DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 9

Time_to_face_the_music

nextyeartina wrote: »

Hi




Just after a bit of advice please. I started my DMP with SC in February, first payment taken 1st March. So far I've only had a response from one company out of the 7 that SC are dealing with. The letter I've had says that they're willing to accept the payment plan offered by SC. Good news I know , but there's no mention of reducing or stopping the interest or charges What would you advise as my next step to

• this company regarding the interest & charges
• the companys I have had no response from at all

Another problem I'm having is Very. They're phoning my husband's mobile for me from 8 in the morning until 9 at night, about 15 times a day. Is there anything I can do about this? I know it will all calm down eventually. My husband's just come out of hospital, my fil was diagnosed with cancer last month & a close friend has just passed away . We're just under so much stress at the moment, 'eventually' feels so far away right now.

Sorry for the ramble & thanks in advance for any advice

Tina x

Sorry it's so bad at the moment Tina and the stress must be awful

I definitely would not be prepared to accept that from Very. Next time they call, tell them they should be contacting StepChange, not you. Add that you are aware of the Debt Collection Guidelines and believe they are in breach of these, as well as possibly being in breach of section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act. Mention that you are now recording all calls and you will be going to the OFT if they do not stop. Make sure you let them know you will only accept further communication in writing.

Hopefully once StepChange have made their first payment on 25th March, it should all quieten down a bit.

Time_to_face_the_music

maybedmp wrote: »

Hi all, I wondered if I can join you?

Sorry, it's long!

We're considering a DMP but not sure whether it's the right way to go for us and thought you lovely people may be able to advise before I call one of the debt charities.

We have unsecured debt with 5 organisations, 3 of which are pretty low interest but one credit card with interest charges that make me feel sick every time I open the statement!

Our house is currently on the market as we are emigrating. Visas are in place and we have until the end of 2016 to make the move. There is enough equity in the house that even if we take a drop in asking price we will be able to clear the debts and still leave us with enough to move, get set up in the new country renting initially and even have a bit saved to put towards a deposit on a home there eventually. The housing market here is extremely slow though and some properties have been on the market for 3 plus years

I am currently on maternity leave hence a reduced income and although I am going back to work after my mat leave the cost of childcare means my income will be less than we've had prior. We are meeting all our minimum payments but have no room to manoeuvre at all.

The straw that broke the camels back was my husbands car completely died this month to the point of no repair and he does a 40 mile commute each way! As I'm off work he's using my car for the coming months which is fine but I will need to get something sorted when I need to return to work (it's not a commute you can do by public transport).

I've used Stepchange's debt remedy tool and they recommend a DMP (or selling our home which obviously we're trying to do anyway). I just don't want to jump into the DMP affecting our credit rating adversely if we then sell the house and can clear the debt quickly in any case. I'm also worried that the creditors won't freeze or reduce interest so in fact we'd end up in a worse situation financially.

In the meantime my husband is going to phone our mortgage company today to ask if we can move to interest only for a while to give us a bit more breathing space.

I know no-one can make the decision for us and I need to contact Stepchange or another debt charity for a chat but I'm still at the embarrassed to say we're in trouble stage and the thought of calling them is making me feel ill

WWYD in our situation?

Hi MaybeDMP and welcome :hello:

I don't really know in your case because there are so many factors.

How long is left on your mat leave before you would need another car?

If you have just one debt with particularly high interest rates, have you looked at the snowball calculator?

Have you thought about asking for a mortgage holiday for a short time and using this money to pay off some debt?

I am not sure if your credit report damage due to a DMP would matter if you plan to emigrate. It may be worth asking this on the main DFD board.

Sorry there are probably more questions here than answers but there are a lot of things to consider

maybedmp

Thanks Timetofacethemusic - there are a lot of factors to consider. Our credit rating here won't affect us when we emigrate so its less of a concern if we do go for a dmp. I'm not due back to work for 5 months so I'm still keeping the positive vibes out there that the house sells in that time. If not we'll have to buy a £500 car as that's what we got for the old one for spares/repairs so we'll keep that to one side.

Since I posted I've had a call from the EA to say we've got someone who'd like to view on Sunday so fingers crossed! Haven't spoken to the mortgage co yet either but I've sat down today and rearranged all our finances so that all the debt is paid from one account and we use an old account of mine from now for all other bills/household stuff. The old account isn't linked to any of our debts so I figured if we do go down the dmp route we've set things up ready.

I'll have a look at the snowball calculator thanks.

redballoon_2

mossop01 sounds as if youve done really well cutting it back that much already on the food budget it sounds as if you have got a real hold on that area. Somethings we cant cut down on I agree like fruit. We have a fruit trader a few miles from us, if we catch him at the right time we can get a HUGE bag of carrots or potatos or anything he doesnt want to pay away for £1!

dad2one

Mossop01 wrote: »

Hi redballoon im trying to get it down, i cook everything fron scratch, never any left overs to freeze when ive got a 6'7" hungry lorry driver hubby to feed. Im shopping at aldi and the market for fruit n veg but its never ending! For eg, a 2lb bag of grapes gone in one evening whilst my hubby n son sat watching a dvd together! Fruit is my major spend im reluctant to deny the kids it, also pack ups, hubby does 15 hr days so he needs a big pack up and son takes pack up to school. Im much better than i was £80 a week is better than the £150 a week i was spending before dmp! But i can do better and i must!! Thanks

To be fair, I think £80 weekly is good going for a family, and you don't really want to be squeezing it down too much. Eating well is an essential!

Find_The_Real wrote: »

Morning all

I think food is always a difficult one on how much to spend and I know some people manage to feed a family of 4 probably on what I treat myself to a week but I see it as my one treat in all of this as I don't go out, I don't spend money on other stuff and being a fussy eater I'm afraid not every basic brand item is something I like.

Yes I know I have got myself in this mess but I don't see that I have to live a life of going without some treats and food I like just to get a year or so off the time it takes to get rid of the debt. Selfish - yes probably and I know it goes against all the advice given on here!

Yeah, getting out our mess is what we're all doing but it's only fair we are allowed to do that whilst reasonably covering our essentials.

As I always say / think - we're not running away from our debts, we're facing them and dealing with them, give us a break!

My update -
DMP is now set up according to SC. Good. Capitol One and M&S have acknowledged this. An eerie silence from HSBC... no response even to my own letters to them...:think:

Once they're all on board, I'm going to tackle any interest and charges they no doubt will be laying on.

Onwards and upwards as is said! All the best everyone.

Mossop01

Thanks all, your right, im not gonna beat myself about the food shopping, i think im just so impatient to get this journey over with, but for us this is long haul and i need to relax and work with the budget set. Life is for luvibg afterall x

RonniesMummy

Mossop - im the same, just want every penny I can to clear these debts as quick as possible, I hate being in debt, and want to be able to live my life again!!

No post again today, which is good I suppose, I spoke with stepchange, they have said lloyds have now refused the offer of payment, after they sent me a letter saying they agreed it, and I am to phone them to discuss as there is a problem with my budget, which I find hard to believe as I literally live hand to mouth with no extras, I don't know if I can deal with lloyds over the phone, anyone had any experience? Are they ok? Or will I get nowhere?

Saturday night tv again for me, I do live the high life... NOT!

Hope everyone else is well, going to try and do some surveys tonight, it is also free listing on ebay but I don't think I have anything left to sell!!!

x

Mossop01

Hi ronnies mummy i think its worth contacting lloyds, find out whats going on, lloyds is one of the few creditors im not in debt with tho so cant give any more help. Sorry. SC contacted me at first about my budget, it was something simple like hubbys wage slip i sent was about £10 a week more than i had said but when i explained it was overtime which wasnt guaranteed they said it was fine. Dont worry it will be sorted. I too am stuck in with sat nite telly, could be worse tho i could br out spending money i havent got! Good luck x

redballoon_2

morning all.

quick update from me. lloyds sent me new letter for new bank account with them. just need to transfer credits over to that account now

Mbna (virgin cc) called me they needed a few things claryfying on financial statement and its going to be passed for final approval and they have said they would freeze charges and interest if all approved

sickasachip13

Hey newbies and oldies (that doesn't sound entirely complementary). Hope everyone in the good ship HMS DMP is doing ok, remember no matter how bad the storm, still waters will come.
Onwards and upwards
SAAC