DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Puzzcat

minkeymootoyou wrote: »

This is a warning to everyone choosing nationwides basic bank account. One unpaid direct debit will cost you £45 !! I'm now -£35, which they'll probably charge me for too. Banks are nasty.

:eek: wow... that is a hefty charge... is it the first time you have had an unpaid dd? Might be worth appealing to them and see if they will refund it... If you don't ask you don't get...!
Puzz. x

Ellieseleven

Hi Betty,

I had credit cards for over 25 years and for most of that time stayed well under my credit limit and was able to service the debt with no problems and could always pay over the minimum. Then we had a change of circumstance and I found that I was using the CC's to pay for everyday living and withdrawing cash in order to pay other cards! What started off as a manageable debt soon escalated until we were paying approx. £1300 per month to credit cards alone:eek:

I struggled on for much longer than I should and the debt kept increasing until I sat down and added it all up and found that I owed just short of £46k

I had never missed a payment or been late with anything but all my money was going on debt re-payment and I worried constantly how I would pay the next bill and this was a never-ending circle.

Eventually, I contacted Stepchange and took the plunge and went onto a DMP, feeling dis-loyal to a bank I had been with for a very long time and expecting all sorts of things to happen to me but I soon found out that any loyalty was mis-placed and they didn't give two hoots about me.

I'm now coming up to my 5th anniversary with Stepchange and have paid back over £30k of what I owe. I have just under 2 years left to go on my DMP and I am able to live again.

A DMP is not something to do lightly and it will trash your credit rating but you have to ask yourself if you really want any more credit (I certainly don't!) and if you have any alternatives available to you before going down this route. I tried snowballing the debt 12 months before going on the DMP but in the end I had to admit defeat and go for the DMP.

Everyone is different but for me, a DMP has given me my life back, I can look to a debt-free future (I always worried about taking a huge amount of debt into retirement), I sleep at night, I save for the things I need and my stress levels are vastly reduced.

It's a rollercoaster in the beginning (as you can see by some of the posts on here) but things do settle down and it's a fantastic feeling to see the debts coming down each month rather than increasing.

Take care and I wish you well whatever you decide.

Ellie xx

Puzzcat

:TLovely post Ellie... I can so relate to this.... And welcome to Betty to the best thread on mse...


Puzz. x

Time_to_face_the_music

minkeymootoyou wrote: »

This is a warning to everyone choosing nationwides basic bank account. One unpaid direct debit will cost you £45 !! I'm now -£35, which they'll probably charge me for too. Banks are nasty.

Check out their T&C page:

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/~/media/MainSite/documents/products/current-accounts/shared/p7430-rate-and-charges.pdf

I think you have been overcharged and you should challenge it.

TTFTM x

BarginBetty79

Many thanks Ellie and Meatload1981, its really nice to know at such a worrying time there are people out there that understand. I've felt so silly at getting so much into debt but not really having anything to show for it. It's been so stressful juggling Peter to pay Paul.

I realise that a DMP is a big step to take and will mean I'll be paying off my debts for the next 5 years but I look forward to being able to see them go down rather than dreading my statements each month and the rate they go up. I know it would have taken me a lot longer to pay them off if I hadn't have taken this step.

When you don't want to tell family and friends about these things it's really good to know there are other people out there to talk to.

Betty xx

January2015

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Great post and this should help a lot of people. This message really needs spreading so am about to nominate for post of the month.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/68030020#Comment_68030020

TTFTM x

Shucks :o:o:o:o Thank you so much - what a lovely thing to do.

January2015

Hellifax have removed our OD limit today - which is the first step towards the formal default so I am not panicking at all. In fact I am very pleased with our progress so far.

It's so strange, just 3 months ago I was doing everything in my power to keep credit accounts up to date and now I am doing everything in my power to have them all defaulted.

I can honestly say life is so much better now. I feel in control of our finances and look forward to letters from creditors because I know I can deal with them and have the knowledge and ability to argue our case.

System

Just come home to open the post to find OH's CC statement from Ll***s and they have added on £77 interest and £12 late charge!!!!! :mad:What is that all about??.... after being told they were stopping the interest for 6 months! I tried to ring and sort it out but apparently....this is the funny bit...the authorisation that OH gave them the other day to be able to speak to me about it, was only valid for that particular phone call and they require him to speak to them every time I want to speak on his behalf!!:mad:
I asked to speak to a manager, but was told that they were all busy and no one would be able to call me back.
They even sent a leaflet with the statement, saying if we were having difficulties to get help and advice!!! :rotfl::rotfl: Have they not noticed we are already on a DMP, they have agreed a payment plan and the first payment has gone out to them!!

Everytime I think we are getting somewhere, something else goes wrong! I know it can all get sorted out, but I am just getting a bit sick of doing it all now, OH is useless and I have just had enough :(and just want to make the payments and eventually get defaulted by them all and be done with it all!
Sorry for the rant, I just feel a bit :(:(:mad:today.

SquirrelNuts

Hi Ploppy,

They should be able to reverse the interest and charges for you. I had the same a couple of months back where they thought I was starting the Stepchange payments a month earlier than reality so 'agreement broken' when they only got £1. Got it sorted after a quick phone call then watched Internet Banking like a hawk to make sure it was actioned.

They have to send a leaflet with each Arrears and Default letter. Sometimes you will get a arrears leaflet, then a default leaflet, then the same arrears leaflet again all from the same company!

I had quite a collection which have now been recycled

Squiz

System

Hi SquirrelNuts...yes, we have already had the saga of them saying we had broken the agreement as they thought we were starting a month earlier...thought I had sorted that out as SC contacted them again as requested. They really do not seem to be able to think outside the box and use their initiative, everything is so black and white with them! I have written a very long letter of complaint, will get OH to sign it and will wait and see what transpires....Can't be bothered with ringing again!