DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Equilibrium13

Thanks sazzie and Find The Real, this website is amazing and so supportive!

Dani i hope shop direct come to their senses soon!! I have an account with littlewoods that i was going to include but it was a small amount outstanding and i will be able clear it in nov as am getting a bit of overtime pay. So glad i decided to do that as they would no doubt have been difficult and the debt would have snowballed!

esj13 i haven't done the token payments yet but going to sort it out today. It's going to be a measly £1 in my case - SC said this is fine, whatever you can afford, but i guess no more than what SC will offer them. They said bank transfer or postal order is fine. A cheque only if you are keeping the same bank account, which i'm not. Great to hear that your bank was helpful about cancelling the CPA. I wrote to mine but will call them to make sure it's done before the first dreaded cheque is banked at the end of next week.

Seems there is quite a few of us in the process of starting a DMP, i'm so grateful to have found this thread, thank you all and good luck!!

hopeful_at_last

Equilibrium13 wrote: »

Thanks sazzie and Find The Real, this website is amazing and so supportive!

Dani i hope shop direct come to their senses soon!! I have an account with littlewoods that i was going to include but it was a small amount outstanding and i will be able clear it in nov as am getting a bit of overtime pay. So glad i decided to do that as they would no doubt have been difficult and the debt would have snowballed!

esj13 i haven't done the token payments yet but going to sort it out today. It's going to be a measly £1 in my case - SC said this is fine, whatever you can afford, but i guess no more than what SC will offer them. They said bank transfer or postal order is fine. A cheque only if you are keeping the same bank account, which i'm not. Great to hear that your bank was helpful about cancelling the CPA. I wrote to mine but will call them to make sure it's done before the first dreaded cheque is banked at the end of next week.

Seems there is quite a few of us in the process of starting a DMP, i'm so grateful to have found this thread, thank you all and good luck!!

good luck with your journey too Eq and all you other newbies like me, onward n upwards:T

fermi

Any tips appreciated ---> Date of Halifax default - inaccurate? Can it be changed?

Sazzie23

anywayout wrote: »

Hi

thanks everyone for your replies. I called cheque centre yesterday and spoke to yet another one of their goons and im ashamed to admit had a right go at them!!! Told them I was not trying to not pay them that stepchange had contacted them and a payment would be with them soon. He did confirm that they had received stepchange's paperwork and that it was getting processed and that the text must have just 'crossed' I dont trust them so will fess up to my friends this weekend - I couldnt face it last night :-( god these people are horrible!! Back to feeling like a chump for ever getting involved with them :-( I will be sending the letters mentioned about harrassment on Monday recorded delivery. Thanks everyone for your support xx

Amazing anyway, you handled this sooo well, being straight with your mates will take the pressure off too, I hope it goes well.

Keep chin up - you are getting there

Sazzie23

hopeful_at_last wrote: »

So today I have plucked up the courage to get in touch with payplan. I have felt sick all week and tossed and turned with worry...about getting in touch and having to tell someone you are in debt. I left a message on their site last night and they rang me this morning. A lovely lady called Nikki booked me in with Steve who went through all my income and expenditure and my debts of £10900 :eek:
I have decided on a DMP as I really didnt want to go down the IVA route. Hopefully I will be debt free in 5 years or so...
Someone is ringing me back on Monday to finalise ....hope it will all be ok
I still feel sick but i'm so glad I have taken the first step

It gets better hopeful, and the sick feeling does pass eventually, 5 years is not a lifetime and you have earned a good sleep, sleep well.

Sazzie23

Debtfreeday wrote: »

Yes we realise that this is the end of any credit for c11 years - but there is actually something very appealing about this, and it's better than BR (although we may still have IVA) as I can continue earning decent money and pay off sooner potentially. We are not worried about getting credit or changing the mortgage just getting to a point were we finally have our disposable income to ourselves - so long as we can hold onto the house and get a current account with a debit card and no overdraft we can make if work (IF the creditors play ball on the interest - if not I will present them with a choice:

1. Accept the SC offer and freeze interest = 100% of the capital nd interest to date paid

2. Force me into an IVA = c30 - 40p in the pound over the same period

3. Force bankruptcy likely nothing - we have no assets little or no equity in the property, and even with a payment order likely to release only 10 - 30p in the pound over 3 years

But I'm not an expert so no idea how successful we will be?

Hi debtfree

Good work, sounds like you have considered the possibilities, I just think the reality of having no credit when you have lived a (what seems to me -apologies if I am wrong) relatively high finance lifestyle is harsh reality. Make sure your budgets are in place for stuff like insurance and car repairs. As someone who had a good credit rating which suddenly crashed I found the no credit road a really tough one...no new mobile phone contracts, no paying insurance on credit, unable to re-mortgage etc. if it was easy you probably wouldn't have got the level of debt you do. The real downer for me was when I found I was unable to apply for a job with the commissioners for the occupation I am in because I have a DMP. :mad::mad::(
And what do you do when a disaster happens...like car fails MoT, plumbing goes up the spout, roof falls in or whatever ?

I think the creditors would likely go DMP but who knows? And of course there will likely be different reaction from different creditors.
My highest debt is now frozen but the smallest one still charge me interest :mad: dunno about their logic, maybe one of the more experienced folk can answer that one.
Good luck with whatever you decide, despite the downside I know that DMP has saved my life.

Debtfreeday

Sazzie23 wrote: »

Hi debtfree

Good work, sounds like you have considered the possibilities, I just think the reality of having no credit when you have lived a (what seems to me -apologies if I am wrong) relatively high finance lifestyle is harsh reality. Make sure your budgets are in place for stuff like insurance and car repairs. As someone who had a good credit rating which suddenly crashed I found the no credit road a really tough one...no new mobile phone contracts, no paying insurance on credit, unable to re-mortgage etc. if it was easy you probably wouldn't have got the level of debt you do. The real downer for me was when I found I was unable to apply for a job with the commissioners for the occupation I am in because I have a DMP. :mad::mad::(
And what do you do when a disaster happens...like car fails MoT, plumbing goes up the spout, roof falls in or whatever ?

I think the creditors would likely go DMP but who knows? And of course there will likely be different reaction from different creditors.
My highest debt is now frozen but the smallest one still charge me interest :mad: dunno about their logic, maybe one of the more experienced folk can answer that one.
Good luck with whatever you decide, despite the downside I know that DMP has saved my life.

Thanks for the support and advice - I guess we are lucky in a way that we are already leading a budget type lifestyle for 2 years now, the majority of our debt originated 5 - 6 years ago, and we have really only been servicing the interest. It's funny (sort of) as I was talking to Step change and actually facing up to the full enormity of the debt, looking round our house and thinking - where did it all go?

So this change for us is more about not just servicing the interest forever, and more about paying back as much as possible, and working to a budget, like most sensible people seem perfectly able to do.

The car insurance is something I thought about, I wasn't sure if monthly payments were 'credit' but of course I guess they are. Well this is part of the plan - actually looking ahead and planning in advance - something we should always have been doing.

Not sure how we are going to cope with emergencies, we have some good family support, but also Step change have allowed us to keep our insurance policies in the budget (boiler repairs, household emergencies etc), but we know that there will always be the unexpected / unplanned costs that we would have historically said "just stick it on the card" well - other people manage without having to do that so we must also, but you're right I'm under no illusion this is going to be easy and it will require tenacity and perseverance, and there will be (have already been), tears, tantrums, highs lows and heavenly blows - but like it or not we got ourselves into this and now we have to do the right thing as much as possible to get ourselves out.

Also - can I ask (please don't answer if you feel uncomfortable) - what sector do you work in (re: your comment about job) ? I don't work in 'finance' but do often act as an advisor for commercial and financial matters, I have never seen or written (I have written a lot of employment contracts in my time) any roles (other than exec / statutory director roles) that have any reference to personal financial circumstances. Maintaining my income level is important to driving our completion date, so it would be useful to understand if this DMP could have any adverse impact on employment.

Thanks again - and to the unsung 100's who post and advise here.

