DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

DavesDevil

Hello everyone,


I just wanted to introduce myself however first of all can I say I am new to forums and am unsure of how to use them, etiquette and what all the abbreviations mean. So please bear with me and if I make any faux pas I am sorry.


I had my LB (light bulb?) moment last September and knew we what to do something. Our debt is about £58k and we entered into a DMP with StepChange (SC?) in January and made our first DD payment today. having read lots of pages on this thread since we entered the agreement I have made some schoolboy errors. We haven't an emergency fund and I carried on getting into debt whilst setting everything up and making full payments to our creditors because I didn't know about token payments.


We (Husband & I) are currently getting lots of letters from our creditors. I think we have 9 creditors in total. Some have accepted the payment offer from SC but had a letter saying we have defaulted on a couple - should I be worried about this. Also a couple are refusing what they have been offered.


I have noticed some people are delighted to be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA?) why is this?


Its looking like it will take 6-7 years at the current rate to pay our debt off. Also I am pregnant and due to start mat leave on Monday (My income will halve whilst on SMP). How will our creditors view this as our payments will need to reduce almost immediately.


I really wish I had found you guys earlier - you seem like such a lovely friendly group.


Thanks you in advance for any advice or tips xx

System

DavesDevil wrote: »

Hello everyone,


I just wanted to introduce myself however first of all can I say I am new to forums and am unsure of how to use them, etiquette and what all the abbreviations mean. So please bear with me and if I make any faux pas I am sorry.


I had my LB (light bulb?) moment last September and knew we what to do something. Our debt is about £58k and we entered into a DMP with StepChange (SC?) in January and made our first DD payment today. having read lots of pages on this thread since we entered the agreement I have made some schoolboy errors. We haven't an emergency fund and I carried on getting into debt whilst setting everything up and making full payments to our creditors because I didn't know about token payments.


We (Husband & I) are currently getting lots of letters from our creditors. I think we have 9 creditors in total. Some have accepted the payment offer from SC but had a letter saying we have defaulted on a couple - should I be worried about this. Also a couple are refusing what they have been offered.


I have noticed some people are delighted to be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA?) why is this?


Its looking like it will take 6-7 years at the current rate to pay our debt off. Also I am pregnant and due to start mat leave on Monday (My income will halve whilst on SMP). How will our creditors view this as our payments will need to reduce almost immediately.


I really wish I had found you guys earlier - you seem like such a lovely friendly group.


Thanks you in advance for any advice or tips xx

Welcome...:) I am new myself, having only had our lightbulb moment at the begining of January, but I know this is the place to be as everyone is so helpful and we honestly couldn't have done it without the lovely people on here.... I hadn't even heard of SC till I searched the threads on here.

We have almost as much debt as you, just over £56k and have been forecast 7yrs and 1 month. I can't give you a lot of advice myself yet, but do stay around and you will learn loads.

DavesDevil

ploppy57 wrote: »

Welcome...:) I am new myself, having only had our lightbulb moment at the begining of January, but I know this is the place to be as everyone is so helpful and we honestly couldn't have done it without the lovely people on here.... I hadn't even heard of SC till I searched the threads on here.

We have almost as much debt as you, just over £56k and have been forecast 7yrs and 1 month. I can't give you a lot of advice myself yet, but do stay around and you will learn loads.

Thanks Ploppy57 - its nice not to feel alone x

james_joyce

DavesDevil wrote: »

Thanks Ploppy57 - its nice not to feel alone x

Hi, I am newly on DMP as well and just beginning to get my head round it! I am managing my DMP myself - still haven't decided if that makes it easier or harder!

My advice to myself was firstly not to panic, and secondly to read all these DMP threads on MSE from start to finish. (Which I haven't done yet!).

I've realised I've spent far too much time in recent years worrying about money - now I'm on DMP I'm trying to give more attention to other things. All the best with your pregnancy - my kids are obviously far above money on my priorities list!

Best wishes
James

fermi

Sazzie23 wrote: »

Morning all

Newbie message

I know there is a lot of activity on the thread at the moment, many newbies who are posting, and quite a few lurkers at a guess (that's ok, we don't mind, one day you'll feel up to posting and smile about how worried you were).

I agree with what's been posted already busy the regulars, and I think all the queries have been answered.

So general Newbie Advice,:D setting up and starting out is probably to most difficult time you will face in your DMP, so don't panic if it all seems scary and too much :eek:. Facing up to the fact you can no longer pay your debts is a massive step and very confronting for many people, this is life changing stuff so worrying is absolutely normal. :sad:

Now you've done the horrid thing of adding it all up (often a shock) you've worked out (with SC or whoever) how much you can pay back, that's the crucial bit done, just a matter of getting the paperwork sorted.

Despite SC being the largest debt charity, some call centre people know nothing about them, that's ok, they are just ignorant, don't let it worry you.
All debt collection sections know about SC, some are better equipped to deal with it than others. Often the people at the front end that you speak to know nothing about how the system works, remember you do, you are better equipped than them, don't let them scare you.

It doesn't matter if you choose to DIY DMP or SC, the plan is the same, you are paying them what you can afford and they can't have anything else. They 'reject' the plan, tough luck, keep paying it just the same, they'll get with the programme at some point.

