DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 8

Growurown

typhoo wrote: »

thanks all for your help! I'm going to stick to my guns and send one more letter to NatWest and then see what they do. They are so useless as it has been over 3 months since I first contacted them and got set up with CCCS!

We had a loan with Natwest and they stopped interest after a month of going onto the DMP. They did refuse our first offer of payment because we hadn't met their 'triggers' whatever they may be, so we had to pay a bit more. I'm surprised at the way they have treated you, because I have banked with them all my life and usually they are really efficient, so much for helpful banking! Yes stick to your guns and keep persisting with them and asking for interest to be stopped.

louise.shorty

Hi All

Have skimread some pages and it's nice to know I'm not alone! I'll try to summarise my story:
Have been using several payday loans fairly responsibly for approx 18 months but the last couple of months have gone a bit wrong. A fortnight ago I had 4 payday loans - then my 'friend' that I usually borrow a large proportion of my £850 rent let me down (which is perfectly within his right but had come to rely on him too much), so I had a week to find almost all my rent (due on 21st) I tried sensible options first - trying to get a debt consolidation loan - considered DMP but didn't help with the £700 odd rent I still had to find, so I purposely went out borrowing from literally anyone who would have me (knowing I would not be able to pay them back) to scrape the rent together, which I paid today.
The 4 existing lenders have so far all been paid, no defaults but the £500 a month interest is killing me. Now I have another 5 payday loans, so 9 in total,:eek: adding up to just under £3000 (none of which have defaulted but will be a different story on Friday). :mad:

I was hoping to find out how long a DMP takes to set up, I foolishly thought it was something I could do electronically this evening and tomorrow so that by Friday all my creditors would be aware that a) they weren't getting paid and b) a plan is in place and that they WILL get paid. But having read some comments it seems these things can take a few weeks?

I hope to call Payplan this evening so will see what they suggest.

I have 2 credit cards, one with Capital One (£750) which has very recently just gone over limit by £6, other Credit card with Lloyds for £3000 just under the limit. Also a £3000 overdraft with Lloyds. I was hoping to only include the payday loans in the DMP is this possible? The 2 credit cards min payment totals £95 per month and the interest on my overdraft isn't that high. I was hoping to keep these 3 'going' to keep my credit history looking slightly optimistic, plus I have so much built in with Lloyds e.g. travel insurance, phone insurance etc I really don't want to start again. The problem is with the payday loans not Lloyds.
Do you think I should e-mail/send first class recorded letter to the 9 lenders with a cheque/postal order for token payment around £20 each and say that a DMP is being set up shortly?
I will also cancel bank card so the companies can't try and take money, though having researched 2 of the lenders, they seem to still be able to take the money out without card details - so think I need to contact Lloyds to 'revoke recurring something or others' !? So that they can't continue to take money. Does anyone know what I mean?!
Meanwhile - I will move my wages on Fri to my other Lloyds savings (currently empty) account, just in case.
Any thoughts/advice gratefully received? I know borrowing from the extra 5 lenders was wrong knowing that I couldn't pay them (technically could pay all the interest rollovers but would have nothing to live on), so please don't shout. I was desperate to pay my rent, it's a single mother who needs my money to pay her mortgage so i couldn't not pay her, whatever extra interest and problems that has caused me.
Thanks.

dazla

thetateswife wrote: »

Hello Everybody,

I need your advice! I'm at my whits end, the debt my partner and I have amassed seems huge, i'm keeping myself awake every night worrying and I've reached a decision. DMP! Now I spoke to Payplan last week, and they took all my details etc, they called me back for the initial assessment that night, and then rang me the next day to go through my options and explain what my DMP payment figure would be. It all seems affordable. (well a damn site more affordable than our current situation anyway). What happens next? I've a phone appointment tomorrow lunchtime, what does that entail? When can we get cracking with the DMP? Do i start cancelling dd's and sending token payments? I'm eager to get cracking with the plan, it will mean in approximately 4 years (with frozen interest), or 5 years (without frozen interest) we will be debt free (massive sigh of relief) accoriding to them!


I just want to start, we're skipping payments/ missing payments, adding to debt to pay off debt at the moment, and i need it to stop. We already have no social life, our shopping bill is £30 a week, and the plan payplan mentioned (subject to acceptance) actaully means I'll have more to live on than we do currently - which might mean i can get my shower and hoover fixed - as we've not been able to afford to do that since they broker last year! AND we'll actually being paying our debt back, not adding to it!

