DMP Whats Best? CCCS Or Payplan

eyeopener2

getdebtfree wrote: »

Yes I hear you,

Just panicking about it all I guess

Thanks for all your imput



marcus

I thought I was having a nervous breakdown when it all happened (I probably was to be honest), contacting CCCS with this horrible sick feeling in my stomach but once it was under way I had such a weight lifted off my shoulders it was amazing.

Don't get me wrong, its tough going at times but you have to keep coming back to what mumsnopennies said......

whats the alternative?

E2

Time_to_face_the_music

getdebtfree wrote: »

Yes I hear you,

Just panicking about it all I guess

Thanks for all your imput



marcus

It's a real emotional roller coaster at first. I was panic stricken one day, elated the next, in floods of tears on the third. It's tough going at the start but it honestly does get easier.

I think someone has suggested it to you already but if you need any advice, experience and above all support, please come and join us on the DMP & Mutual Support Thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3723081

Deep_In_Debt

I'm with CCCS and have been since 2008 - nearly debt free now though - yay!

I went with CCCS as I found that Payplan tried to "sell" me extras which I didnt want or need and were quite pushy and that put me off immediately. Things may be different now though.

Took a while for things to settle, you just have to ride the storm for a few months. All this time and all but one of my creditors have kept the interest frozen.

Good luck.

getdebtfree

Deep_In_Debt wrote: »

I'm with CCCS and have been since 2008 - nearly debt free now though - yay!

I went with CCCS as I found that Payplan tried to "sell" me extras which I didnt want or need and were quite pushy and that put me off immediately. Things may be different now though.

Took a while for things to settle, you just have to ride the storm for a few months. All this time and all but one of my creditors have kept the interest frozen.

Good luck.

Thats awesome to know,

Being here suddenly makes me feel not so alone

and ready to face up to the task in hand, thanks to you guys

Luis_the_magician

getdebtfree wrote: »

Yes I hear you,

Just panicking about it all I guess

Thanks for all your imput



marcus

Your not alone buddy, i have just started my "Journey". Make my first payment to CCCS on the 10th. Used to bog myself down daily, working out the budget, checking my account daily etc etc, and since i sent the first batch of token payments and my DMP letter to my creditors, i can honestly say i havnt thought about the actual money side since. I make a weekely budget, based on what i have "spare" and stick to it, knowing that as long as i dont go over it, its happy days.

I think i must be a sadist, im actually quite excited to see which of my creditors give me the most grief etc and which ones play nice. So far 4/6 have come back saying they are sorry to hear about my posisition, and will assess once they hear direct from CCCS...

TSB the bank i have been with since 10, the one i have had loans with and paid off, are yet to get back to me....i would wager my house on it, that they are the ones who are going to be the most trouble. But hey ho, i cannot pay them what i havnt got. The worst case scenario is they CCJ me, and a court decides what i pay (which im guessing will be what CCCS are paying them anyway).

BRING THEM ON!!

antonic

In some ways the best thing that can happen (as did with me), is that your credit card debts get sold to a D(ebt) C(ollection) A(gency) DCA, who then freeze the interest on your balances until paid.

I have 3 debts as follows:

Cahoot (sold to Robinson Way) who have frozen the interest since Day1
Capitol One, froze the interest since Day1 and
HBOS (sold to their inhouse DCA Blair Oliver Scott) froze, then unfroze and then refroze the interest.

Remember that you have done the adult thing and faced up to your debts and are dealing with them, thats the hardest thing.

I now have 5 months to go out of the 84 months from when I started, so if I can do it so can you !

getdebtfree

2Cats_on_a_couch wrote: »

Hiya Marcus,

I'm a single mum of 3 and only work p/t as a lollipop lady (but my main income is from tax credits and child maintence). I have a £60k mortgage and £16k other debts (credit cards and overdrafts):eek:

I know exactly how you feel. For the past few weeks, I have felt on the verge of tears (anxious for years before that about the growing debt) and even a bit suicidal at times, wondering how I would cope with no credit available....

