DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Slothy88

Puzzcat wrote: »

Hi, I just wrote to the address I had on the statements for my credit cards and direct to my bank for my overdraft and loan. I obviously didn't write to the old bank until my new bank account was sorted and wages redirected. You will get all sorts of letters and maybe the odd phone call but pop on here and someone will be able to help.
Yes I just sent a cheque each time. You will find your debt rises as the dmp is set up but this is usual practice and fingers crossed as the dmp gets sorted they will freeze interest and charges. 8 out of 9 of mine did and 1 I pay a low interest on. Payday loans with cpa need to be dealt with slightly differently as you need to cancel the cpa with the bank and notify the loan company.
Are all your debts with mainstream lenders?
An emergency fund is a must and by delaying your start up and saving the money hopefully means when you are up and running you won't need to change your payments which appears to upset the creditors.
Do try and read back as much of this thread and the previous as possible, lots of information. I read 3 of them before starting my dmp!
Puzz.x

Yeah, all of my debts are with mainstream lenders, no payday loans fortunately. I have approximately £3,700 with Barclaycard (my biggest debt), £1,700 with MBNA, £700 with Halifax credit card, £1750 Halifax overdraft and £700 Halifax loan.


My current account is with Halifax which is why I need to switch. I also have a bills account with Barclays, so I'll need to close that down and make a new bills account elsewhere too. It's a lot of work and stress at the moment but I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the long run!


Ok, so I think I'll cancel my direct debits today for the non-Halifax ones and send letters out straight away. I've seen the website which has the sample letters on so that'll be good. And then it's just sit and wait for the barrage of letters and phonecalls :rotfl:


Thank you so much for your advice! I will definitely go through the threads in more detail, it's just an awful lot of information to process at once

Sazzie23

Slothy88 wrote: »

Yeah, all of my debts are with mainstream lenders, no payday loans fortunately. I have approximately £3,700 with Barclaycard (my biggest debt), £1,700 with MBNA, £700 with Halifax credit card, £1750 Halifax overdraft and £700 Halifax loan.


My current account is with Halifax which is why I need to switch. I also have a bills account with Barclays, so I'll need to close that down and make a new bills account elsewhere too. It's a lot of work and stress at the moment but I'm sure it'll all be worth it in the long run!


Ok, so I think I'll cancel my direct debits today for the non-Halifax ones and send letters out straight away. I've seen the website which has the sample letters on so that'll be good. And then it's just sit and wait for the barrage of letters and phonecalls :rotfl:


Thank you so much for your advice! I will definitely go through the threads in more detail, it's just an awful lot of information to process at once

It's a massive learning curve isn't it, and I started out before I found this thread. Would probably have done things differently if I knew then what I know now....:eek:

Top tip for all newbies - don't cut your budget so tight that you don't have any wiggle room for the odd treat or unexpected expense. Most of us DMPers are in it the long, or very long haul and it's hard to give up everything for years and years. Whilst it's great to be keen to pay back every penny, you don't necessarily gain any kudos for it and the higher your payments, the more likely the creditors are to charge interest, so treat 'em mean at the start and if you end up with cash to spare, then decide what to do with it.

Welcome to all the newbies - sorry not got time to reply to everyone at the mo, and I can't add much to the trusty advice from Puzz/GUO/TtFTtm and the others,

And has anyone heard from Kate & MB or have they run away together with a banana and Haribo ring ?

jubilee14

HI All it seems we are all struggling a wee bit this month. Get paid at the end of the week and am having to watch every single penny this week.

I think i've taken my eye off the ball the last month or so and this is what happens:mad:

Would feel better if i had got most of the kids something for xmas but only started this month with two kids to still buy for. Make no bones about it being expensive though.

Heyho, at least i am not piling it all on a cc and the debt is coming down. nearly hit 10k paid off mark so thats something :T

Chin up all

Slothy88

So I've read through THE WHOLE OF THIS THREAD from start to finish! :T (yay me).


It's taken me pretty much two whole days at work to read it, but it's ok because I barely do anything at work. I'm a microbiologist, and unfortunately spend a lot of my time bored due to not very much work. They pay me about £10,000 more than they should be paying someone to do this job!


Anyway, after reading the thread, a lot of questions I had have been answered, as have a lot of questions I didn't realise I had! So thanks for that everyone! It's great to hear success stories from people in a similar situation, but it's also good to hear the not-so-great stuff, just so I'm aware of what could happen.


I realised after reading it, I feel like I know so many of you now, and yet you know nothing about me! And since I'm about to start my SC DMP journey, I was hoping y'all would accept me into your DMP/DFW family! I can offer smiles and virtual marshmallows in exchange.


So, here's a bit about me: (feel free to skip this, it's not all too interesting )


The name Slothy is a nickname my OH gave to me very early in the relationship (around a year and a half ago) - he said I give great cuddles (like a sloth hugging a branch), and if I don't have to move, I won't. I prefer the former reason, but hey-ho


Up until around June last year, I was in a relationship with a 'boy' I had been with since I was 16. We'd been together 9 years, we'd bought a house, we got engaged, and I threw myself into planning the wedding. I was very much into it, however I wasn't so keen on the marriage bit. At least not to him. He was an idiot. Basically, he'd been flitting between jobs, never really doing anything productive, and when we bought our house he was starting a graduate teaching programme for a pittance wage. So, I supported us both for a year. He was hugely depressed all of the time and we had no quality of life because of how down he was all the time without seeking help and just taking it all out on me.


