Worst and best creditors in DMP?

luckyforme

Hi,

I appreciate that this might be a "how long is a piece of string?" kind of question, but can the people here advise (broadly speaking) the creditors who are most likely to freeze interest for a DMP and those which play hardball, keeping the interest high and the penalty fees piling up?

I suspect that much of this is down to individual circumstances and how the creditors view your debt, yet I also sense that there will be creditors who just refuse to comply with a DMP due to their own philosophy.

Also, what tend to be circumstances where creditors will freeze your interest for a DMP? Does it tend to be happen when you have shown previous struggles at making payments to them, or do they tend to be more reasonable towards people who have been good payers in the past?

Thanks in advance.

moohound

For me Virgin, Sainsbury's, Post Office and Barclaycard all stopped interest and were all pleasant on the phone and in writing

Halifax applied some interest, and were OK in communications.

LLoyds TSB loan, Amex card, overdraft and Blackhorse (part of Lloyds) all piled on interest like mad, and did things like cancel the agreement due to 'technical' reasons, add £135 in extra charges then reinstate it. I hate them, when I see their signs I feel like kicking them. I have banked with them for 25 years and they have had thousands off me over that time.:mad:
they sent very amateurish letters threatening me with further action if I did not pay the full amounts, they rang all the time, at weekends and evenings. i think they were in financial trouble themselves and have had to flog half their branches but that is no excuse really.

I made a post like this when I started and other people had different experiences. though I do recall M&S being particularly poor.

luckyforme

moohound wrote: »

I made a post like this when I started and other people had different experiences. though I do recall M&S being particularly poor.

Thanks for that, Moo. I looked at the other thread now.

I have a few big debts and several much smaller, more manageable Credit Card balances. It irks me that I have to include them in the DMP, as they'd probably be cleared by Christmas with my normal payments.

I have been told "creditors have to be treated equally", which is strange, as the creditors don't always treat us equally - hence the thread!

los72

Capital One played hard ball at first and wouldn't take no for an answer. They eventually backed down and agreed to the monthly payments and have been fine ever since.

Credit Soultions. Fine at first. Got a bit arsey demanding payment on a certain date. Wasn't till I pointed out that I've got it in writing what date they wanted payment each month that they backed off.

They been fine ever since, and have actually been really helpful.

NDR Money. The most unhelpful company ever...:(

Capquest, been fine and helpful.

beth3735

Capital one, American ex, Monument, MBNA, EGG all played fantastic for me, stopped charges and interest instantly and most are nearly paid off.

Lloyds credit card and overdraft, Barclaycard were and still in the case of Barclaycard very hard to deal with, have had more than £1.5k added minimum through charges and interest.

Natwest was a pain for the 1st few years, after around 3-4 years they stopped the interest.

Very catalogue were fantastic too, took the DMP instantly and was my 1st to be paid off

moohound

Creditors have to be treated fairly in a DMP, but not necessarily in a full and final payment, I believe there is some flexibility.

Some forum users have a philosophy of paying every penny back which is admirable, I want to do what is most beneficial for my family and I pay all I can afford each month, but if they will take less in a full and final payment I won't turn it down.

If you have any money spare, from overtime or selling stuff you don't need, you can save it for a full and final, possibly at a reduced amount. My smallest debts are the worst offenders (lloyds) and I am in the process of binning them off with full and final payments, I sent the letters off yesterday.

The Lloyds debts have just been sold to DCAs, I hope they got a pittance for them, the Black Horse one was sold the day before I sent the letters out, as one forum user replied to me 'I bet they are kicking themselves"

I sincerely hope your creditors treat you fairly, it is a bit of a roller coaster to start with but it does get better.

moohound

Just seen Beth's post about Barclaycard, they were fine with me but I only owed £480 my smallest by a long way, maybe that makes a difference.

luckyforme

beth3735 wrote: »

Natwest was a pain for the 1st few years, after around 3-4 years they stopped the interest)

That's what concerns me tbh. To be more clear, my RBS has about £500 left to pay. I've been paing £25-£40 a month, so it exceeds the minimum payment and the interest is minimal.

If I do as Payplan suggest, the contribution to RBS will be about £8 per month. If they keep the interest on, surely I'm paying them back a LOT more than £500. And that's before charges are factored in.

Todge2

For me, Halifax were the worst pain in the butt. And Mint (RBS?).

If my knowledge is correct, no creditor is legally required to stop interest, contractual charges etc, but they all did eventually - even Halifax.

The tipping point for Halifax to ease off was a conversation with them along the lines of:
1. If I go bankrupt, you will get nothing
2. If I enter an IVA you will get hardly any of it
3. If you back off and co-operate with my DMP and discount/suspend your interest charges you'll eventually get almost everything back.

That seemed to work with them.

Strangely, after my DMP started, Mint put my rate up from about 14% APR to 26% (if my memory is correct), but never charged a penny at the new rate? Tax/bad debt write-off tactic? Who knows with banks - they don't miss many tricks.

Tell your creditors how it is honestly and frankly - they should all ease off and give you the time space you need to get back into it.

After all, UK taxpayers have done the same with many of them ;-) [Yes. I'm looking at you RBS! LOL!)

Nearly there ... good luck!

One Love,
T2.

heatherks

Barclaycard and very/ ndr were the worst for me .. mostly lack of communication claiming they didnt recieve any letters sent to them .. and adding interest without notice

Very have now sold it to RMA/arrow global ..who don't acknowlege payments or give the proper details so i can pay by standing order and claim they will only deal with me on the phone & payment via debit card (dont thinks so )

Lowell have been ok as long as you make regular payment

dustybin1970

Barclaycard refuse to freeze interest but accepted reduced payments with no problem, mbna defaulted at once and sold to aktiv capital, interest stopped and payment accepted. Ltsb by far most tricky, constant phone calls, letters etc wouldn't accept reduced payment for ages, won't freeze interest and harass me every 6 months or so.