Quick question - dmp vs not!

National_Debtline

Hello Scared-sick

To be honest, I pay the minimum payments but I cant really afford them. Like I said, I have to earn an extra £200 just to get by on the minimum and I havent even included everything eg car tax, mot, repairs, anything household going wrong, clothes,any kindof leisure or entertainment, xmas, birthdays...the list goes on. Also If i cannot do my second job for example due to sickness etc then I dont have the money for food etc for each week I may be ill.

When you create your personal budget ensure that you set aside money to save up for annual costs such as your MOT, car tax and suchlike. You can also allow yourself a reasonable amount to cover clothes, birthdays and Christmas (granted the allowable amounts are quite low. The key with your budget is to ensure that it is sustainable - and that you won't run out of money part way through the month. Once people get into it they often find that working to a budget becomes second nature which will then allow your debts to be controlled in a manageable fashion.

I thought about my credit file getting shot to pieces but to be honest will that really matter so much. I want to be debt free and never want to get into this mess again, or is that unrealistic?

That's not unrealistic at all. In fact nearly everyone we speak to tells us the same thing!

wannabee_in_credit

Poosmate wrote: »

Jes, Wannabe, I wonder if either or both of you could tell me if you are able to save some money whilst being on your DMP?

Poo

Hi
You are allowed a certain 'emergency fund' in your monthly statement, which is money you can put to one side if need be to pay for the unexpected. The other thing is that I have a £75 a week allowance for food shopping, but if I don't spend that I put whatever is left into the fund. A pot can be built up, then if you have a real emergency and need the cash you can ring CCCS (or whoever it is) and explain to them and they allow you to pay less until it's sorted. It's actually much more flexible than I thought.

Also, it's about changing your way of thinking. I often wondered what might happen if I didn't have my credit card in case of emergency. But actually, that was what got me into the mess in the first place. I had an unexpected car repair bill of almost £400 two days before Christmas. I emptied £200 (all my savings) plus £200 current account and have managed to absorb that this month by cutting back on my grocery bill and kids clothes.
I personally never want to be able to get a credit card or loan again. If I can't pay for it then I'll have to manage without.

sickasachip13

Hi,
Going on the DMP has saved us so much stress and dispair! We've been on for 15 months, we kept an emergency fund from the start and, as others have said, you are allowed to put money aside for an emergency fund, there is also provision for things like vehicle maintainance etc. Also as w-i-c said above, if you don't actually spend the allocated amount on something per month, it means you can put that by too. We've actually raised our DMP payments over the time wwe've been on it and we still have an emergency fund. For us, we had 19 creditors and 17 stopped % completely and two brought it down to a nominal amount. This means that for the first time in some years our debt is decreasing and it feels great.
Do post an SOA so people can have a look, also why not do the CCCS debt remedy thing online, you can do it anonymously through their website. Then you'll be able to see what amounts you are allowed to spend each money - having budgets for some of those things was a revelation to us, we'd not spent money on some of that stuff for ages because we were too broke!
BTW, I did a short blog for CCCS MoneyAware about going on a DMP, if you google the info in my sig you should be able to find it.
If you do go DMP route make sure it's with CCCS or Payplan -these deliver the DMP free.
SAAC

scared-sick

Thank you all so so much!!

I have spoken to cccs today and I have decided to go onto a dmp!!

In one respect I feel like such a failure for having to do this but on the other hand I feel such relief!!

I cant believe I have to budget for things like hair, entertainment etc and they actually have advised me to do this! I feel like
this is cheating as i have had to go without for so long.

Can anyone tell me though if this will affect my mortgage? I have a fixed mortgage at present but because of the dmp and the obvious
bad credit score it will give me, when it comes to re-mortgaging, will I still be able to get one?

dazla

Starting a dmp was the best thing I have ever done. I never had any unpleasant call from creditors either, payplan dealt with everything, it couldn't have gone smoother. As regards re-mortgaging, your present provider should offer you a deal. The chances of getting accepted by another lender is pretty slim but for the sake of six years, (the time it would take for any defaults to be removed from your credit file) just stay with your current provider.

Daz

scared-sick

So if I am just at the very beginning of starting a dmp, when do I stop paying the direct debits to the creditors and just make the token payment? My next round of debts is due out on 1st feb?

Oh and thanks for that response Dazla, I dont mind staying with the company I am presently with as they are quite competative but just so long as I dont lose my house because no one will touch me with a barge pole!!

wannabee_in_credit

The mortgage is the only thing I have issue with unfortunately. I'm in the 'bad debt' part of Northern Rock, NRAM. I won't get a new deal with them and can't go elsewhere. Thankfully our mortgage isn't huge but it boogers me off a bit that I'm paying such high interest rates and can't get elsewhere. No matter though - small price compared to getting rid of the stress of other debts.
Good luck. I really think it'll be a weight off your mind - it took me a little while to feel better about it but I'm pleased now (regret that I didn't go in sooner).
As for payments I paid minimums right up until my first cccs payment so not sure about token payments.
Also check out the dmp support thread if you haven't already.

DFW2012

Hi - I have just signed up for my DMP today as well!

Just finished getting the paperwork ready to post off tomorrow and feel slightly better but still very nervous but its a start in the right direction. I will join the mutual support thread to keep me going.

Can I just ask a question please? I am going to the post office tomorrow to get my postal orders to send off for payments that are due, DMP won't start till 1st March, do you make them payable just to the credit card name ie Barclaycard and just send to the address on the statement? Obviously used to paying by direct debit but stopped all of those now

Thanks

scared-sick

DFW2012 wrote: »

Hi - I have just signed up for my DMP today as well!

Just finished getting the paperwork ready to post off tomorrow and feel slightly better but still very nervous but its a start in the right direction. I will join the mutual support thread to keep me going.

Can I just ask a question please? I am going to the post office tomorrow to get my postal orders to send off for payments that are due, DMP won't start till 1st March, do you make them payable just to the credit card name ie Barclaycard and just send to the address on the statement? Obviously used to paying by direct debit but stopped all of those now

Thanks

Oh im not sure about the postal order question, but im sure someone will be along soon to answer that for you.

I am not as far as you yet in the process. I am still waiting for them to send me the initial info (24 hours the e-mail said).
Did you choose the date to start your dmp? I want to start it as soon as possible but I still need to set up bank account etc.

DFW2012

Hi, well it was decided March because it's too late for February. Not sure if it could have been delayed more but I wantedmtomgetnitmdone ASAP. I have been reading on here for ages and ages and had some time of work a few weeks ago and got everything together. I made the initial call and had my telephone call tonight. I have set upa new bank account and changed all the direct debits etc. Just hope it goes ok