DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

Growurown

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Thanks for the update GUO. Will keep my fingers crossed for your job security.

Hope the stocktake has gone on a spreadsheet!

HHx

Of course! I have planned my menus for the month and should only have to buy the fresh stuff and milk so hoping for a cheap month.

RonniesMummy wrote: »

Would you pay off your debts with this or keep it as an emergency fund ? (currently have nothing put by for an emergency!)
x

Definitely for the emergency fund. It is surprising how often emergencies come up especially with cars.

Ellieseleven wrote: »

The HP on our car finished last Feb and adding that payment to our DMP knocked 4 years off the date! It hasn't made much of a difference to us as we were already paying the car loan and the DMP but it reduced our DFD which is great. One thing that I have found now though is that my car is requiring lots of work (it's now 6 years old) so that emergency fund is a must. I've recently had to spend around £1000 but I had the majority put away so was able to pay for the work (my car is a necessity for work) - our emergency fund is now down to coppers but the car just passed the MOT;)

Same here and our car will be six years old this summer and does a lot of miles. I am trying to build up the emergency fund but it is hard going especially when something always seems to crop up when you least expect it.

bertman

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Sorry you are having hassle. Personally I wouldnt waste my time on telephone calls as you need to create a paper trail. Ironically court action would probably result in interest freeze and possibly refund.

My advice is put the issue in writting to HSBC. Ask them to log and respond as a formal complaint. Also remind them they are operating against OFT guidelines as your debt is growing and request they reconsider the interest and refund you. They have 8 weeks to respond and failing that you can report to the FOS.

Good luck. Most of us had success with the strategy

HHx

Cheers HH.

I am going to start letter writing now, in the past I have always phoned the companies, but after this episode I can't be bothered. I will send recorded - it will be cheaper than the 0845 numbers anyway.
We have squirreled away food over the last month from Christmas so only spent half of the budget for this month - this will go in the emergency fund for January.

Time_to_face_the_music

Growurown wrote: »

Same here and our car will be six years old this summer and does a lot of miles. I am trying to build up the emergency fund but it is hard going especially when something always seems to crop up when you least expect it.

Our car is 8 years old this month and has just passed the 170,000 mile mark. It is worrying at times and we rely on "old faithful" for around 80 miles per day

Time_to_face_the_music

fifitrixiejane wrote: »

Hi all.

I filled all my paperwork last week and sent it back to StepChange to set up my DMP. I finally decided that i had to do something about my debts as i was seriously struggling so i am waiting now to see what happens next. I've followed the instructions by Stepchange, felt quite good to delete all my direct debits strangely while i'm waiting.
So far it feels like a huge weight has been lifted and the process seems so to be unnervingly easy, surely the !!!!!! will hit the fan soon as things don't get paid this month?!

Anyway, according to SC, its going to take an estimated 5 years to pay my debts off roughly, but at least i've started the journey. I feel like as we have budgeted for so long that it will be business as usual but with the security that at least the bills are being paid!

I'm obviously not the only new starter, maybe other 'lurkers' can could out of the shadows and reveal yourselves?
I find it a relief knowing that i'm not the only one here!

Hi and welcome fifitrixiejane :hello:

You sound like you are in a good place after a true lightbulb moment. It may only be the start of your debt free journey but the steps you have already taken are the most difficult ones, so well done on getting there :T

I found the advice, experience and support on this thread invaluable when I started here at this time last year, so please stick around and ask for help at any time

ianmak

Happy new year all, just checking up on y'all. Been a bit busy recently, pretty much moved in with the Fiancee. (You heard that right ), and just had a (low) offer accepted on the flat, so if that all goes through, I'll be making lots of F&Fs to creditors. Hope to settle on around 55%, but I realise I have a long way to go!

If all goes well on the debt front, I'll be celebrating with a debt free tattoo, to remind me of my errant past.

Glad to see you're all keeping busy on here. Hope all are well, and the noobies settling in ok.

lizzymint_2

Hi,

Sorry if this post is all wrong, but I've not posted in years! I joined the CCCS, now Step Change, through this site almost 3 years ago now. To say a weight was lifted is putting it mildly. The worry and anguish was replaced by relief the moment my DMP was up and running. 2 out of the 4 creditors have since sold the debt on and the new companies have frozen the interest which is great. Virgin froze theirs from the moment I was in trouble, and I can't praise them enough. The fly in the ointment is LloydsTSB.
Now I know that they are under no obligation to freeze my interest, and they are a business who are there to make money, but its got to a point where a £1,500 overdraft three years ago has just gone up and up due to fines for always being over the £1500, the charge for having an overdraft in the first place, the interest on top of that. So now, out of the SC share to Lloyds of £31.00 a month, I automatically fall short due to all the extra charges. I've asked them to freeze the interest, but got a big NO in return. Has anyone sucessfully got Lloyds to freeze their interest, and if so how? I should be debt free in 2015 according to the plan, but Lloyds have other plans

Coolbeans2010

Hi I am new I hope you don't mind me posting. I've been in a DMP since 2007 and I've paid off £14k so far. I only have £1800 until its finished but I know some creditors didn't freeze interest in the early days. What worries me is this DMP will be never ending! PayPlan said they won't know interest tht has been applied until the end of the plan which is Sept 13. Should I try and get a true picture myself? It will feel soul distroying if I have another long way to go until the end. Thanks :-)

