DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Sazzie23

ForMySister wrote: »

Apologies in advance, but I think I'm going to have a bit of a rant.

As you lovely, supportive people know I have been sorting out my sister's DMP whilst she is dealing with some pretty debilitating emotional issues. Everything was on track and we were making some headway and then an email arrived today from Mr Lender. I had contacted all of the creditors last week to explain about the DMP and to ask about their protocols regarding me speaking with them on behalf of my sister. I didn't ask for specifics regarding her account, just said that due to some issues she was not in a position to speak for herself so what could we do so that I could. They sent me an email back saying that due to Data Protection they couldn't discuss her account with me and she had to call them.

That's not what I asked for!!! I didn't want specifics I just wanted to ask if there was a form I had to fill in. And they had the cheek to quote Data Protection at me when according to a lot I have read about them they have form for calling a debtor's employment and detailing their business to whomever answers the phone. Sorry, I know this isn't helpful but I am just so mad.

Should I try again or just wait until StepChange have been in contact with them? StepChange does have authority to speak with me so maybe I should just go through them? I'm very confused now and all the more concerned that they might call my sister at work.

Very controlled rant, understandably furious. Truly don't know the best way to deal with this, guess is just depends how good the person(robot/computer?) at the other end is at making an explanation. In my dealings with other (non debt) companies who don't seem to understand, persistence pays off, so what I have done before is email them back and say NO you are not listening to me...this is what I need and why ... Quote some sort of legislation or regulation back at them, can't think of anything right now but sure someone here will have something to add.

Maybe something in here
http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/attachment/mentalhealth2014.pdf

Sounds like going ok apart from that, I know it's a big worry for sis so hopefully you can get through this hiccup quickly.

zenshi

Formysister......bit naughty here but I assume you know all of your sisters details etc etc. Just ring up as if you were your sister and give them the authority they want

ailz95

zenshi wrote: »

Formysister......bit naughty here but I assume you know all of your sisters details etc etc. Just ring up as if you were your sister and give them the authority they want

I second that, they aren't playing fair, you do, after all, have your sister's permission

ForMySister

All sorted, and what a turn up for the books. Just happened to be at my sister's house when the phone rang, and lo and behold it was Mr Lender. I spoke to a girl who was actually really lovely and helpful. She has noted on the file that communication should only be in writing, that NO telephone calls will be made and she also said that once StepChange have been in touch interest and charges on the account should be suspended. Sounds good. If they stick to it.

On the flip side, though, I may have said I was my sister on the phone:o and straight after the call I may have spent 30 minutes blocking numbers on my sister's landline and mobile. Oops.

Thanks, yet again, for the advice lovelies x

zenshi

I reminds me of an incident I had last year, not debt related.

My sons was deployed overseas in the middle of an ocean and I was dealing with his stuff. When I tried to sort something out , I explained this to the bloke and said he couldn't phone as he was on ship, the guy then said 'well, he can email or send by mail!!!! Duh......

Growurown

Evening all. Seems like many of you are making progress with sorting out these pesky lenders, dealing with traffic wardens and getting new jobs!

That little orange light has come on in my car again:(

I'm going to sulk now.

Sazzie23

Growurown wrote: »

Evening all. Seems like many of you are making progress with sorting out these pesky lenders, dealing with traffic wardens and getting new jobs!

That little orange light has come on in my car again:(

I'm going to sulk now.

Bummer, just in time for Santa :mad: put a sticker over it:D

l.m.t

Hey fellow DMP'ers..


Just after a bit of advise if possible.


I recently started a DMP in conjunction with my partner, last month was my first payment which is £508 per month.


Unfortunately this month some unexpected expense came up (significant car repairs following MOT) and I have missed my DMP payment - I'm gutted as this is only the second payment but now see that I should not have dived straight in without building an emergency fund.


My payment was due on the 10th, it's now the 18th so I urgently need to speak with Step Change re this as I don't want to be removed from the plan. Does anybody have any experience as to how they will react? I could probably scrape together about £100 this month towards the DMP, but any more will be impossible


I'm a bit scared to ring them to be honest, so just want to know what to expect.


Thank you!

Puzzcat

l.m.t wrote: »

Hey fellow DMP'ers..


Just after a bit of advise if possible.


I recently started a DMP in conjunction with my partner, last month was my first payment which is £508 per month.


Unfortunately this month some unexpected expense came up (significant car repairs following MOT) and I have missed my DMP payment - I'm gutted as this is only the second payment but now see that I should not have dived straight in without building an emergency fund.


My payment was due on the 10th, it's now the 18th so I urgently need to speak with Step Change re this as I don't want to be removed from the plan. Does anybody have any experience as to how they will react? I could probably scrape together about £100 this month towards the DMP, but any more will be impossible


I'm a bit scared to ring them to be honest, so just want to know what to expect.


Thank you!

Hi,


These things happen, life gets in the way sometimes.. Give them a ring they will get something sorted for you.. don't delay do it today.. sooner the better..


Let us know how you get on.


Good luck
Puzz. x

cragger89

Posting here as recommended in my question the other day

I was made redundant a week before I tied the knot in July this year.

On the day of a wedding, an uncle offered me £10k to sort my debts out, then when coming back from the honeymoon, I phoned to arrange the transaction when he changed his mind - moron.

My main debt was a 60 plate ford focus which I had on finance with about £8k left to pay, a credit card which was almost maxed at £1500, a bank loan with £2600 left on it and a store card in my wife's name with £400 on it. I also declared my main bank account as a debt of £1500 as I chose to cheekily, exhaust my overdraft to keep me on the road as, in Boston, where I live, there isn't much IT work and I didn't want to limit the jobs I applied for.

Anyway, I phoned Baines and Ernst, agreed what I would pay, then learnt about Step Change by googling here and being advised of them by someone who cold called me regarding a Govt funded scheme which is effectively an IVA, but I wasn't in enough debt to have one set up.

I voluntarily terminated the finance for the car, had it collected and then proceeded to set up the DMP with Step Change. For the time being, we are paying token payments to each creditor until February. Luckily, I am due to start work locally doing IT support - it's 5 minutes from my house which is perfect. I bought a car for £1395 using the redundancy and sorted the shortfall for that using the money I withdrew from my account.

It really has been the way to go - it was made somewhat easier given the fact my debts are comparatively low compared with some, but I knew it was time to do something about it. The people I conversed with from Step Change were very supportive, very knowledgeable and made the long phone calls very manageable.

Life is a lot brighter now and I honestly would not change anything that has happened this year now. Being made redundant, then getting married and sorting the debts properly really feels so apt and my health is really improving as a result. I'm an anxiety and depression sufferer, which was triggered last December by my town being flooded and my mother in law losing everything, so the debt problems really were aggravated when learning I was to lose my job.

I cannot recommend this route enough to people and although I have some time to go before I am debt free, my attitude to spending is completely different. One main change we also made is to buy meat only from a butcher, meaning there is less waste, the rest of our food is bought from Aldi. Removing yourself from the brand snobbery of not wanting to be seen with Aldi or Lidl on your shopping bags is the thing to do - a weekly shop costs us about £35 at Aldi, compared with £80 at Tesco or Sainsbury.

I welcome people to message me if you want to discuss things in more detail, especially regarding the depression & anxiety stuff, I might be able to help you.