Samjangi

Samjangi wrote: »

Just opened a letter from Santander re my loan saying they are going to be charging me the same interest! Is it too soon to fire off a please lower/freeze interest letter? A bit gutted as 6/9 of our debts are with them....does not bode well. And to think I gave them my loyal custom for the last 25 years:mad:
Any help or advise gratefully received.

Well I am a numpty! DH just patiently reminded me this is a loan and not a CC and so of course the interest has already been added! So the fact that they are not changing the interest is a positive thing as they are saying they are not going to add further interest. Honestly I am an intelligent woman

FreyaWillow

Hi Everyone

I am new here and I've never posted before. I have been really silly and got myself into trouble with a number of payday loan firms and in total I owe them £2532 including interest. I had a couple of unexpected large bills over a couple of months which I stupidly took out payday loans to cover. I have been paying them back but I got into the trap of taking out more loans just to be able to afford to pay my rent etc each month. I haven't defaulted or missed a payment on anything yet but obviously I cannot go like this. My repayments for this month would leave me with 2p to last the rest of the month. I have contacted Step Change and they have recommended a DMP. I've just completed the paperwork and will be sending it off in the morning. I am completely terrified of what will happen though and I'm kicking myself for ending up in this situation.

To make matters worse I am currently suffering from clinical depression and the worry of how I am going to deal with this is crippling me. I doubt think I can handle the phone calls Does anyone have any advice? I am terrified of them hassling me all day and especially of them ringing me at work.

I know it's my debt and I completely take responsibility for the money I owe and I want to pay it back as quickly as possible and I will be selling as many of my possessions as I can. I can't talk to my family about this and I'm afraid of them finding out. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

*Foolish*

FreyaWillow wrote: »

Hi Everyone

I am new here and I've never posted before. I have been really silly and got myself into trouble with a number of payday loan firms and in total I owe them £2532 including interest. I had a couple of unexpected large bills over a couple of months which I stupidly took out payday loans to cover. I have been paying them back but I got into the trap of taking out more loans just to be able to afford to pay my rent etc each month. I haven't defaulted or missed a payment on anything yet but obviously I cannot go like this. My repayments for this month would leave me with 2p to last the rest of the month. I have contacted Step Change and they have recommended a DMP. I've just completed the paperwork and will be sending it off in the morning. I am completely terrified of what will happen though and I'm kicking myself for ending up in this situation.

To make matters worse I am currently suffering from clinical depression and the worry of how I am going to deal with this is crippling me. I doubt think I can handle the phone calls Does anyone have any advice? I am terrified of them hassling me all day and especially of them ringing me at work.

I know it's my debt and I completely take responsibility for the money I owe and I want to pay it back as quickly as possible and I will be selling as many of my possessions as I can. I can't talk to my family about this and I'm afraid of them finding out. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Hello and welcome. You're in the best place for some great help and advice, most of the advice I give, is what I have received myself from this forum or from my personal experience from my DMP which I started earlier this year.
First off, you've done the right thing acknowledging you're in difficulties and contacting StepChange, secondly try not to worry, I know it's hard, but it's not going to be as bad as you may think. Out of my 19 creditors, 5 were payday loans, since entering my DMP I have had calls from only one of them, however, I chose to ignore them, never answered (I tend to not answer my phone unless it's a stored number anyway, if it's important, they'll leave a message!) Anyway, I sent them a letter asking them to stop calling me and outlining the fact that I was on a DMP with StepChange, the calls stopped with immediate effect. StepChange will send you template letters to send to your creditors, to inform them you are going into a DMP, along with this letter, I would also include that you would only like to be contacted via letter and that you wish for them to remove all contact telephone numbers from their systems (there is no guarantee they'll do this, but as you have requested it, it would stand you in good stead for making a complaint of harassment) Send all letters recorded delivery.
I'm sure StepChange will have advised you, but make sure you cancel all continuous payment authorities with your bank and your creditors ASAP. Better still, get a new bank account to have your funds paid into so there's no way of them touching it.
I hope this helps alleviate some of your concerns, if you're worried about anything through the process just come back here and ask the questions, someone will always have an answer.
Best of luck in your debt free journey.