DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Find_The_Real wrote: »

Ok I have to confess I am way too fussy, I really couldn't go back to bagged and a cylinder as I am such a lazy person when it comes to cleaning but for those that are true MSE's, it looks like a great deal. I know, I should be slapped for such extravagance

Welcome Scaredandalone and wishing you all the best for your DMP journey, most of us on here only wished we had done it sooner.

Not sure about stopping interest Debtfree, I know my mortgage company still loaded interest even though they had defaulted my but not sure if that was just because it was a mortgage. Hopefully someone will be along who is much more knowledgeable about it.

Im a sebo fan, one click to change the bag and no washing cylinders out, bliss

HHx

DebtMagnet

....but I have a kind of urgent DMP related query and people posting on this thread are probably going to be able to help?

I am in the first throws of sorting a potential DMP, working on figures for budget etc. Reading this thread and earlier ones I can see that this is going to take a little while to get up and running but in the meantime we simply can't afford to pay all our creditors this month and put food on the table.

So for the first time ever last night I cancelled the final creditor direct debit for the month, which is a minimum payment to a credit card debt that should have gone out today. I now feel bad for doing it but if that payment had gone out it would have left us with nothing until the end of the month and would have also pushed us over our OD limit and then the bank charges would have started etc.

So I think it was the only thing I could do to allow us all to eat for the next few weeks. However I now don't know how to play it with the credit card firm. Should we phone or write and explain that I am trying to sort a DMP? Do we offer to make a token payment etc now to show willing? Or do I simply do nothing and pay the overdue amount as soon as we get paid at the end of the month and then start the official DMP communication at a later date?

Has anyone had this situation where you are pre DMP, but not officially in the 'set-up' stage with a recognised DMP firm (if that makes sense) and you have a problem paying? And if so what is the best thing to do to try and keep the creditor happy in the short term?

Any help appreciated as I have never missed a payment and now starting to worry that I have done the wrong thing??

Growurown

DebtMagnet wrote: »

Any help appreciated as I have never missed a payment and now starting to worry that I have done the wrong thing??

I would write to them explaining your situation and send them a token payment instead. Although your DMP hasn't 'officially' begun yet you have to start somewhere so you might as well start with this payment. You can make token payments for a couple of months until things get underway and is doesn't matter that your DMP hasn't started properly yet, as long as they know that you are doing something to address the problem and not ignoring it. If they hassle you just tell them you are entering into a DMP and they will be contacted soon by your DMP provider. I trust you are using a free provider such as Step Change or Payplan?

GibbsRule_No3

Mossop01 wrote: »

Hoping to get a little bit, just wondered if none knows will hsbc take the ppi refund off our debts we owe? Or can. Throw a bit at each of them? Or if I get enough (doubtful as I'm not holding my breath) whether I could offer hsbc full n final settlement? Is that against dmp rules as favouring one creditor over another? Sorry lots of questions I know

Mossop01 my PPI was from HSBC, I was shocked at how much it was for. Enough for them to take what I owed them in full settlement for my debt with them. Not sure if that was why I had no option offered to me. They then sent me the remainder, still a lot. With this I did a pro rata offer to my other creditors and when Barclaycard refused pointblank, I just put their share towards M&S who turned down my pro rata offer, but happily accepted the Barclaycard share as well. So you might be surprised how much HSBC pay you back. Good luck.

DebtMagnet

Growurown wrote: »

I would write to them explaining your situation and send them a token payment instead. Although your DMP hasn't 'officially' begun yet you have to start somewhere so you might as well start with this payment. You can make token payments for a couple of months until things get underway and is doesn't matter that your DMP hasn't started properly yet, as long as they know that you are doing something to address the problem and not ignoring it. If they hassle you just tell them you are entering into a DMP and they will be contacted soon by your DMP provider. I trust you are using a free provider such as Step Change or Payplan?

Thanks for this advice, very helpful and has given me a boost to think that I have not done a really bad thing!!

I would only go with a free DMP provider if that is what I decide to do but I have spent a lot of time recently looking at the self managed route to be honest.

Although our debt is very large it is split over only a handful of creditors and I think I could manage the admin myself.

I have come to thinking a self managed plan would probably suit us for a number of reasons, the main being that I read people's frustrations on here every day about the wait to get things started once a DMP has been agreed. Once we have a plan I'd like to just get going straight away as I really see no point in hanging around any longer (we've already put it off a few years as it is!!).

Also I think I would prefer to control when payments are made as again I hear peoples frustration at paying, lets say Stepchange for example, at the start of the month, then getting calls and letters in between them paying the DMP firm and the DMP firm passing the money on.

I know that the DMP firms are snowed under and that what they do is really good and it really works and so I am certainly not knocking them. I just can't help feeling that this is something I would like a little bit more control over.

I know many have changed from a managed DMP to self-managed but has anyone had success with self-managed from the start or not? Do the creditors take you less seriously if you self manage than if a DMP firm are in control? I have read a lot of good things about the NED-CAB system but not noticed anyone who has used it from day 1?

danidav88

DebtMagnet wrote: »

Thanks for this advice, very helpful and has given me a boost to think that I have not done a really bad thing!!

I would only go with a free DMP provider if that is what I decide to do but I have spent a lot of time recently looking at the self managed route to be honest.

Although our debt is very large it is split over only a handful of creditors and I think I could manage the admin myself.

I have come to thinking a self managed plan would probably suit us for a number of reasons, the main being that I read people's frustrations on here every day about the wait to get things started once a DMP has been agreed. Once we have a plan I'd like to just get going straight away as I really see no point in hanging around any longer (we've already put it off a few years as it is!!).

Also I think I would prefer to control when payments are made as again I hear peoples frustration at paying, lets say Stepchange for example, at the start of the month, then getting calls and letters in between them paying the DMP firm and the DMP firm passing the money on.

I know that the DMP firms are snowed under and that what they do is really good and it really works and so I am certainly not knocking them. I just can't help feeling that this is something I would like a little bit more control over.

I know many have changed from a managed DMP to self-managed but has anyone had success with self-managed from the start or not? Do the creditors take you less seriously if you self manage than if a DMP firm are in control? I have read a lot of good things about the NED-CAB system but not noticed anyone who has used it from day 1?

I have noticed that as soon as you say I am with payplan and this is my reference the majority accept this and wait to hear from payplan but can only talk from personal experience. It is frustrating waiting to hear from everyone but very happy today to receive an email from next saying they have received a payment just hope that means they have accepted payment plan!! Good luck

Danielle

Puzzcat

Hi,

Quick question if you please!! Have received a letter from one of my creditors today with a form for authorisation for SC to deal with them. I assume I just fill this in and return it to creditor?

I will hold onto it for a few days anyway as still waiting for bank to close joint account and until this is done I cannot proceed with sending info back to SC.

Thank you in advance...
Puzz. x

rizla_king

As SC if that is OK to sign. I thought SC had their own ones you or they send off?

andrar

Puzzcat wrote: »

Hi,

Quick question if you please!! Have received a letter from one of my creditors today with a form for authorisation for SC to deal with them. I assume I just fill this in and return it to creditor?

Yep, you might get a few. I just filled them out, copied them for my records and sent them back.

Puzzcat

Thanks rizla king and andrar for your quick responses! I believe SC probably do this when they send out the offers of payments but I'm not quite at that stage yet. So will send this one back to the creditor in a few days time.

Regards
Puzz. x