Last week, I got a letter from CCCS saying that they have set up my Debt Management Plan. I did a budget with them and they have agreed to take £250 per month to pay off my debts. It doesn't leave much to play with at all, especially as I had literally nothing for emergencies and the MOT on my car was due on Monday there (thankfully it passed without needing repairs!).

Anyway, I've realised I've wasted small amounts of money on a regular basis - an extra £20-30 per week on the food shop soon adds up. I was paying £62 per month house insurance until people on here told me it was far too high. It's now £15 per month. But in the 8 years it was too high, I literally wasted £4.5k!!!:eek: So you need to start looking at every penny and making them all work FOR you.

You will really need the help and support of your whole family. Your wife will have to appreciate the situation and try to get the household budget down with you. For example, I thought £100 per week for a family of 4 was reasonable for food/toileteries/cleaning stuff/pet food. I have had to half this. The last few weeks, I have only been spending £30.

Moneysaving will have to become a serious hobby for you all now. I've already got a few books on vegetable growing from the library and some seeds from poundworld!:)

I have also opened an account with my local credit union to save for Christmas. As soon as that plan is set up - see if you can start saving anything.

Also, go on to the site www.turn2us.org and do a benefit check for yourself and also see if there are any grants you can apply for. For example, I did and found out I had been entitled to council tax benefit for years. This also meant I qualified for a school clothing grant of £70 for each child (think of all the money I've lost as my oldest is 15!!). And if you earn less than £15-something thousand per year, the jids are also entitled to free school meals. That was something else I have only just found out. So already, I will be £150 per month better off (not including the £210 annual clothing grant). The extra money will be going in the credit union to save for christmas and emergencies.

Good luck and I wish you and your family all the best. Like me, you will probably be here for a long time yet! CCCS estimate it will take me 5 years to become debt free.

Thanks thats a really nice detailed post

Good tips there

Cheers

Marcus

Longhardslog

Hello

Hope you're all well and in good spirits.

Tomorrow I have a telephone appointment with PayPlan so touchwood it all goes well.

I currently owe £11,400 which is a combination of overdraft, credit card and payday loans. I've also felt that going about getting a DMP was like the worst thing one could do, but after having absolutely nothing left from my salary which I received two weeks ago I've finally come around to the idea of sorting my life out and setting up a DMP. I know it's not going to be easy but ENOUGH is ENOUGH.

Yes its my fault etc I put my hand up but sometimes out of sheer desperation my debts have got out of control. Payday loans are absolutely killing me off, they're all predators and myself and other desperate souls get sucked in to the trap of yeah get the money now and worry about paying later. Boy what I stupid mistake I made, but I've got to live with it and grow a pair.

I think I'm going to have some issues with Speed Credit who are absolute B*****ds - avoid all pdl vultures but Speed Credit avoid like the plague. I haven't fallen behind on any payments, yet my credit rating is shot anyway so the DMP seems like the best option rather than taking out more debt to cover interest payments. I think the DMP will relieve me of sleepless nights, asking family and friends for help to make payments etc. life is too short anyway and I just realised I'm not going to let these companies make my life a cycle of misery any longer.

So whoever reading this and if you find yourself in a situation where you're struggling to make payments, being left with nothing to live on each month, asking others for help - STOP and get some help from charities like PayPlan, CCCS it'll be worth it, I hope anyway. We all make mistakes the important thing is that we learn from them.

Would love to hear how some of you got on and thanks for reading x :j:j:j

Warmest regards

Ray - longhardslog

mum2one

I'm just about to embark a DMP with CCCS, I have 22k debt, and have tried robbing peter pay paul, being bullied to agreeing to pay more than I can afford, tried a self managed DMP, all no go.
I'm at the stage where CCCS have sent me the paperwork to send away, and make my 1st payment to them in Sept.
just wanted to say good luck with it. xx

antonic

Its a course of action you dread at first, but once you start you will NEVER regret it (So says me who has 4 months out of 7 years to go).

The hardest part I found was training my brain to the fact I was now living on a tight budget and that meant NO expensive treats.

One of the consequences of a tight budget was 11 months ago I gave up booze, and the money I now have to spend on other things is great !.

Well done for facing up to the problem and dealing with it !.