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Gaia2014

Hi all

I wonder if somebody can help me. I'm on a DMP with Step Change. Owe around £12,000. DFD 2016/2017. My biggest debt is my student loan payment (not in arrears).

I want to take the student loan off my DMP, because it is taking the bulk of my monthly payment and yet it is the least restrictive debt in terms of creditworthiness etc. I'm not in arrears (was advised I had to include it when I set up a DMP with my other debts (which were in arrears)... I feel really down about the fact that psychologically the balances to my other creditors don't seem to be reducing fast enough and if the student loan wasn't on the DMP I would be able to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel... As it stands the list seems just as long

Basically, being in debt to the SLC doesn't bother me half as much as being in debt to DCA does!! I asked SC if they could remove the SLC debt and let me pay them separately, but was advised that this is not possible... I'm at a loss at what to do... continue as I am or self manage... actually seeing my debts go down means a lot to me and I'm not seeing that happen as quickly as I'd like.

Surely, SC have some flexibility in terms of including the student loan on the plan or not?? It's the psychological boost I need and at the moment that isn't happening....:mad: Any advice regarding this? Thanks in advance.

sourcrates

Gaia2014 wrote: »

Hi all

I wonder if somebody can help me. I'm on a DMP with Step Change. Owe around £12,000. DFD 2016/2017. My biggest debt is my student loan payment (not in arrears).

I want to take the student loan off my DMP, because it is taking the bulk of my monthly payment and yet it is the least restrictive debt in terms of creditworthiness etc. I'm not in arrears (was advised I had to include it when I set up a DMP with my other debts (which were in arrears)... I feel really down about the fact that psychologically the balances to my other creditors don't seem to be reducing fast enough and if the student loan wasn't on the DMP I would be able to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel... As it stands the list seems just as long

Basically, being in debt to the SLC doesn't bother me half as much as being in debt to DCA does!! I asked SC if they could remove the SLC debt and let me pay them separately, but was advised that this is not possible... I'm at a loss at what to do... continue as I am or self manage... actually seeing my debts go down means a lot to me and I'm not seeing that happen as quickly as I'd like.

Surely, SC have some flexibility in terms of including the student loan on the plan or not?? It's the psychological boost I need and at the moment that isn't happening....:mad: Any advice regarding this? Thanks in advance.

Self management the way to go, you can then choose how you want to approach the DMP yourself.
SC do a good job, but if you have a specific issue like yours, then it's best to deal with it yourself, as SC will take the approach that you have to treat each creditor in the same way, when that method does not suit your needs.

Gaia2014

Yes, I'm coming around to the idea now. Have drafted letters to my creditors using the CAB DMP tool... Just need to get on with it now... May make another couple of months payments to SC then switch to self managing (want to organise it when I'm on holiday)... I might do it before.. definitely going to do it though, making the same payments as currently :beer:

jimmy_mumu

could do with some advice and don't know where to ask.
question is : my father is dying and i've just been checking has bank statements and other letters. he has no estate to leave but does have about £3000 of debt. if there is no estate (all he has is his state pension and no savings) will I be liable for this debt. I've no idea how we are going to pay for his funeral either so any advice would be really helpful. thanks

sourcrates

jimmy_mumu wrote: »

could do with some advice and don't know where to ask.
question is : my father is dying and i've just been checking has bank statements and other letters. he has no estate to leave but does have about £3000 of debt. if there is no estate (all he has is his state pension and no savings) will I be liable for this debt. I've no idea how we are going to pay for his funeral either so any advice would be really helpful. thanks

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your situation.

Debt is not transferable from one person to another, so no one else can be held liable for your dads debts.

His creditors "could" possibly, make a claim against his estate, if there is a property, but as there wont be anything, it would be a pointless exercise.

You can apply to your local council for help with funeral costs.

StepChange_Jen

jimmy_mumu wrote: »

could do with some advice and don't know where to ask.
question is : my father is dying and i've just been checking has bank statements and other letters. he has no estate to leave but does have about £3000 of debt. if there is no estate (all he has is his state pension and no savings) will I be liable for this debt. I've no idea how we are going to pay for his funeral either so any advice would be really helpful. thanks

Hi there,

I’m really sorry to hear about your situation.

If a family member dies and they have debts in their name only, you shouldn’t become responsible for them.

If your father has no assets, it’s possible the debts will be written off. In a situation where someone has an estate to leave, this will usually be sold to help
pay off the debts.

