DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Coinmachine

I am just in the process of starting out on the DMP route. I am concerned re whether the level of payment each month will satisfy my creditors. I have made a seperate post re this but maybe I should have added it to this thread.

Some really understanding people in this thread. In the past few weeks I have felt positive at times and very neagtive at other times over all of this, its so stressful. I have a picture of my kids on my desk at work and it hurts to look at it as I dont want to let them down and I dont want them to ever get in the mess I am in.

schmalf

Hi all and hi Coinmachine

First off a few updates re the DMP which officially starts 1st Feb (thats when my first payment is taken).
MBNA have sent me a letter saying they have accepted the DMP payment and have frozen all interest and charges for the duration, however I will still be defaulted. Good news.
Just opened a statement from Halifax with no interest charged for this month (thats after contacting their collections department who agreed to stop it until they receieved all the stuff from SC), and also interest charged at 0% for next month. No late fee's added either. So a positive step however I have no formal confirmation whether the DMP is accpted or not.
Barclaycard is on hold for this month until they heard from SC, no confirmation of anything from them and no statements so in the dark about this one.
HSBC - letter from SC to say they have rejected the payment offer, not to worry and to continue on with the DMP payment. Who else has had one of their creditors reject the offer? I assume as SC say don't worry this is pretty normal, but of course I am! I feel I should be writing to HSBC regarding this but what sort of letter should I be sending - template or suggestions anyone?

So still feeling fairly positive and moving forward. The reduced stress levels from not having to find all that money for stupid minimum payments that were getting me nowhere are amazing, haven't felt this positive at the start of a new year for a long time .


Coinmachine, welcome to the board, it is so brilliant on here and so many have amazing advice for you, stick with us! I would suggest you move forward with a DMP and see what happens, thats what I am doing! My current DFD is about 10 years away at the mo so as you can imagine my payment is pretty low but I am hoping (as I think most do), that I will be able to reduce this as time passes. I have purposely tried to start fairly low with my repayment (but still a realistic budget obviously) so I know that I can cover it and hopefully should not have to make any reduced payments. Once i have built up a bit of an emergency fund over the first year and my OHs CCs are paid I hope to up my payments to reduce the term.

Find_The_Real

Welcome to the thread coinmachine. Are you using a charity for your DMP as they are very good at guiding you on the process. The important thing is to make sure your living expenses are realistic and manageable first as many people do want to through everything at the debt and pay it off as quickly as possible only to find they struggle. Once that is sorted then whatever is left goes to the debt.

I think we all have feelings of guilt and failure when we first enter a DMP but once in it you tend to wonder why you did not do it earlier, and once that first payment goes out there is a kind of relief.

Some creditors will be ok, some will be PITA's and as we have all found on here not one company treats those in a DMP the same way but remember it is your DMP so starting complaining direct if they don't play nicely. If you are with one of the charities although the administer it all sometimes dealing in writing (or even phoning) can get any problems sorted.

Good luck with your DMP, over the next few months it will seem a bit of a rollercoaster but it does get better and feel proud for having the courage to face your debts and deal with them, stay positive and focus on the pluses. I have read you other thread about an IVA being recommended so it is something to consider if the DMP is going to last for too many years, although they can seem scary, with an excellent firm they are not as I went into one this year. Sorry shameless highlight of thread but there is the IVA/DRO board where we hang out to answer any questions about IVA's if we can!

Schmalf as the first payment hasn't gone out yet I would wait until first payment has been sent over at the end of February and then start complaining to HSBC as some reject but still cash the money which in my own opinion makes it a point to argue against their rejection. For the first couple of months creditors can be a bit sniffy until regular payments from SC are made.

schmalf

Thanks FTR, that's good advice. Think I am just panicking a bit as I want it all to run as smoothly as possible. I do expect that HSBC will cash the payment as they have been accepting my £1 token payments and are aware of the situation, and that would give me some leverage. They are my biggest creditor so really want them to play ball.
I will hang fire and see what happens come Feb.
Feeling happy as I have also just cleared my family debt and work debt that I wanted to sort before the DMP started - was worried that with Christmas it might have dragged on into next month but have covered it!! Serious penny pinching till payday now though...:)

Puzzcat

Hi Schmalf,


I'll answer you on here rather than my diary as you seem to be around...


I never knew who had and who hadn't accepted my dmp, i just paid my money to SC... I only found out Halifax hadn't accepted but did accept the payments this weekend when they wrote and informed me they had passed me over to the dca. I wouldn't worry at this point, just keep paying and I'm sure it will all become clear....ish...


I also didn't know anything about my od and loan with N.west until I went on my noddle account and can see both have reduced by the amount I'm paying so 0% interest there as well...


The only one still charging me interest out of 9 is creation and I have a complaint in with them at the moment. they have until the 20th jan to respond. I will update when I hear...

Puzzcat

Welcome Coinmachine, Grab a cuppa and get reading.. this thread is full of useful information and will answer many of your questions.. even one's you didn't know you wanted to ask...!!!!

schmalf

Thanks Puzz for the info - yes hopefully it will become clear....ish as you say he he!!

debtdawg

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Sorry to hear you were feeling down in the dumps and hope things start to get better soon. I used this thread for lots of emotional, as well as financial support, so please pop in if you do need a shoulder to cry on or an ear to bend. We all in the same boat, or have been, so people really do know how you feel.


TTFTM x

Thank you TTFTM, I'm feeling a lot better today. We have found a car with the 'generous' garage and offered as much as we could afford towards the other car, which luckily he accepted. That's a weight off my mind anyway as at least we have a car now (or will from the end of the week)! I bought a 2nd hand double pushchair off of Ebay, so all the things I needed (car, pushchair and somewhere for the baby to sleep) are sorted, the rest should fall into place. Full cupboards, meat in the freezer, roof over our head and bank account in the black (albeit £27k in the red elsewhere ), focussing on the positives today

Monkeyballs

Evening all!

Coinmachine and Schmalf welcome!

Ok so things might seem a little tense at times for the first couple of months while first entering into your DMP but you will be just fine...

Creditors respect the fact that you are taking measures to take control of your debts and honestly I don't recall anyone ever mentioning that their creditors have refused the offers made? And as mentioned above by Puzzcat you probably won't find out right away if it has been accepted but they almost certainly won't chase you (and if you do give your DMP company a call) because at the time they receive the offer they also receive a copy of your income and expenditures with details of other debts held.

The main thing to remember is you're not alone so if you have a question then shout out! if you're depressed about something shout out! something bothering you, shout out! We're like a big family here and will try to lift your spirits

Oh, and the other thing is that debt collection agencies are normally really ease to deal with and quite accommodating if you communicate with them about your DMP so don't worry about them

MB

Sazzie23

Welcome Scmalf & Coinmachine :hello: & Hi to everyone

Well done for making a brilliant start at facing your debts, its not easy and its not pleasant, but I hope this thread goes some way to making it easier and not so bad.:j

We've all been through it, (and most of us are still in it:D) one thing to remember is there will probably be some hiccups at the start of the the DMP, like creditors refusing or claiming not to have received details of DMP, keep paying the DMP payment while you sort it out, and eventually it'll settle down. As one OP said, some creditors refuse to accept the DMP, but as long as they take the money and don't take any other action there is no problem.

I have a suspicion some firms refuse to 'agree' to DMPs so that if they chose to take other action at a later date they wouldn't be accused of going back on their agreement. But don't panic, the cases of other action being taken are almost unheard of when a DMP is in force as long as you keep to the terms.

Make sure you've claimed all you can on PPI and bank charges, many folk have reclaimed money and stuck it back into debts reducing the DFD:). & do get your spreadsheets sorted out, one of the best things I learnt from this thread is the motivation you get from seeing the amount paid go up or percentage owed go down.

Anyway enough of my ramblings...

Have a great day