Unable to get a DMP because of work expenses account

beckstar1975

What about a prepay credit card? I have one that I use when I go to visit my mum in France - you could keep a float loaded against that one but it's not strictly speaking credit?

chelle1981

hi

Sometimes honesty isn't the best policy- I'm not saying to hide things.

I did the same on my payplan- I kept a crefit card purely for paying for flights- I pay these off straight away but don't like using my debit card to book hotels etc as have had a debit card cloned- as long as you are not getting into debt with this card I do not see the need yo tell the dm company

ilovegreatdanes

Hi,
not been on 4 awhile.still with stepchange but debt is going down slowly.could nt believe today tht cap1 has sent me an invittion to a new credit card for improving my credit rating.i am shocked and pretty annoyed as they are 1 of my main creditors and still owe them about 6 grand on 2 accounts......then they want to give me more debt.bit bad that they dont check their bad debtors.anyway after theinitial shock....I was tempted to apply just to see if they passed me(only joking!!!)...but at least I felt like I was a bit closer to a"normal" person instead of a bad debtor til 2027, lol!

StepChange_Private_Messages

Hi ratters,

Without knowing your full situation it’s difficult to comment specifically on how we’d deal with this situation.

In general terms, if you use credit outside of the plan we can’t offer a DMP as we have a duty of care to make sure that all debts are included and that the budget is as accurate as possible.

If this was to be a joint plan and you need to have a card to cover expenses, and it’s purely used for work purposes and is repaid each month, then (while not ideal) it isn't an insurmountable issue, as long as there isn’t any money owed to the creditor for any other products. If that was the case they could then use right to offset to take money from the account which can cause problems.

If the plan is just going to be in your partner’s name then it’s potentially easier, as we could simply set up plan based on HER budget only. She would need to make sure that her name isn’t on the card and she includes all her debts as per a ‘normal’ debt management plan (DMP).

If a plan was to be discussed then it could potentially be included as “travel costs”; additionally it would be much easier to set up if the client could cancel the credit card and use a debit card instead. However, she’s already mentioned that she couldn't get company credit. There are also top-up credit cards that you can use in exactly the same way, but you add credit using a debit card which is often a good compromise and avoids further debt.

Ultimately it comes down to legal and personal liability but for obvious reasons we can’t usually support someone using a credit card outside of the plan. However we do treat each call on a case by case basis and as long as there’s full disclosure and you’re aware of any potential issues then we could talk about this. We would always have your best interests and the values of the charity at heart.

I hope this helps answer the query,

Many thanks to Fermi for asking for our help with this one.

Rory

sourcrates

Hi,
For Hotel pre-booking, you don`t need a credit card.

You cant book online, but you can ring the specific Hotel to book the room over the phone with a debt card.

As others have said, you dont "need" stepchange to run a DMP for you either, you can set one up yourself with very little effort, whilst it is true creditors may be more sympathetic if SC are involved, that should not dissuade you from going alone.

rattters

Thanks for all the input guys- so much help.

I think we will set up a joint basic account for all our usual income/outgoings and a seperate one for hubbies work expenses.

I started a DMP with SC and have an action plan- but the gentleman I spoke to on the phone said NO WAY hubby could have ANY activity on a credit card.

As we have debts on all our credit cards- I think it best not to use them at all and hope that any hotels he books accept a debit card as most people have advised.

Just filled everything in on the CAB money DMP - so now the decision is- go it alone - or go with SC ???? (pending getting our basic accounts open)

Where would I be without MSE ????

patman99

I have a DMP with SC and when I set up my plan originally, I forgot to include 1 of my credit cards as I was in credit on it (they owed me money rather than the other way round).

I still have the cars and it is still active and is there for emergencies.