The final knock to the relationship came when he FINALLY got a good job with a good wage, and the first thing he talked about doing was spending £1000 on a bike. Now, I'm not a materialistic girl particularly, but I'd just supported him for a year and got no thanks for it! Besides which he already had two bikes, why did he need another?! And he bought me a mop for Christmas. A MOP!! As in a £7 from Asda. Oh, sorry, he also bought me massage oils...to massage HIM with.


I got very bitter very quickly. Then came along a real man who showed me that I wasn't in the right relationship (I didn't cheat - it's not in my nature). I ended it very quickly, and haven't looked back


All hunky dory except for the fact we owned a house together. That went on the market November 2013, sold in March 2014, then the sale fell through nine weeks later - after I had already moved out and started renting!! The house is still on the market, it's now been a year. I am praying someone will snap it up soon, because paying half a mortgage on a house that's doing nothing is agonising!


Also, when the ex was really hard up, he couldn't get credit cards etc., so being the idiot I was (and trust me, I have now learned my lesson the very hard way), I took cards out in my name, paid for holidays etc. Except I've now been lumbered with the debt while he hasn't got a care in the world.


BUT I am happy to say I am facing my demons, I am owning up to the fact that I can't carry on making minimum payments as I am getting nowhere, and my poor OH is having to sub me in all walks of life (which he always says he is happy to do, but it's difficult for me having been so independent for so long).


So I have applied for my basic cash account, in the next week I will be cancelling all my direct debits and writing to my creditors with token £1 payments, and in January I should be making my first SC payment of £218, to be debt free in 3 years 4 months


Apologies for the long post, I just felt like I've reaped so much from this thread, and I wanted to introduce myself properly

Kate_fixing_it

Hi all!

I'm monkey/haribo/banana free just very busy.

Had a quick catch up and for once I actually have debt news other than the "still plodding".

HSBC rejected my second complaint (clearly didn't read it!)
Not sure whether to rock the boat there as the loan is still showing as settled on my Noddle report but on the online banking there's a balance!
HSBC overdraft dropped into the 1700s today :j
HSBC loan dropped into the 1400s today :j
HSBC credit card has dropped off the face of the earth!
Creation STILL haven't responded to my complaint so I decided to use that as leverage and called to informally discuss an F&F. The offer (from mum ) has gone in at 47% and they'll accept or counter by early next week. Will be sure to get it in writing.
No one else has responded to F&Fs but as I wasn't laughed at I'm crossing everything for acceptance. If they do that'll be me into the 6000s :j :j :j

In non-DMP stuff:
I didn't get the job but I was apparently the strongest candidate. Huge hullabaloo around that so I won't bore you with it. Still stings a bit but I can't change it.
But happy happy happy news! The exam I was revising for (that heaped on the debt related guilt) was passed with 12 out of 15 sections exceeded and I've passed another one yesterday too! :j I have 5 more between now and Christmas which is a great spending curb because I have no time to shop

And to others...
So sorry to hear your news TTFTM, we're going through something similar with a restructure at work currently, find out the new company structure tomorrow morning. It's mostly management that's being cut but there's an awful atmosphere with everyone and a lot of upset. I hope you won't be affected.

Squirrelnuts (I think) I've just done the ethics module of AAT level 3 and had to check I could because of my DMP. DMP is okay but you need to inform the AAT of bankruptcy or an IVA. Ironic how many DMPers are also involved in accountancy! I know of at least 3 more that post on this board, but it's just proof that life happens to us all and at least we're here dealing with it. In your situation I'd definitely go for the DMP, possibly 3 years more but a lot safer in relation to your career.

To all newbies welcome! You're in the right place now

And to all oldies big hugs, look how wonderfully far you have come, every day it's getting closer and closer so big hugs from me.

And MB??? Where are you? Throwing satsumas at students?

Kate x

Kate_fixing_it

Oh and in true "Kate style" made a MAJOR booboo last week. Driving home and kids were playing up so I pulled over to tell them off. Drove off again and car was very very wrong, wouldn't change gear and engine was roaring but no warning lights on. My heart was filled with dread, I've just spent nearly £400 on a complete new braking system and a load of other bits and pieces that I don't understand, it was cold, wet and dark. Pulled over again to try the old theory of "switch it off and on again" and lo and behold... I'd been driving with the handbrake on :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Yeah...I'm THAT dim at times! :rotfl:

Kate x

Time_to_face_the_music

I just need to run in, jump up and down and shout at the top of my voice ......

OUR DEBT IS UNDER £10K, WE ARE IN 4 FIGURES!

Thank you Student Loan Company, you really have made my (and of course my daughter's) day :T

TTFTM x

jubilee14

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

I just need to run in, jump up and down and shout at the top of my voice ......

OUR DEBT IS UNDER £10K, WE ARE IN 4 FIGURES!

Thank you Student Loan Company, you really have made my (and of course my daughter's) day :T

TTFTM x

Fantastic news your a total inspiration 82k to under 10k in less than three years. amazeballs :beer:

SquirrelNuts

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

I just need to run in, jump up and down and shout at the top of my voice ......

OUR DEBT IS UNDER £10K, WE ARE IN 4 FIGURES!

Thank you Student Loan Company, you really have made my (and of course my daughter's) day :T

TTFTM x

WOW! Well done! :T

Sazzie23

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

I just need to run in, jump up and down and shout at the top of my voice ......

OUR DEBT IS UNDER £10K, WE ARE IN 4 FIGURES!

Thank you Student Loan Company, you really have made my (and of course my daughter's) day :T

TTFTM x

Woohoo go TTfTm :j:j. Happy dance

Kate - least no harm was done with the car thing, it's an easy mistake to make, sorry about the job but well done with the exams.