DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Back_on_budget

*Foolish* wrote: »

Argh Lloyds are taking the absolute mick!...

01 Nov 13 O/D USAGE FEE CHG -6.00 -1,474.41
01 Nov 13 UNPLANNED O/D FEES CHG -80.00 -1,468.41
01 Nov 13 O/DRAFT INTEREST CHG -20.59 -1,388.41
25 Oct 13 CDR-DMC PAYMENTS FPI +50.80 -1,367.82

They've now reduced my overdraft limit to £1290 and the current balance is £1474.41. Thanks for that Lloyds!! Hopefully some notice will be paid of the complaint letter I sent this week!

They did this to me repeatedly. It took a while, but the complaint eventually got through.

If you letter doesn't work, try emailing ben.taylor@lloydstsb.co.uk. He works in Group Executive Complaints.

It is completely unreasonable for the Them make charges for unplanned overdrafts when it is them reducing the overdraft that caused it to happen.

*Foolish*

Back_on_budget wrote: »

They did this to me repeatedly. It took a while, but the complaint eventually got through.

If you letter doesn't work, try emailing ben.taylor@lloydstsb.co.uk. He works in Group Executive Complaints.

It is completely unreasonable for the Them make charges for unplanned overdrafts when it is them reducing the overdraft that caused it to happen.

Thanks for that! I'll see what response I get from this letter! It's a joke!

alyxzandra

Grrrr....On a DMP with Stepchange and our DFD is sometime in 2019 and I want to make it sooner. In January and February we will have an extra £234 as we will not need to pay our council tax for those two months. I want to pay off two very small debts that will total £143 and knock off two debts with one creditor off our list. OH does not want to do this as he says we need money in our pockets and just let the DMP go on. He does not see that it will make any difference, but that will free up an extra £10 a month to go towards other creditors. In July money I am paying back will be finished and it is £75 a month that I want to throw towards the DMP and it is the same thing. He says it is more important for money to be in our pockets. It took me over a year to get him to agree to a DMP and we would have so much more paid off if he listened to me. It took us having no money left in the bank before he finally agreed. I love him to bits, but he is so rigid. But, I am just going to pay off the two debts and have done with it.

*Foolish*

alyxzandra wrote: »

Grrrr....On a DMP with Stepchange and our DFD is sometime in 2019 and I want to make it sooner. In January and February we will have an extra £234 as we will not need to pay our council tax for those two months. I want to pay off two very small debts that will total £143 and knock off two debts with one creditor off our list. OH does not want to do this as he says we need money in our pockets and just let the DMP go on. He does not see that it will make any difference, but that will free up an extra £10 a month to go towards other creditors. In July money I am paying back will be finished and it is £75 a month that I want to throw towards the DMP and it is the same thing. He says it is more important for money to be in our pockets. It took me over a year to get him to agree to a DMP and we would have so much more paid off if he listened to me. It took us having no money left in the bank before he finally agreed. I love him to bits, but he is so rigid. But, I am just going to pay off the two debts and have done with it.

I feel your frustration, my OH is exactly the same. :mad: So annoying! I can't offer much advice I'm afraid, but good for you for sticking to your guns.

alyxzandra

*Foolish* wrote: »

I feel your frustration, my OH is exactly the same. :mad: So annoying! I can't offer much advice I'm afraid, but good for you for sticking to your guns.

I am not going to listen. I will just pay them off and another small loan. I want to be out of debt by 2017, not 2019!

Hopelessly_Hopeful

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.

It's really scary how that interest adds up and up isn't it?

Good luck for your debt free future.

HHx

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Morning all

Hope newbies all ok. Congratulations to those with first payments going out.

HHx

Fed_up_and_forty

Hi everyone, his is my first post I have been reading this forum for the last year or so knowing that I have to do a dmp sooner rather than later, but somehow always got by. Now I am not getting by and have made the move and filled in the info on the internet for stepchange and the forms are in the post but I an terrified of what's next. I am, well me and hubby, have managed to accrue a staggering £62,000 worth of debt. It has taken over my life, trying to pay all the debts is all I think of but I am more scared of all the phone calls and letters that I will receive than I am of the debt itself. I can't sleep and I can't seem to concentrate on the task at hand. I read all the posts of people who are almost debt free and that is what I want more than anything but I am scared that my creditors, mostly Lloyds and Halifax won't stop interest and are horrible to me.. I guess I am worn out by all the juggling of bills I have done over the last couple of years I font know if I'm up to the fight with the creditors to stop interest and if they don't stop interest we will never be debt free. I am forty in July and I want life back. I am sorry for rambling.

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Fed_up_and_forty wrote: »

Hi everyone, his is my first post I have been reading this forum for the last year or so knowing that I have to do a dmp sooner rather than later, but somehow always got by. Now I am not getting by and have made the move and filled in the info on the internet for stepchange and the forms are in the post but I an terrified of what's next. I am, well me and hubby, have managed to accrue a staggering £62,000 worth of debt. It has taken over my life, trying to pay all the debts is all I think of but I am more scared of all the phone calls and letters that I will receive than I am of the debt itself. I can't sleep and I can't seem to concentrate on the task at hand. I read all the posts of people who are almost debt free and that is what I want more than anything but I am scared that my creditors, mostly Lloyds and Halifax won't stop interest and are horrible to me.. I guess I am worn out by all the juggling of bills I have done over the last couple of years I font know if I'm up to the fight with the creditors to stop interest and if they don't stop interest we will never be debt free. I am forty in July and I want life back. I am sorry for rambling.

Hi and welcome

Grab a cuppa and read and plan budgets, it will give you confidence. General advice is to take things in small bite sized pieces. Change banks if you need to and just let the creditors know you are seeking advice. they have to leave you alone for 30 days from that letter. Use your time and money wisely by sending a letter (plenty of templates here) that informs them of the seeking advice, DMP number if you have it, token payment of £1, ask them to freeze interest and insist only contact in writing.

I expected my dent to come in in the late 30 early 40. Nearly died when it was over 59k. 3.5 years in and only have 6 months or so to go. It can be done.

How much can you afford to pay into your DMP a month?

HHx

Fed_up_and_forty

Hi HH,

According to my DMP we can afford £1113 a month to pay towards our debts so if interest was frozen we would be debt free before 2018. I really want it but i am so scared and feel that i really need this forum to get me through. I can't keep existing the way we have been. Thanks for the reply. I have taken the day off work today to try and get things sorted so, here we go.