Stepchange-opinions?

Toomuchdebt

(I apologise in advance-my keyboard has stopped working on one letter-the one between y and i I hope what I type still makes sense with the missing letter.)

Are stepchange good?
Basically I've got into a bit of a mess. I've missed some non priority bills and can't catch *p.The reasons for this are-I moved ho*se in November and had to b*y carpets,I had 300 po*nds stolen off me, I went into hospital twice and I st*pidly took 2 payday loans. Now every month was a vicio*s circle-pay off payday loans, take them o*t again as money ran o*t.
The ironic thing is I went bankr*pt 6 years ago, clearly didn't learn a thing abo*t not getting into debt so I'm determined to pay it all off this time. I did think abo*t doing it all myself b*t firstly 2 creditors flatly ref*sed and one of them act*ally s*ggested I go to stepchange.
I've had a chat with them and the advisor thinks I can be debt free in 2 years. Are any of these creditors known to be awkward? Very, simply be, shopacheck, q*ickq*id,payday*k, so*thern electric,aa?
Do yo* think a dmp managed by stepchange is right for me? I have 443 monthly available for debts, witho*t the payday loans my debt repayments are 583 so still more than I have.I have done a soa b*t not willing to post it here after some comments last time.The man from stepchange went over my b*dget tho*gh and the 443 was all we co*ld sq*eeze o*t.I don't drink or smoke at all, so nothing to c*t back on there, mobile phones-mine and kids-contracts finish in september,no sky tv...everything else is at a minim*m amo*nt.I work part time, can't do more ho*rs,partly beca*se of health, partly childcare.

Sorry again for the awkward post-never realised how many times I wo*ld need to type a letter *

beth3735

I have been with stepchange for nearly 7 yrs and they have been a fantastic help. I would highly recommend them. As for your creditors i only had very out of that list, but very instantly stopped interest and happily accepted the dmp monthly amount. They were my 1st company to be fully paid as they played well.


Good luck in getting debt free. Im kind of like you where i had debt before but instead if bankruptcy my husband paid it off in 1 lump so i never had the hassle of paying it back. Im really hoping this 7 yrs of paying it all myself Will of taught me a lesson!

CurlyTop

I'm in agreement with Beth, Stepchange are the bees knees. I've been with them 11 years and will have finished my DMP this September.

It's been a sometimes difficult slog but I couldn't have done it without their support. I thought my biggest creditor was trying to get more money out of me when he took me to court for a ccj. At that time, the judge was great and because I'd been on the dmp for 6 years without missing a payment, found in my favour and told me to keep doing what I'm doing. Was only when Stepchange told me that they were having problems paying the money in, I contacted the creditor only to find that the real reason they'd taken me to court was because they accused me of having not paid them for 6 months. Turns out they'd lost 6 months worth of payments in their own system!!!

I had a lovely guy from Stepchange, Russ, who worked so hard with the creditor to find the payments, which they did. I requested the CCJ be set aside and it was. Only thing was, I must have cheesed them off because they came after me 3 more times with CCJs. No change to the payments. Judges agreed with me. Stepchange however, every time I contacted them were so supportive. At the beginning I had cause to ring them when creditors sent letters, but this was just crossover in the dmp being set up. After a month or so, everything settled down, no calls, no letters and how I've not managed to get so worried since.

Can't say I've enjoyed being on a dmp but you know what, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and boy have I learnt my lesson. Never again. I'm on the home straight now and will nearly be at the finishing line. Can't wait. No credit cards or loans for me. If I can't save for it, I can't have it. Simple as that.