Any idea of timescales? at the moment, I'm dreading the phone ringing, the post arriving, EVERYTHING! I need to take control, I need to plan and I need to start. I've already sorted out new bank accounts (myslef, my partner and joint for bills). I can get my wages transferred with three days notice (the pleasures of workign for a small affluent company i suppose, OH not so simple, but when do I start. Does it takes months for a DMP to begin, i don't want to miss debt payments for no reason...

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!!

All the best

thetateswife

Hi

Try not to worry...i have been with payplan for nearly a year, started with debts of £35.000, now down to £29.500. Payplan were great, i had no real hassle form creditors at all. I made sure I kept them aware of what was going on with payplan and just quoted the payplan reference number to them and they happily accepted that and dealt with payplan. I may have just been lucky but am amazed how painless and stressfree the whole set up of the dmp was.

Cheers
Daz

gizmo111

louise.shorty wrote: »

Hi All

Have skimread some pages and it's nice to know I'm not alone! I'll try to summarise my story:
Have been using several payday loans fairly responsibly for approx 18 months but the last couple of months have gone a bit wrong. A fortnight ago I had 4 payday loans - then my 'friend' that I usually borrow a large proportion of my £850 rent let me down (which is perfectly within his right but had come to rely on him too much), so I had a week to find almost all my rent (due on 21st) I tried sensible options first - trying to get a debt consolidation loan - considered DMP but didn't help with the £700 odd rent I still had to find, so I purposely went out borrowing from literally anyone who would have me (knowing I would not be able to pay them back) to scrape the rent together, which I paid today.
The 4 existing lenders have so far all been paid, no defaults but the £500 a month interest is killing me. Now I have another 5 payday loans, so 9 in total,:eek: adding up to just under £3000 (none of which have defaulted but will be a different story on Friday). :mad:

I was hoping to find out how long a DMP takes to set up, I foolishly thought it was something I could do electronically this evening and tomorrow so that by Friday all my creditors would be aware that a) they weren't getting paid and b) a plan is in place and that they WILL get paid. But having read some comments it seems these things can take a few weeks?

I hope to call Payplan this evening so will see what they suggest.

I have 2 credit cards, one with Capital One (£750) which has very recently just gone over limit by £6, other Credit card with Lloyds for £3000 just under the limit. Also a £3000 overdraft with Lloyds. I was hoping to only include the payday loans in the DMP is this possible? The 2 credit cards min payment totals £95 per month and the interest on my overdraft isn't that high. I was hoping to keep these 3 'going' to keep my credit history looking slightly optimistic, plus I have so much built in with Lloyds e.g. travel insurance, phone insurance etc I really don't want to start again. The problem is with the payday loans not Lloyds.
Do you think I should e-mail/send first class recorded letter to the 9 lenders with a cheque/postal order for token payment around £20 each and say that a DMP is being set up shortly?
I will also cancel bank card so the companies can't try and take money, though having researched 2 of the lenders, they seem to still be able to take the money out without card details - so think I need to contact Lloyds to 'revoke recurring something or others' !? So that they can't continue to take money. Does anyone know what I mean?!
Meanwhile - I will move my wages on Fri to my other Lloyds savings (currently empty) account, just in case.
Any thoughts/advice gratefully received? I know borrowing from the extra 5 lenders was wrong knowing that I couldn't pay them (technically could pay all the interest rollovers but would have nothing to live on), so please don't shout. I was desperate to pay my rent, it's a single mother who needs my money to pay her mortgage so i couldn't not pay her, whatever extra interest and problems that has caused me.
Thanks.

You need to move your money very early hours of the morning - payday loans start requesting funds at 5.00 am and be aware that if you go over the limit then lloyds can offset from your savings.
Is there another bank account you can transfer the money to and then draw out in cash until you have a new bank?
How much do you have to pay this Friday?
It is cancelling the continuous authority that you need to instruct the bank to do - take a letter into a branch tomorrow but be aware banks still misinterpret them and may still pay the PDL.

