them quoting my reference number and my DMP managers name.
I'm sure none of this helps make the case for going down this particular road but I really do feel more comfortable this way.:o
Always open to more advice though:D

Hi

We will of course support you whatever your decision but these figures simply dont add up. 630 x 40 =25200. I would urge to reconsider especially as you are in your cooling off period. I too travel lots but it is very easy to manage, honestly. The best investment is to spend a day or two reading the back threads here, that's what many of us did, time well spent!

Just because you are going to give the creditors the other agency number will not stop them calling in the first place or trying to call you again. There are laws to protect you with this. Ask them only to contact you in writting, send via recorded delivery. Give them your DMP number and hang up. If they call again report them to FOS.

The prob with DMP is they may agree to stop initially and then reapply interest later.

Good luck whatever you decide.

HHx

Time_to_face_the_music

speshfesh wrote: »

Hi TTFTM, thanks for the reply.

Firstly, my apologies, I was a little quick to put figures in my original post. My debt is nearer to £22K and I was originally going to pay £730pm to clear everything in 35mths. I insisted on a lower monthly payment (£630pm) which resulted in a further 5mths added to the plan (now 40mths). This is a bad start, your SOA should show what you can pay towards your debt and I wouldn't trust anyone who allowed me to decide this was a bit much and reduce it without proper discussion and justification.
To be honest, I totally understand where you're coming from in relation to using potential DMP fees to reduce the debt but I don't feel that I would be able to manage the process very well myself. Not because I'm not capable but more because:
1. I simply wouldn't have the time (very demanding job including a lot of travelling) We both have very stressful jobs, what's to manage? CCCS do the hard work, once a month I check their figures online and make any necessary changes. If we self managed our DMP, we would make online payments once a month and update our spreadsheet.
2. I would really like someone else to bear the inevitable stress this process will throw up (at least some of it anyway) CCCS or Paypaln do that for you, both totally free of charge.
I did ask for clarification on what the 95% actually meant and was told that this is actually their current success rate getting interest frozen whilst taking into account a 5% failure rate to cover those times when they couldn't. Sorry I really cannot understand why you would believe this without seeing some sort of proof and my best is, they have no proof whatsoever. They also stressed that there will always be occasions where creditors they've not dealt with before may mean they fail in getting interest frozen (essentially the message was that no one can guarantee a 100% success rate). So that is the same as any DMP, exactly the same service as you would get from CCCS or Payplan for for free.
As part of my plan, I will be receiving a breakdown of my creditors, the payments agreed to each, and a quarterly statement. CCCS provide us with a monthly statement which we can choose to have sent via email or post. We also have access to their website 24/7, we can see our plan, our statements, our debtrs, our budget and can make any change we want at any time.
I signed with them a week ago but I'm in their 28 day cooling off period at the moment and they won't accept any payment from me until this period has ended. In the meantime, they have all my debt and creditor details and have asked me to direct any creditors chasing me for payment to them quoting my reference number and my DMP managers name. This is standard practice, you could say you are paying £3000 for a DMP Manager's name.
I'm sure none of this helps make the case for going down this particular road but I really do feel more comfortable this way.:o
Always open to more advice though:D

I have made comments above and the only extra advice I would give you is DON'T DO IT!

Any chance you would care to share the name of the company?

speshfesh

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

I have made comments above and the only extra advice I would give you is DON'T DO IT!

Any chance you would care to share the name of the company?

Thanks TTFTM,

The company is Ashley Park.

I'm definitely getting nervous about this now.:(
Time to check the small print I think and look to take the option of not proceeding.
Excuse my ignorance, can I get links to CCCS and/or Payplan please so I can start looking at this.:o

Hopelessly_Hopeful

speshfesh wrote: »

Thanks TTFTM,

The company is Ashley Park.

I'm definitely getting nervous about this now.:(
Time to check the small print I think and look to take the option of not proceeding.
Excuse my ignorance, can I get links to CCCS and/or Payplan please so I can start looking at this.:o

http://www.payplan.com/?gclid=CPqH7Pemt7ACFSghtAodIyZt5w

http://www.cccs.co.uk/?WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=200001&gclid=CP2froqnt7ACFTMetAod_2o78A

The debt remedy tool on CCCS is amazing as it allows you to put data in anonymously and see consequences. Was a huge weight of my mind to be able to do that at the start.

Shout up if you have any questions.

HHx

speshfesh

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

The debt remedy tool on CCCS is amazing as it allows you to put data in anonymously and see consequences. Was a huge weight of my mind to be able to do that at the start.

Shout up if you have any questions.

HHx

Thanks HH, I'll take a look this afternoon and get this moving.:T
I'll be back if I get stuck.;)

Time_to_face_the_music

speshfesh wrote: »

Thanks TTFTM,

The company is Ashley Park.

I'm definitely getting nervous about this now.:(
Time to check the small print I think and look to take the option of not proceeding.
Excuse my ignorance, can I get links to CCCS and/or Payplan please so I can start looking at this.:o

Once again, don't do it.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3280558

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1771925

http://www.debtforum.org.uk/index.php?topic=839.0

From their own website:

"Debt Management is subject to two costs, a one-off set-up fee and a regular monthly management fee.

When you sign up to a Debt Management Plan, your first two initial repayments are made to us. This is an administration charge and covers the setting up of your account, including negotiating with your creditors and organising the right documentation for you. This administration charge is the equivalent of two monthly repayments whilst on the plan.

Once you are on the plan, our monthly management fee is 17.5% of your regular monthly repayment. However this comes with a minimum and maximum fee bracket. The minimum fee we will charge is set at £35.00 whilst the maximum fee is £100.00."

Your creditors will get nothing for 2 whole months which will increase your debts by incurring charges and extra interest plus you lose £1260 which could have been paid towards your debts. Oh and that is without mentioning all of the earache you will be getting via letters and phone calls as to why they haven't been paid. Ashley Park will then go on to charge you £110.25 per month for a service which CCCS or Payplan would do for nothing.

These fees add up to way more than the £3000 you have been quoted, 2 months at £630 then 40 months at £110.25 = £5670. Do you have the £3000 in writing or was that a telephone quotation?

You can't go wrong with HH's suggestion of using the CCCS Debt Remedy tool on their website, we actually organised our DMP and had it up and running before we ever spoke to CCCS. If you don't have much time or don't want to speak to anyone, it's ideal. As I said earlier, everything you need is at your fingertips on their website 24/7 and you don't pay a penny for the service.