DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Find_The_Real

jenster78 wrote: »

Well, we have had a right a nightmare already trying to set up our new bank account. Went to the natwest and they want us to agree, sign up and move all our direct debits now. When we said we wanted the control of that they didn't like it. I came out thinking maybe they are onto us starting a dmp (not that it's a crime) but my mum raised a good point that they probably want to see what they can get out of us ie credit card, overdraft etc...

Hi Jenster, I moved over to Nasty West for my DMP with no problems, sounds like you probably just had one of their rabid sales advisers trying to get their points for the week. I opened the account and told them exactly the reasons for doing so and then just changed all my DD's and SO's myself so it is nothing to do with policy. Open the account and just be insistent about doing it yourself. However if Yorkshire bank seem better on the customer service side then go with your instincts and move the account over to them.

Find_The_Real

Hello Bev

Everything can be a bit of a nightmare and knowing what to do for the best, especially with the mortgage. Most companies are more keen though to go back to repayment and interest only generally means you are paying the same amount of interest as repayment is, just none of the capital is getting paid back at the same time. I would try and sort that if you can as like Bertman mentioned that is the priority to pay and everything else can be worked out around that amount.

Have a word with SC though and see what they say to do for the best as I'm not the best one to advise on mortgages

Mossop01

Woohooo growurown!! Fantastic milestone, great news!
Just checked online and updated signature, what a great feeling watching that debt come down. If we hadnt started our dmp when we did who knows how high that figure would have reached!!

Bev45

Thank for the reply, I'm going to speak to step change on Monday! There is so much to think of! Jenster I forgot to say that we e just opened an account with nationwide, I did it online and there were no problems, just waiti g for paper work now, step change advised us to open an account with a building society rather than a bank if possible.

Time_to_face_the_music

Growurown wrote: »

Woo-hoo! I have just been on line to check my latest SC statement and I have broken through the thirty thousand mark and am now in the twenties. Still away to go but we are getting there!

Fantastic news Growurown! :T

We will be breaking through at the end of next month from the £50Ks to the £40Ks and I can't wait :j

A lesson I learned from HH is target every milestone and then feel great when you hit it. My twin always has some brilliant advice

Time_to_face_the_music

Bev45 wrote: »

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies Bertman, time to face the muslic and Jenster! Yes Jenster it looks like we are starting this scary journey at the same time, hope you are ok too! We are planning on sending all the paperwork back on Monday. Thanks for the replies about the mortgage, I really don't know what to do, I need to speak to step change on Monday again. What scares me is if we cant change it to a repayment mortgage and then in the future the mortgage company try and change our mortgage from interest only and we can't afford it until these debts are paid off. And then when they are paid off when we try to change it to a repayment the interest rate will be far too high because of our poor credit because of the dmp. I'm not worried about our credit otherwise as I never ever want credit again!! Another option would be us if we just save the money that we would be paying into the mortgage our selves so we have a lump sum to pay off? As long as we can stay interest only until the end I think that could be an option without us having to change our mortgage! Sorry for the rambling, this is all very stressful!!!

The problem is that you won't have the spare money available to save as it will be tied up in unsecured debt payments unless you earmark it for your mortgage now.

Not sure if this has been properly explained by StepChange yet if you have only used Debt Remedy or had a preliminary call but all of your income will be balanced against your essential expenditure, then what is left over will be used to pay your debts. Have you already spoken to StepChange and provided all your I&E details?

After your normal essential bills, they have a list of target amounts for things like food, clothing, haircuts, leisure, emergency fund etc. You need to fit within these targets and while it's possible to apply a small "fiddle factor" to each, e.g if you don't have pets, invent some; if you don't smoke, you do now etc. The question is would this add up to enough to save the interest on your mortgage?

Do you know how much the difference is between your interest only payment and a normal repayment mortgage? If so, let us know here and we can probably easily see if it's do-able in your figures. If you have already given all of your details to StepChange, it may be a bit more difficult but it still could be possible.

Having said all of that, I still think it would be better for you to change back to a repayment mortgage now and get that money protected in your DMP. How long have you been on interest only, it is long enough to increase your repayment or extend the life of your mortgage? Did your mortgage company know you were in financial difficulty when you asked to change to interest only?

Sorry there are so many questions but it's essential to get the full picture before giving advice on this. Please don't worry too much, I am sure there is a way around this.

Time_to_face_the_music

Enough_Now wrote: »

Hi fellow DMPers

Welcome to our new joiners too.

I haven't updated for a while as work has been busy.

I've just been onto my online StepChange DMP page to input the correct debt amounts and there was quite a difference - negatively

Their calculations assume no interest is being added and it just showed how much quicker I would be finished if the remaining two creditors would agree to 0%.

Still, on the positive side, after six months on the DMP I have repaid 12.5% and my trusty spreadsheet predicts I will be debt-free by June 2016

I am due my annual review with SC in October. Can anyone tell me if you have to provide statements etc or is just done over the phone? I want to make sure I am prepared, so there are no delays in SC communicating with my creditors.

Many thanks

EN x

Sorry EN, I missed this completely yesterday.

12.5% paid is a fantastic achievement, I think we should all definitely celebrate each target reached :T

Am loving the trusty spreadsheet, I don't know where I would be without mine :j

Re annual review, you don't need any statements, it's done over the phone. Just have everything in front of you and you can use your original I&E form as a guide.

Pink-Angel

It's a while since I've posted in here.... I'm a way into my DMP now with an estimated debt free date of 2018 It feels like a long way off, I still have a lot to pay off, and it seems to be a rollercoster of ups and downs.

But I'm trying to focus on the positives. One being I've now paid almost £8K off my debts since the DMP started. Second is after a battle during the first 18 months of DMP with Lloyds I've got all the interest on my debts frozen so all my money is going to my debts and not to interest :T Third is that this has totally changed my attitude to money and debt etc, and I'm certain that when I am debt free I'll never end up in this situation again. If I can't afford it, I go without.

I live in a tiny flat (which some people sneer at me for as they make snide comments that at my age I should be living someone where 'better'). This does get me down but I like my little flat, and knowing that within my current situation it's affordable is also really important to me.

So although things aren't always easy I'm trying to focus on the positives, and another is all the lovely people on these boards.

Growurown

Enough_Now wrote: »

I've just been onto my online StepChange DMP page to input the correct debt amounts and there was quite a difference - negatively

Newbies this is really important. Your SC statement isn't always correct because the assumption is that interest has stopped but we all know some creditors carry on charging. It is important that you check your balances and update your SC info on a regular basis to reflect that.

Enough_Now wrote: »

I am due my annual review with SC in October. Can anyone tell me if you have to provide statements etc or is just done over the phone?

As TTFTM said it can all be done over the phone. I set up a spreadsheet based on the categories in SC's debt remedy section. They send you a copy of this and it is called the client expenditure summary.

I worked out all my annual payments such as car tax etc. divided by 12 to get the monthly amount, put in all the alterations to my budget (some things went up, some down) to make sure nothing was left out. So when I called SC to do my review I had everything worked out and ready to go and it didn't take long to run through everything. Hope it all goes well for you Enough Now.

Growurown

Mossop01 wrote: »

Woohooo growurown!! Fantastic milestone, great news!
Just checked online and updated signature, what a great feeling watching that debt come down. If we hadnt started our dmp when we did who knows how high that figure would have reached!!

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Fantastic news Growurown! :T

We will be breaking through at the end of next month from the £50Ks to the £40Ks and I can't wait :j

A lesson I learned from HH is target every milestone and then feel great when you hit it. My twin always has some brilliant advice

Thank you fellow DMPers. We started out with over £48,000 worth of debt, plus an expensive car loan. Well the car is paid for now and my Intelligent Finance loan came to an end this month too, so lots more money to go towards the outstanding debts. It is nice to finally see the total coming down.