Dragons DMP .

Puzzcat

Verbatim wrote: »

Brogden I was thinking of the the fees for late payment rather than interest applied. If SC paid late and therefore incurred fees for AD I'd call that mismanagement.

But sc didn't pay late, they pay all creditors on the 25th of the month. Unfortunately it is down to the debtor to negotiate with the creditor to change the payment date. I got mine changed with BC but had to ask them to change it. They are well known to not be the most helpful creditor, you can't blame sc for that!
Puzz

Aloofdragon

I totally agree SC always state the 25th as payment date, but even with SC help what about the poor souls that haven't found MSE or those that aren't Internet savvy paying SC and checking their balances all coming down nicely month after month especially those who don't receive paper statements for banks and other creditors I really think I could knock a year off my payments at least by stopping just the fees and charges, I am so thankful for the wonderful advice on here daily !

Brr it's white with frost here but the sky is all the colours of the rainbow.. Gorgeous !

Brogden

Aloofdragon wrote: »

I totally agree SC always state the 25th as payment date, but even with SC help what about the poor souls that haven't found MSE or those that aren't Internet savvy paying SC and checking their balances all coming down nicely month after month especially those who don't receive paper statements for banks and other creditors I really think I could knock a year off my payments at least by stopping just the fees and charges, I am so thankful for the wonderful advice on here daily !

Brr it's white with frost here but the sky is all the colours of the rainbow.. Gorgeous !

I think you have hit the nail on the head Dragon

SC is of invaluable assistance to those who are not 'savvy' or who may have trouble with arithmetic, possibly mental health problems or a fear of speaking about their issues. A lot of us on here are a bit 'savvy' and a bit bold and don't need the complications the SC framework brings to us.

The reward for self managing will be a DFD that is much earlier

SC is however a great British Institution and we should be proud of it. :beer:

Brogden

Verbatim

Puzzcat wrote: »

But sc didn't pay late, they pay all creditors on the 25th of the month. Unfortunately it is down to the debtor to negotiate with the creditor to change the payment date. I got mine changed with BC but had to ask them to change it. They are well known to not be the most helpful creditor, you can't blame sc for that!
Puzz

Ahh I see. Didn't realize that.

Aloofdragon

Can I just say I do intend paying back everything owed if totally necessary I am not trying to pull a quick one and have em all quashed but I am the type of person that it plays completely on my mind if I'm not doing as much as I possibly can to sort it out at any given time, but I do need to remember I have a husband and child dependant on my choices.

The following are our debts.

Argoscard- £1105.22
Creation c/c £700.00 0.95%
Moorcroft £162.34 (old water bill)
Cabot DCA- Marisota £981-15.
Barclaysloan-£5955-15
Barclays O/D- £842-74 (£570 allowed)
Curvissa £144.54
Barclaycard £1246.55 £1200 credit limit being charged for being over it.

I personally have a credit union loan for £1300 that I pay £25 a month on but it has dragged on forever and would like to make extra payments on this, plus owe a local shop £358 for flooring this is a pop in and pay whenever your passing type arrangement.

My immediate response is to keep the £5 min payments set up by S/S to Moorcroft, and Curvissa. I am going to send the same to Cabot monthly as all 3 have no interest being added.

I haven't a clue where to start with Barclays and Barclays O/D ??

Argos card I am quite tempted to let this go to default and to DCA so I can clear this slowly with no more interest added, but haven't a clue how long this would take and how much more costly this will be with charges added.

Barclaycard and Creation card I really want to get these cleared asap and cancelled, Creation have dropped interest but as SC have not made min payments fees are adding to it, as are B/C ..

I have £650 to pay off now and on average £500 a month to clear these bills off, with an extra £140 in Feb and March as have no council tax to pay.

Any advice would be amazing, I have contacted S/C to let them know we are going self managed.

I really don't want to go to court at any cost, but anything semi-legal is cool haha.

Puzzcat

Brogden wrote: »

SC is of invaluable assistance to those who are not 'savvy' or who may have trouble with arithmetic, possibly mental health problems or a fear of speaking about their issues.

Brogden

Not sure I agree with this statement Brogden...!! I think it is the individuals choice whether to go self managed or to use a reputable dmp provider. I certainly don't fall into any of the above catagories that you state. For me it was all about and still is about paying off my debts quietly... They took a long time to accrue..20 years plus.. and I'm in no rush.. The last thing I wanted was additional stress from phonecalls/letters and of course the joys of threats and the possibility of legal action - ccj's etc..


I know many people go on to self manage after starting with a provider and this may be the way I go as well IF or WHEN the creditors don't play nice with me.. But I think to brand everyone with the same brush as you have stated above is a little harsh.


I also do defend SC as they have been nothing but fantastic for me, of course it helped that I read the whole of 3 threads of the dmp mutual support thread before starting so knew what was coming..!! It also clearly states on the printed statement from SC which you get every month to check your own balances these are just estimates so no excuses for the non internet users..!


Good Luck Aloof on your new self managed journey, I will be cheering you on during 2015.


Puzz. x

Brogden

Puzzcat wrote: »

Not sure I agree with this statement Brogden...!! I think it is the individuals choice whether to go self managed or to use a reputable dmp provider. I certainly don't fall into any of the above catagories that you state. For me it was all about and still is about paying off my debts quietly... They took a long time to accrue..20 years plus.. and I'm in no rush.. The last thing I wanted was additional stress from phonecalls/letters and of course the joys of threats and the possibility of legal action - ccj's etc..

Puzz. x

Dear Mrs. Puzzcat

I am sorry. It would be awful if anything said here should put somebody off picking up the phone to speak to Step Change. Going back to 2011 I did it on several occasions (CCCS as they were.) I have already indicated my high opinion of them.

However, Dragon has pinpointed immediately some of the bits which I too was not happy about and it may be wrong to say but with the astronomic learning curve I have been on for three years, I do not feel I need the service. Initially I wondered if there was some 'safety net' that was offered but, of course there can't be and in realising this and reflecting on my dealings with predators in a friendly way for years I thought I might as well do it myself.

Puzz.....I have seen you around the forum for quite a while and I admire your spirit and humour. You do not need to say to anybody that you do not fit certain categories because we know that and your light is shining brightly

All in all you're not too bad for a cat :rotfl:!! I'm gonna be careful and go now because I know you have claws :eek: !!

There's always a saucer of milk waiting for you here!

Brogden xx

Brogden

Aloofdragon wrote: »

Can I just say I do intend paying back everything owed if totally necessary I am not trying to pull a quick one and have em all quashed but I am the type of person that it plays completely on my mind if I'm not doing as much as I possibly can to sort it out at any given time, but I do need to remember I have a husband and child dependant on my choices.

The following are our debts.

Argoscard- £1105.22
Creation c/c £700.00 0.95%
Moorcroft £162.34 (old water bill)
Cabot DCA- Marisota £981-15.
Barclaysloan-£5955-15
Barclays O/D- £842-74 (£570 allowed)
Curvissa £144.54
Barclaycard £1246.55 £1200 credit limit being charged for being over it.

I personally have a credit union loan for £1300 that I pay £25 a month on but it has dragged on forever and would like to make extra payments on this, plus owe a local shop £358 for flooring this is a pop in and pay whenever your passing type arrangement.

My immediate response is to keep the £5 min payments set up by S/S to Moorcroft, and Curvissa. I am going to send the same to Cabot monthly as all 3 have no interest being added.

I haven't a clue where to start with Barclays and Barclays O/D ??

Argos card I am quite tempted to let this go to default and to DCA so I can clear this slowly with no more interest added, but haven't a clue how long this would take and how much more costly this will be with charges added.

Barclaycard and Creation card I really want to get these cleared asap and cancelled, Creation have dropped interest but as SC have not made min payments fees are adding to it, as are B/C ..

I have £650 to pay off now and on average £500 a month to clear these bills off, with an extra £140 in Feb and March as have no council tax to pay.

Any advice would be amazing, I have contacted S/C to let them know we are going self managed.

I really don't want to go to court at any cost, but anything semi-legal is cool haha.

If not already defaulted, everything will sooner or later go to default if the full contracted payments are not made.

It makes sense to continue the amount of any payment amounts agreed by Step Change. You will have to decide whether to continue the payments at the full rate to the credit union and what arrangements you will have with your ‘flooring friend!’

Do you have an account elsewhere? It is worrying if your wages should be going into an account with a bank with which you have an overdraft / credit card / loan. If you have not already done this, open an account with another bank (Co-op?) and make sure all payments….wages and everything are paid there.

As far as Barklays is concerned, treat the overdraft / loan / card as separate predators. For each you need to decide what you can afford to pay to each of them monthly. Definitely do not pay more to keep within their overdraft limits or credit limits. Barklays need to understand that you are in financial difficulty hence they can default you / terminate the agreement or whatever they like but you are only paying to them what you can afford and no more. You may want to request a refund of charges and possibly interest now or later. Remember that you are in charge and all credit limits and minimum payments are finished when an agreement is terminated as it will be shortly, no doubt.

Barklays may request an Income & Expenditure statement to be happy that the amounts they are receiving are reasonable and you should include on this the other payments you are obliged to make – this should include payments to friends and family as well as formal contractual payments.

Again…..make sure all of your income is going to another bank.

Finally, keep in touch with them and make sure they do not keep penalising you in charges – these can be refunded – same goes for any others.

All the best with it :):).

Brogden x

Aloofdragon

:T - x

I have changed banks I am in the fields with black beauty now thankfully

I wandered into town this morning and paid in some cash I had for Christmas, with this I have made a 10% payment to B/C card bringing it back down to below credit limit so hopefully no more charges.
I also paid off approx 22% on my Creation card taking this down to a more manageable amount to clear.
I have made the monthly payment to Curvissa and Moorcroft, and have let Cabot know I cannot keep up the payment S/C were I have offered £10 a month and will pay this on reply to email, I have read many times to just keep paying these token amounts and they usually accept in the end.

I now have Argos and Barclays Loan and overdraft to sort..

I had a natter with hubby earlier and he said maybe we could really skimp through next few months and clear the 2 credit cards, Curvissa and Moorcroft + clear the flooring(hubby pays this on way to work usually out of his money) and just keep paying the nominal £25 a month to credit union until a later date, leave Argos stew a little and see where that goes and make initial contact with Barclays asking for a few weeks to sort out a proposal but to let them know we have every intention of paying in full.

I have another £300 waiting to clear in the bank this again will come straight off Creation card. So this will be down to £250 then which is clearable by end of the month without making a huge dent in normal living expenses. There is def a way through this !!

Brogden

Aloofdragon wrote: »

:T - x

I have changed banks I am in the fields with black beauty now thankfully

I wandered into town this morning and paid in some cash I had for Christmas, with this I have made a 10% payment to B/C card bringing it back down to below credit limit so hopefully no more charges.
I also paid off approx 22% on my Creation card taking this down to a more manageable amount to clear.
I have made the monthly payment to Curvissa and Moorcroft, and have let Cabot know I cannot keep up the payment S/C were I have offered £10 a month and will pay this on reply to email, I have read many times to just keep paying these token amounts and they usually accept in the end.

I now have Argos and Barclays Loan and overdraft to sort..

I had a natter with hubby earlier and he said maybe we could really skimp through next few months and clear the 2 credit cards, Curvissa and Moorcroft + clear the flooring(hubby pays this on way to work usually out of his money) and just keep paying the nominal £25 a month to credit union until a later date, leave Argos stew a little and see where that goes and make initial contact with Barclays asking for a few weeks to sort out a proposal but to let them know we have every intention of paying in full.

I have another £300 waiting to clear in the bank this again will come straight off Creation card. So this will be down to £250 then which is clearable by end of the month without making a huge dent in normal living expenses. There is def a way through this !!

Awesome !! The Creation 'job' is particularly satisfying isn't it?

If you have paid some money to minimise the charges on the Barklay's overdraft then great but do not be a slave to Barklays. For an awful few months I was a slave to the Gnat's Vest . When my substantial credit card account was in arrears I was paying hundreds and hundreds to try to be 'goody two shoes,' have the account up to date and avoid the threat of default. The result was that almost all of my payments to them were taken in interest and charges and I couldn't keep on top of my priorities and utilities.......I finally stuck up two fingers and it was then that I began the road to recovery.....they gleefully defaulted me of course but have not charged me a penny since !!

Sorry to go OTT but remember....the world will not end if you pay less than the contractual minimum or sit in an 'over limit' or 'arrears' position. Tell them what you are paying, get agreement to that and ask them to remove charges or interest or both. If they continue to charge you write a letter of complaint and if they still do not agree in their final response to stop charging and refund charges taken then take the complaint to the FOS.

Dig your heels in and the defaults will come quicker. Whatever you do, keep in touch with them, answer all calls and correspondence and keep paying the maybe tiny amount you have told them you will pay.

Have a great day

Brogden x