DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Ellieseleven

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Morning all


Paid off John Lewis last week, scary to say but it was a card I have had since 1987; 27 years!!!!!!. Will be saying goodbye to First Direct this week too; 20 years; which will just leave me with Barclaycard which is a transferred Egg account. DMP should be complete by end of August at the latest.


HHx

Fantastic news HH! You are so close to the finishing line now, it is definitely in touching distance.

I know what you are saying about the length of time that you have had these cards, mine are the same, all around the25-27 years plus. At first when I went on the DMP I was quite upset that I had had them for so long and was having to let go but now I can't wait to see the back of them;)

Sazzie23

cmcavon wrote: »

No there are other debts in my husbands name, total is just over £20,000.

I think i would be happier having a go between so stepchange have assured me extra payments are not an issue.

Hi CMC

I really admire folk like TTfTm who are self managed, and can see the benefits, but I would never have got to 33% debts paid without SC. I have been able to make some additional payments to creditors without it being an issue. However it ever became an issue, now I would consider going self managed using the NEDCAB site for templates. At the moments it's not a problem so I haven't made that move, but it's something to consider I the future.

One of the greatest tips I got from this thread has been the spreadsheet which I update weekly (and look at every day:o). Then every month I update SC on line to make sure those totals are the same. I really don't want any nasty surprises:eek:

Lots of happy times ahead CMC is this bubba 1?. I think DMP really changes your life, but I suspect the bubba may make even more of an impact.

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Ellieseleven wrote: »

Fantastic news HH! You are so close to the finishing line now, it is definitely in touching distance.

I know what you are saying about the length of time that you have had these cards, mine are the same, all around the25-27 years plus. At first when I went on the DMP I was quite upset that I had had them for so long and was having to let go but now I can't wait to see the back of them;)

Thanks Ellie

Posted to you on Paddlers but we will be here in it together . Well past half way mark for you now and as you know but for the benefit of others the impact gets greater the further into you are as interest decreases.

Am trying to declutter including paperwork. This doesn't come easy for me. I had considered totting up all the interest paid over the years. Have decided to shut up on move on SUMO ( credit to Ms & MR TTFTM) and had a massive shredding session yesterday with more to follow!

HHx

Kate_fixing_it

My word I'm silly! Been a bit ostrich-y of late and decided to give the DMP a couple of months to run and see what creditors do/say. Well it's been 3 months so decided to take a look. I have vague figures from reading statements so I know to the nearest £100 where I am. This week I'm taking a couple of days off and intend to take on the two that are still charging interest, get exact balances sorted and generally get back in the driving seat now I've had a couple of months of destressing and getting used to proper budgeting.

For whatever reason I thought my debt was around £12k as that's what the cards, bank loan and overdraft were at my LBM. There's also a loan from a friend and DH's college course. So you can imagine my shock at logging into SC and seeing a balance of £10,003! I know this isn't correct (it's about £300 short) but what a moral boost!

I've been a bit down on myself lately thinking it'll never go (probably the novelty wearing off) but I'm nearly £2000 better that I thought I was and I'll be down to a 4 figure debt by Christmas!

So the moral of the story...don't put off checking! ESPECIALLY when it all feels a bit hopeless. Even if it had been £12k I know it could be £5k worse as that's what I've paid since October. I'm feeling rather proud of myself now and newly motivated to raise some extra cash and get the interest stopped. SC clearly shows what I've paid through them so far and I'm really rather proud of it and the new me after just 3 months.

Oh and the dishwasher debate still rages on... DH doesn't seem to want to give up on this one, will find him a job to start and then abandon in favour of a couple of beers with his mates mid afternoon

Enjoy what's left of your weekend lovely people

Kate x

gamma

Hey everyone, not sure if this is the right thread, but here goes!

I've taken the plunge and signed up to stepchange's dmp in Scotland. I've got around £20k debt and have been managing minimum payments. Just wondering if this is the right route? It was suggested to get a trust deed instead, (which is similar to an IVA) but I don't think it's for me.

Will send off my documentation on Monday and see what the credit cards say!

I'm just wondering if this is the best route to take (via stepchange) or should I contact each creditor directly? I don't really have the energy to argue with them though

Kate_fixing_it

gamma wrote: »

Hey everyone, not sure if this is the right thread, but here goes!

I've taken the plunge and signed up to stepchange's dmp in Scotland. I've got around £20k debt and have been managing minimum payments. Just wondering if this is the right route? It was suggested to get a trust deed instead, (which is similar to an IVA) but I don't think it's for me.

Will send off my documentation on Monday and see what the credit cards say!

I'm just wondering if this is the best route to take (via stepchange) or should I contact each creditor directly? I don't really have the energy to argue with them though

FWIW I think in your circumstances a DMP is the right choice for now. It's not formal so there's nobody telling you what to do and gives you more control. Should you feel it's not right further down the line you can switch to an IVA but you can't switch from IVA to DMP.

As you are currently not defaulted (I'm assuming that from you saying you're just managing minimums) I think this softer approach is ideal. It'll give you breathing space to accept the situation and get your head straight without completely failing to pay (see my post above )

As for what the credit cards will say that's anyone's guess as they'll all phrase their communication differently but it boils down to the majority will spit their dummy out, call and write a fair bit in the first month or so and make all sorts of meaningless threats about what they could/may/might do. The important thing to remember is that you are taking action, you are giving them all you can afford and DEBT IS NOT A CRIME. Usually these letters are automated and if you are concerned ask here and give SC a call. Some may point blank refuse the offer, tell SC and keep paying. Eventually they all realise that the foot stamping and yelling is getting them nowhere and they'll be quiet. I'm only 3 months in and hear almost nothing from most of mine. We all have that one creditor that thinks if they keep on they'll get a bit more but there are ways to tackle that further down the road. Keep in mind this is a marathon, not a sprint and it WILL all go away if you keep chipping away. Each day you are one day closer to the zero balances and making your hard earned cash your own.

Welcome on board the DMP train, we're all en route to debt freedom and we'll get there together.

Kate x

FuzzyDF

What is it about the post I get on Saturday's? I always get a default :T

At the beginning of June I was a total wreck, 7 weeks later I am completely chilled out (even though its 30C) in London.

I expect a few bumps in the road (especially my BOS card). I took the plunge and called them on Friday. They are just flat refusing to freeze any interest and will kindly be charging me £12 a month for the pleasure.

When things get settled down with my DMP, should I tackle them further?

Sazzie23

FuzzyDF wrote: »

What is it about the post I get on Saturday's? I always get a default :T

At the beginning of June I was a total wreck, 7 weeks later I am completely chilled out (even though its 30C) in London.

I expect a few bumps in the road (especially my BOS card). I took the plunge and called them on Friday. They are just flat refusing to freeze any interest and will kindly be charging me £12 a month for the pleasure.

When things get settled down with my DMP, should I tackle them further?

Saturday is default day, I often find controversial paperwork arrives on a Saturday, usually when there is no weekend contact available. In your case mind, that was good news. Re HBoS, I think you cold complain to FoS - sure some of the others had had troubles from them too. In my theory, keep complaining as otherwise nothing will happen!

Sazzie23

Ok debt news from me, having spent the evening spreadsheeting, I have discovered that I have paid of 33% of my DMP debt,, that's nearly a third so I'm celebrating that one:j
I also discovered that when my august mortgage etc payments go out at the first of the month my total debt including unsecured, secured and mortgage will be slightly less than £:o80k. That is a huge milestone for me as that is the approx valuation of my little abode, so I would then be in a position to clear my debts if I sold up. I'm not planned to at moment, but for some reason it feels like huge weight off.

Good luck everyone for the Monday post. :T

Sazzie23

gamma wrote: »

Hey everyone, not sure if this is the right thread, but here goes!

I've taken the plunge and signed up to stepchange's dmp in Scotland. I've got around £20k debt and have been managing minimum payments. Just wondering if this is the right route? It was suggested to get a trust deed instead, (which is similar to an IVA) but I don't think it's for me.

Will send off my documentation on Monday and see what the credit cards say!

I'm just wondering if this is the best route to take (via stepchange) or should I contact each creditor directly? I don't really have the energy to argue with them though

Hi gamma, welcome to the thread.

If you call or write to creditors, saying going to DMP with SC, that will possibly save you having some calls when the normal payment doesn't arrive. But it is up to you, I didn't for quite a while, even after the DMP, but when I did they were nice and no one gave me a hard time. Expect a couple of hiccups when you start up with creditors claiming they haven't heard from SC, just let SC know and they will resend the stuff. If you have catalogue creditors, they can be not very nice on the phone, so I'd probably deal with them last when you have more confidence. I don't have any PDL but I think they vary in the phone approach.

Good luck and let us know how you get on, usually someone abou on this thread if you need help or a friendly shoulder.