Didnt think I wanted a DMP, but think I might now

banks4u

Hi wanna be in Credit, did you get any defaults for taking the plan?

monday_blues

Cheers for that, it sounds quite empowering to know that you are in control. To be honest, although I plan for £200 groceries per month, for months I think i've spent about £100 bulk buying essentials in the first week and the other £100 is gone before I know it on other stuff/bills/budget items, meaning no groceries for the rest of the month, or Farmfoods couple of things here, couple of things there. Its no way to live, but worried the budget they set is also unachievable. Realistically though I think this DMP is the way to go, or IVA or similar, whatever is less harmful, as I will never make an inroads into repaying the cards, as only ever paying the minimums and they keep hiking the interest rates up.

I will check out Yorkshire, I take it you can do online banking with them? Can you apply online do you know? Thanks for all your words of wisdom by the way

dancingfairy

Hi again. In terms of bank accounts Co-op and Barclays will do basic bank accounts and are easy to get I believe). Don't know anything about Yorkshire bank.
In terms of your dmp - if something major happens - ie central heating blows up or car conks out and you need it to get to work then you let CCCS know that you'll need to miss your payments for a month or 2. Your creditors won't particularly like it but stuff sometimes happens and much as your creditors probably want the clothes off your backs and you sitting there with no heating or lighting thankfully we live in a more enlightened society now and actually they now that these things are essential Or you make do and mend or try and get something off freecycle/gumtree etc - ie a new fridge/freezer etc can apparently be obtained from these sorts of places.
I would definitely not sign up for an IVA - 1 CCCS would have recommended it if it was appropriate and 2) it is more formal and you are tied in to make the payments for a certain amount of time and 3) you generally agree to release a certain amount of equity in an IVA.
Your main choices are to try and struggle on robbing Peter to pay Paul or to accept defeat temporarily and do a dmp in order to get back on an even keel.
Best of Luck
df

dancingfairy

How many people are your trying to feed? What parts of the budget do you feel are unaffordable - maybe best to try and iron out some of these things before you start - as long as you are not being unreasonable then it should be fine. We spend about 250 ish pounds for 2 of us on groceries -I know we could probably do it cheaper though - maybe 200 if that gives you a rough idea although I'm not on a dmp.
There are always loads of ideas and lots of help on the moneysavingoldstyle board on here for recipes and cheap cleaning products etc.
Best of Luck
df

wannabee_in_credit

banks4u wrote: »

Hi wanna be in Credit, did you get any defaults for taking the plan?

Yes, I have (I think) 4 defaults so far from 7 creditors. I just wish they'd get on and do it so I can work towards my 6 years till they are removed from my file.
Fair enough. I wasn't sticking to the agreed terms.

wannabee_in_credit

monday_blues wrote: »

I will check out Yorkshire, I take it you can do online banking with them? Can you apply online do you know? Thanks for all your words of wisdom by the way

I do most of my banking online and over the phone. I opened the account in branch in person but their website is ybonline dot co dot uk. I have a basic bank account which includes a debit card but not much else...
I have no complaint with them at all so far. But I doubt anyone has complaint with their bank until things start to go wrong.

orchid2010

We have a Co-operative Cashminder account, you get a debit card and I use online banking which is terrific. You can set up standing orders, pay bills, transfer money and cancel direct debits.

If I need to pay money in I can do this at any Post Office which is a lot more convenient than trying to get to a bank branch.

We set up our account on advice from our DMP company and had no trouble and we had large debts.

Ellieseleven

We have been on a DMP for 18 months now and for us it has been the best thing that we could have done.

I too hung on for as long as I could before approaching the CCCS thinking that I could find a way out but eventually after throwing everything we could at out debt we had to admit defeat but we are so glad that we did!

We banked with Santander, we had a current account (with overdraft), mortgage, loan and credit card as well as a business account. We moved everything apart from the business account and mortgage to the Co-op, where we now have a cashminder account but we can create direct debits, pay bills and do most things on-line. I worried over the business account for a while thinking that they would dip into that but so far it remains intact:o. Our mortgage is fixed for another two years so we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

The CCCS have been brilliant and we have had 2 reviews so far, resulting in our payments rising a little but this means that our debt free date is also closer:T My car is on HP and we have a balloon payment of an extra couple of hundred pounds on the last payment but CCCS just said ring us and we can adjust your budget for that month if required. Paying off the car means that we can increase our payment again which brings our debt-free date even closer:)

We've managed our second christmas without credit cards and nobody went without! Even when my car failed it's MOT between christmas and new year, we were able to pay for the work as we have been putting some money away in a savings account:)

We've had our ups and downs but with the help of this fantastic site and the people on here, we're getting there!

The DMP has meant that I no longer have sleepless nights wondering where I'm going to find the money to meet minimum payments, I no longer dread answering the telephone, I will be debt-free when I retire, I have some savings, I don't feel like ending it all and I look forward to the future:T

I'm sorry for waffling on but just wanted to share my own experience on a DMP so far

Take care
Ellie xx

monday_blues

Sorry for the delay in signing in tonight and responding....a biit of light relief with Coronation Street was much needed! I am so grateful to you all for posting and giving me your opinions and advice.

I today phoned co-op bank and applied for a cashminder account, was a bit worried when she started asking about my credit history, but luckily it all went through okay. So I suppose that's another small step in the right direction.

I will get hubby to do the same so that we are prepared, if we definitely decide on the DMP after the interview on Monday.

What I was wondering today, when sat at work trying to work but couldn't concentrate, was :
Should we consider just one of us doing a dmp and the other one muddle by, so the credit rating isnt quite as bad, for the future I am thinking? Or is this a silly idea
We have one joint loan
2 credit cards each
additions account - me
both have overdraft

I have enjoyed reading about your experiences on a dmp, but was wondering dancing fairy, if you were in debt, why you opted not to go down this road, were you okay meeting your repayments, if you dont mind me asking? Some people seem to opt into this option and others not, I wonder what the deciding factors are, if the budget planner is just about breaking even or showing a negative figure???? Just curious, still learning on here,... and there's lots to learn. I want to make the right decision, that's all. Thanks again,

andy1886

I'm nearly 2 years into my dmp with CCCS with hopefully 3 years to go and it is the best thing I've done . I have a basic Yorkshire Building Society account that doesnot have a debit card but I have all my direct debits with them . With regard to my mortgage provider I told them about my financial difficulties but they reassured me that as long as I don't miss a payment then they are ok with it and indeed my fixed rate finishes later this year and my new deal will depend upon my payment history and my loan to value , so ensure you continue to pay your mortgage . My creditors all reduced my interest to zero but last year I increased my payment so Barclaycard have reinstated interest which eats up half the payment they receive but I am currently disputing this with them .Post your statement of affairs and members will offer advice as to where you can amend figures before you finalise your dmp and keep posting and reading this forum for advice and support from others . Finally when it is up and running you can plan the future when these payments are over and you can live on a budget and have these payments spare each month to save for the good things in life . Best wishes and good luck .