DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 10

Monkeyballs

Hi all,

Just had a bit of a shock...

I went into Carphone Warehouse to buy a new phone since my old one is a bit temperamental (not all the buttons work, missing the letters A, F and T among others makes texting difficult LOL).

Recently I've been in and was totally ignored but today an assistant asked me what I was looking for, budget, how much I top up by, etc.

Then he suggested a contract... I gave a real belly laugh and told him about my DMP and that 6 months ago I applied for a sim only contract with Virgin who I have my payg sim with at the moment and despite topping up £10 every month (and having done so for about 8 months) they refused me a £7 deal on a 30 day contract!!!

To my surprise, he explained he gets a lot of people in who are on DMP's and up until a year ago he was on one with Step Change!!!!

We proceeded to have a go at a contract phone, £11 pcm for 24 months and a free Sony Xperia M2 and 300 mins, unlimited texts, and 250mb of data with O2... We both laughed and said "who knows?" and it was accepted straight away!!!!!!!!

I must admit to swearing very loudly in the shop (I did apologise) but this has to be a good sign right? Before my DMP I applied and was rejected for a contract, not long ago I applied and was rejected but today I was accepted!!! Some light at the end of the tunnel and it was sooooo warm LOL

This means I got a £130 phone (which is more expensive, and better than the one I was going to buy) for just £24 although I did have to pay £7.99 for 1 months insurance to get around the £24.99 which I would have had to pay upfront so I guess it's £31.99 really but as I was going to spend £40 on something a bit pants and get less for my £10 each month I'm on a winner

Also, I bought a couple of "new" (I.e. 2nd hand shop) work shirts, fruit, and hayfever tablets and paid in cash...

Today is a good day, I have things to show for the money I have spent (instead of wasted on gambling) and they're already mine, not waiting to be paid for It all feels very... Not me LOL

Ciao for now!

MB of G xxx

Powered_By_Pies

Well, I did it, I lasted the month on not much more than a few pounds and didn't cave in to the dreaded PDL for a few extra quid until payday! Would never have been able to do that before. Steadfast budgeting and the bonus of a rebate cheque helped.

Just shows you CAN beat the PDL trap - I might have had to take extreme measures in putting them into a DMP but I did it!

Only question mark I currently have is my car finance. The final payment was made on the 5th but I've had no confirmation of completion. I've cancelled the DD and had no letter from them about that either. As far as I'm concerned it's all paid off. Guess I'll find out if I get a shirty letter from them after the 5th of August!

lumpyspaceprincess

Received a letter from stepchange this morning, saying I've taken credit without asking them and to get in touch. I used my existing overdraft (which I feel bad about, and want to repay when I can), but haven't done anything else, so I'm confused. Will have to wait until Monday I suppose

Puzzcat

lumpyspaceprincess wrote: »

Received a letter from stepchange this morning, saying I've taken credit without asking them and to get in touch. I used my existing overdraft (which I feel bad about, and want to repay when I can), but haven't done anything else, so I'm confused. Will have to wait until Monday I suppose

Hi lumpy, As we are not suppose to use any credit I would expect it is just that, although how they would know is a mystery! Hope you get it sorted out on Monday.
Puzz.x

ldhme

Hi all, been watching this thread a while now.
Finally took the plunge 3 weeks back and got my DMP rolling after 2 months preparing new bank accounts and so on.
This has been a good help reading other peoples experiences.

I have 7 debts with 4 banking bodies totaling between 16.5k to 17k depending on how my personal loan is handled. 2 of those debts have already been frozen! And I don't even start paying StepChange til the 1st.

So happy to be on the road to being debt free.
Never believed the hype about getting a good nights sleep after contacting SC and taking action but it's so true, such a relief.

toots82

Hi all,

time to jump on the bandwagon I guess :rotfl:

Hubby & I have had a DAS going since January, through Think Link (I know I know but it works for us). The issue for us wasn't so much the amount of debt (well it was but not in comparison to income) but the amount of creditors, each with relatively high interest. Total was 35k debt (all in) with income of around 47k, but we could just never get out of the hole.

So, I looked into and got started with this DAS which has taken the pressure off hugely, it is over 5 years. But, kids are getting up a bit now which allows me to put in more hours at work, DH has a promotion in the pipe line and by this time next year we should be in a very different place.

I'm hoping to get our heads down and double payments and shift it in two years (from when financial changes take effect) I want to make the bigger payments but will they question it? Obviously I have no issues and will update them on circumstance changes but will that change DAS or will it be ok to just make large over payments every month?

Ultimately I want our feet clear so we can think about moving, just dared to ask about DAS implications on a larger mortgage in a separate thread but got told to "figure out why this happened & adjust your lifestyle"...didn't realise that this situation means we're not allowed a life in the future.....I'm only 32!!!:o

Killick

cmcavon wrote: »

Having a down day today. I keep getting an overwhelming feeling of panic about our finances. We are sending off the paperwork to stepchange on Monday so not even started yet.

August is the first month ever we will miss our payments. I'm ok about that as I knew it was coming.

For some reason though I'm constantly adding up the pence in my head today for the month. I'm taking a drop in income this month which is why we're going down this route.

I keep holding back the tears feel so anxious. I'm 8 weeks pregnant so I know my hormones are all over the place.

I just needed to share with people who might understand.