Have you done a SOA?
AFAIK all DMP's expect you to include all debts for fairness to cresitors, however a DMP is a flexible informal solution so there is nothing stopping you from setting up your own arrangements with the loans you owe but you need to know how much you have to offer them realisitically and this is where you need to do a robust and honest SOA to get you through this.

Time_to_face_the_music

thetateswife wrote: »

Does it takes months for a DMP to begin, i don't want to miss debt payments for no reason...

Hello thetateswife and welcome

Our DMP was set up within a fortnight and we actually made our first payment to CCCS on 10th Feb and our 2nd on 1st March. We felt much better for getting it going so quickly but a bit of breathing space may also have been a good thing. For example, we never had time to set up an emergency fund or to "practice" living on our budget.

The first few weeks are a real rollercoaster but being able to sleep at night again and not dreading opening the front door and seeing a pile of bills we can't pay makes it all worth while.

Good luck, you have taken the most difficult step, they all get easier after that one :T

louise.shorty

gizmo111 wrote: »

You need to move your money very early hours of the morning - payday loans start requesting funds at 5.00 am and be aware that if you go over the limit then lloyds can offset from your savings.
Is there another bank account you can transfer the money to and then draw out in cash until you have a new bank?
How much do you have to pay this Friday?
It is cancelling the continuous authority that you need to instruct the bank to do - take a letter into a branch tomorrow but be aware banks still misinterpret them and may still pay the PDL.

Have you done a SOA?
AFAIK all DMP's expect you to include all debts for fairness to cresitors, however a DMP is a flexible informal solution so there is nothing stopping you from setting up your own arrangements with the loans you owe but you need to know how much you have to offer them realisitically and this is where you need to do a robust and honest SOA to get you through this.

I had intended on trying to remain a loyal Lloyds TSB customer, however Payplan advised they can still help but can only set up a DMP if I include all my creditors. ! They explained that everyone has to be treated equally etc which makes sense. But that I could still set up an informal arrangement if I wanted to keep my bank.!
So I then call Lloyds to explain the situation, the first few people I spoke to were very helpful, cancelled my card, another person suggested I set up another current account with them so I had somewhere safe to put my money. Then I was transferred to customer support where it all started to go down hill. They went through all my expenses/income etc, which took ages - she then said yes I can clearly see your outgoings exceed your income you should try a debt management place like Payplan!! REALLY?!! I'd started the call off by explaining I'd already spoken to them & that they were suggesting a DMP but I was trying to remain loyal to Lloyds & hang on to some scrap of credit to rebuild in the future! It was clearly going in one ear and out the other.

If I were to pay all the minimum interest rollover payments on fri it would total about £840.

I explained that I'm writing to the 9 payday lenders to arrange payment but in the meantime I need to stop them from taking my money so that I can sort myself out. !I asked if they can revoke any continuous payment authorities that were set up on my bank so that money wouldn't continue to be taken then charges applied etc. she said categorically, no we can't do that. They'll just take the money & if you've moved your money or money isn't there we'll keep charging you, then eventually it'll go to our collections dept.
So by trying to remain loyal I'm clearly just going to end up in more debt. So at a loss to know what to do now. Will try bank once more in morning & hope I get somebody more helpful. Then if not will ring Payplan again & go for the full DMP inc LLoyds, sod them if they don't want my loyalty - i will pay them the minimum!
So I guess midnight Thur I will be watching & waiting for wages to go in, then transfer them to my mums account as all my accounts are with Lloyds, including one in my name on behalf of my son - I guess I should move that money too? Should I move the money then close the account immediately so that the lenders can't try to take the money & then me be charged? I will be e-mailing the 9 payday lenders tomorrow, to offer a token payment but am guessing several will still try to take their money back. Have heard lots of bad things about one in particular, Capital Finance One.
Oh well - stuff you Lloyds!
Wish me luck!
:beer:

Time_to_face_the_music

louise.shorty wrote: »

I had intended on trying to remain a loyal Lloyds TSB customer

Hi Louise

I had been a Lloyds TSB customer for over 30 years when I started my DMP, but I have found that you soon forget about loyalty to banks when you enter a DMP because they certainly show very quickly that your valued custom is of no interest to them, they just want to know how quickly you can pay back your debt and the interest on it :mad:

If you have an overdraft, you won't be able to close your current account with Lloyds TSB but as you mentioned phone/travel insurance etc, I assume you are on one of their premier fee paying accounts and you should cancel that immediately or they will continue charging you each month.