Stepchange will support you every step of the way. Can't speak of them highly enough. Would also say, its not just about Stepchange supporting you, it's about you learning to take on board and learn from whats happened. I don't mean that in a horrid way either. I've learned lessons along the way. When I look back at what I spent my money on (mainly supporting my sister and family - ironic thing is she and I don't speak now and she has never had a hint of my debt, as has my family), I could have chosen better options. There are free websites around now that weren't there then, if you need to replace a washing machine, sofa, etc. This website, is a godsend. You can't change what you don't acknowledge - I recognised that I was being a financial mess and took steps to get through it. 11 years not been easy but hey ho, that's life

I wish you the very best of luck. You can do it and before you know it 2 years will have flown by. Here's to a debt free future :T

Toomuchdebt

Thank you both(found an old usb keyboard to use with the laptop so I have a letter u again Amazed it still works as my son plays with it lol)

I am just about to send all the paperwork back to stepchange and the letters to creditors.It's frustrating knowing that if I didn't have the payday loans I'd probably be OK but also it's my own fault for not saving anything after becoming bankrupt.What I should have done was save 5000 pounds to have a safety net. For house moves, car breakdowns,being ill and not getting sick pay...I've been so irresponsible merrily buying things from catalogues on buy now pay later and then all the things go on at once and your payments go up from 30 a month to 150 a month to 250 a month.All my own fault really.

Toomuchdebt

Just bumping up for any more experience of stepchange

Find_The_Real

I am with StepChange and found them to be really good. I must admit I was already relatively clued up about options from this lovely forurm so I already had a idea about what it entailed and had already decided on a budget. The good thing about them is they will go through all the options and although they may recommend something, you do not have to go with that option. They are very sympathetic to what you feel is best for you.

What I find its great is they take the pressure of having to deal with it all yourself and there is the simplicity of just one monthly payment that is sent to them and is then distributed out. As they are a recognised debt charity, some creditors do seem to accept a DMP a lot easier than if you go it alone.

Just wanted to wish you good luck and do check out the DMP mutual support thread where you will find a number of us posting our experiences on the way.

PureSept

It is frustrating to know that you let yourself get in this position but its in the past, you cant change that so dont think about it, think about the future, you are getting advice from a fantastic charity who will be able to provide you with a way of getting out of the mess.

Stepchange have been amazing for me, I'm stupidly scared of talking on the phone to people, especially if I know the topic is going to be uncomfortable for me. I done the budget plan on stepchange, got the paperwork through, I sent it all back, they called me once to verify 2 creditors and I got back to them and within 2 days I got an text message saying my DMP was set up and ready to start next month. So I've spoken to them once and theyve set everything up for me and its such an amazing relief and I was kicking myself for not doing all of this sooner, when I think of debt charities I think of having to go to meeting in big buildings with people judging you but its so far from that, its all done pretty much for you so that the worry is taken away from you, Im due to be debt free in 2 years and and my monthly DMP is £400 a month, I would normally be borrowing that from a payday lender and spending it straight on bills.

Also I noticed that when stepchange talk to anyone they send me an email or letter stating they have spoken to them and alot of my creditors have frozen interest for 6 month and then it will be reviewed after that, I do get still get letters and emails demanding payment for things but I think that is all automated and Ive been told that they cant stop this til the DMP payment goes through.

It sounds too good to be true, I've spent years of my life worrying and sleepless nights crying to myself because I kept all this in over something that could of been solved so easy.

c85

stepchange are excellent!!
i recently switched to them for my dmp from a fee-charging company.
i done their online debt remedy (half of their budget items were not allowed under the fee-charging company) and i now have a much more realistic and easier budget to stick to. I emailed them all paperwork needed, got a phonecall a few days later to confirm a couple of original creditors and then a day later my plan was activated. A few creditors sent letters confirming change to stepchange and new payment offers but no declines or problems as yet! I love the online dmp section and seeing all your debts and total balance at a glance is great and being able to use the tools like the debt free quicker calculator is good too. highly recommend them and wish id started with them when i first entered a dmp 4 years ago!

Toomuchdebt

Thank you!

Deep_In_Debt

I've been with Stepchange since 2008 and they've been brilliant every step of the way - from the time I first phoned them when I was in tears and they got no sense out of me as I was blubbing so much!

eyeopener2

I've been with stepchange for 3 years and they are good. Always there if you need help and were a lifesaver early on.

If I knew what I do now I'd have gone self managed but I didn't. They dug this poor wretch out of a massive hole and I will be forever grateful.