DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

Scottishmummy

Shirt_buttons wrote: »

:o
Firstly can I just say a big thank you to you all for contributing to this forum. After reading through the pages I have not only managed to have two decent nights sleep but also complete my DMP on SC Site. We have been down same road as most of you living off credit cards paying minimum then drawing off them again until pay day, but it's got to the stage now where it's who should we pay this month as not enough money to go round. I was so embarrassed and ashamed but reading all the posts on here makes me feel so much better and that I am not alone , and there is a solution . It wasn't until I wrote down every debt we have that I realised how much we owe, I seriously could not breathe ... 77,000... :eek:
I have asked SC to send me the pack, they have advised how much we have to pay monthly already . I also set up a new basic bank account today .
I plan to write/email the cc companies (I can't call them l would be cringing and get too flustered) and pay them a token payment as advised from you guys. I am hoping that SC will allow me two/three months to accumulate a safety pot .
Can you please advise me am I better to wait until a month before I want them to start paying the debts for me before I send back details and just pay the token payments or do I tell them a date?
I am concerned as I see the Halifax are not happy about DMP, my Mortgage is with them (I will be paying that separately)
But I have a credit card with them as well also we have two Barclaycards we owe them 25,000 and if they don't freeze the interest I can't see us ever being free of that debt.
We also owe Santander credit cards and overdraft, mint cc, MBNA (3 cc's) Next, Very and Tesco cc
Thank you all again ... Just for being there x

Some of ours took up to six months to stop charging interest and charges but they all eventually did. BC do seem to be one of the worst for defaulting but most people do seem to manage to get them to default eventually. Good luck with your progress.

lumpyspaceprincess

Just updated my Stepchange budget online, if nothing comes back off it I'll happily continue. Otherwise I'll go self managed, as we have a very account that is in my name, but we used it to get my husband a new phone when his died. He's paying the account off, I am covering the minimum payment from my account, but I don't wish for it to be in the DMP as it's not me making the payments! I can't count on what he'll be able to contribute from each wage (zero hour contract) so it's better for us this way.


On the plus side, if the review is agreed as stands, I'm paying £100 more per month which would bring my DFD down to 30th October 2017. As that month will be our 2 year wedding anniversary, I want to try and end it before then - would be a good time to have an extra chunk of money available!

Bouncybubbles

So I had my first default letter today from the lovely hitachi finance :eek: also they sent another letter requesting payment alongside. So although I was tempted to call them and pay them everything I stuck to my original plan and simply paid them £1 as I told them I would in a letter I had previously sent whilst awaiting the set up of the DMP! :T

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere

Bouncybubbles wrote: »

So I had my first default letter today from the lovely hitachi finance :eek: also they sent another letter requesting payment alongside. So although I was tempted to call them and pay them everything I stuck to my original plan and simply paid them £1 as I told them I would in a letter I had previously sent whilst awaiting the set up of the DMP! :T

Congrats on the default - may it be the first of many!!

Well done on sticking to the DMP plan - it is hard when you have never missed a payment before. Keep going - you're doing a great job! :T

BDFSH x

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere

So.......

Having a really low couple of days - not sure why

Just feeling a bit gutted about having to count every penny and budget so strictly every single day. Work colleagues are constantly talking about things they have bought or that they have been out for a nice expensive meal etc etc etc - cant even budget for us to take the kids for a McDonalds let alone a proper meal out!!

I think it's also because the Easter hols are here and we can't afford to take the kids places, just feel sad as they are suffering because of our debt problems:( If anyone has any suggestions for cheap and cheerful activities I would be more than grateful!!

Just having to walk past nice treats in the supermarket because we can't afford it - little things like that - has got to me these last few days.

I think we may need to redo our SC review a bit earlier and drop the payments a bit just to give us more breathing space. It will extend our DFD (which is already 2028 :eek:) but i guess that's all we can do, especially as we only have one wage coming in.

Sorry for the long post - just needed to vent today and I know you guys understand.

Thanks for reading

BDFSH x

Spoonhead88

Going into the third month of my DMP

Pros:
Lloyds have now agreed to the dmp.

My debt is under £5000 for the first time in 6 years

Cons:
I missed the deadline for the second-month payments with SC because I wanted to pay by card (make sure I had the cash in my account) SC change systems and their telephone robot payment line wouldn't accept my card. Had to phone up each creditor and pay.

Two of my three debts are still charging interest so my total isn't going down

My SSP runs out this week so I applied for ESA but not sure how long it will be till that kicks in so might be looking at weeks with no income.