Some creditors will let you know they have accepted, some will just accept it and show something on the statement, some will not say anything but just stop or reduce your interest, HBOS and BC will probably still charge you interest in some form, don't panic over it, it extends your DFD but there are things you can do, start on page 1 of the thread when you have a spare few hours and then decide what to do.

Overtime and non regular bonus payments, no you don't have to declare these, and you can choose to save them to your emergency fund, make some extra repayments to reduce your DFD, save up for F&f payments when you get enough, or even....shhhh ...spend them on a little treat but don't tell anyone. Most people go for a combination of the above, all depends on your priorities.

When you start out and your DFD is generally 4-10 years away, you think, I want to pay as much as I can straight away so the creditors think I'm doing my best. Actually I don't think they care much, as long as you keep in touch and keep paying what you agree - so don't cut your budget so fine that you are having 4 years of hell instead of 6 years in moderate comfort. I'm not saying do your shopping at M&S, and have 4 holidays a year, but just leave yourself the option of buying a cake at birthday time, a new pair of shoes for DD and maybe a very cheap caravan break once a year.

Default letters are good, they look scary :eek: but they mean the creditor is actually looking at what you pay and putting your account into limbo. If your account goes to a DcA this is usually good and they are mainly not the scary people you see on the Tv, :cool: they have all been very reasonable, and just want you to keep in touch and keep paying.

There will be wobble times,:( if you have to reduce a payment, when a creditor starts grumbling :mad: or just because DFD seems a long way off, but we've all done it, you come here log on and we'll all get throu it together.

If you are having trouble with creditors, :mad:eg Lloyds troubles BDF, when they shift to a DcA I'd continue to pay, the payments seem to get to where they should eventually, but if you are worried, send a recorded delivery letter to the collections team at the creditor, quoting your account number and SC ref and saying this is what is happening, these are the payments that have been made, please make your sure your accounts are up to date and let ask them to reply to you in writing so you have confirmation. It does take several months for an account to get over from creditor to DcA and often the information is limited but it's just like the original set up and the DcA will let you know to change the payments in SC, and you can just log in and do it.

I hope this helps, there are lots of scenarios I haven't covered, but in the main it's grit your teeth, keep plodding through and it will all settle down.

One day soon, you will be able to say like Ellie I will be debt free next year :j:j

----> http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67622595&postcount=6

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Thank you everyone who nominated!

This was a fab post and we've awarded Sazzie23 the January Post of the Month badge

james_joyce

Gosh this bit really struck me:

"maybe a very cheap caravan break once a year"

We haven't been able even to think about a holiday like for ages! I'm looking forward to it! Just need to work out where we're going!

Time_to_face_the_music

fermi wrote: »

----> http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=67622595&postcount=6

Thanks to fermi for nominating Sazzie :beer:

Posted by MSE Andrea:

Thank you everyone who nominated!

This was a fab post and we've awarded Sazzie23 the January Post of the Month badge

Yay! That's brilliant :j

Well done on a brilliant post. Come on Sazzie and show us your badge! :T

TTFTM x

Puzzcat

DavesDevil wrote: »

Hello everyone,


I just wanted to introduce myself however first of all can I say I am new to forums and am unsure of how to use them, etiquette and what all the abbreviations mean. So please bear with me and if I make any faux pas I am sorry.


I had my LB (light bulb?) moment last September and knew we what to do something. Our debt is about £58k and we entered into a DMP with StepChange (SC?) in January and made our first DD payment today. having read lots of pages on this thread since we entered the agreement I have made some schoolboy errors. We haven't an emergency fund and I carried on getting into debt whilst setting everything up and making full payments to our creditors because I didn't know about token payments.


We (Husband & I) are currently getting lots of letters from our creditors. I think we have 9 creditors in total. Some have accepted the payment offer from SC but had a letter saying we have defaulted on a couple - should I be worried about this. Also a couple are refusing what they have been offered.


I have noticed some people are delighted to be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA?) why is this?


Its looking like it will take 6-7 years at the current rate to pay our debt off. Also I am pregnant and due to start mat leave on Monday (My income will halve whilst on SMP). How will our creditors view this as our payments will need to reduce almost immediately.


I really wish I had found you guys earlier - you seem like such a lovely friendly group.


Thanks you in advance for any advice or tips xx

Hi and welcome to our lovely family of dmp'ers..


The best advice I can give is to make yourself a cuppa and pull up a chair and start reading... This thread and all the one's before it contain loads of information and answers to questions you didn't know you wanted to ask...!


With regards to debts going to dcs's this is good as the interest is then frozen forever! Also if you are looking at doing full & finals at a later stage they are better to deal with as they will have bought the debt for a lot less than it was so will accept a lower offer..


Defaults are part and parcel of a dmp and are good as the clock starts ticking straight away and it falls off your file 6 years later.


As for the reduced payments, well the creditors can only have what you have got so I wouldn't start worrying about that now.


Congratulations on your LBM and your pregnancy and do come back as we like company here...


Puzz. x

Puzzcat

:Twell done sazzie:T

January2015

Evening everyone - hope you're all well and happy

Phone call from SC tonight - checking a couple of final bits of info and confirming they are ready to set up our DMP:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j (can you tell I'm pleased about that )

Onwards with life and downwards with debt from here on:beer: