DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

Despairette

Hello all, Newbie here

Due to an awful lot of circumstances (separation, job loss, illness, depression etc etc) I have found myself to be in a dreadful position debt wise. I was told about StepChange and now have a DMP with them (2nd payment due to come out early January). However, I have been receiving phone calls from one of the companies I owe money to to say that they do not accept the payment proposed for the DMP. They have told me they have issued a default notice and charged me £50 for this and they have also told me that it is being passed to their legal department who will now be taking me to court to get a charging order against my house as they can see I have a mortgage. I am in despair here. I have held my new job for nearly 3 months and the budget was worked out on my salary and I just do not have anymore spare money at present to pay this company anymore.
Can they take me to court and make me sell my house? Their debt is not the largest and they are the only ones who have not accepted the DMP. I also have a son with autism for whom we have been told to apply for DLA for and also he goes to an LEA special school. He will be at the school for at least another 2 years in full time education. He is over 16 so the DLA will be paid to him not me but he is registered disabled.

Freshstart2012

Prowler1973 wrote: »

Hello all

Just got a letter from MBNA - Interest frozen. Great Result. Unfortunately I also received a letter from StepChange. They could not set up my direct debit. I logged on to the website and set it up in two seconds but it won't be in time for my first payment. Can phone Step Change and pay by debit card when they are open? This will put my plan off before it starts!

Hi
You could make the payment via standing order, I make mine on the 10th monthly and it reaches Stepchange the same day.

CommitedToChange

jonny6969 wrote: »

could someone just check a letter that i am about to send a creditor about a settlement, just to make sure i have covered all the bases?

I write with reference to the money which you are claiming on the above account.
I can confirm that I am unable to offer to pay the money which I owe in full. I have been in financial difficulty for just over 1 year now and I am on a Debt Management Plan with CCCS/StepChange. I am currently only able to pay you £xxx a month. However, I can raise £xxx and I want to offer this as an ex-gratia payment in full and final settlement of the account. This offer is made on the clear understanding that, if accepted, neither you nor any associate company will take any other action to enforce or pursue this debt in any way whatsoever and that I will be released from any liability.

I also request that, if accepted, you will make an entry on a credit reference agency file relating to the above account as having been paid and the account closed.

Payment can be made within 28 days of receiving your written agreement of this offer and method of
payment.

I look forward to receiving your reply.


thanks people

Afternoon

It looks ok to me - I'm sure someone with a bit more knowledge will be around shortly to double check.

CommitedToChange

Afternoon all

Well I have been a very stupid DMPer. I got a nice new shiny job in January - enjoyed my wages for a bit then upped my DMP to knock about 40 years off it!

However I then kept spending and enjoying myself and have managed to rattle through my saving and my tax money in a stupid stupid spending haze. I really don't have much to show for it - except for some nice homebrew equipment (thank god as I am not going to be buying much in the next year).

I am a total idiot and I now have to face the fact that while my budget is happily in place, I have no emergency money, and a tax bill due in Jan that I can't pay (not that I've even filled in the self assement form yet :mad:)

I just wanted to come on here and confess my sins - and pledge to be a better DMPer in 2013 - to visit here and do challenges as it keeps me on the straight and narrow.

I have started a second job - but it doesn't have a guarenteed income, so I'm hoping for an extra £100 a month but can't guarentee it, I'm also now swagbucking and I AM going to sell all my cluttered hordings on Ebay.

So wish me luck guys - I think I'm going to need some support in the next few months - esp when I actually do my tax return :eek: and then phone them and admit I have no way to pay it. Luckily it shouldn't be too big - around £500 so I could pause my DMP for a month to pay it or do installments - not sure which is best.

Oh, and I have a holiday booked for NY in May for my Dad's 60th which I haven't finished paying for yet - see total idiot. I could afford it before my mad spending spree. I just reduced my food budget - but with the tax bill as well.......

SO anyway, I see a long few months of whoopies, staying in and ebaying and swagbucking like mad. Hopefully this slip will teach me a lesson and once my DMP is over I won't pull cr*p like this again.

Thanks for listerning guys. :beer: and sorry for any spelling mistakes as the spell check refuses to work. :cool:

Time_to_face_the_music

jonny6969 wrote: »

could someone just check a letter that i am about to send a creditor about a settlement, just to make sure i have covered all the bases?

I write with reference to the money which you are claiming on the above account.
I can confirm that I am unable to offer to pay the money which I owe in full. I have been in financial difficulty for just over 1 year now and I am on a Debt Management Plan with CCCS/StepChange. I am currently only able to pay you £xxx a month. However, I can raise £xxx and I want to offer this as an ex-gratia payment in full and final settlement of the account. This offer is made on the clear understanding that, if accepted, neither you nor any associate company will take any other action to enforce or pursue this debt in any way whatsoever and that I will be released from any liability.

I also request that, if accepted, you will make an entry on a credit reference agency file relating to the above account as having been paid and the account closed.

Payment can be made within 28 days of receiving your written agreement of this offer and method of
payment.

I look forward to receiving your reply.


thanks people

That letter is fine, it's from the National Debtline template so comes highly recommended

Time_to_face_the_music

Prowler1973 wrote: »

Hello all

Just got a letter from MBNA - Interest frozen. Great Result. Unfortunately I also received a letter from StepChange. They could not set up my direct debit. I logged on to the website and set it up in two seconds but it won't be in time for my first payment. Can phone Step Change and pay by debit card when they are open? This will put my plan off before it starts!

Great news on MBNA :T

StepChange (ex CCCS) will accept a payment up to the 10th of the month. You can pay by debit card but they have restrictions on this, can only do it a certain number of times and within certain dates. Give them a call on Monday and am sure they will be able to sort it for you

Time_to_face_the_music

Despairette wrote: »

Hello all, Newbie here

Due to an awful lot of circumstances (separation, job loss, illness, depression etc etc) I have found myself to be in a dreadful position debt wise. I was told about StepChange and now have a DMP with them (2nd payment due to come out early January). However, I have been receiving phone calls from one of the companies I owe money to to say that they do not accept the payment proposed for the DMP. They have told me they have issued a default notice and charged me £50 for this and they have also told me that it is being passed to their legal department who will now be taking me to court to get a charging order against my house as they can see I have a mortgage. I am in despair here. I have held my new job for nearly 3 months and the budget was worked out on my salary and I just do not have anymore spare money at present to pay this company anymore.
Can they take me to court and make me sell my house? Their debt is not the largest and they are the only ones who have not accepted the DMP. I also have a son with autism for whom we have been told to apply for DLA for and also he goes to an LEA special school. He will be at the school for at least another 2 years in full time education. He is over 16 so the DLA will be paid to him not me but he is registered disabled.

Hi Despairette and welcome :hello:

I don't know a lot about charging orders but National Debtline have a comprehensive factsheet on this page:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=15_charging_orders_in_the_county_court

Have they actually sent you a default notice? They need to physically send this to you, not just tell you they have done it. It also needs to be in the terms and conditions of the account that they are entitled to charge you for a default. So if you have the originals please check this is the case.

Try not to speak to the creditor. Tell them you want communication only in writing and that they should be speaking to StepChange, not you. Try and speak to StepCHange on Monday and see what they advise.

Try not to get stressed over this, if you do end up going to court, the judge is likely to accept StepChange's budget and not force you to pay any extra. Most threats from creditors are empty threats, they like to intimidate people into paying what they can't afford, please don't let them do that to you.

Please let us know how you get on.
TTFTM

Stuh

Hi All, Hope everyone had a good xmas, update on my position i wrote to 7 creditors 3 weeks before xmas and heard back from 4 of them which i am a bit disappointed about but maybe the others will respond in the new year. Offered RMA resolve 44% on each debt they have (3rd offer) and they came back with counter offers of 64.3% & 61.30% which i thought was a bit strange (the 61.3% was on the higher amount!) Cabot i offered 30% and they have com back verbally with 65% same level with Lowell Financial, Moorcroft just rejected my offer of 40% with no counter, so is it me or are this lot all fishing for between 60-65% of the debt or am i getting a complex! lol. Is it worthwhile continuing by upping by offer by 1 or 2% each time leaving a few months in between? All the defaults drop off by Feb 2014 that is why with the help of my uncle i am trying to settle everything in 2013. All the best for new year Stu

Time_to_face_the_music

Hi Stu :hello:

Are these F&F offers? I don't know anything about this but have seen a few threads on the main DFW board so it could be worth starting a new one there and asking.

Hope you get it sorted and hope 2013 is a good one for you

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Happy New Year All

Hopefully my last FULL year on the DMP. Have paid off 60%. Hoping to be done by month 50 so can assume I am 64% of the way through it. Impatient but pleased to be in this far too. Excited that when July gets here I will be able to start saying this is my last July etc. Couldn't have done it without all the support here.

Looking forward to seeing E2 and others approach their goal too.

HHx