DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

System

Puzzcat wrote: »

I had this from some of my creditors as well during set up. It wasn't actually stepchange' s fault the creditors had made the assumption that it would start the following month. Unfortunately you will get charges and late payments until the first full payment from sc goes to them. You can challenge them of course but they are within there rights to do this and its the long haul you need to focus on which is lots of frozen interest we hope!
Puzz.x

Yeah, I realise that there will be hiccups and that interest will be put on to start with etc, but am a bit annoyed to find that they are already writing saying I have broken the terms of the agreement, before it has even started and it is not my fault. He said SC now need to contact them again to set up a new payment plan as the other one has now been cancelled!

Puzzcat

TimTheBear wrote: »

Been on a DMP since June 2010 - in excess of 160k. Now its down to 25k. Debt free date according to stepchange is Feb 2016

Hang in there guys - theres alot worse out there!

:TWell done Tim, your so close to the finish line:T

manuelthecat

hi everyone


im a newbie on here but have been lurking on the site for about six months now. I entered a DMP with Stepchange last June and so far things are going well; ive kept up with my payments and hope to start putting more in.


The stories on here of people becoming debt-free are amazing and they keep me positive that there is light at the end of the tunnel so I want to thank you fall for sharing your stories.


also, those people like me who have recently come to terms with their problem debt, well done for doing something positive about it instead of plodding along month after month, robbing peter to pay paul every single month like I was doing - my only regret now is that I didn't do something sooner about the debt I was in but I was just praying for pay rises that never came. i was devastated to realise my debt totalled £32,000 especially as I live on my own with no children and hardly ever go out! It would be nice to think I had something luxurious to show for it but I honestly don't.


I just wanted to ask those that have become DF, did you end up paying back a lot more than what was originally estimated in your DMP? I only ask this because I am still being charged interest by some creditors (I have 9) and some have frozen it whilst other haven't. I went onto my plan the other day and the estimated figure on there was different to the figures being sent to me in the post so I felt a bit disappointed that interest is still being charged. I know that creditors don't have to freeze interest as at the end of the day it was me that signed up to the silly accounts in the first place and business is business.


I wish I could fast forward the next 4 years of my life!


thank you

Time_to_face_the_music

manuelthecat wrote: »

hi everyone

im a newbie on here but have been lurking on the site for about six months now. I entered a DMP with Stepchange last June and so far things are going well; ive kept up with my payments and hope to start putting more in.

The stories on here of people becoming debt-free are amazing and they keep me positive that there is light at the end of the tunnel so I want to thank you fall for sharing your stories.

also, those people like me who have recently come to terms with their problem debt, well done for doing something positive about it instead of plodding along month after month, robbing peter to pay paul every single month like I was doing - my only regret now is that I didn't do something sooner about the debt I was in but I was just praying for pay rises that never came. i was devastated to realise my debt totalled £32,000 especially as I live on my own with no children and hardly ever go out! It would be nice to think I had something luxurious to show for it but I honestly don't.

I just wanted to ask those that have become DF, did you end up paying back a lot more than what was originally estimated in your DMP? I only ask this because I am still being charged interest by some creditors (I have 9) and some have frozen it whilst other haven't. I went onto my plan the other day and the estimated figure on there was different to the figures being sent to me in the post so I felt a bit disappointed that interest is still being charged. I know that creditors don't have to freeze interest as at the end of the day it was me that signed up to the silly accounts in the first place and business is business.

I wish I could fast forward the next 4 years of my life!

thank you

Hi manuelthecat and welcome :hello:

Have you made complaints to the creditors still charging interest and then followed this up with the FOS? If not, now is the time to do it. If you need help with this, just shout out and we can provide you with a template letter and contact details for FOS.

If you are being charged interest, it's important to update your Stepchange figures online to make sure your information is always accurate. You can check this each month against your creditor statements and amend the figures to ensure they match.

If you don't already have it, Noddle is a free service which let's you check your credit report and is a double check that all the numbers add up correctly.

TTFTM x

SquirrelNuts

ploppy57 wrote: »

Yeah, I realise that there will be hiccups and that interest will be put on to start with etc, but am a bit annoyed to find that they are already writing saying I have broken the terms of the agreement, before it has even started and it is not my fault. He said SC now need to contact them again to set up a new payment plan as the other one has now been cancelled!

I had the same too Ploppy with a few creditors simply assuming that the DMP would be starting instantly, and not the two month delay I had been communicating from the outset.

A few told me that their systems only allow them to set up a start date within next 30 days so they couldn't set up a 1 month delay even if they tried!

If you're confident enough to call them yourself, it might be worth giving them a quick ring to remind them that DMP is kicking in from next month. They'll most probably reset the plan on the phone and if you're lucky may even take the charges back off for you... alternatively you could always write a letter complaining...

Squiz

System

Just wondering if any Newbies who have set up new accounts with Nationwide have been given the sort code 07-04-36? If so, have you managed to set up your direct debits from it? We have had nothing but trouble from the start with them and so far not one of our DD's has been set up correctly. NW say it is to do with the new sort code being used and the companies concerned need to update their systems, and try setting it up again. But this doesn't seem to work and the companies concerned are blaming the bank, who are refusing to take responsibilty, saying there is nothing they can do.
I have just written a letter of complaint to the bank.....as what is the point of an account you cannot use properly.

The TV licensing people say they do not take Standing orders and if we can't pay by DD we will have to pay a whole year in one go! Car insurance have tried 3 times now and it still won't work and we had to pay this month by Debit card while they try again to sort it out. Waterboard are still not happy as they cannot do it and neither can the Life insurance people. Even had to set up a Standing Order for SC as the DD would not work for them.....getting really frustrated with it all now!

System

SquirrelNuts wrote: »

I had the same too Ploppy with a few creditors simply assuming that the DMP would be starting instantly, and not the two month delay I had been communicating from the outset.

A few told me that their systems only allow them to set up a start date within next 30 days so they couldn't set up a 1 month delay even if they tried!

If you're confident enough to call them yourself, it might be worth giving them a quick ring to remind them that DMP is kicking in from next month. They'll most probably reset the plan on the phone and if you're lucky may even take the charges back off for you... alternatively you could always write a letter complaining...

Squiz

Yeah I have now told the majority of them, so hopefully it will be ok, but N**d** say they will not be able to take the charges off even when SC contact them again! Does seem a bit unfair, so I may write a letter

Scaredofdebt_2

ploppy57 wrote: »

Just wondering if any Newbies who have set up new accounts with Nationwide have been given the sort code 07-04-36? If so, have you managed to set up your direct debits from it? We have had nothing but trouble from the start with them and so far not one of our DD's has been set up correctly. NW say it is to do with the new sort code being used and the companies concerned need to update their systems, and try setting it up again. But this doesn't seem to work and the companies concerned are blaming the bank, who are refusing to take responsibilty, saying there is nothing they can do.
I have just written a letter of complaint to the bank.....as what is the point of an account you cannot use properly.

The TV licensing people say they do not take Standing orders and if we can't pay by DD we will have to pay a whole year in one go! Car insurance have tried 3 times now and it still won't work and we had to pay this month by Debit card while they try again to sort it out. Waterboard are still not happy as they cannot do it and neither can the Life insurance people. Even had to set up a Standing Order for SC as the DD would not work for them.....getting really frustrated with it all now!

Hi Ploppy, I have had the same problem with TV licensing and O2 but a few DDs seem to be OK. I phoned NW today about TV licensing and they told me it was a fault at their end and she had logged it as a priority however asked us to wait a month before we set the DD up again. Then spoke to TV licensing who said because we pay DD we are 6 months in front with payments so missing a month is OK (they will add the missed month over the next 6 months). It is very frustrating though. Council tax, water rates and SC DDs seem to have been set up ok as I can see them on my account.

System

Scaredofdebt wrote: »

Hi Ploppy, I have had the same problem with TV licensing and O2 but a few DDs seem to be OK. I phoned NW today about TV licensing and they told me it was a fault at their end and she had logged it as a priority however asked us to wait a month before we set the DD up again. Then spoke to TV licensing who said because we pay DD we are 6 months in front with payments so missing a month is OK (they will add the missed month over the next 6 months). It is very frustrating though. Council tax, water rates and SC DDs seem to have been set up ok as I can see them on my account.

Ooh that's reassuring that some are working then. Council Tax is due out next month for the first time as we only pay for 10 months of the year and Mortgage due tomorrow, so will wait and hope that they are ok. None are showing on my NW account so far though!

melysion

I've just read that basic bank accounts don't allow standing orders. This could make life a little uncomfortable as my monthly service charge on my flat is paid by standing order and I don't know how they would react if I turned around and said I couldn't pay that way anymore (dont want a massive annual bill for example) and I use them for other thing as well occasionally. Do basic accounts do bank transfers? I've just opened an account with nationwide if that helps.