DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

kylie_smiley

Thank you - I'm feeling a bit more like my head is screwed on now. Its reassuring to have someone say 'that's what I'd do'

So I have a plan -

1. Open new account
2. Fill in DMP forms and send off
3. Send token payment to Debt 1 (due on 25th) and letter.
and somewhere in here (when I have my account number) call HR and let them know to change my salary over.

And I'm leaving the plan there - if I think too far ahead right now I think I'm at risk of imploding. Baby steps.

maybedmp

kylie_smiley wrote: »

Thank you - I'm feeling a bit more like my head is screwed on now. Its reassuring to have someone say 'that's what I'd do'

So I have a plan -

1. Open new account
2. Fill in DMP forms and send off
3. Send token payment to Debt 1 (due on 25th) and letter.
and somewhere in here (when I have my account number) call HR and let them know to change my salary over.

And I'm leaving the plan there - if I think too far ahead right now I think I'm at risk of imploding. Baby steps.

Sounds like a sensible approach - I actually wrote my plan down and put the dates in my diary that I needed to do things so that I could try and forget about it in between.

Good luck!

kylie_smiley

Thank you. You too. I have a feeling I'll be on this board a lot until it all settles down a bit!

andrar

kylie_smiley wrote: »

I guess I can take out my wages if the new account is set up and put them in there, leaving enough for the token payments?

This is all a bit confusing...

Thats what I did - I took my money out the day work paid it in just leaving in enough to cover what I knew was coming out before I could set up new direct debits. I went down the road and paid the cash into my new basic bank acct at co op.

kylie_smiley

andrar wrote: »

Thats what I did - I took my money out the day work paid it in just leaving in enough to cover what I knew was coming out before I could set up new direct debits. I went down the road and paid the cash into my new basic bank acct at co op.

Would I be able to set up a transfer for it with my current bank?

andrar

kylie_smiley wrote: »

Would I be able to set up a transfer for it with my current bank?

Don't see why not?

Puzzcat

Hi,
Still here, still reading...now on page 212 of thread 8, gosh you lot can chatter!!!
Lots of excellent information and a few nice slow cooking recipes retrieved!!!! (Did wonder if I'd wandered into the wrong thread by accident!!!)
Now have been thinking.....
Everything paid and up to date at home but, I have 4 cc payments due end of this month. It was my intention to scrape the cash together to pay these on my return but...dd' s list of school clothes is growing....shoes, trousers, joggers, coat etc... I'm sure many are in the same boat at this time of year and usually the good old cc would cover them. So am thinking of only paying the cc linked to the bank and doing token and letter to the other 3. The rest of my plan would stay the same for September. My question is it would mean if my dmp still starts 1st Nov some of my creditors would have 3 token payments prior to receiving dmp money...is this too long and should I opt for an October start (I wanted to stash Sept/Oct for e.fund)??
My car is fab, but is also 12 years old and also needs some work which I was told about at mot in June, so I was hoping to get this done before the plan started. Any thoughts?
I obviously don't want to upset the lovely creditors to much....
Thank you in advance for any thoughts/tips and wise words!!

Growurown

Puzzcat wrote: »

So am thinking of only paying the cc linked to the bank and doing token and letter to the other 3. The rest of my plan would stay the same for September. My question is it would mean if my dmp still starts 1st Nov some of my creditors would have 3 token payments prior to receiving dmp money...is this too long and should I opt for an October start (I wanted to stash Sept/Oct for e.fund)??
My car is fab, but is also 12 years old and also needs some work which I was told about at mot in June, so I was hoping to get this done before the plan started. Any thoughts?

I obviously don't want to upset the lovely creditors to much....
Thank you in advance for any thoughts/tips and wise words!!

Go on, I dare you!

I think it is a good idea to do token payments to the three. This DMP has to start at some point so why not now and give yourself some breathing space. Some people make token payments for several months it depends on their situation. If they have got behind on priority debts such as rent and need to catch up then token payments can be made for as long as you like really, although that would seriously pee the creditors off. I don't think it is unreasonable for you to start in November though. If you have a reasonable expense such as getting your car up to scratch they can't really argue with that.

Growurown

kylie_smiley wrote: »

Thank you - I'm feeling a bit more like my head is screwed on now. Its reassuring to have someone say 'that's what I'd do'

So I have a plan -

1. Open new account
2. Fill in DMP forms and send off
3. Send token payment to Debt 1 (due on 25th) and letter.
and somewhere in here (when I have my account number) call HR and let them know to change my salary over.

And I'm leaving the plan there - if I think too far ahead right now I think I'm at risk of imploding. Baby steps.

Whew Kylie - has your blood pressure gone down yet?:rotfl:

Starting a DMP is stressful but your plan is a good one. I had concerns when changing salaries into the new bank account as OH's work didn't do it, and I panicked thinking the bank would swallow up all his wages because at that point we had cancelled everything and written letters etc. However they didn't and I drew all the money out in cash and paid it into the new account. OH complained bitterly to the admin dept. in work who shrugged their shoulders and blamed the system!

I think it is a good idea to keep your bank in the dark until you are sure they aren't going to get any more of your cash.

Growurown

Debtfree_angel wrote: »

Hey all,

So the dmp is now set up although I have yet to make my first payment. I'm a bit concerned though as a couple of them are being (for want of a better way of saying it) a bit naughty.

I received a text from one of them saying that the balance had gone up by about £150 and that I needed to contact them to discuss repayment options so I called and reminded them that they already knew about my DMP and asked if they had been contacted by Stepchange - they said yes but then said that they often find that things take much longer through SC and offered me a full and final settlement of about £180 (which is some 300 less than what I owe) I said that I would discuss with SC and they advised me not to and just to pay. Am I right in thinking that they just want me to pay up??

The second one is that I've received a letter from another company indicating that they are applying to a court to pursue the debt - they too have been contacted by Stepchange - can they do this?

Hi Debtfree angel. It is not uncommon for creditors to pile on charges etc. at the beginning of a DMP and it can take a couple of months before some of them stop charging. Yes they just want you to pay up and I have heard this said before by creditors that Step Change take a long time blah, blah, blah. It's all scare tactics they just want their money.

The court thing - again probably scare tactics. The thought of going to court really freaks people out and creditors use this to try to get you to pay up. I very much doubt it would go to court especially as you are with Step Change. There wouldn't be any point in them taking you to court they can't get any more money out of you, and you are being responsible and dealing with your debt. In my experience court is usually the last resort when people haven't paid anything or set up plans and then not stuck to them.