You might find it useful to have a look at our bereavement and debt page:

http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Lifechanges/Bereavement.aspx

I’m sorry to hear you feel you’ll struggle with paying for the funeral. You might be able to apply for a Funeral Payment to help with the costs, you can
find out more about this here:

https://www.gov.uk/funeral-payments/overview

If you are unable to meet the costs of the funeral you could also get in touch with your local council to see if they can offer any financial support, as sourcrates also mentioned.

I hope this helps and if you’ve got any more questions you know where we are.

Jen

marcosdjcm

sourcrates wrote: »

At least with the DRO your debts are gone, you make no payments, and you won't have to worry about repaying the family member.

Yes your credit will be trashed, but you will be debt free, bear in mind anything could happen in the future, you may find it hard to pay the loan back, it's rarley a good idea to consolidate existing debt, I would think very carefully about the implications !!

Thanks for the advice.

I've decided to go ahead with the loan because:

1. It'll be cheaper monthly payments than I've been paying for a few years.

2. Having a credit rating for the next 5+ years will be more valuable.

3. I'll get rough rates for a long time on any borrowing.

4. I have a good chance of increasing my income this year and ongoing.


If I was stuck in a dead-end job I would choose the other option.

StepChange_Jen

Gaia2014 wrote: »

Hi all

I wonder if somebody can help me. I'm on a DMP with Step Change. Owe around £12,000. DFD 2016/2017. My biggest debt is my student loan payment (not in arrears).

I want to take the student loan off my DMP, because it is taking the bulk of my monthly payment and yet it is the least restrictive debt in terms of creditworthiness etc. I'm not in arrears (was advised I had to include it when I set up a DMP with my other debts (which were in arrears)... I feel really down about the fact that psychologically the balances to my other creditors don't seem to be reducing fast enough and if the student loan wasn't on the DMP I would be able to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel... As it stands the list seems just as long

Basically, being in debt to the SLC doesn't bother me half as much as being in debt to DCA does!! I asked SC if they could remove the SLC debt and let me pay them separately, but was advised that this is not possible... I'm at a loss at what to do... continue as I am or self manage... actually seeing my debts go down means a lot to me and I'm not seeing that happen as quickly as I'd like.

Surely, SC have some flexibility in terms of including the student loan on the plan or not?? It's the psychological boost I need and at the moment that isn't happening....:mad: Any advice regarding this? Thanks in advance.

Hi there,

Thanks for posting.

I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling down about your DMP payments.

The reason we’d recommend treating each of your creditors equally is because giving more to an individual creditor could be seen as preferential treatment. This could mean that
the rest of your creditors feel they could be paid more than they’re currently receiving and may be less inclined to reduce fees and charges, which can help you to pay back the debt more quickly. If your student loan was taken out before 1998, it’s likely it will have the same terms and conditions as many other consumer loans, which is why we would treat it on an equal standing to your other creditors.

You can read a bit more about how we work out your contractual payments and why on our Existing DMP Clients page here: http://www.stepchange.org/Existingclients/DMPclients/YourDMPpayment.aspx

However it’s important that your debt solution is sustainable, so if you’re finding your DMP isn’t working for you then I’d suggest you get in touch with us and speak to an advisor to see how we could help you. The advisor will be able to have a chat with you about any other solutions you may wish to consider, and give money-maximising advice which may help to make your current budget go further. You can find out how to get in touch with us here: http://www.stepchange.org/contactus Alternatively a self-managed DMP is a possibility, as sourcrates suggests, and you can find support on this forum from people who have chosen the self-managed route.

I hope this helps,

Jen

dpclark

StepChange_James wrote: »

It's an very interesting point. I'd hope it won't get to £5,000 but you may be right about the penalties for not paying being less than the additional interest of recycling (though I don't have exact figures to know for sure).

Please post again if there's anything you'd like help on.

Regards

James

Just a quick follow-up on this - after two years of asking McKenzie Hall and their partner company PRA UK for a balance statement outlining how the charges got so big, they basically caved and refunded me £400 as well as writing off the last £600 I owed.

Paul.S100

hi, we have several creditors owing a combined £30,000 on loans and credit cards. We have been in a DMP previously but decided to go our own way with repayments. We have sold our house and are living with friends which has released £16,000 in equity. Is it possible to contact the creditors and offer a lower figure than what is owed in order to settle the debt? Will this affect my credit rating?


many thanks if you can help