Transfer your money as soon as you can as a temporary measure, then open a new basic bank account at another bank, we used the Co-op and they have been brilliant. Change over your salary details etc to the new bank and then set your direct debit to Payplan and any other direct debits you need for rent, utility bills etc.

I wish you the very best of luck, you have already taken the most difficult step by starting to sort this out. No-one here will shout at you or condemn you, people are here to share their valuable experiences and hope others learn from the good and the bad stuff. Stick around, it's a great place :T

gizmo111

louise.shorty wrote: »

I had intended on trying to remain a loyal Lloyds TSB customer, however Payplan advised they can still help but can only set up a DMP if I include all my creditors. ! They explained that everyone has to be treated equally etc which makes sense. But that I could still set up an informal arrangement if I wanted to keep my bank.!
So I then call Lloyds to explain the situation, the first few people I spoke to were very helpful, cancelled my card, another person suggested I set up another current account with them so I had somewhere safe to put my money. Then I was transferred to customer support where it all started to go down hill. They went through all my expenses/income etc, which took ages - she then said yes I can clearly see your outgoings exceed your income you should try a debt management place like Payplan!! REALLY?!! I'd started the call off by explaining I'd already spoken to them & that they were suggesting a DMP but I was trying to remain loyal to Lloyds & hang on to some scrap of credit to rebuild in the future! It was clearly going in one ear and out the other.

If I were to pay all the minimum interest rollover payments on fri it would total about £840.

I explained that I'm writing to the 9 payday lenders to arrange payment but in the meantime I need to stop them from taking my money so that I can sort myself out. !I asked if they can revoke any continuous payment authorities that were set up on my bank so that money wouldn't continue to be taken then charges applied etc. she said categorically, no we can't do that. They'll just take the money & if you've moved your money or money isn't there we'll keep charging you, then eventually it'll go to our collections dept.
So by trying to remain loyal I'm clearly just going to end up in more debt. So at a loss to know what to do now. Will try bank once more in morning & hope I get somebody more helpful. Then if not will ring Payplan again & go for the full DMP inc LLoyds, sod them if they don't want my loyalty - i will pay them the minimum!
So I guess midnight Thur I will be watching & waiting for wages to go in, then transfer them to my mums account as all my accounts are with Lloyds, including one in my name on behalf of my son - I guess I should move that money too? Should I move the money then close the account immediately so that the lenders can't try to take the money & then me be charged? I will be e-mailing the 9 payday lenders tomorrow, to offer a token payment but am guessing several will still try to take their money back. Have heard lots of bad things about one in particular, Capital Finance One.
Oh well - stuff you Lloyds!
Wish me luck!
:beer:

Well the bank are wrng - they can and they must stop your payments

Take this letter to your bank or preferably fax it to them today - don't get into discussions with them just instruct them to stop payments.


Date:




Dear Sirs,

Account no:

Please act upon the following instruction with immediate effect:

No payments in any form are to be made from my above numbered account to

xxxxx


Yours faithfully,



Along with a copy of page 15 from this

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/static/pubs/co...ghts_guide.pdf
which says this

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/consumerinform...ights/payments

BlushingRose

Oh, brilliant (not)
Got a letter from CCCS today saying that Barclaycard (who had been fine) have no refused the new offer of payment from CCCS. If you remember, we had to reduce our payments to CCCS recently as our budget was too tight and we were struggling, well it seems that Barclaycard don't want the new offer. We haven't had communication of them as yet, or indeed from any other creditor about the new offer, but I'd though it was going so well...

MadelinesMum

Hi all I'm new to DMP and a bit worried (even more than usual). We've contacted Payplan (myself and my partner, who owes a lot more than me) and have set up a new bank account with Barclays but have not had OHs wages paid into it yet, so have not started giving money to Payplan. I could not afford the minimum payment on my Lloyds credit card so sent a token payment and asked for the interest to be frozen (used a template letter). They sent my letter back saying I need to make the minimum payment and they will not freeze the interest, and said I had to phone them (I have already had an appointment with my bank manager, which was useless). A few days later I got my CC statement which had charged me £12 for missing a payment and another £12 for going over my limit! Do I forward the letter & statement to Payplan or write to Lloyds myself? I have a Payplan ID number but have not made any payments to them yet.