Time_to_face_the_music

lizzymint wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry if this post is all wrong, but I've not posted in years! I joined the CCCS, now Step Change, through this site almost 3 years ago now. To say a weight was lifted is putting it mildly. The worry and anguish was replaced by relief the moment my DMP was up and running. 2 out of the 4 creditors have since sold the debt on and the new companies have frozen the interest which is great. Virgin froze theirs from the moment I was in trouble, and I can't praise them enough. The fly in the ointment is LloydsTSB.
Now I know that they are under no obligation to freeze my interest, and they are a business who are there to make money, but its got to a point where a £1,500 overdraft three years ago has just gone up and up due to fines for always being over the £1500, the charge for having an overdraft in the first place, the interest on top of that. So now, out of the SC share to Lloyds of £31.00 a month, I automatically fall short due to all the extra charges. I've asked them to freeze the interest, but got a big NO in return. Has anyone sucessfully got Lloyds to freeze their interest, and if so how? I should be debt free in 2015 according to the plan, but Lloyds have other plans

Hi lizzy and welcome back :hello:

We have had very similar problems with Lloyds TSB but did manage to get them to freeze the interest with the help of the FOS.

Write to Lloyds again, use something like this:

You

Date

Them



Dear Sir/Madam

Re: XXXXXXXXXXX Account No: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your letter/statement concerning the above account. I am sorry that you feel unable to suspend interest charges on the above account. The majority of our other creditors have agreed to the offer of payment and agreed to suspend any interest charges still accruing. They have accepted that to continue to charge interest would not assist us in our present financial difficulties, and can only serve to increase our total debt.

As you are aware, I have already paid considerable sums in interest to my account. If interest charges continue, the monthly instalments I am paying will not even cover that interest. Also, the cooperation of our other creditors who have agreed to freeze interest already would be put at risk.

I am aware that Lloyds TSB subscribes to the Lending Code which states that lenders will consider reducing or suspending interest and charges if these would cause the debt to increase or lead to the repayment term becoming too extended. I would therefore be grateful if you would reconsider your decision not to freeze the interest. This would mean that the monthly payments I make would actually reduce the balance outstanding to your company. If you are unable to help me with this issue, I will have no alternative but to take this case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully









You

At the same time, contact the FOS and explain the situation. You do not have to wait for Lloyds TSB to reply, the FOS will work at the same time as your letter:

How to complain

1. Complain to your bank, insurance company or finance firm

It's important that you complain first to the business you're unhappy with – and give them a chance to look into your problem. They have eight weeks to do this. We can help by contacting the business for you, and telling them about your complaint.

• phone our consumer helpline on
  0300 123 9 123 or 0800 023 4567
  Monday to Friday – 8am to 8pm
  Saturday – 9am to 1pm

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

Good luck and please let us know how you get on

Time_to_face_the_music

Coolbeans2010 wrote: »

Hi I am new I hope you don't mind me posting. I've been in a DMP since 2007 and I've paid off £14k so far. I only have £1800 until its finished but I know some creditors didn't freeze interest in the early days. What worries me is this DMP will be never ending! PayPlan said they won't know interest tht has been applied until the end of the plan which is Sept 13. Should I try and get a true picture myself? It will feel soul distroying if I have another long way to go until the end. Thanks :-)

Hi Coolbeans and welcome :hello:

I have never understood this approach of Payplan to wait until the end of DMPs before confirming the interest. Unfortunately I have read some posts of people having a nasty shock when they thought their DMP was almost over then found out they still had a lot of money to pay.

We have always been very proactive with our accounts and ensure we know exactly how much we owe to each creditor at any time. I believe it is law that creditors have to supply you with a statement at least once a year ... I hope I haven't made this up but am sure someone will correct me if it's not the case.

If I were you, I would contact all my creditors and ask them for an up to date statement so you can check exactly where you stand. StepChange (ex-CCCS) have an online service where you can correct debt balances if they go up or down, am not sure if Payplan has the same thing but if they do, this would be an opportunity to ensure everything adds up to the same amount.

Please remember that if any of your creditors are still charging you interest, it's not too late to make a complaint and try to get this stopped/refunded.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Coolbeans2010

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Hi Coolbeans and welcome :hello:

I have never understood this approach of Payplan to wait until the end of DMPs before confirming the interest. Unfortunately I have read some posts of people having a nasty shock when they thought their DMP was almost over then found out they still had a lot of money to pay.

We have always been very proactive with our accounts and ensure we know exactly how much we owe to each creditor at any time. I believe it is law that creditors have to supply you with a statement at least once a year ... I hope I haven't made this up but am sure someone will correct me if it's not the case.

If I were you, I would contact all my creditors and ask them for an up to date statement so you can check exactly where you stand. StepChange (ex-CCCS) have an online service where you can correct debt balances if they go up or down, am not sure if Payplan has the same thing but if they do, this would be an opportunity to ensure everything adds up to the same amount.

Please remember that if any of your creditors are still charging you interest, it's not too late to make a complaint and try to get this stopped/refunded.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Thank you for your reply that is really helpfulk. I emailed Payplan this morning and I got this response:

Many thanks for your message, please be aware that in regards to interest and charges it is down to the creditor to decide on whether they freeze the interest or reduce it. We can only request it.

Please be aware that when you are reaching the end of your plan our terms team will contact the creditors for you and find out any remaining balances and then we will update you with the information we recieve.

Many Thanks


I find them really frustrating - i could have years to go if I have to pay interest. I feel really sad about it.