Is a self managed DMP the answer?

Onthelongroad

Hello All,

I am just looking for a bit of advice and a few pointers on what is the best route to take. I started a DMP with Stepchange early last year and during this time i missed two payments, i was advised if i missed another they would cancel my plan with them which is totally understandable.

Last month i needed some emergency dental work (still need more ) which meant i didnt have enough money to pay my DMP in full. Being the sort of person i am, i hid away from this fact and just paid what i could afford (half) but didn't contact SC to let them know my situation. I have now been advised my plan has been cancelled.

I have logged into my SC account and can see they have received my payment but payments haven't been sent to my creditors as this is done on the 25th / month. Are they likely to split the smaller payment among my creditors or return it to me? I have emailed them direct and i am currently awaiting a response.

SC have advised in the email i was sent that they have informed my creditors it has now been cancelled.
So it now appears i still have the debt and no active DMP and i was wondering is a self managed DMP the route to go?
I can still afford to pay the same amount i was paying on my DMP so would it really matter whether it comes from them or me?
If i was to start doing it alone, what would be the best way about letting my creditors know (letters emails etc)?
I get paid on the 25th, so if i were to pay all my creditors that same day my plan wouldnt technically be any further behind...

I did consider trying a different charity ie payplan but the fact i didnt stick to my first one with SC makes me think any creditors will just laugh that off and say no.

Any ideas / help gratefully received

National_Debtline

Hello there,

On the face of it, there should be no difference between using a free provider, such as Payplan, or doing it yourself. There is now more help than ever available to those wishing to go it alone.

We have a large suite of sample letters on our website which you can find *here*

You can complete a financial statement *here*

Best wishes,

David @natdebtline

Depth_Charge

Hi

Managing your own DMP has advantages and disadvantages depending on circumstances.

If you feel you can manage your own DMP (or have little or no alternative as many people find themselves) then it is not too difficult really and arguably gives more control and flexibility.

Creditors should treat you the same as if you use a DMP provider as so they should do as they get more money either by the elimination of fees or not having to pay fair share contributions and donations out of your money.

Citizens Advice have the unique IMA Award winning online Cabmoney Assisted Self Help Debt Management Plan system that does and saves everything and is now widely used and expanding. The system now includes a transfer DMP facility that has standard letters to help changing over (see link below for further information)

https://nedcab.cabmoney.org.uk/dmp.asp

The way things are going self managing is set to substantially expand & increase in my opinion (for example more CAB branches are joining the Cabmoney initiative) as it is becoming much easier to do this.

I understand that there will be a concentrated campaign soon directed at creditors to highlight the benefits to all of self managing and that they should do everything they can to support, work with and assist those that do.

There is great help & support on here for people on Debt Management Plans so don't hesitate in posting further if necessary.

Always take full advice (preferably from one of the genuine charity free providers) on all your options in dealing with debt before making any decisions.

https://nedcab.cabmoney.org.uk/

Best Wishes

DC

sourcrates

Its very simple to do the DMP yourself, all you need are the account payment details for all your creditors, and your account numbers as a reference, and away you go, pay online every month, or by standing order, takes a few mins of your time.

Onthelongroad

I have gone down the route of going it alone.

I have set up standing orders for the majority of my creditors and payments are being applied fine.

However Payday Uk, Payday Express & Poundstopocket still don't fancy giving me their bank account details to allow me to set payments up.
I've rang them several times but they always try to get me to add a new debit card to the online account so they can take payment that way (obviously won't be doing that)

Has anyone else had any dealings with these companies and found alternative payment methods?

ghostmadlittlemiss

Onthelongroad wrote: »

I have gone down the route of going it alone.

I have set up standing orders for the majority of my creditors and payments are being applied fine.

However Payday Uk, Payday Express & Poundstopocket still don't fancy giving me their bank account details to allow me to set payments up.
I've rang them several times but they always try to get me to add a new debit card to the online account so they can take payment that way (obviously won't be doing that)

Has anyone else had any dealings with these companies and found alternative payment methods?

My advice would be to find their address off their website and send them a cheque or postal order. If you go with a postal order, send it Signed For as otherwise, they could cash it and then pretend they hadn't got it. Obviously, with a cheque, you know when they've cashed it so you could just send that by regular post.
Kayleigh

fatbelly

Postal Orders and cheques carry additional costs, which may be disproportionate if the monthly payment itself is small.

The other option is just to save their payments in a separate pot and wait for their debts to be passed to a collection agency, who should be happy to give you a sort code/account number to make payments to. You might also be able to try a settlement deal at that point.

It's pretty safe to do this with payday lenders as they do not often take court action. Note I'm not saying 'never'.