DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Brogden

Puzzcat..........I absolutely love your name

Time_to_face_the_music

Brogden wrote: »

Some good news stories on here since the last time I looked

Can somebody help me? How do I cross out text in my signature? To motivate me I want to be able to see the old debt crossed out when I have paid a bit off if you know what I mean!

Thanks

If you go to the edit signature option, on the second row down, to the far right (closest to the emoticons), there is a tab with a letter S with a line through, that is the strike out tool.

Some amazing achievements going on at the moment and all the usual fantastic help and support :j

We have just managed to get into the £12,000s and could never have done it without this thread :T

TTFTM x

Brogden

Thanks for your help with the signature TTFTM - I've done it. Not much of a reduction but at least I know what I'm doing now - hopefully better reductions to come

jubilee14

HI not been on for a few days.

GUO how are you doing with the self management? because i am really thinking of moving that way but need to be brave.... and organised!

Hfx and loan are now defaulted and BOS now threatening about the O/d even though they get paid monthly and did speak to them so think they are going to pass to their friends at Blair Oliver Scott.

Was going to wait till that happened then put a couple of token payments to BC to get the interest frozen again and then pay them a share of the payment rather than the way SC to do it just to avoid some of my money going to their interest. As i have upped my monthly payments i dont really want it just going straight into interest payment if i can help it.

Anyones advice much appreciated.

Well done all keep it going .

TTFM brilliant your are within touching distance of single figure k's

Brogden

jubilee14 wrote: »

HI not been on for a few days.

GUO how are you doing with the self management? because i am really thinking of moving that way but need to be brave.... and organised!

Hfx and loan are now defaulted and BOS now threatening about the O/d even though they get paid monthly and did speak to them so think they are going to pass to their friends at Blair Oliver Scott.

Was going to wait till that happened then put a couple of token payments to BC to get the interest frozen again and then pay them a share of the payment rather than the way SC to do it just to avoid some of my money going to their interest. As i have upped my monthly payments i dont really want it just going straight into interest payment if i can help it.

Anyones advice much appreciated.

Well done all keep it going .

TTFM brilliant your are within touching distance of single figure k's

Hi Jubilee,

I don't think you'll hear from Blair Oliver & Scott again.....they're a thing of the past

Following the Wonga 'fake solicitor' scandal, it was realised that the 'highly respectable' banks were playing the same dirty tricks. Basically they all shook with fear and decided to address debtors in their own names. At least you'll know where you're up to in future!

With regards to self managing - if you have got this far it may well be worth considering and as you say, give you the flexibility to sort out the problem cases like Barclays. At the start, I filled in all the stuff for Step Change (then CCCS) but I just couldn't make myself go with it - I knew it didn't suit me.

Step Change do an amazing job for some people but I think it is also being very responsible to do it yourself if you don't need their help. At the start, I thought there was some 'magical safety blanket' they would throw around me but when I realised there wasn't (obviously) it had no appeal for me. I found they would administer payments but would not get hold of a creditor by the scruff of the neck like I have on a couple of occasions

I am trying to get around to starting my own DMP diary and I'll give my reasonings for self-management and a little bit on the various insanities I've experienced

Brogden

Diamonds2010

Just wanted to say Hi and how much these pages and you fellow moneysavingexperts have helped me over the years to know your not alone with Debt and shouldn't be ashamed of it. Especially when you have finally facing it head on and dealing with it.
I have been in a DMP for a couple of years now with CCCS and without there help I wouldnt be in the place that I am now.

I feel more confident about the situation and the future is looking bright I have decided to self manage the last 2 debts now myself and on the road to being totally debt free. Which feels amazing.

I know its hard and your have to make sacrifices but We can all do it just have to be positive and keep your head held high and look to the future.

spiffyiffy

Hi all,


Since everyone else is posting about their DMP's or joining a DMP; I thought I'd share as well.


I initially contacted Step Change in the summer and that should have been my LBM which it was but I thought I could keep managing but I couldn't.


