DMP set up but just served with a default notice

Bluey42

Hello!

I set up a DMP a few months ago with Stepchange. Haven't missed any payments, and I thought all was well, until today HSBC suddenly sends me a default notice for the credit card and demanded payment of an overdue £674 by the end of the month!

As soon as the DMP was set up HSBC had stopped calling me every day, so I assumed they'd agreed to it. So why have they suddenly sent me a default notice? I've emailed Stepchange but was wondering if anyone could give me any advice in the meantime?

Monkeyballs

Relax, you've broken your agreement and it's common to be defaulted... It's not a problem and is actually a good thing since in 6 years time the default will no longer be visible on your credit file they need to tell you that they have issued a default.

It's a million times better than an 'agreement to pay' marker which will reflect badly on your credit file for 6 years after your last mark

Check out the DMP Mutual Support thread!

MB

Bluey42

Thanks Monkeyballs. I get that I have defaulted on the card, so fair enough they send me a notice. But what about the demand for payment by the end of October? I can't ignore that, surely?

chanz4

just a legal requirement

National_Debtline

Bluey42 wrote: »

Thanks Monkeyballs. I get that I have defaulted on the card, so fair enough they send me a notice. But what about the demand for payment by the end of October? I can't ignore that, surely?

Hi Bluey

As chanz4 says above, this is a legal requirement upon the lender. The default notice has to be written in a prescribed format. That means it must tell you exactly what needs to be done (and by when) in order for the default NOT to be registered. Where a credit card is concerned, this usually means paying enough to bring it back within the authorised credit limit.

You may well get other such notices from other lenders, but this comes with the territory in a DMP.

Regards

Dennis
@natdebtline

sourcrates

Just to add that non of this has anything to do with your DMP, you carry on with it as normal.
The lender has, by law, to legally inform you that you have broken the terms of your original contract, the demand for payment, isn't as such, it just outlines what you would need to do, to bring the account up to date, and by when.
Its a computer generated letter, and as said before, has nothing to do with any other arrangements you have already made.

Bluey42

OK, OK, I'm convinced! Thank you very much everyone, you've put my mind at ease and the weekend hasn't been ruined after all!