DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Equilibrium13

Hi all,

I have been reading through the threads, so much helpful information!

After burying my head in the sand for too long, I have had to admit defeat and get help...

My DMP has been set up with StepChange and my first payment will be on the 1st of November. My creditors are Barclays (overdraft/personal reserve) 2 Barclaycards, Next, Dorothy Perkins/Santander, Moneyshop, Vanquis and Aqua cards. I'm opening a basic bank account and transferring my salary and direct debits for utility bills etc. Barclays and Barclaycard won't be informed of the DMP until I have done this. So far I have found everyone at StepChange fantastic and hope it continues like that.

I have seen posts on here from people saying Aqua and Vanquis in particular tend to refuse to freeze interest and charges. I'm wondering if anyone has been successful in getting them to agree to do this and if so, is there anything specific you did to achieve this? And anyone with a payday loan from the Moneyshop, were you able to get the continuous payment authority stopped - and how does the Moneyshop react to DMP's?

Thank you

Puzzcat

Equilibrium13 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been reading through the threads, so much helpful information!

After burying my head in the sand for too long, I have had to admit defeat and get help...

My DMP has been set up with StepChange and my first payment will be on the 1st of November. My creditors are Barclays (overdraft/personal reserve) 2 Barclaycards, Next, Dorothy Perkins/Santander, Moneyshop, Vanquis and Aqua cards. I'm opening a basic bank account and transferring my salary and direct debits for utility bills etc. Barclays and Barclaycard won't be informed of the DMP until I have done this. So far I have found everyone at StepChange fantastic and hope it continues like that.

I have seen posts on here from people saying Aqua and Vanquis in particular tend to refuse to freeze interest and charges. I'm wondering if anyone has been successful in getting them to agree to do this and if so, is there anything specific you did to achieve this? And anyone with a payday loan from the Moneyshop, were you able to get the continuous payment authority stopped - and how does the Moneyshop react to DMP's?

Thank you

Sorry can't help you on the questions but wanted to say welcome! My dmp starts 1st Nov too. X

carlyfluck

Evening everyone,
well ive sent letters to Lloyds about stopping interest etc hopefully hear something soon. One of my debts on dmp will be finished this month :-) and we have finally finished paying back my husbands boss 5k that he lent us to pay off a credit card which will make us at least £100 a week better off so will be phoning step change to see if we can up our payments to bring down our dfd from 2020 to 2017....providing lloyds stop the interest.

Ive just looked at my noodle report too and all the debts on dmp are defaulting....will this give me a better chance to stop interest???

Thanks

in_debt_again_but_dealing_with_it

Hi

As member 9 of the first ever DMP and mutual support thread back in 2007 I would just like to let you know there really is light at the end of the tunnel, having started my DMP 6 years ago I am about to make my final payment and finish repaying £23,000. This forum was my salvation during many long dark, stressful hours and I'll be eternally grateful to Martin Lewis and his faithful supporters. Good luck to you all - you can and will get there xx

danidav88

Equilibrium13 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been reading through the threads, so much helpful information!

After burying my head in the sand for too long, I have had to admit defeat and get help...

My DMP has been set up with StepChange and my first payment will be on the 1st of November. My creditors are Barclays (overdraft/personal reserve) 2 Barclaycards, Next, Dorothy Perkins/Santander, Moneyshop, Vanquis and Aqua cards. I'm opening a basic bank account and transferring my salary and direct debits for utility bills etc. Barclays and Barclaycard won't be informed of the DMP until I have done this. So far I have found everyone at StepChange fantastic and hope it continues like that.

I have seen posts on here from people saying Aqua and Vanquis in particular tend to refuse to freeze interest and charges. I'm wondering if anyone has been successful in getting them to agree to do this and if so, is there anything specific you did to achieve this? And anyone with a payday loan from the Moneyshop, were you able to get the continuous payment authority stopped - and how does the Moneyshop react to DMP's?

Thank you

Hi

We are in our second month of dmp and vanquis and aqua have frozen interest and charges and accepted plan with no problems. Barclaycard and dorothy Perkins have also frozen all interest. Only waiting to hear back from barclays and next but hopefully shouldn't be a problem (and a few other creditors). We have a lot of accounts and a lot of them with the same creditors but all in all 21/30 have accepted and others are pending.

Hope this helps and good luck

Dani

Equilibrium13

Thanks for the warm welcome It's so inspiring to read people's success stories on here, gives me hope that I can be debt free too

That's great to hear, Dani that your creditors are responding and freezing interest, looks like we have debts with some of the same creditors!

Can I ask if you are with StepChange as well Dani and Puzzcat?

Good luck to everyone

esj13

Hi there,

I have just sought a DMP with stepchange for help paying off a few payday loans which have grown due to a period of unemployment earlier in the year.
A bulk of the payments are due next week.
Once the DMP is signed and sent off how long does it take for them to take over and contact the creditors? Should I contact the creditors beforehand myself and explain the situation to them? And if so what do I need to say to them?

Puzzcat

Equilibrium13 wrote: »

Thanks for the warm welcome It's so inspiring to read people's success stories on here, gives me hope that I can be debt free too

That's great to hear, Dani that your creditors are responding and freezing interest, looks like we have debts with some of the same creditors!

Can I ask if you are with StepChange as well Dani and Puzzcat?

Good luck to everyone

Hello again! Yes SC for me, they are fab....:D

*Foolish*

esj13 wrote: »

Hi there,

I have just sought a DMP with stepchange for help paying off a few payday loans which have grown due to a period of unemployment earlier in the year.
A bulk of the payments are due next week.
Once the DMP is signed and sent off how long does it take for them to take over and contact the creditors? Should I contact the creditors beforehand myself and explain the situation to them? And if so what do I need to say to them?

Hiya, StepChange will let you know when you're first payment is due, I would imagine now, it'll be be the 10th November, your creditors will then be paid on the 25th. November. StepChange will send you a template letter to send to your creditors to inform them that you are going onto a DMP and to give them your reference number etc. With that, I would send a £1 token payment to each (postal order or bank transfer I think are best) informing them you are sending this token payment until your payments start through StepChange.
Hope this helps and good luck.

Equilibrium13

Hi,

There is a template letter in the pack that StepChange send you, that you need to fill in and send to your creditors. The one that says upu are having financial difficulties and that SC are helping you etc. But if you are including debts with your bank or credit card debts affiliated with your bank in the DMP then speak to StepChange before writing to them.

I emailed my paperwork to them on sunday, my plan was set up on tuesday. I've found StepChange very helpful and everyone i have spoken to has remained calm and supportive when i've called with endless questions and worries. I have payday loans as well, they told me to write to both the creditor and my bank to cancel the continuous payment authority. There is info and templates on the StepChange website for that. I was advised to make a token payment as well and SC will taka over managing the payments in November.

Good luck