Sigh

phoenixx

The BC plot thickens - after 2 months of ignoring them, 0% interest is finally in place. Hmmmm! Is this a sign of defaults on the horizon or more trickery? So 3 accounts defaulted and passed to PRA and 4 now on 0%. A check of Experian reveals late payment markers on 3 accounts but one up to date which I don't understand. Oh well - will carry on regardless...

Sazzie23

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere wrote: »

So.......

Having a really low couple of days - not sure why

Just feeling a bit gutted about having to count every penny and budget so strictly every single day. Work colleagues are constantly talking about things they have bought or that they have been out for a nice expensive meal etc etc etc - cant even budget for us to take the kids for a McDonalds let alone a proper meal out!!

I think it's also because the Easter hols are here and we can't afford to take the kids places, just feel sad as they are suffering because of our debt problems:( If anyone has any suggestions for cheap and cheerful activities I would be more than grateful!!

Just having to walk past nice treats in the supermarket because we can't afford it - little things like that - has got to me these last few days.

I think we may need to redo our SC review a bit earlier and drop the payments a bit just to give us more breathing space. It will extend our DFD (which is already 2028 :eek:) but i guess that's all we can do, especially as we only have one wage coming in.

Sorry for the long post - just needed to vent today and I know you guys understand.

Thanks for reading

BDFSH x

Hi BDFSH

You've hit the 18month/2 year wobble, I think most DMPers get but particularly the long haulers as that light at the end of the proverbial tunnel is still a dim flicker.

It's ok, it's normal, and you'll get your head round it. Regards the kids, if you look back do you remember times you spend with your parents or things they bought you? Most local papers have ideas for things to do on the cheap, depends on ages but obvious ones are bike/scooter rides, playing on the park swings, free museums (a lot have child friendly activities). Lots of libraries do things to.
Also some families enjoy making things together, craft or baking. I used to enjoy washing mum and dads car! Maybe if kids are older they could offer to clean the neighbours/grandparents cars for a small fee.

Use the budget to make it work for you, 2028 is a good way off, a lot can change and life's too short to be miserable for 12 years. I copied my budget and tries a few things before I put the review into SC so I knew how much to add to each section. Couple of quid here and there won't be noticed and will give up perhaps £20 a month for a Mcd or a trip out.

Hope it helps and keep going, you will find that light again soon.
Saz.

Sazzie23

phoenixx wrote: »

The BC plot thickens - after 2 months of ignoring them, 0% interest is finally in place. Hmmmm! Is this a sign of defaults on the horizon or more trickery? So 3 accounts defaulted and passed to PRA and 4 now on 0%. A check of Experian reveals late payment markers on 3 accounts but one up to date which I don't understand. Oh well - will carry on regardless...

Who knows ? It's certainly a carry-on:D:D

Puzzcat

Spoonhead88 wrote: »

Going into the third month of my DMP

Pros:
Lloyds have now agreed to the dmp.

My debt is under £5000 for the first time in 6 years

Cons:
I missed the deadline for the second-month payments with SC because I wanted to pay by card (make sure I had the cash in my account) SC change systems and their telephone robot payment line wouldn't accept my card. Had to phone up each creditor and pay.

Two of my three debts are still charging interest so my total isn't going down

My SSP runs out this week so I applied for ESA but not sure how long it will be till that kicks in so might be looking at weeks with no income.

Sigh

Hi,

Have you written a complaint letter to the creditors still charging interest?

If not then here's a template you can adapt..

Address


Date





Dear Sir/Madam

Re: COMPLAINT – CREDITOR NAME AND ACCOUNT NUMBER
As you are aware, I am in a DMP with Stepchange, reference number ******. The majority of my other creditors have agreed to the offer of payment and agreed to suspend any interest charges still accruing. They have accepted that to continue to charge interest would not assist me in my present financial difficulties, and can only serve to delay my efforts to repay this debt.

I have already paid considerable sums in interest to my account. If interest charges continue, the monthly instalments I am paying will only just cover that interest. Also, the cooperation of my other creditors who have agreed to freeze interest already would be put at risk.

I am aware that you subscribe to the Lending Code which states that lenders will consider reducing or suspending interest and charges if these would cause the debt to increase or lead to the repayment term becoming too extended. I would therefore be grateful if you would reconsider your decision not to freeze the interest. This would mean that the monthly payments I make would actually reduce the balance outstanding to your company within a reasonable time period.

Please consider this letter as a complaint about the interest charges you are continuing to apply to my account. I would like to see these stopped immediately.
If you are unable to help me with this issue, I will have no alternative but to take this case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully