Quick question - dmp vs not!

eyeopener2

Hiya

I'm 20 months in now and tis the best thing I ever did, wish i'd done it two years earlier!

You will probably start your DMP immediatley to be honest but the actual payments will be due 1st Feb or around that time. I say your DMP will sart immediatley because you have some work to do in a) getting tha bank account set up, this is vital. b) sending your creditors a letter (CCCS provide atemplate) and c) sending token payments to keep 'em sweet.

One thing I will say, and I say this to every DMPer starting out. Do not worry about things that may happen, cos they probably won't, and if they do then you deal with them as they happen. eg your mortgage, deal with it at the time, not now, you have enough to sort out.

You will get loads of letters, just file 'em away, they are computer generated b*&&^"£%%". As long as you have told your creditors what is happening then ignore the letters. Idle threats usually.

Letters will suddenly stop one day.

Phonecalls - you will get them but be polite, say your on a DMP, quote your number and they SHOULD accept that, if they don't and start being funny jus put the phone down after politly telling them the DMP mantra which is...
I'm on a DMP with CCCS, my reference number is XXXXXX and they wil contact you with my budget shortly, goodbye.

Phonecalls will suddenly stop one day.

You have done the right thing, your life will change for the better (very little stress). Hey you'll be skint but your skint anyway.

The difference is, now your debt is (or will be) going down.

Good luck and if you want to say hello on one of the DMP threads here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3284382


we are a happy bunch who have been through everything your about to go through.

E2

DFW2012

Only had 1 phone all so far but that payment was due over a week ago
Barclaycard was due on the 19th and after reading about them on here not looking forward to hearing from them!

I just cant understand why some people's interest is frozen and some are not - oh well I will just have to wait and see......

JES_F1

scared-sick wrote: »

This is one of the things I am scared of. I really dont know if I can cope with horrible letters and phone calls and threats and stuff. I have a 12 year old son and he will panic if I get horrible calls or even worse people knocking at the door demanding money.

Do you think I would still get hassled if I managed to keep up the full repayments until they had agreed a date a reduced payment amount? That way they cant hassle me for something which they have agreed to surely?

Sorry ... Not been on MSE for a couple of days.

I've only scanned the other posts so apologies if I repeat anything that's already been said!

There's not a lot you can do about the letters as most are automatically generated. I tended to reply to all letters with something along the lines of, "You know I'm on a DMP with the CCCS, this is all I can afford, and I have to be fair to all creditors".

For phone calls, you can write to your creditors telling them not to phone you - there's a standard letter on here somewhere, I think, that you can use.

Once you've agreed a budget with the CCCS, don't pay anything more than you can afford until the DMP starts properly. This can be small token payments that simply show you're wanting to pay your debts.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

JES_F1

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?

Not really but you can have a small allowance for emergencies. I currently have £10 allocated for that in my DMP.

If something big comes up, you can contact the CCCS, explain the situation, and be able to make a lower or no payment that month. I've not had to do it fortunately!

I do sell stuff on Green Metropolis, Amazon and Play to get a bit of extra cash. I keep that in a separate bank account and try and keep that for a few extras at Christmas or a small treat or two throughout the year, but have used it for small emergencies too,