So I have finally decided this week to send Step Change all their paperwork, account details and start sending all token payments to my creditors.


I have already opened a different current account and have nearly al my DD's over to that new account, so I'm nearly there.


Thanks all

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere

Well done spiffyiffy - I promise you won't look back.

We held off for a couple of months too thinking we could continue to struggle by paying off the full amounts. However when we sat down and realistically worked things out we would pay off our loans in 5-6 years but then would have to start tackling overdrafts and credit cards - things that we would be relying on and ultimately adding to, trying to soldier on, ending up getting us into more debt.

When we decided to go for the DMP it was actually a huge relief and we now feel so much calmer and happier. Just things like being able to afford a new pair of school shoes for our kids without it having to go on the credit card.

All credit cards chopped up - having credit is HISTORY!!

If we can't afford it we don't have it - our new motto

Good luck and keep us posted with how it's all going. Such great support and knowledge on here

Take care,

BDFSH x

dad2one

Yes, well done spiffyiffy. You can start living again now, and the worrying will stop soon also.

blisteringblue, Kate_fixing_it, City1, chutyeh .. Re- The self management or StepChange managed question. I think my long term aim, as are a lot of peoples', is to self manage eventually. But before this happens I need to see a good period of quiet acceptance from all my creditors. (i.e. 2 years plus (i am a long termer)). Short term arrangements 2 years or less, might as well let the SC manage it.
When I've had written acceptances from all creditors following defaults and DCA passings on, then I'll consider self management. Personally I wouldn't recommend it upon starting out. Bodies like StepChange have a lot of clout I believe, and personal financial explanations I think will be more readily accepted when going through them.

I've only the one creditor that still makes a roughly yearly computer generated noise that I need to sort out. Ha! What I mean is HSBC now and then decide to add an interest charge by automation from their system, and I have to contact them to have it removed / stopped. Once that stops I'll be ready for self management. (Also HSBC are not good communicators with stuff like this, so SC is a security backup for me when trying to get through to them)


Good fortune people - onwards and upwards!

Growurown

maganan wrote: »

Well folks I've only gone and done it.......
I am debt free

peptoabysmal wrote: »

I've finally paid off my £10K in debts through a DMP and couldn't be happier. :j

Fantastic news you two:j:j:j

Don't forget to add yourselves onto the the Debt Free Roll of Honour!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/291326

jubilee14 wrote: »

GUO how are you doing with the self management? because i am really thinking of moving that way but need to be brave.... and organised!

Not too bad thanks! I chose to phone all my creditors and tell them what I was doing, but you could write instead if you don't want to speak to them. Got my up to date balances (no nasty surprises - phew!) got all the details of the account numbers etc. to pay into, set it all up online and pretty much done. So it did take some time and Capital One want me to do an I&E but I think I will conveniently forget to do it and see if they hassle me. I'm not sending them copies of my bank account that's for sure!

The advantage is that now I have finished paying the big loan I had with Nat West, I can throw all that money at the Hellifax (£350) who are still charging interest. Step Change would have divided it amongst all my creditors (most of whom aren't charging interest) and oh I do so want to get rid of the Hellifax!

I do have one slight worry. The minimum payment on the Hellifax CC currently is only £50 per month. Would I be tempted not to pay the full £350 every month now that I don't have to? Will I succumb to temptation?:eek::eek:

Plus I want to know - why does this always happen? You get a bit of extra money to put away and then something breaks and you need to replace it and bingo! you are back to square one:( OH got some overtime money and then got a puncture, all on the same day. Ah but that's not the end of the story, got to the garage to get a new tyre to be told all four need replacing!! Apparently all four tyres were bald on the inside due to faulty tracking. I did ask OH if he checked that they weren't duping him but he said no, the tyres were definitely knackered. Still looking on the positive side now that the new tyres are on and the tracking sorted that funny whistling noise seems to have gone:rotfl: