DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

System

neiljmuk wrote: »

Hi, I know its personal information but what % of original payment / debt are you paying on your loan now via SC? No worries if you don't want to say.

A 55 minute call to collections and complaints, yes 55 minutes (on a mobile) and the utter parasites are point blank refusing to drop the interest unless SC contact them with a lower payment! Spoke to the robotic eejit on 1st line, then the floor manager, then some scum bag in complaints. Refusing to pass to recovery...

I've told them to put on file that I'm stopping the SC payments and hung up..

There is no way SC will call them and they know that so they are all lieing to me. They said SC have not asked to freeze interest. More lies!

Any advice appreciated. I know SC won't reduce payments and generally can't be bothered to do anything except make the payment.

All other creditors have accepted the plan or I'd just lower the whole single payment but might just get the same advice....

Any advice. I need to calm down of I'm walking in to a branch of Lloyds round the corner and the lots going to go up! :mad::mad::mad::mad:

Hi...we are paying just over 1% of the loan per month, forecast to take just over 7 years to pay off the DMP.

System

Bettingmad wrote: »

I want to pass on a bit of advice to people entering a DMP where Barclays are one of the creditors. Barclays will appear very friendly in accepting your payment proposals. At the start of your DMP you will no doubt be under their interest triggering figure where you will pay no interest.

Barclays do not generally default but will mark your credit files with an AP. As you progress with your DMP over the coming years you will undoubtedly go over their interest trigger figures and see your rate rise between 3%, 6.9%, 12% and sometimes more. It is very hard to play hard ball with Barclays when interest is concerned as you may be three years in. At this stage Barclays can still default at any time and you are unlikely to risk this, especially if your plan was in the region of 6 years. Your credit file will be messed for a minimum of 9 years.

There is only one way to tackle Barclays, force a default at the start of your plan by withholding payments as long as is necessary to achieve that aim. Otherwise you will find yourself a slave to Barclays further down the road where you will have no room to manoeuvre.
It may seem easier at the beginning to be submissive to them however you may find later on that it would have been better to have dug your heels in.

That doesn't sound good.:( We owe over £18K to BC in total....was hoping now they have agreed to stop interest that it will stay stopped for the duration.
What normally happens if they are threatened with FOS at a later stage then, when they re start the interest?

mummy_knows_best

Hi its my first time posting on this page we are currently just starting a DMP just filling in forms with final figures etc, ive been reading through the thread for the last 2 days and any advice or help at this stage would be gratefully appreciated, everytime I read the thread or any advice pages I feel sick and scared but have began to realise we cannot carry on the way we are. TIA

melysion

A wee update from me. I've got my pin number for my nationwide basic bank account and have suddenly remembered two small loans that I have out for Harveys and DFS. Both interest free and with about 2 years left to run - a few hundred on each. I've called them both just now to get a balance because I'm assuming that they will both have to go on the DMP despite the payments being small etc so I'm not seen to give anyone "preferential treatment". What fun, I exclaim! Anyway. Inching slowly forward. Next step is to get my salary payment transferred to my new account as soon as I get my card and any utility/mortgage direct debits set up.

I have decided I cant spend every waking moment thinking about this as I do have a life to lead beyond being a "debtor" so slow and steady wins the race. And the reduction in acid inducing anxiety stops me from wanting to hurl myself off the top of a tall building so its obviously the right approach.

Toying with the idea of confiding in a friend about it all as I do feel rather alone with it at the moment but its likely my shame will stop me saying anything. We will see. My biggest battle emotionally at the moment is trying to convince myself its not entirely my fault. Being made redundant and having to take a lower paid job can happen to anyone and, in any case, everyone makes mistakes. It doesn't make me a bad person, or scum, just a typically flawed human being. I will convince myself of that eventually I hope.

neiljmuk

ploppy57 wrote: »

Hi...we are paying just over 1% of the loan per month, forecast to take just over 7 years to pay off the DMP.

Thanks. 1.1% me so it's possibly other factors too. The letter I've drafted is 2 pages long and its getting sent to about 7 different departments / legal !!!!! bosses etc etc.

Complaint to FOS after.

Letters to creditors advising same payments too all but from me not SC and letter to Lloyds saying they've shat it followed by a call to see if they want to be nice after 3 token payments. The 400 quid will come in handy.

See if I get to stage 1, 2, or 3.

melysion

mummy_knows_best wrote: »

Hi its my first time posting on this page we are currently just starting a DMP just filling in forms with final figures etc, ive been reading through the thread for the last 2 days and any advice or help at this stage would be gratefully appreciated, everytime I read the thread or any advice pages I feel sick and scared but have began to realise we cannot carry on the way we are. TIA

Not sure that I have any real advice to give as I'm new to this myself but I can give you a huge internet-based hug

One nugget maybe. If any of your loans are with the bank you are currently using, one of the first things you should do is change to a basic bank account elsewhere so that they cant implement the right to offset against the loan.

spot3

melysion wrote: »

A wee update from me. I've got my pin number for my nationwide basic bank account and have suddenly remembered two small loans that I have out for Harveys and DFS. Both interest free and with about 2 years left to run - a few hundred on each. I've called them both just now to get a balance because I'm assuming that they will both have to go on the DMP despite the payments being small etc so I'm not seen to give anyone "preferential treatment". What fun, I exclaim! Anyway. Inching slowly forward. Next step is to get my salary payment transferred to my new account as soon as I get my card and any utility/mortgage direct debits set up.

I have decided I cant spend every waking moment thinking about this as I do have a life to lead beyond being a "debtor" so slow and steady wins the race. And the reduction in acid inducing anxiety stops me from wanting to hurl myself off the top of a tall building so its obviously the right approach.

Toying with the idea of confiding in a friend about it all as I do feel rather alone with it at the moment but its likely my shame will stop me saying anything. We will see. My biggest battle emotionally at the moment is trying to convince myself its not entirely my fault. Being made redundant and having to take a lower paid job can happen to anyone and, in any case, everyone makes mistakes. It doesn't make me a bad person, or scum, just a typically flawed human being. I will convince myself of that eventually I hope.

I confided in one friend recently and it was very helpful, she's been able to encourage me and is asking me to help her reduce her debts. It's made it much easier as she understands that when I say i have no money, I mean it, so pressure is off

System

neiljmuk wrote: »

Thanks. 1.1% me so it's possibly other factors too. The letter I've drafted is 2 pages long and its getting sent to about 7 different departments / legal !!!!! bosses etc etc.

Complaint to FOS after.

Letters to creditors advising same payments too all but from me not SC and letter to Lloyds saying they've shat it followed by a call to see if they want to be nice after 3 token payments. The 400 quid will come in handy.

See if I get to stage 1, 2, or 3.

did you not tell them you were happy for them to send it to the recoveries dept? That seems to be the way forward.....maybe it is to do with the amount you owe? Ours is just over £8k

Bettingmad

ploppy57 wrote: »

That doesn't sound good.:( We owe over £18K to BC in total....was hoping now they have agreed to stop interest that it will stay stopped for the duration.
What normally happens if they are threatened with FOS at a later stage then, when they re start the interest?

I didn't pay any interest to them for two years before moving over their trigger %. Then the interest rate starts rising up to the point where I began paying over their standard minimum payment and then they whacked interest up to 29%.

I did complain and threaten them with the FOS and interest has now been brought back down to 6.9%. As a DMP is an informal plan, complaining to the FOS regarding interest rates has been futile for many people as long as the interest is not in the extortionate bracket.

The bottom line is that I wished I had forced a default at the start because when you are in their web further along the road it is very difficult to untangle yourself.

james_joyce

Hi all

Just catching up again after a few days.

Great to see spot3 debt-free - well done!

Re self-managed vs SC - I chose to go self-managed to give myself some flexibility with individual creditors. I can see SC offer a useful service, particularly for people less familiar with the 'rules of the game' as it were. I just happen to be comfortable with dealing with this kind of thing myself, although I still get annoyed and stressed with some of my creditors sometimes (as I may have mentioned before!).

In terms of outcomes, I'm not sure there's any evidence of SC clients doing better or worse than self-managed.

My final creditor has now agreed to my plan so it's all systems go. Latest issue is trying to resist the temptation to spend too much of the extra money every month and trying to keep some of it back.

It's great to be part of a (MSE) group who are in this together.

Regards
James