Payplan asking for bank statements and payslips

JoJoB

Hi, wondered if anyone is in a similar position or knows what to do.

Hubby has been on a dmp for the past 4 years and we have another 10 years to go. We pay about £150 per month.

In the past 4 years our circs have changed a fair bit on paper, but we are still struggling in some senses. Hubby's income has gone up about £800 a month, which sounds great but his commute is enormous - £170 a week, which creditors always quibble about. Also, while we have the extra money we really need to do essential maintenance on our flat (leaking hot water cylinder, holes in the roof, lots of things we have put off due to budget being tight). There is a secured loan of £8000 on our mortgage which isn't being paid off due to the mortgage going to interest only and we would like to tackle this as the term is up in 4 years.

So essentially we have extra money coming in, all our bills are about the same, but we really need the extra money to get on top of our household an stop the flat from literally falling down.

Trouble is, after 4 years of payplan taking our word for it, they now want proof of income in the form of payslips and bank statements for our yearly review. I feel a bit annoyed about bank statements in that it is very personal information! Do they have the right to demand this?

Should we just ignore the request and book the annual review anyway and hope that they won't push it? Is there an option to write to all creditors and say that we are taking over management of the dmp, or will creditors kick up a fuss about this?

We have increased the dmp payment each year by £20 a month, and never missed a payment in 4 years. We have never had a foreign holiday, just go camping, do not run a car, have freeview etc so are not hugely profligate, but I really don't like the idea of people looking at our bank statements. I think they should be private!

Any thoughts?

lou3_2

Anything sent to payplan is confidential just like it would be at your doctor so you are not making your bank statements public nor will they share them with the creditors unless there is a legal reason why they should.
At the end of the day Payplan are trying to help you, what they need to be able to do is evidence and justify your expenses to the insolvency practitioner so he keep the creditors happy and help you to remain in a successful plan. If you are really bothered about it then simply take a sharpie and blot out all your expenditure and bank details (except your name and the date of the statement) so that the only bits they can see are the income amounts which they require.

seanavfc92

JoJoB wrote: »

Hi, wondered if anyone is in a similar position or knows what to do.

Hubby has been on a dmp for the past 4 years and we have another 10 years to go. We pay about £150 per month.

In the past 4 years our circs have changed a fair bit on paper, but we are still struggling in some senses. Hubby's income has gone up about £800 a month, which sounds great but his commute is enormous - £170 a week, which creditors always quibble about. Also, while we have the extra money we really need to do essential maintenance on our flat (leaking hot water cylinder, holes in the roof, lots of things we have put off due to budget being tight). There is a secured loan of £8000 on our mortgage which isn't being paid off due to the mortgage going to interest only and we would like to tackle this as the term is up in 4 years.

So essentially we have extra money coming in, all our bills are about the same, but we really need the extra money to get on top of our household an stop the flat from literally falling down.

Trouble is, after 4 years of payplan taking our word for it, they now want proof of income in the form of payslips and bank statements for our yearly review. I feel a bit annoyed about bank statements in that it is very personal information! Do they have the right to demand this?

Should we just ignore the request and book the annual review anyway and hope that they won't push it? Is there an option to write to all creditors and say that we are taking over management of the dmp, or will creditors kick up a fuss about this?

We have increased the dmp payment each year by £20 a month, and never missed a payment in 4 years. We have never had a foreign holiday, just go camping, do not run a car, have freeview etc so are not hugely profligate, but I really don't like the idea of people looking at our bank statements. I think they should be private!

Any thoughts?

I would assume it's for auditing purposes in line with the FCA changes.

The creditors would no doubt prefer Debt Management Companies to verify income before sending paperwork off to ensure the budget is accurate!

chanz4

op have you told them by any chance a lot lower income?

Thrifty_Pixie

have you declared the extra £800 per month to payplan at your past reviews? because, i'm sorry, but this sounds like you're trying to hide something. anyway, i am surprised that payplan haven't asked for proof of budget before, so i'd say you've been lucky up til now. as others have said, they are trying to help you get out of debt as quickly as possible.

JoJoB

Basically OH's job has gone up a bit each year, but because expenses have gone up too we haven't really bothered amending anything because we haven't been asked.

OH's income has gone up by £800-£1000 a month since we first started. Which is a great deal, but mostly only happened in the last year. However this has also meant an increased commute bill - from £200 a month as in our payplan budget, up to £720 a month. Plus student loans are now payable so that's another £150 a month.

We have also decided to tackle the issue of a secured loan coming to term in 4 years, so need to start saving at least £100 a month to chip away at that or we may have to sell up to meet it.

I also have started a 4 year course which should improve my employment prospects. This is £93 a month.

I also had to get a catalogue at one stage because hubby's laptop, fridge freezer and washing machine all broke down inside one month :-( That's an extra £50 a month. Do they allow this expenditure?

Our clothes come from charity shops, we have no hot water because of leaking cylinder I can't afford to replace, so I've drained it to stop it crashing through the floorboards, my oven is broken and I have no money to replace.

So I'm not exactly trying to hide anything in terms of mega foreign holidays and flash new car and spending what I like. But I am nervous that they may quibble so much over the commute bill that we have to hide it amongst other expenses. Also concerned I may have to drop the course if they deem that somehow a luxury.

Thrifty_Pixie

i agree that you have a lot on your plate, but i'm sure that they will understand about the commute and repairs if you discuss it with them. i just think that refusing to hand over budget evidence (or just ignoring the request) may just strike alarm bells with them. i would want to keep them on side. just my opinion though

bsms1147

JoJoB wrote: »

... his commute is enormous - £170 a week, which creditors always quibble about.

That's approaching £9,000 a year.

:eek:

Where and how is he travelling if you don't mind me asking?

JoJoB

bsms1147 wrote: »

That's approaching £9,000 a year.

:eek:

Where and how is he travelling if you don't mind me asking?

From Margate to London, at peak times. We could always move closer to London, but then the commute is not that much cheaper while house prices are astronomical compared to where we live.

Toomuchdebt

JoJoB wrote: »

From Margate to London, at peak times. We could always move closer to London, but then the commute is not that much cheaper while house prices are astronomical compared to where we live.

Would it not work out cheaper for him to rent a room for the week and come home at weekends?

JoJoB

We did look into that, but a room for the week in London is not cheap either. Plus the impact on family life has to be taken into account. Basically we can afford the commute, but if it is not allowed to be that high on expenditure forms I don't know what happens then.

It would be helpful to know what the allowances are for each category in the budgeting form as maybe I can hide some of the expenses in things that I spend little on.

Does anyone know how much is allowed for household expenses? Food and cleaning etc? For a family of 3 we have budgeted £395