DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

timetosayenough

Hi everyone,

Patch, thanks so much, you've put my mind at rest. It's all a little daunting this DMP lark, although I've got to say feel better now that the wheels are in motion.


Like you Triangle I've had no phone calls either apart from the loan I didn't pay on 1st July and they've now stopped.


I get a sense of achievement when I've contacted creditors or sent letter/token payments off. It feels like I'm doing something towards my debt instead of burying my head in the sand.


Good luck to all.

KID77

Hello Fellow DMPers,

All quiet on my front too, had the standard letters, some contradict each other but from what Ive read on these forums, thats quite normal.

All creditors have been great so far and laid back, when I rung Barclays to say their payment is missing but wanted to assure them I had paid, the guy said they werent chasing for payment yet as accounts still being closed and transferred to Recoveries so not to worry.

3 months ago the thought of not meeting my minimum payments hadn't even entered my head, I thought I was going to have to sell my house to get out of this situation. I think the DMP seems so straight forward and light at the end of the tunnel because of how low you are when you realise you need a DMP.

Lets hope I am still this positive about my DMP in a gew months :-)

xx

timetosayenough

Hi, me again


Advice please. Had a text from Stepchange saying DMP is now set up and first payment will come out 1st September. I am going to ring them tomorrow. I wanted to have a few months before starting it, making token payments for that time as I need to build some money up. I had thought of starting it November 1st. Do you think Stepchange will agree to that? Thanks everyone.

timetosayenough

Forgot to say I also need to let them know about my elderly Labrador. She's 15 and suffers from cushings disease and the tablets cost £140 a month. I've had to cancel her insurance because the renewal came through this week and monthly payments have gone up from £96 to £111!!!! I rang insurance company and they say they can't offer a cheaper option because of her age. Luckily we've got good vets and at the moment she's healthy but if I do need their services I'm sure we could come to an agreement. At least there's a sign in waiting room mentioning this. I think I'm going to have to look into getting her tablets online and getting prescription from vets. The only thing with that is if I have to take her to vets because of the cushings they charge £20 plus normal consultation fee. Am thinking if I could save £50 a month and put it away at least I'd have some sort of back up. Feel like I'm waffling, sorry. Just trying to think of best thing to do. She means the world to me. She was there when hubby collapsed and died and just seems we've been through a lot together.

Sazzie23

timetosayenough wrote: »

Forgot to say I also need to let them know about my elderly Labrador. She's 15 and suffers from cushings disease and the tablets cost £140 a month. I've had to cancel her insurance because the renewal came through this week and monthly payments have gone up from £96 to £111!!!! I rang insurance company and they say they can't offer a cheaper option because of her age. Luckily we've got good vets and at the moment she's healthy but if I do need their services I'm sure we could come to an agreement. At least there's a sign in waiting room mentioning this. I think I'm going to have to look into getting her tablets online and getting prescription from vets. The only thing with that is if I have to take her to vets because of the cushings they charge £20 plus normal consultation fee. Am thinking if I could save £50 a month and put it away at least I'd have some sort of back up. Feel like I'm waffling, sorry. Just trying to think of best thing to do. She means the world to me. She was there when hubby collapsed and died and just seems we've been through a lot together.

Phew that's quite an insurance quote, but I remember from past experience that having a pet with a pre-existing condition is almost impossible to insure.

Ok first thing, SC should accept if you say you are not ready to start your DMP yet, I think people in the past have said that they have outstanding bills to pay or something. Please chip in DMP folks with your experiences ....



Vets bills, not sure what SC will tell you, but you obviously have to declare this as an expense, since it's far too high to absorb into something else. See what they say and come back here if there are any problems, there will be a way round it, you obviously need to continue treatment esp as pup means so much to you Big hugs.

Ellieseleven

timetosayenough wrote: »

Forgot to say I also need to let them know about my elderly Labrador. She's 15 and suffers from cushings disease and the tablets cost £140 a month. I've had to cancel her insurance because the renewal came through this week and monthly payments have gone up from £96 to £111!!!! I rang insurance company and they say they can't offer a cheaper option because of her age. Luckily we've got good vets and at the moment she's healthy but if I do need their services I'm sure we could come to an agreement. At least there's a sign in waiting room mentioning this. I think I'm going to have to look into getting her tablets online and getting prescription from vets. The only thing with that is if I have to take her to vets because of the cushings they charge £20 plus normal consultation fee. Am thinking if I could save £50 a month and put it away at least I'd have some sort of back up. Feel like I'm waffling, sorry. Just trying to think of best thing to do. She means the world to me. She was there when hubby collapsed and died and just seems we've been through a lot together.

I'm not sure about per-existing conditions but it might be worth having a look at the Animal Friends website. We have an elderly cat and I originally insured with Tesco but the older he got the more the insurance cost. I knew that most insurance companies wouldn't insure him after 8 years old but found Animal Friends and they took him on. I paid £12 per month instead of £30+ and the payments have never increased and we have good cover. They donate a chunk to Animal charities too. Our cat is 17 now and we have paid the same £12 for several years now.

Might be worth checking out?

Ellie x

Brogden

Ellieseleven wrote: »

I'm not sure about per-existing conditions but it might be worth having a look at the Animal Friends website. We have an elderly cat and I originally insured with Tesco but the older he got the more the insurance cost. I knew that most insurance companies wouldn't insure him after 8 years old but found Animal Friends and they took him on. I paid £12 per month instead of £30+ and the payments have never increased and we have good cover. They donate a chunk to Animal charities too. Our cat is 17 now and we have paid the same £12 for several years now.

Might be worth checking out?

Ellie x

The Brogden cat is 14 and insured with Animal Friends !!

The cover is not as complete as I would like but it was really our only option as we 'winged it' without cover for years and they were the only ones who would take her

As Ellie says, definitely worth a look

Brogden

timetosayenough

Hi everyone,


Thank you all so much for your advice. Have spoken to Stepchange, and they've been great. They've agreed I can start DMP in November. Feel soooooo relieved. I also explained about my old dog and they totally understood that I need to set something up for her. I tried Animal Friends but unfortunately they don't cover pre-existing conditions. Next job contact vet and ask for prescription so I can order her tablets online. Thank you all once again, its great knowing I can come on here and get great advice.

Puzzcat

timetosayenough wrote: »

Hi, me again


Advice please. Had a text from Stepchange saying DMP is now set up and first payment will come out 1st September. I am going to ring them tomorrow. I wanted to have a few months before starting it, making token payments for that time as I need to build some money up. I had thought of starting it November 1st. Do you think Stepchange will agree to that? Thanks everyone.

Hi,
Just tell SC when you wish to start, it is your dmp and to have an emergency fund is vital to its success! I did 3 months token payments without any problems.
Puzz.x

kb_soma

timetosayenough wrote: »

Hi all,


Had to re send all paperwork to Stepchange cos the 1st lot I posted didn't arrive. So that's put everything back a while. I've sent token payments off to creditors and although I've contacted all of them some have not replied. Is that normal? Find it a bit worrying, I've had a reply from one loan company and my bank but not the other 2 loans.


I'm a natural worry guts. Other problem is I can't get a balance of loan from one of the loans that haven't replied yet and Stepchange need that information. I've rang them and been put on hold for ages so ended up hanging up. Will keep trying. I've also emailed them so will see if they respond to that. Will this hold everything up, do Stepchange need everything in place before they contact creditors?

Hi TTSE, I'm sorry that you've had to resend the paperwork to them, I can't remember having letters back from all of my creditors. If you're worried maybe give SC a call to see what they advise?