DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

raspberry22

Thanks again for the welcomes

Still haven't been able to finalise the StepChange figures as I'm waiting to find out our new mortgage payment, our fixed rate is ending and it should be coming down. I'm also hoping we can get the new bank account up and running quickly. They're sending out a pack and I think we'll need to take documents to prove identity in to them, but DH can only go on a specific day due to work.

Roughly how long will it take SC to get things agreed with the creditors? And I do I start making token payments when the process starts? How do I make token payments and is there a set amount of how much to pay?

Sorry for all the questions! The more I find out though, the easier I'll be with the whole thing if that makes sense?

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Puzzcat

raspberry22 wrote: »

Thanks again for the welcomes

Still haven't been able to finalise the StepChange figures as I'm waiting to find out our new mortgage payment, our fixed rate is ending and it should be coming down. I'm also hoping we can get the new bank account up and running quickly. They're sending out a pack and I think we'll need to take documents to prove identity in to them, but DH can only go on a specific day due to work.

Roughly how long will it take SC to get things agreed with the creditors? And I do I start making token payments when the process starts? How do I make token payments and is there a set amount of how much to pay?

Sorry for all the questions! The more I find out though, the easier I'll be with the whole thing if that makes sense?

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Hi raspberry,


My fixed rate mortgage had just finished before I was entering my dmp so I refixed it again for 5 years before my credit file got trashed.. not sure if this is an option for you? Although my dmp is for quite a long time and I think yours is 4 years so the interest rates may not rise too much during this time. And of course your budget and dmp payment can be amended if things rise..


Have you a sc dmp reference number yet? And are your payments due or have you paid normally this month? If you have your ref number and are not paying minimums this month that's when I wrote to all my creditors who were not associated with my current bank as I didn't want them to get wind of it until new account up and settled.


I stopped paying my minimum payments to some of them in August, the rest were in september. I sent a letter stating I was in difficulties, seeking assistance from sc giving my ref number and sent a token £1 cheque from my new bank account. Others have done it with postal orders from the post office. They also suggest sending recorded delivery, which again I didn't do as I knew they had the letters as they cashed the cheques and then I had some phone calls and lots of letters back.


I did this for 3 months whilst it was being set up. Mine was slower as I had an account I needed to get closed before I started. Its not really waiting for SC to get creditors agreement, they will just make contact with them all and send your money. You probably won't even know if they have agreed or not. SC will start making contact with your creditors as soon as you have signed and sent back the agreement.. which I did send recorded...


Hope some of this helps...


Love Puzz

raspberry22

Puzzcat wrote: »

Hi raspberry,


My fixed rate mortgage had just finished before I was entering my dmp so I refixed it again for 5 years before my credit file got trashed.. not sure if this is an option for you? Although my dmp is for quite a long time and I think yours is 4 years so the interest rates may not rise too much during this time. And of course your budget and dmp payment can be amended if things rise..


Have you a sc dmp reference number yet? And are your payments due or have you paid normally this month? If you have your ref number and are not paying minimums this month that's when I wrote to all my creditors who were not associated with my current bank as I didn't want them to get wind of it until new account up and settled.


I stopped paying my minimum payments to some of them in August, the rest were in september. I sent a letter stating I was in difficulties, seeking assistance from sc giving my ref number and sent a token £1 cheque from my new bank account. Others have done it with postal orders from the post office. They also suggest sending recorded delivery, which again I didn't do as I knew they had the letters as they cashed the cheques and then I had some phone calls and lots of letters back.


I did this for 3 months whilst it was being set up. Mine was slower as I had an account I needed to get closed before I started. Its not really waiting for SC to get creditors agreement, they will just make contact with them all and send your money. You probably won't even know if they have agreed or not. SC will start making contact with your creditors as soon as you have signed and sent back the agreement.. which I did send recorded...


Hope some of this helps...


Love Puzz

That is amazingly helpful, thank you!

Credit rating already dire as far as refixing the mortgage goes, but we've really been stung with the last fix, so we're okay with taking our chances for now.

No ref number yet. We're already behind on a few and the ones that are up to date are fine until next month. I just need to juggle as best I can until it's all sorted. Also had a huge blunder with paypal that is going to cost dearly in bank charges, just to add to the stress!

duckie193

digley wrote: »

Payplan have messed everything up for me this month and I'm now back to square one with my creditors all charging interest again.

Over the last seven months I had managed to get all creditors bar one to stop or greatly reduce interest on my accounts.
This month however I started to receive phone calls and text messages from the banks again complaining that they haven't received payment. All have reverted to charging me full interest.

I contacted payplan thinking there might just have been a delay because of Christmas etc but no, they just haven't paid it. They received it from me 3 weeks ago as usual and aren't sure why it's still in their bank but they will look into it.
Well thanks very much payplan. I now face further problems and increased debts, maybe thousands in interest because it will take me months to get the interest reduced again.

Not sure where to go from here. Any suggestions ?

I had been on a DMP with Payplan for just over a year and really wasn't happy with how they were managing it.


The last straw was when the creditors were all contacting me asking why I hadn't paid them. My monthly payments were getting paid by DD to Payplan but they were slow in passing it on.


I ended up contacting my 5 creditors & asking if I could just pay the same amount straight to them & end my DMP - they all agreed.


I am now in a better position than I was with Payplan as the interest charges have been frozen & when I calculated the interest that I had been charged whilst on the DMP I was amazed - I have paid thousands in interest/charges in the year I was with them. I was always pestering them about my DMP so it wasn't that I was ignoring the issues.


I don't know if Payplan are having issues just now as I received a letter just a few days before this all kicked off that my advisor & manager had changed.


I would contact them as a matter of urgency to get it sorted out.


Good Luck !

lewpster

I am new to all this and hoping someone can help me....

My debts are just over £20,000 on credit cards and I feel sick writing that. I can't go on like this and need this roller coaster to stop and regain control.

I've just been onto Stepchange and it advises me to do a DMP.

My husband doesn't know my debts are this high and I don't want him too as I feel sick to the stomach and ashamed. Will this affect our ability to renew our mortgage deal in October?

Will I be left with a really bad credit file?

What are the benefits? And what are the down sides to a DMP?

Thanks

A very scared Lewpylew

Monkeyballs

Morning all!

I actually posted this on another thread but had it suggested to me that it may be helpful here too to help newbies so if it helps anyone...

This is my experience (summarised) which might be of benefit as I've been on my plan for less than a year

I contacted SC and we went through income & expenses and agreed that £500 pcm is available to repay my debts (at the time totalling @ £19.5k) over 3.5 years.

Once the plan was set up and I had my ref. I signed into my DMP through the SC website to make sure everything was present and correct and to read more of the information on their site.

I contacted* each creditor to advise them that I was entering into a DMP with SC, gave them my DMP ref and a contact number for SC confirming that they will be in touch with a budget sheet, list of debts and an offer.

*Contacting creditors was a mix of email, letter and phone call as at this point I did not feel the need to keep copies of my notification to them although I did list creditor and dates as well as names and times if I had called - the exception being payday lenders who I wrote to by registered 1st class mail also asking to cancel CPA and provide written confirmation of receipt and agreement of DMP.
I keep and file all notes and replies in separate envelopes - one per creditor.

Several creditors sent me a letter of default - I had been told to expect these by SC but I still emailed them details for my own peace of mind and filed them.

A couple of debts were passed to debt collection** agencies, I called the DCA and gave them the DMP information and then called and emailed SC the details so they have the most up to date information on their file and I double checked a week later on my DMP to make sure that the info had been corrected (unless SC emailed before then to confirm the changes made).

** Read what you are sent, it may sound scary but they are fine once you give them the DMP information and will freeze your account for 30 days while waiting for SC to contact them - debt collection agencies are not bailiffs!
On the agreed date my first payment left my bank account - I checked my statement online, again for my own peace of mind.

After about 3 weeks (which was in line with what SC told me) I received an email from SC telling me that my statement was available to view - I looked and could see clearly each creditor listed and the payment sent with an estimate of outstanding balance.

All of this happened over the space of maybe 5-6 weeks roughly.

During the following month I got another couple of letters of default which I passed to SC and filed.

The second payment left my account - I checked my statement online to be sure but all was well I felt really good by this point as I had been virtually hassle free with the exception of the default letters and my confidence was increasing as I felt more in control

The third month - no issues everything went to plan as did the following couple of months

Around month 6 I had a lapse with my gambling and panicked which made things worse before I contacted SC who agreed to a lower payment and contacted creditors with the reduced payment and confirmation that it was a "one off" and normal payments would resume the following months - I also called my creditors to advise them of the same and to apologise for straying off plan - all were fine except one who seemed a little snotty but acknowledged that it would be ok as a one off

Following few months take me to today! Everything is back in place and running normally although time (and this site) has given me the confidence to contact a few creditors to challenge the ones who had reduced but not frozen their interest (using template letters available on this site) and even make a couple of full & final settlement offers!

The best advice I can offer is to have faith in your DMP manager but keep in touch, monitor your statements, file EVERYTHING, keep posting on the forums here and share your experiences!

Oh, I also suggest you contact your creditors/DCS's from time to time to confirm the balance and update your SC account online to keep it accurate and avoid any nasty surprises further down the line!

Cheers all,

MB

Hopelessly_Hopeful

lewpylew wrote: »

I am new to all this and hoping someone can help me....

My debts are just over £20,000 on credit cards and I feel sick writing that. I can't go on like this and need this roller coaster to stop and regain control.

I've just been onto Stepchange and it advises me to do a DMP.

My husband doesn't know my debts are this high and I don't want him too as I feel sick to the stomach and ashamed. Will this affect our ability to renew our mortgage deal in October?

Will I be left with a really bad credit file?

What are the benefits? And what are the down sides to a DMP?

Thanks

A very scared Lewpylew

Morning and welcome


It is a scary time but life will get better. Much much better. Most here would agree its tough at the start in particular but one of the best decisions ever taken.


Get yourself a cuppa and start at the beginning of the thread, that's the best way to see how the journeys are. I went back to the old parts of the thread and read hundreds and hundreds of pages.


You will need to tell hubby. Lots of others have been through that obstacle and there's info in the thread relating to it. You will need to get him onboard.


Unless you stick with your existing mortgage provider you are unlikely to get a renewal.


How long will your DMP last for do you think?


The best way to move forward with anxieties I think is a) t be specific about what your concerns are as this will allow people to more accurately emotionally support you and offer targeted practical support. b)when I fret I find it really empowering to get budget planning, meal plans, cleaning and sorting. Stops me fretting and there are many productively positive outcomes.




HHx

Andyph

Morning all,

I am currently 10 months into a DMP with stepchange. I have recently found a share certificate giving to me when i started my last job which i can cash in after 3 years employement. This is 18 months away but have a couple of questions..

If i stay with my employer long enough to cash these in can i use them to pay off 1 debt or will it need to be split between all 4.

Also i currently receive Housing benefit and Working tax credits so would i have to let them know about the extra money and if so would they then lower my payments moving forward.

At present i think i would be looking at about £2 - 3k profit on the shares.

Thanks in advance

Time_to_face_the_music

lewpylew wrote: »

I am new to all this and hoping someone can help me....

My debts are just over £20,000 on credit cards and I feel sick writing that. I can't go on like this and need this roller coaster to stop and regain control.

I've just been onto Stepchange and it advises me to do a DMP.

My husband doesn't know my debts are this high and I don't want him too as I feel sick to the stomach and ashamed. Will this affect our ability to renew our mortgage deal in October?

Will I be left with a really bad credit file?

What are the benefits? And what are the down sides to a DMP?

Thanks

A very scared Lewpylew

Hi and welcome Lewpylew :hello:

From your previous posts, it looks like you have already had a couple of flickerings in the past but now this is your real light bulb moment.

You have already had some excellent advice from HH and a great sharing of experience from MB. If you have specific questions, please ask them directly and someone will always try to help or point you in the right direction.

If you have shared finances with your OH, joint mortgage, bank account, credit card, loan etc, he is going to have to need to know about this, it's going to effect his credit rating as well as yours. To be honest, even if you didn't, he should know anyway because your life does change on a DMP and you will need him to be onboard with those changes, plus you can support each other.

Without any hesitation I would say the benefit of a DMP is seeing your debt go down each month. Not having to rely on credit to live until the end of each month. Not having to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Being able to sleep without worrying what if my card gets refused, what if I can't pay that bill, what if I end up over my limit and get even more charges etc.

The disadvantages aren't so much of a bother to me but can be to other people so you need to weigh these up. You cannot take on any more credit when you are on a DMP. You are very likely to be defaulted on some or all of your debts, which will effect your ability to get new credit for 6 or more years. You may get some hassle from creditors for the first few weeks but that soon stops and we can help you deal with it.

If these disadvantages put you off, ask yourself "What other option do I have?" If your debt is currently going up each month and you are struggling to pay it, you need a solution and a DMP could be right for you.

One last piece of advice. If you do go for a DMP and you go via StepChange or another free DMP provider, never forget that while they are distributing the payments for you, the debt is still yours and it is your responsibility to keep on top of what is happening, e.g. check your statements, chase creditors still charging interest, update your financial records etc.

Read back as HH has suggested then bombard us with questions if you need to. Everyone on this thread has been where you are now, we really do know how you feel so get some good use out of that experience. Stick around and we will be here to support you.

TTFTM x

antonic

Andyph wrote: »

Morning all,

I am currently 10 months into a DMP with stepchange. I have recently found a share certificate giving to me when i started my last job which i can cash in after 3 years employement. This is 18 months away but have a couple of questions..

If i stay with my employer long enough to cash these in can i use them to pay off 1 debt or will it need to be split between all 4.

Also i currently receive Housing benefit and Working tax credits so would i have to let them know about the extra money and if so would they then lower my payments moving forward.

At present i think i would be looking at about £2 - 3k profit on the shares.

Thanks in advance

I would recommend you declare it to the Council because they can do far worse things to you then your creditors can do ! (ie prosecute you for Housing Benefit fraud !)

Will this money either help you pay your debts of in full OR make a seriously shorten the timescale for you to get DF ? - if it doesnt , then I would suggest you put it to one side and keep it as an emergency fund.

Remember you dont *always* have to be 100% honest about everything with your DMP ( I wasnt !) but neither should you outright lie to them,

Hope this helps.