What can I expect with a DMP?

cuemix

Hi all

I'm just about to commit to a DMP with CCCS and I'd just like to hear from others, who are already into their plan's, of any difficulties they have had with creditors or of any action taken by creditors that they didn't expect.

For example I have read of creditors harassing people with numerous phone calls. My main concerns are being issued with CCJ's or having to deal with court proceedings etc and having to deal with reams of forms and paperwork.

For a bit of background info, my credit debts total £48744 comprising of 9 credit cards and 1 loan. I live with my partner to whom I pay what I can afford in a kind of "board" payment, I contribute to food but don't pay towards bills. My DMP payment will be £693 pm and will clear my debt in 5 years 10 months. I just manage to pay my minimum payments and haven't defaulted on any payments.

I own 2 vehicles that I use to get to work, I commute to London from Hants using a motorbike (worth around £4500) most days (cheap on petrol, free parking, no congestion charge) but I also have a cheap old car valued under £1000 for days when a bike is not ideal, eg adverse weather conditions. I also use it for work if I am required to travel long distances and I need to carry luggage, which is quite often. This is my main area of expenditure, and I'm worried I may be forced to sell one of them by my creditors to lower my debt. These are my only assets.

I also don't really have a brilliant reason for getting into so much debt. Only a career change and a further education course fee, 2 house moves and my vehicle purchases. I acquired so many cards through 0% balance transfer deals but I didn't get around to canceling the old cards coupled with being given so much credit.

So how difficult does life get once you sign up to a DMP and how much do you have to deal with yourself and how much does the CCCS handle for you?

Many thanks :beer:

newlywed

Hi. I am just about to make my 4th payment on a DMP with CCCS.

To be honest the phone calls I received were not too bad, and mainly only before CCCS contacted them. You pay CCCS on the 1st of the month but the creditors don't see the money until 25th of the month so that is the difficult bit.

I had one bank reduce interest to a third - they accepted immediately. One bank completely stopped interest and charges after the second month and one has only just stopped interest.

So all in all, not nearly as bad as I imagined it would be!! In fact my debt is now going down (it went up for a bit after starting the DMP while waiting for everyone to agree to stop charges and interest).

The only difficult bit now is budgeting for car repairs and making sure I put money aside for car tax as there is no fallback plastic to put it on

Do you have a bank account with a bank you don't owe any money to? If not, get a new bank account sorted and get your wages switched to that as otherwise the bank can "offset" your wages towards the debt if they want to be difficult.

All in all, I think it depends entirely which banks you owe and what mood the person at the bank dealing with your file is in as to how much hassle you get.

No major problems for me at all now that most interest has stopped. And I would never have been able to get the interest stopped or reduced by myself.

I have just over 5 years to go too.

Edit: I've had a default but no CCJ or any paperwork to deal with other than the default -which CCCS said is standard.

spud30

My DMP started a year ago this week.

At first there were phone calls and letters, though only to my mobile phone, so not as bad as some others have posted about on here.

I have been issued with defaults but all creditors except one have been OK. As soon as they hear that CCCS are involved, they seem to accept the situation. The creditor I'm having problems isnt even my largest debt.

I have been issued with one CCJ, and they have gone on to put a Charging Order on our house. The creditor lied to the courts and said that I had missed a payment on the CCJ, CCCS confirmed I hadnt but I didnt have the nerve to go to court and fight it. They have recently written threatening to go for an Attachment of Earnings but I have written back, and am still waiting to hear.

I still panic slightly when the post arrives, wondering if there will be anything awful from the above creditor.

The DMP was definitely the right thing to do for us, on the whole things have been fine