DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Meatloaf1981

I've had a letter from Moorcroft today offering to settle my debt for 60% of the outstanding amount. Never thought I'd wish I had a nice lump sum handy to do exactly that right now!

Sazzie23

Ali80 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

My OH has landed a new (better paid) job! Yay!

I haven't included him in my DMP and was just wondering whether this extra income would be best used to make extra payments to my creditors? If so, could I split the extra pro rata and administer it myself not involving SC, or will this cause problems with SC or creditors?

Or is it better to save a bigger emergency fund or start to save for f+f settlement? Has anyone had any experience of this?

Thanks in advance,

Ali

I think SC prefer you to go through them, but I know many folk do the extra payments direct and nothing gets said. Pay extra or save up for F&f? Depends on what's likely to happen, need a newer car, house repair or something expensive, save it and then knock the smaller ones off one at a time, tell SC a relative offered to pay a certain debt off etc

AnotherDad wrote: »

Hi all,

Another potential DMP'r... Ive just had an assessment with the CAB and it looks like a DMP is the best option. I have 34k of debt, most my lovely ex wife ran up before we split and ive spent the last 3.5 years keeping it afloat but something has to change and im making moves... Initial thought is do i go self or through a DMP specialist like stepchange?

Lots of researching, just hope i get through this!

Cheers,

If you can be emotionally detached from the debt, organised and persistent, probably self managed, try the NEDCAB site for guidance. Lots on here used it successfully.

lynns3cookies wrote: »

Hi All... Just want to say how reassuring to have this forum.

I had ostrich syndrome to the point I lost my home and now have a 26k debt which was a secure loan I had hoped would solve my problems... Yes silly me. Anyway my first DMP payment due off to stepchange this week and I can start to make plans. Will be hanging around here too

Sorry to hear about your home, bit pants for you, hopefully you have somewhere ok to live now? Well done at making at start at fixing it, can't be easy for you but you have great experiences to share, don't be shy:o

Apologies for any abruptness, that's about my limit at the mo

jojo_modjo

phoenixx wrote: »

Hi all

Just checking in. Has anyone else found themselves blanked by 'friends' who don't understand their situation? I have one friend who is basically blanking me...I suspect she and her family are in similar situation to us with money but where we trudge along they do their best to cover it all up and avoid. She is not replying to texts or phone calls; ignoring invites for coffee etc. i can't afford to do much but coffee round ours is one of few social things I can do. I am trying so hard to understand but is really troubling me at the moment. I have told her some of our situation in the past but when I have left opportunity open for her to say something she has breezed over it. I just wonder how much a friendship needs openness about money. Any views welcome.

Phoenixx

I'll offer a different slant. As a person who regularly avoids social interaction, it could be for other reasons, not just money. My OH's depression and anxiety often is a contributing factor to why we make excuses for not attending events or seeing friends. If he is especially bad, I will cancel my outings because I don't feel happy leaving him alone. People don't like talking about debt, but they don't like talking about mental health issues either. Very few of our friends are aware of how poorly my OH is, and he wants to keep it that way.

phoenixx

jojo_modjo wrote: »

I'll offer a different slant. As a person who regularly avoids social interaction, it could be for other reasons, not just money. My OH's depression and anxiety often is a contributing factor to why we make excuses for not attending events or seeing friends. If he is especially bad, I will cancel my outings because I don't feel happy leaving him alone. People don't like talking about debt, but they don't like talking about mental health issues either. Very few of our friends are aware of how poorly my OH is, and he wants to keep it that way.

Hi jojo_modjo

A very good point - you're right about mental health issues. I have had my own problems with this and know how difficult it is to face people. I do hope your OH is getting the best possible care and that he begins to improve. Mental health is an underfunded, underestimated, often misunderstood area that causes so much misery, often in secret. It so often goes hand in hand with debt and money worries. Thank you for putting this perspective forward.

phoenixx xx

Sazzie23

jojo_modjo wrote: »

I'll offer a different slant. As a person who regularly avoids social interaction, it could be for other reasons, not just money. My OH's depression and anxiety often is a contributing factor to why we make excuses for not attending events or seeing friends. If he is especially bad, I will cancel my outings because I don't feel happy leaving him alone. People don't like talking about debt, but they don't like talking about mental health issues either. Very few of our friends are aware of how poorly my OH is, and he wants to keep it that way.

Sorry to hear OH is suffering, as many have commented, mental health doesn't get the funding or respect it should. I hope OH is able to access services that help, and you are finding support as it's not easy for you either. It's understandable you want to be with him when things are bad, and it's sad not everyone can understand. Thanks for sharing.

SquirrelNuts

Morning all! The sun is out and it's looking like another great day! :cool2:

Has anybody had payments distributed by Stepchange yet this month (if your DD was 1st April) following the changes announced a few weeks back?

Nothing seems to have happened with mine yet?

Squiz

phoenixx

SquirrelNuts wrote: »

Morning all! The sun is out and it's looking like another great day! :cool2:

Has anybody had payments distributed by Stepchange yet this month (if your DD was 1st April) following the changes announced a few weeks back?

Nothing seems to have happened with mine yet?

Squiz

No - nothing changed with mine as far as I can tell...

January2015

SquirrelNuts wrote: »

Morning all! The sun is out and it's looking like another great day! :cool2:

Has anybody had payments distributed by Stepchange yet this month (if your DD was 1st April) following the changes announced a few weeks back?

Nothing seems to have happened with mine yet?

Squiz

I was just about to post the same question:D

I had assumed that if SC were paying creditors within 5 days of DD being collected from me that payments would show up on my accounts by now. I now have obsessive, compulsive, mid-month account log ins to check multiple times each day to see if accounts have been updated/reduced :rotfl:

Jon81

January2015 wrote: »

I was just about to post the same question:D

I had assumed that if SC were paying creditors within 5 days of DD being collected from me that payments would show up on my accounts by now. I now have obsessive, compulsive, mid-month account log ins to check multiple times each day to see if accounts have been updated/reduced :rotfl:

Sorry to be thick, haven't heard from sc what has changed? I haven't seen anything diffrent on any accounts regarding payments

January2015

Ellieseleven wrote: »

I've just logged onto Stepchange to find that I have a message that payments will be sent to creditors within 5 days of receipt from April...has everyone else had this message?

Ellie x

Puzzcat wrote: »

Hi Ellie,


Yes I have got the same message.. also says you will receive your statement 1 week later than at the moment.. I'm sure it makes sense to them...!


Puzz. x

SquirrelNuts wrote: »

Full messages from Stepchange:

"From April we'll start to send your payments to creditors within five working days of receipt."

"We now send your payments to creditors within five working days of receipt"

"From April, you'll receive your online statement approximately one week later than currently. You don't need to do anything and your payments aren't affected."

For me Direct Debits are collected on the 1st, so next Stepchange payment will be around 6th April, that should bring in my DFD a whole month. :T

I think the message around Statements is just that they are going to produce statements at the end of the calendar month instead of the 25th. Makes sense really as there wont be a single payment run any more.

In other news... At long last, I've got a sig! :T

Squiz

Jon81 wrote: »

Sorry to be thick, haven't heard from sc what has changed? I haven't seen anything diffrent on any accounts regarding payments

I think many of us (if not all) got the message above at the end of March and we are all expecting creditor accounts to reduce in balance sometime very soon :j