DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

ben80

Yeah I keep my balances updated... having said that, they've always been very accurate (apart from M&S CC and Lloyd Current Acc).

Now for the sad bit... I have set reminders on my phone to tell me how many days I have left! Initially in 25 day intervals, then 10 days and for the last month it's done daily! I really should get out more! I did this before I noticed the DFD was (potentially) incorrect, so at the moment I have 247 days left. Unless it changes because of this discrepancy, in which case it will be roughly 30 days fewer. If my PPI claim is upheld (still waiting for SAR) in time, that will be another month off!

I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

Grand_Benders

Just want to say a quick Hi. I'm about halfway through this thread and plan to read the rest, but just popping in to get it out there.

We just had our LBM a week ago, after reading the diary of Gargrave50 and realising we needed to do something, since our overdrafts were growing and we were about to run out of options for paying all our monthly minimum payments. Up till now no missed payments, but it was a ticking time bomb!

This week, we've gathered all our financial info together, completed the CCCS Debt Remedy, which confirmed our figures and DFD, and they've recommended a DMP, as I suspected they would. Just requested our package from them this evening, but not sitting around waiting for it. We've cancelled the DDs for our credit cards (except the ones for Santander as we have our mortgage and bank accounts/overdrafts with them too and need time to switch accounts before they get a headsup there's an issue) and plan to write to all of them tomorrow with the template letter from CCCS advising them we've started the process of DMP and including our token payments. Since I haven't involved our bank yet, I'm planning on sending cheques for these.

Since I was on a roll, I decided to call Sky tonight to cancel, as we had already decided we could live without it and just buy the episodes of our favourite shows on iTunes if we really couldn't live without them (or get them on Netflix). With nothing to lose and a plan to switch our broadband to BT to get a deal and get it cheaper, I ended up on the phone to a very nice chap called Craig who has set up a deal to save us over £20 a month by bringing our line rental over to Sky from BT and doing deals on our broadband and TV packages. With the difference of what we'd have been paying BT on the new package, staying with Sky is only about £2 more and we won't have to buy on iTunes now and we've only lost one channel that had one series on it that we watched occasionally

So, not a bad start and feeling pretty positive about the whole thing after losing many nights' sleep this week since we pulled our ostrich heads out the sand and had our light bulb moment!

Want to say thanks to everyone who has shared their story on here. There's a definite recurring theme to the posts, and the majority are pretty positive about being pleased they started the DMP process, so I'm hopeful we'll feel the same.

Cancelling the DDs was a bit scary tonight, but I'm sure I'll get over that when I start writing letters and cheques for token payments tomorrow.

Thanks again to everyone for sharing. We feel like we have so much support already, from the information you all have given us.

Growurown

Grand_Benders wrote: »

So, not a bad start and feeling pretty positive about the whole thing after losing many nights' sleep this week since we pulled our ostrich heads out the sand and had our light bulb moment!

More 'ostrich syndrome':eek: There's a lot of it about:D

Well done GB sounds like you have really got to grips with all this. Hope it goes well and keep us posted:D

ben80

Hello Grand Benders (loving the username!) I'm relatively new here too and I agree with your sentiments about the support & feeling better knowing you're not alone - we're all in the same boat!

Well done for facing up to your probs and for doing something about it nice and quickly. I wish you loads of luck on your journey!

Growurown

gizmo111 wrote: »

I think CCCS rely on you to update balances as well.

Yes they do. It says that on the bottom of your monthly statement, plus they always ask you for the balance given on the letters when an account is passed onto a DCA.

Hopelessly_Hopeful

ben80 wrote: »

Yeah I keep my balances updated... having said that, they've always been very accurate (apart from M&S CC and Lloyd Current Acc).

Now for the sad bit... I have set reminders on my phone to tell me how many days I have left! Initially in 25 day intervals, then 10 days and for the last month it's done daily! I really should get out more! I did this before I noticed the DFD was (potentially) incorrect, so at the moment I have 247 days left. Unless it changes because of this discrepancy, in which case it will be roughly 30 days fewer. If my PPI claim is upheld (still waiting for SAR) in time, that will be another month off!

I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

Homeward stretch now. I love the count down idea. I will enjoy watching it draw closer for you as it keeps me going knowing other people are almost there!

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

ben80 wrote: »

Really, excellent! I thought ti was 6 years from the closure of account. Good news, most of my defaults are nearing 4yrs old. Yay.

Also, your Pros of a DMP are far more thought out than mine and I can definitely relate to them!!

Default starts ticking away from when it was applied.

Accounts can only be defaulted once.

It depends therefore when they apply a default. They may for example not do it until year 5 of your dmp. 5 + 6 = 11 years.

Because you can only default an account once it's better to get defaulted ASAP.

However, people need to beware of arrangements to pay 'AP' type stamps on their record as they can stay on until the end of the DMP then the six years ticks so back to the 6 + 5 = 11 etc


I would advise anyone to check their credit record once a year so they know what's on file about them.
Hope that helps

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

ben80 wrote: »

Right, more questions... default is when you first default on the credit agreement and it's issued in a letter, yes? How about missing monthly repayments... do they count or classed as defaults or something else?

sickasachip13... WELL DONE!!

EDIT: Damn, I have 4 defaults, 3 from Feb-June 2009, so 3 yrs to go. Another from Mid 2010, so 4 yrs to go. I reckon on buying a house soon after the first 3 are gone. Will the 4th one cause me to get a terrible mortgage rate do you think?

Have you tried some what if scenarios in the mortgage calculator on here? Waiting that three years for the mortagage could actually save you thousands in accrued interest. Have a go, it is very very motivating. So you may wait three years to get the mortgage but you could well be finished more than three years early.

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Grand_Benders wrote: »

Just want to say a quick Hi. I'm about halfway through this thread and plan to read the rest, but just popping in to get it out there.

We just had our LBM a week ago, after reading the diary of Gargrave50 and realising we needed to do something, since our overdrafts were growing and we were about to run out of options for paying all our monthly minimum payments. Up till now no missed payments, but it was a ticking time bomb!

This week, we've gathered all our financial info together, completed the CCCS Debt Remedy, which confirmed our figures and DFD, and they've recommended a DMP, as I suspected they would. Just requested our package from them this evening, but not sitting around waiting for it. We've cancelled the DDs for our credit cards (except the ones for Santander as we have our mortgage and bank accounts/overdrafts with them too and need time to switch accounts before they get a headsup there's an issue) and plan to write to all of them tomorrow with the template letter from CCCS advising them we've started the process of DMP and including our token payments. Since I haven't involved our bank yet, I'm planning on sending cheques for these.

Since I was on a roll, I decided to call Sky tonight to cancel, as we had already decided we could live without it and just buy the episodes of our favourite shows on iTunes if we really couldn't live without them (or get them on Netflix). With nothing to lose and a plan to switch our broadband to BT to get a deal and get it cheaper, I ended up on the phone to a very nice chap called Craig who has set up a deal to save us over £20 a month by bringing our line rental over to Sky from BT and doing deals on our broadband and TV packages. With the difference of what we'd have been paying BT on the new package, staying with Sky is only about £2 more and we won't have to buy on iTunes now and we've only lost one channel that had one series on it that we watched occasionally

So, not a bad start and feeling pretty positive about the whole thing after losing many nights' sleep this week since we pulled our ostrich heads out the sand and had our light bulb moment!

Want to say thanks to everyone who has shared their story on here. There's a definite recurring theme to the posts, and the majority are pretty positive about being pleased they started the DMP process, so I'm hopeful we'll feel the same.

Cancelling the DDs was a bit scary tonight, but I'm sure I'll get over that when I start writing letters and cheques for token payments tomorrow.

Thanks again to everyone for sharing. We feel like we have so much support already, from the information you all have given us.

Hello and Welcome

Sounds like you have everything heading the right direction.

HHx

klfairy

Hi Grand Benders, you sound like you're in pretty much the same place as us. We haven't quite hit trouble yet but it's only a matter of time.

OH came home from his new job yesterday full of hope that he'll be earning very well quite soon. I hope he's right. We might be able to avoid a DMP if he's right and and it happens quickly. We've been lucky that a few bits and bobs have come our way to cushion the worst of the blows in the last few weeks. I think all this has given him a big scare (please) and he'll be a bit more supportive of Project Kill Debt.