Hi Avon,


Don't worry about it as things will sort themselves out. You probably will have ups and downs but we all do at some stage.
I've been on my DMP a while now and I've had things like short time work affect me where I've only had a couple of weeks wages instead of a full month. I just contact Stepchange and explain the situation and I pay what I can that month and when things improve I pay more. To put it bluntly,crap happens and you can only do what you can. Sometimes creditors whine a bit but if you are being straight up with the situation they have to treat your fairly.


Good luck


Killick


If you want to feel a bit better when you feel a bit panicy, take a look at my signature then you will feel much better

ldhme

toots82 wrote: »

Hi all,

time to jump on the bandwagon I guess :rotfl:

Hubby & I have had a DAS going since January, through Think Link (I know I know but it works for us). The issue for us wasn't so much the amount of debt (well it was but not in comparison to income) but the amount of creditors, each with relatively high interest. Total was 35k debt (all in) with income of around 47k, but we could just never get out of the hole.

So, I looked into and got started with this DAS which has taken the pressure off hugely, it is over 5 years. But, kids are getting up a bit now which allows me to put in more hours at work, DH has a promotion in the pipe line and by this time next year we should be in a very different place.

I'm hoping to get our heads down and double payments and shift it in two years (from when financial changes take effect) I want to make the bigger payments but will they question it? Obviously I have no issues and will update them on circumstance changes but will that change DAS or will it be ok to just make large over payments every month?

Ultimately I want our feet clear so we can think about moving, just dared to ask about DAS implications on a larger mortgage in a separate thread but got told to "figure out why this happened & adjust your lifestyle"...didn't realise that this situation means we're not allowed a life in the future.....I'm only 32!!!:o

I kept up for a long time, then just couldn't any more.
5 years ago we had a joint income of 40k.
After my youngest was born, my partner reduced hours, then 3 years ago was made redundant. Then straight after we found out our second was on the way hehe.
Last year I made a choice to move off weekends and lost the premiums to spend more time with my family when my lad started full time school. Missus found a part time job to fill the gap.

Then in December of all months I got demoted, 2 months ago my missus got her notice of redundancy from this job (again).
We now have a household income of 17k, topped up with benefits.

40k to 17k in 5 years lol.
Crap hit the fan and couldn't pay everyone any more.

Anyway my youngest starts her free nursery in September so my OH is more available for work and I'm nearing the end of management training with the company I work for, just awaiting a placement.

In short, my situation should be wildly different this time next year and instead of my DMP taking 7.5 years I could do it in half that if things continue to go right for me.

After 5 years of things going tits up, it's a welcome change.

Sazzie23

toots82 wrote: »

Hi all,

time to jump on the bandwagon I guess :rotfl:

Hubby & I have had a DAS going since January, through Think Link (I know I know but it works for us). The issue for us wasn't so much the amount of debt (well it was but not in comparison to income) but the amount of creditors, each with relatively high interest. Total was 35k debt (all in) with income of around 47k, but we could just never get out of the hole.

So, I looked into and got started with this DAS which has taken the pressure off hugely, it is over 5 years. But, kids are getting up a bit now which allows me to put in more hours at work, DH has a promotion in the pipe line and by this time next year we should be in a very different place.

I'm hoping to get our heads down and double payments and shift it in two years (from when financial changes take effect) I want to make the bigger payments but will they question it? Obviously I have no issues and will update them on circumstance changes but will that change DAS or will it be ok to just make large over payments every month?

Ultimately I want our feet clear so we can think about moving, just dared to ask about DAS implications on a larger mortgage in a separate thread but got told to "figure out why this happened & adjust your lifestyle"...didn't realise that this situation means we're not allowed a life in the future.....I'm only 32!!!:o

Hi toots

I think sometimes the posters in other threads can come across a bit harsh although having followed quite a few I think they are basically going for the 'tough love' stance so don't be too put off. We're not like that over here though, no judgements or looking down on folk allowed:cool:

So welcome over to the lighter side of DMPs, I'm a bit tired but I think you are asking will you be able to get a larger mortgage in the future?
I don't think I can answer that easily as it depends on a lot of factors, but folk here including me have managed to remortgage on a DMP, some have moved house with transfer mortgage on a DMP so I think once you are debt free you should have reasonable opportunities for mortgages. I've heard the new rules are different, but I thin the budgeting you learn while on a DMP must be invaluable for the future.

Probably someone else had a better answer, but my main point is don't give up hope:j

Sazzie23

ldhme wrote: »

Hi all, been watching this thread a while now.
Finally took the plunge 3 weeks back and got my DMP rolling after 2 months preparing new bank accounts and so on.
This has been a good help reading other peoples experiences.

I have 7 debts with 4 banking bodies totaling between 16.5k to 17k depending on how my personal loan is handled. 2 of those debts have already been frozen! And I don't even start paying StepChange til the 1st.

So happy to be on the road to being debt free.
Never believed the hype about getting a good nights sleep after contacting SC and taking action but it's so true, such a relief.

Welcome idheme

So happy it's starting to work out for you, being a regular readers expect you know about the roller coaster of starting the DMP, but some folk seem to sail right through without a problem so I'll send positive thoughts this will happen for you too.

I'd recommend a spreadsheet as great motivation to see how the debts are going down.

Good night, sleep well again