Payplan DMP Timescales?

Constantinople

Hi,

I've been trying to get a debt plan sorted with Stepchange.. submitted all my documentation in October and they're saying it's going to be February before I have my review call and March before they contact creditors so thinking of looking elsewhere as now being threatened with court action and nothing has been communicated to my creditors..

So I'm thinking of giving Payplan a try instead.

How long do things generally take to get set up with them? ~30k debts and able to put £830 into a DMP.

Tixy

It will probably a similar timescale to where you are now with stepchange. Most DMPs will take a month to arrange and then the first payment will be the month after that (it sometimes can take a bit longer to arrange e.g. for self-employed people earning a varying wage it can be a bit more long winded).

Have you written to your creditors yourself to say that you are seeking advice from one of the debt advice charities?

Have you made a token payment to your creditors? when did you last pay them all?
Stepchange (or any DMP charity) will usually recommend you make at least a token payment to each creditor each month whilst the DMP is being set up.

Constantinople

Tixy wrote: »

It will probably a similar timescale to where you are now with stepchange. Most DMPs will take a month to arrange and then the first payment will be the month after that (it sometimes can take a bit longer to arrange e.g. for self-employed people earning a varying wage it can be a bit more long winded).

Have you written to your creditors yourself to say that you are seeking advice from one of the debt advice charities?

Have you made a token payment to your creditors? when did you last pay them all?
Stepchange (or any DMP charity) will usually recommend you make at least a token payment to each creditor each month whilst the DMP is being set up.

Hi,

Many thanks for your reply

I sent a template letter about my intention to apply for a plan with my reference number but just got the standard arrears letters back.

Maybe I need to make a token payment... my StepChange action plan said I should cancel all Direct Debits and move my bank account so I haven't made any token payments, maybe that was miscommunicated. What would constitute a token payment?

Tixy

Anything is better than nothing. It communicates that you are not hiding or trying to avoid the debt.

£5 per creditor a month is often quoted.

Monkeyballs

Hi,

Totally agree with Tixy (as usual )

If you communicate with your creditors explaining your situation and intent of entering into a DMP with Step Change (or Payplan or whoever you go with) making token payments of at least £5 then you should be ok although you will likely get a few letters until it is formalised and in place although considering today is the 10th of Jan then Feb/March is realistic - I don't think you would get anything in place any faster.

Personally, I'm an SC devotee as they have been brilliant and really understanding (not to mention patient) but I understand Payplan is also excellent - best of all, they're both free!

The one thing I would challenge you on is the £830 you think you can pay each month... Seems quite high, have you been very hard on yourself with your budget? You need to be realistic or you will struggle later and not get maximum benefit from the plan?

MB

Mort

I signed up with Payplan several years back and the time scale from first contact to first payment was similar to what you have said Step Change will take.

A token payment is a good idea.

Constantinople

Monkeyballs wrote: »

Hi,

Totally agree with Tixy (as usual )

If you communicate with your creditors explaining your situation and intent of entering into a DMP with Step Change (or Payplan or whoever you go with) making token payments of at least £5 then you should be ok although you will likely get a few letters until it is formalised and in place although considering today is the 10th of Jan then Feb/March is realistic - I don't think you would get anything in place any faster.

Personally, I'm an SC devotee as they have been brilliant and really understanding (not to mention patient) but I understand Payplan is also excellent - best of all, they're both free!

The one thing I would challenge you on is the £830 you think you can pay each month... Seems quite high, have you been very hard on yourself with your budget? You need to be realistic or you will struggle later and not get maximum benefit from the plan?

MB

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice on the token payments. I guess I've just been avoiding talking to creditors on the phone because of all the advice I've seen... doesn't help that they've ignored my letters about entering into a DMP (surprisingly the payday lenders have been the best). Is it worth phoning? I guess I just expect to be pressured into paying my arrears rather than a token payment.. maybe that's just my pessimism though.

Most of my accounts have been defaulted now.. is a token payment still generally accepted?

Regarding the budget... it seems quite high to me as well, I'll try and post my SOA when I'm not on my phone, but StepChange seemed to want a lot of things lowered from my estimates.. no money for birthday/christmas gifts really which I suppose is fair enough, but I'm not sure how to budget for any emergencies? I think the figure was something like £12 for presents/emergencies/sundries. I can probably 'survive' paying that out, but any emergencies would be a real show stopper and I'm not sure what I'd do without credit being available, but from what I've read that's what creditors expect before they'll accept your agreement?

Sorry for rambling, any more advice would be greatly appreciated.

cynicalgit_2

Neither DMP s are "free" they are sponsored by the Banking and Financial Industry who receive a percentage of the payments recovered.
Beware hidden unfrozen charges at the end of your DMP.
Best way is a self managed DMP it's not rocket science.
Sick and tired of this love in with aforementioned DMP providers.
Tell the truth please. They are the least worst. That is all.
.

antonic

cynicalgit wrote: »

Neither DMP s are "free" they are sponsored by the Banking and Financial Industry who receive a percentage of the payments recovered.
Beware hidden unfrozen charges at the end of your DMP.
Best way is a self managed DMP it's not rocket science.
Sick and tired of this love in with aforementioned DMP providers.
Tell the truth please. They are the least worst. That is all.
.

Thats your opinion and your welcome to it.

BUT as someone who has completed a DMP with Payplan , who incidentally make it perfectly clear that you may get hit with interest at the end of the plan, I respectfully disagree with you.

antonic

Constantinople wrote: »

Hi,

I've been trying to get a debt plan sorted with Stepchange.. submitted all my documentation in October and they're saying it's going to be February before I have my review call and March before they contact creditors so thinking of looking elsewhere as now being threatened with court action and nothing has been communicated to my creditors..

So I'm thinking of giving Payplan a try instead.

How long do things generally take to get set up with them? ~30k debts and able to put £830 into a DMP.

June 2013, I successfully completed a 90 month DMP with Payplan for £24k of debt.

My timescale was :

Sept 2005 contacted Payplan
Oct 2005 had my telephone interview and ran though my Income & Expenditure with them and an initial repayment figure of £236/month was set.
Dec 2005 made first paument
Jun 2013 - finished my DMP having paid the debt of in full.

With Payplan they set up an online account for you so you can check the progress of your DMP and when you message them they are pretty quick getting back to you.

The one thing you have to be aware of though (and its clear when you log into your account) is that you may get hit for interest at the end of your DMP if your creditor(s) dont freeze it.

In my case HBOS initially froze the interest for two year, then unfroze if for approx a year and then refroze the interest till the end.
It meant I ended up paying interest of approx £1500.00 - which I didnt object to as I had a £9.5 k Credit Card debt with them when I started my DMP and it took me 90 months to pay it off.

Good luck !

cynicalgit_2

Yeah Payplan are great, paying creditors a month after the money has left your bank account!!
Such efficiency, only speaking from experience.
Like I keep saying people should do it themselves, and keep control of their finances.