DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Puzzcat

Hello dmp'ers..


Lots of lovely activity on here at the moment..


Just thought it might be a good idea to point out that although we obviously would like ALL our creditors to freezer interest it is not always the way even after a complaint to the FOS.. Just in case anyone was getting the idea that creditors have to freeze interest.. unfortunately they don't but MOST do...


I took Creation to the FOS as they were charging me £30 interest and I was paying them about £36 a month.. They wouldn't reduce interest but after an intervention from the FOS the interest got dropped to £10 a month which was preferable..


But if you don't ask you don't get so... Letter writing is a must...!


Puzz. x

SquirrelNuts

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

While we are on the theme of template letters, here is the letter I used to get interest stopped:

You

Date

Them

Dear Sir/Madam

Complaint re: [Creditor name] account No: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your letter/statement concerning the above account. I am sorry that you feel unable to suspend interest/charges on the above account.

As you are aware, I/we am/are in a DMP with XXXXXXXX, reference number XXXXXXXX. The majority of my/our other creditors have agreed to the offer of payment and agreed to suspend any interest charges still accruing. They have accepted that to continue to charge interest would not assist us in my/our present financial difficulties, and can only serve to increase my/our total debt.

I/we have already paid considerable sums in interest to my/our account. If interest charges continue, the monthly instalments I/we am/are paying will not even cover that interest. Also, the cooperation of my/our other creditors who have agreed to freeze interest already would be put at risk.

I am aware that XXXXXXX subscribes to the Lending Code which states that lenders will consider reducing or suspending interest and charges if these would cause the debt to increase or lead to the repayment term becoming too extended. I would therefore be grateful if you would reconsider your decision not to freeze the interest. This would mean that the monthly payments I/we make would actually reduce the balance outstanding to your company.

Please consider this letter as a complaint about the interest charges you are continuing to apply to my account. I would like to see these stopped immediately and previous interest charges refunded.

If you are unable to help me with this issue, I will have no alternative but to take this case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully

You
________________________________________

Lots more really useful template letters and tons of other information on National Debtline website:

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/...s/default.aspx

And lots of fantastic information on NED CAB DMP website:

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

Hope this is useful but if you need any more help, someone here will always offer their advice or point you in the direction of someone who can assist.

TTFTM x

Thanks TTFTM, that saves me looking for it again!

cheers

Squiz

Time_to_face_the_music

Puzzcat wrote: »

Hello dmp'ers..

Lots of lovely activity on here at the moment..

Just thought it might be a good idea to point out that although we obviously would like ALL our creditors to freezer interest it is not always the way even after a complaint to the FOS.. Just in case anyone was getting the idea that creditors have to freeze interest.. unfortunately they don't but MOST do...

I took Creation to the FOS as they were charging me £30 interest and I was paying them about £36 a month.. They wouldn't reduce interest but after an intervention from the FOS the interest got dropped to £10 a month which was preferable..

But if you don't ask you don't get so... Letter writing is a must...!

Puzz. x

We can't win 'em all but we will give it our best effort and a 66% reduction is still a result!

TTFTM x

Rooster01

If Avant Credit (Springcoin) ring me one more time I'm going to scream dmp.....I've told them several times I've entered dmp yet they continue to ring several times including late on a Sunday night. They continue to state no letter received from Stepchange dispite being sent out 4 times to correct address. It is now harassment . ............

Time_to_face_the_music

Rooster01 wrote: »

If Avant Credit (Springcoin) ring me one more time I'm going to scream dmp.....I've told them several times I've entered dmp yet they continue to ring several times including late on a Sunday night. They continue to state no letter received from Stepchange dispite being sent out 4 times to correct address. It is now harassment . ............

Can you block their number or put your phone on answering machine/voicemail until you know who is calling?

At one stage at the start of our DMP, I answered the phone and said nothing. when Lloyds TSB (90% of calls came from them) identified themselves, I would pretend to be an answering machine with a script which consisted of:

"Hello and thank you for your call, I am on a DMP with CCCS and my reference number is xxxxxxx. They are fully authorised to act on my behalf so please contact them"

After about a week it worked and they stopped calling

TTFTM x

Rooster01

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Can you block their number or put your phone on answering machine/voicemail until you know who is calling?

At one stage at the start of our DMP, I answered the phone and said nothing. when Lloyds TSB (90% of calls came from them) identified themselves, I would pretend to be an answering machine with a script which consisted of:

"Hello and thank you for your call, I am on a DMP with CCCS and my reference number is xxxxxxx. They are fully authorised to act on my behalf so please contact them"

After about a week it worked and they stopped calling

TTFTM x

Class......Will give it ago. The sad thing is each time they ring they say they won't contact me again but within hours they are at it again. I know they have every right to contact me but 9 times everyday and late on a Sunday evening?

SquirrelNuts

Rooster01 wrote: »

Class......Will give it ago. The sad thing is each time they ring they say they won't contact me again but within hours they are at it again. I know they have every right to contact me but 9 times everyday and late on a Sunday evening?

Hi Rooster

I PM'd you as the forum was temporarily down for me and I couldnt post. Hope the letter template helps!

EDIT: added below

Rooster01 wrote: »

If Avant Credit (Springcoin) ring me one more time I'm going to scream dmp.....I've told them several times I've entered dmp yet they continue to ring several times including late on a Sunday night. They continue to state no letter received from Stepchange dispite being sent out 4 times to correct address. It is now harassment . ............

I had similar treatment from Pounds To Pocket for about two weeks then the gave up as I just let the calls go through to answer machine so I know how annoying the frequent calls are.

If they had continued though I would have sent something similar to the letter below (from 'all about debt' website).

If Springcoin do not respond then you can raise a complaint with FOS, which will cost Springcoin £500 for the investigation. That should help focus their minds on the DMP!

Dear Sirs,
Reference: 123456789
I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing and I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only. I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 as well as Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970.
I ought to draw your attention to the case of Harrison v Link Financial in which HH Judge Chambers outlined the predatory way in which the account holder was hounded; I quote, from this judgment;
"Cumulatively and damningly is what I find to be the way that MBNA and the Defendant went about recovering their debt. I am satisfied that the Claimant’s description of the way that he was hounded by his creditors is essentially correct not least in the use of “non-traceable” telephone calls. It seems to me that such conduct has no proper function in the recovery of consumer debt"
If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of s.127 of the Communications Act (2003) and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Financial Conduct Authority, meaning that you may be liable to a substantial fine and/or other sanctions as they see fit. Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company may be recorded and used in evidence and I expect this harassment to cease immediately.


Yours faithfully,


Mr. SquirrelNuts



I just looked at SpringCoin's website on complaints and it gives their address as below:


SpringCoin are committed to addressing and resolving any customer concerns in a timely and efficient manner. Disputes may be reported via email to [EMAIL="resolutions@SpringCoin.co.uk"]resolutions@SpringCoin.co.uk[/EMAIL], or via telephone at 0800 610 1516. We will review any and all customer complaints and respond via email within 48 hours.
SpringCoin is a trading name of AvantCredit of UK, LLC a Limited Liability Company incorporated in the United States. Headquarters: 640 N. LaSalle St, Suite 535, Chicago, IL USA 60654. Registered address and correspondence address: UK, LLC 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX.
If your issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may choose to escalate the matter by contacting the UK Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Further information, including but not limited to contact information, regarding the FOS may be obtained at http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

minkeymootoyou

Hi, i've just set up my DMP with stepchange but it doesn't start til feb, and i'm struggling with money this month. I still have questions about it.

Do i need to cancel all the direct debits?
How do you find out if interest has stopped?

I've had one email from my payday loan saying i'm in credit counselling status but they didn't specify what that meant.

I haven't missed any payments til now, but i'm missing my payday loan and personal loan this month. As it took an extra month to start i've had to pay all Januarys payments, and cant use any credit. my money is just not stretching.

Setting up the DMP has made me more anxious than ever ! Everyone says that it makes them feel better: like a weight has lifted. I've never felt so concerned about money.

Sazzie23

minkeymootoyou wrote: »

Hi, i've just set up my DMP with stepchange but it doesn't start til feb, and i'm struggling with money this month. I still have questions about it.

Do i need to cancel all the direct debits?
How do you find out if interest has stopped?

I've had one email from my payday loan saying i'm in credit counselling status but they didn't specify what that meant.

I haven't missed any payments til now, but i'm missing my payday loan and personal loan this month. As it took an extra month to start i've had to pay all Januarys payments, and cant use any credit. my money is just not stretching.

Setting up the DMP has made me more anxious than ever ! Everyone says that it makes them feel better: like a weight has lifted. I'v never felt so concerned about money.

It's Ok Minkeymoo I can feel the panic and hurt in your post, I think many of us have felt like this at one time. Take a deep breath, it's going to be All right.

Did anyone tell you about making token payments while the DMP gets under way? This means you only need to pay £1 to each creditor each month until the DMP gets underway. Some people even choose to defer the start of the DMP for a couple of months to get themselves an 'emergency fund'. An emergency fund is a bit of back up in case anything unexpected happens like a big car repair or your boiler breaks down etc.

Have you got enough to pay your essentials like rent/electric this month? What are you going to do for food/fuel? Let us know, we'll try to come up with suggestions how to survive this month.

Ok now the taking action bit:

1. Cancel any direct debits or CPA that will be included in the DMP now. You don't need them anymore now you are going on the DMP.
Does this leave you enough to get through til payday? If you have online banking, you might be able to do this without talking to anyone.

2. Next important thing, do you have any debts with the same or linked lender where your bank accounts are? If you do, and this one is VERY IMPORTANT; open a new basic bank account with a non-related lender, if you need help with this come back here for tips.

3. If you have any debts where you bank, take out all your money left in the bank now to stop it being taken in 'offsetting'.
Your essential bills will need paying in cash, but you can just tell them you are changing bank accounts, and ask for a cash banking form.

4. Consider telling SC you want to delay your DMP an extra month or 2 while you recover from making the January payments.

5. This is for the future - worry about 1-3 first. Account interest/charges. Creditors are supposed to give you a 30 day freeze on your account to sort out DMP etc. most will give you more than 30 days if you let them know the DMP is in the process of being set up.
After that some will contact you and tell you they have frozen interest, reduced interest, some will tell you they have accepted the DMP, some won't tell you anything but just change your payment schedule to the DMP. Some creditors will tell you they have rejected the DMP - that's just tough luck for them, SC will tell you to keep paying through SC I and ignore the rejected letters so don't panic over it.
Sometimes you only find out wht they are charging from your statement. DON'T rely on SC for your balances, their balances assume no interest and just take the payment amount off the total. Check each of your accounts each month and record the totals somewhere.


Let us know who your creditors are and we'll try to give you an idea of who charges what and what to do.

You are taking control - well done, thanks for posting and let us help you get through this. Sure some of the others will give you some advice and support here too so stay tuned

Sazzie

Growurown

Hi Minkymootoyou,

That's very sound advice from Sazzie. I agree with everything she has said. The most important thing is getting all your payments to creditors cancelled to free up some money to live on this month. You are going into a DMP so they will have to stop soon anyway.

I know it is stressful now but that will soon stop once things get under way and you will feel better once you get over this first scary bit. Any questions please ask. Everyone on this thread is amazing in their support for one another and will help you. Good luck!