DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

mon1o

Thanks Back on Budget thats really helpful. If they decide to refund the interest, does that get taken off the amount you owe? Theres a way to go I think before I get to that point but that would make a big difference if it is.

massivedebts

Hi Constantinople
With regards to Halifax, in my day Northorn Rock were the ones who everyone had trouble with, I was petrified about their response as we owed them a fair bit of money - we had no problems with them at the time and haven't since if you stay strong you'll be fine, don't worry too much about your creditors , there's nothing they can or will do so they may as well accept what's being offed to them, better than getting nothing. How tight is your budget? Have any payments been made yet to your creditors? If you need to amend it you need to do it sooner rather than later and before they get used to receiving set amounts from you.
MD xx

sam89

I've posted on the main forum but wanted to post in here too and say a special thank you to you guys:T and offer some advice and hope, xxx.

We made our final payment to Payplan today and I have cancelled the standing order and removed the payment from my monthly budget spreadsheet . It's been 6 years and 3 months of tight budgeting, small panics when things broke down, and lots of little achievements.

Our debt was huge (£104,000 :eek:) and mostly interest due to us burying our heads in the sand and using credit to pay credit. If this is how you're living just now please stop and get help, that magic wand never waves, the lottery win doesn't happen. Only you can stop the cycle and take control of your money. We only stopped using credit when it ran out and not seeking advice earlier was a huge and costly mistake .

For those who are starting out on the DMP path or thinking about it don't hesitate. Contacting Payplan was the best thing I ever did and we would not be debt free now if it wasn't for their help and advice.

One other piece of advice which worked for me but goes against most advisors on DFW is to talk to your creditors. The majority are so understanding when they see you are trying to do something positive to clear your debts and it's empowering to feel you are in control of the debt not the debt controlling you. The only exception to this was Lloyds who were complete sh**s until I wrote to their chief executive and complained :rotfl:. They were only allowed to contact me in writing!

The other thing I did was keep a spreadsheet of the actual balances of the debts which I updated from monthly statements. Payplan work from the starting balance so any interest and charges isn't shown by them until towards the end of your plan. It was very motivating to see the total debt reduce each month :j.

So, thank you DFW and particularly the lovely folk on the DMP support thread. It's been great knowing I'm not alone and the advice on here has been invaluable.

I'd like to tell you it feels wonderful to have finished the DMP and it does but it's also a little bit scary to be able to make choices with our money instead of just covering the essentials. I see more spreadsheets being created . I'm off now to have a look at ISAs and get going with saving :beer:.
Good luck to all of you, you'll get here too,
Sam, xxx.

Puzzcat

Samjangi wrote: »

Happy First DMP payment day for all newbies especially my twin Puzzcat. :T
It feels good to have got started. I have a loooooong way to go, but making the first payment feels good. I actually finished the month with some money left in the bank and had to keep reminding myself that this was actual real money and not just an available balance as have lived in overdraft for so long.

Hi Sam, And good luck to you and all the other November starters as well..:T

I also second your money in the bank... I keep looking at it..... I have also spent a lot of time moving it into different budget accounts.....I'm sure the novelty will wear off...:D

mon1o

So Ive had my review with SC just now, it went okay they were very helpful. My payments are increasing which brings my DFD forward by...........18 months!! So we are looking now (hopefully!) at early 2017 instead of 2019. SC have advised that I let my new budget take effect before sending letters, if the creditors then continue to charge interest even with an increase then I have grounds to complain and go to the FOS.

So today is ending positively which is very nice given how stressed I felt this morning.

Larac

massivedebts wrote: »

Don't feel guilty!! Don't forget you are giving up all means of credit! All you will have is the money allowed for in your budget. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone starting out it would be do not set your budget too tight! You can always increase it a few months down the line if needs be and your creditors won't bat an eyelid, but if you try reducing your payments it could jeopardise any 'freezing of interest' and arrangements you have. On paper the budget at the at the start always looks appealing, but remember this is it for a very long time, so please please please don't feel guilty, one day you may need that surplus
Mad xx

Hi Peeps not posted for a while here. - I agree that you need some form of surplus as when you are on a DMP you have no access to credit and there is always something unexpected that comes along and rocks the boat. I had to buy a new cooker in January this year and various essential appliances have given up the ghost and there is little in a DMP budget to deal with this. I have spent this year building up an emergency fund as felt I was living too close to the edge on the SC budget.

Samjangi

Puzzcat wrote: »

.
I also second your money in the bank... I keep looking at it....

I dont think I have ever enjoyed online banking so much

Time_to_face_the_music

sam89 wrote: »

I've posted on the main forum but wanted to post in here too and say a special thank you to you guys:T and offer some advice and hope, xxx.

We made our final payment to Payplan today and I have cancelled the standing order and removed the payment from my monthly budget spreadsheet . It's been 6 years and 3 months of tight budgeting, small panics when things broke down, and lots of little achievements.

Our debt was huge (£104,000 :eek:) and mostly interest due to us burying our heads in the sand and using credit to pay credit. If this is how you're living just now please stop and get help, that magic wand never waves, the lottery win doesn't happen. Only you can stop the cycle and take control of your money. We only stopped using credit when it ran out and not seeking advice earlier was a huge and costly mistake .

For those who are starting out on the DMP path or thinking about it don't hesitate. Contacting Payplan was the best thing I ever did and we would not be debt free now if it wasn't for their help and advice.

One other piece of advice which worked for me but goes against most advisors on DFW is to talk to your creditors. The majority are so understanding when they see you are trying to do something positive to clear your debts and it's empowering to feel you are in control of the debt not the debt controlling you. The only exception to this was Lloyds who were complete sh**s until I wrote to their chief executive and complained :rotfl:. They were only allowed to contact me in writing!

The other thing I did was keep a spreadsheet of the actual balances of the debts which I updated from monthly statements. Payplan work from the starting balance so any interest and charges isn't shown by them until towards the end of your plan. It was very motivating to see the total debt reduce each month :j.

So, thank you DFW and particularly the lovely folk on the DMP support thread. It's been great knowing I'm not alone and the advice on here has been invaluable.

I'd like to tell you it feels wonderful to have finished the DMP and it does but it's also a little bit scary to be able to make choices with our money instead of just covering the essentials. I see more spreadsheets being created . I'm off now to have a look at ISAs and get going with saving :beer:.
Good luck to all of you, you'll get here too,
Sam, xxx.

Congratulations Sam and very well done :j

I hope you have added yourself to the Debt Free Roll of Honour :T

Back_on_budget

mon1o wrote: »

Thanks Back on Budget thats really helpful. If they decide to refund the interest, does that get taken off the amount you owe? Theres a way to go I think before I get to that point but that would make a big difference if it is.

Our refunds were credited against the balance of he debts. We also got £100 compensation, which we could chose what happened to it. We decided to put that onto the loan account as well.
It was great to see the balance if th loan jump down by a large amount that month!

mon1o

Thankyou im definitley going to pursue this even the lady from SC said "dont let them get away with it" lol. My online dmp account has changed following yesterdays discussion and my new end date of 2017 is showing. So i am back to feeling better about things.

This process is such a roller coaster.