Time limits on DMP's?

blisteringblue

I'm Stepchange too. To be honest I don't think they do a lot but they do seem to have some clout, and it's easy to make your payment to SC and forget about it.

They are quite regimented on the rules though, and some people find this restrictive and so self manage (ie pay more to a creditor that just will not reduce interest) but until that is an issue I will stick with Stepchange.

meredith132

Yes a couple of my friends recommended Step Change so I was relieved when I came on here and they are well thought of. Just doing my sums for the umpteenth time. I think it will be a DMP. Coming on here has made me change my attitude a lot. Its gaining control not losing it. I will get some sleep. I will still be paying my way. I will reduce my anxiety I will reduce my debt. Seems like a no brainer!

blisteringblue

It does seem like a big step but once it's made you won't look back, honestly.

dancingfairy

Generally if a dmp is likely to last 6 years or more then an alternative like an IVA or bankruptcy may be a better bet.
Obviously when you start a dmp you really have no idea how the next 6 years will go (does anyone have everything fully planned for the next 6 years?). You never know whether you will get ill, get married, have a child, get a payrise, get made redundant etc etc. There are so many variables.
I think after a while you will get in the swing of it. You will start finding ways to make savings and you may well be in a position after a couple of years to make a full and final settlement offer. Also a dmp is not legally binding so if things do take a turn for the worse you can extend your dmp or even go for bankruptcy or an IVA. Obviously if it's obviously from the start you should go for bankruptcy or an IVA then there isn't much point putting off the inevitable but this doesn't seem to be the case for you.
I'd start with the token payments/dmp and the review the situation in 6 months time and see how things are going.
Best of Luck
df

meredith132

Exactly what I was thinking. I would like to have 6 months then review in new year. Things like no council tax water rates for 2 months will ease me in too. I worked out about £550 a month shall get it cleared in 5 years sounds awful but like you say lot of variables. Mentally I can deal with it now unlike when the tit left. So it will be my project! A bit of a scary one but I am going to embrace the challenge.

scooterwife

when we started our DMP with Stepchange the forecast was 25 years, but obviously with changes in circumstances I think it will have taken about 10 in the end, but a great relief to see debts going down and not up. good luck

meredith132

Thats brilliant for you Scooterwife, well done what a massive relief for you. It just shows how you can turn things around. In the last week I have started to improve, got a way to go but I reckon its going to be a bit like when I gave up cigs and now I can't stand it. I could be a real pain in the butt saveaholic x

DMP_Newbie

fermi wrote: »

DMP protocol says that a DMP should only be offered when:

The DMP is projected to pay off each debt within 10 years or there is potential that improved circumstances will reduce full repayment to within 10 years and these circumstances are recorded. (In exceptional circumstances a DMP may be offered where the plan will run for more than 10 years and there is unlikely to be an improvement in circumstances. In such cases the provider should record reasons why the plan was offered to satisfy subsequent monitoring)..

Interesting... our parents DMP has been running for 6 years and is to be paid off in 2032.. via payplan. They are both around 60 already.

I'm getting the feeling more and more that payplan are not acting in their best interests.

Steve

longtermplanner

DMP_Newbie wrote: »

Interesting... our parents DMP has been running for 6 years and is to be paid off in 2032.. via payplan. They are both around 60 already.

I'm getting the feeling more and more that payplan are not acting in their best interests.

Steve

Do you parents own a house? If they don't, then they should almost certainly be going either for bankruptcy or a Debt Relief Order. A DRO didn't exist 6 years ago, it is quite possible that Payplan told them they should consider bankruptcy and they said they didn't want to.

If they do own a house, their situation is more complicated. A 32 year DMP suggests that they probably couldn't afford large enough monthly payments to make an IVA possible. Or their may have been too much equity in their property for an IVA to be approved. In which case their alternative to this extremely prolonged DMP would be to sell the house.

If they don't have a house I think you should discuss bankruptcy with them as an alternative. If they do, then this is a situation where there may be no good option that they want to take and they may feel the DMP is their least bad choice.

National_Debtline

Hello there,

I think ten years is a good benchmark for a DMP. I have arranged for some of my callers to have a DMP which have lasted a lot longer - but only where the DMP would have been in their best interests (generally they would have property with a lot of equity within it - far more than the debt level). When considering the best route forward, we would always highlight how long each particular option will take.

Very best wishes,

David @ National Debtline.