basic bank account

madison-nyc

Afternoon all ,

I'm a newbie on this section, got a lot of debt and it's finally come to a head when i lost my job last week :0(

been speaking with clear debt over the last week and we've decided to go down the route of a short term DMP then swap to an IVA once i have three months of payslips from my new job.

All paperwork is in and i've paid my first payment. I've set up a basic bank account with natwest and changed over all dd's etc. as we have both a loan and overdraft with barclays , they are our biggest ceditor.

just having a little panic now as i think i have a credit card connected to RBS which is natwest? is that right. I have a tesco card (rbs?) also have mbna, post office , amex and marks and spencer card.

Please don't tell me i need to have a bank somewhere else after spending best part of the yesterday on the phone swapping everything over?! :0(

downnotout

I would cancel this immediately, you don't need to pay a company to manage a DMP, pay plan, CCCS (recently changed their name) are free charities that will do the same as your fee paying provider. That way more of your money will go towards the debt rather than the DMP company. Secondly if you have lost your job are you sure you can commit to such a plan?

madison-nyc

it's only for three months and they are waivering the second months fee so i'm not going to be paying a huge amount in fees overall. they seem to have a good reputation and *touch wood* the service has been good so far. I have got a new job yesterday, start on monday, so as soon as i have those three months of payslips we'll go over to an IVA.

downnotout

From the clear debt website
It's worth noting that the initial DMP fees can temporarily put you further in arrears as almost all of your first two payments will actually go towards covering the administration and management of your arrangement.
That's a rip off.

madison-nyc

as i said , the second months fee has been wavered , we won't be paying that at all. As the dmp is only going on my husbands wage , we are paying £100 per month , so yes thay will take the first £100 then £30 of the next 2 payments , then we'll swap to the IVA.

downnotout

I wi say it once more, you are paying a debt company for nothing, you can get this for free from a debt charity, and will all respect they may want you to go on to an IVA because it makes this company more money. I strongly urge you to get advice from either pay plan or CCCS, before you go ahead. It seems to me they are taking you for a double whammy, taking DMP fees (again needless) and then fees for setting up an IVA. Please get advice from one of the debt charities first. You are lining the pockets of !!!!!hawks and adding to your debt for nothing.

rising_from_the_ashes

downnotout wrote: »

I wi say it once more, you are paying a debt company for nothing, you can get this for free from a debt charity, and will all respect they may want you to go on to an IVA because it makes this company more money. I strongly urge you to get advice from either pay plan or CCCS, before you go ahead. It seems to me they are taking you for a double whammy, taking DMP fees (again needless) and then fees for setting up an IVA. Please get advice from one of the debt charities first. You are lining the pockets of !!!!!hawks and adding to your debt for nothing.

I have to agree ....... you're paying for something that you don't need to - this money could have gone to your DMP (even if it is for only 3 months).

Are you then going to have to pay an arrangement / ongoing fee for the IVA as well?

Please contact one of the charities.

With regards to the bank account - you're right that you don't want your account to be in any way linked (organisation wise) to any other organisation you owe money to: Natwest is part of the RBS group so this wouldn't be good.

What about the Co-op? Their basic account is good.

madison-nyc

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I have to agree ....... you're paying for something that you don't need to - this money could have gone to your DMP (even if it is for only 3 months).

Are you then going to have to pay an arrangement / ongoing fee for the IVA as well?

Please contact one of the charities.

With regards to the bank account - you're right that you don't want your account to be in any way linked (organisation wise) to any other organisation you owe money to: Natwest is part of the RBS group so this wouldn't be good.

What about the Co-op? Their basic account is good.

Yes , of course i'll pay for the IVA arrangement fees, same as i would with CCCS. It's a seperate thing but as my dmp is under the same house and they already have all my info, id, creditor info, copies of all statements etc. it'll make it a lot easier to set up the IVA.

I've spoken to someone on livechat at cleardebt that says i'll be fine with the tesco card , as yes it's with rbs but natwest is still a different bank so they won't access the natwest account for the money for it.

downnotout

Pay plan and CCCS now called step change are FREE! No set up fees etc = more money off your debt = cheaper and quicker. I sometimes feel like there is no telling some people. Go ahead with clear debt and pay the con men.

madison-nyc

i'm not asking you for advice on who i choose to arrange my dmp and iva i was asking about the bank situation. I am fully aware of what fees i am paying , thank you.

downnotout

I guess we will have to agree to disagree, if you feel the need to waste money then that is your look out and for what it is worth regarding banks, I suggest you do your own research on the rules of off setting. I would not take the word of a fee paying debt company, who are only interested in lining their own pockets. Again another reason I suggested that you contact a free debt charity, they do not have a vested interst in keeping you in debt and could advise you impartially. If it was me I would not have a bank account with a group of companies that owe money to.