DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

sourcrates

Pc2003 wrote: »

I don't wear designer clothes really or have an expensive car. It's mainly things like food. We have plenty of food at home but I will go out and buy lunch plus drink and magazine... It all adds up.

On a credit card ?

That's utter madness my friend !!

The idea is to get free of debt, you are doing yourself no favours here !!

so_very_confused

Pc2003 wrote: »

I seem to have a bit of a problem with marks and Spencer's. They moved next to my work about a yr ago and I need to stay away from that place.
I can't afford it. Need to stay away.
For me, now things are quietly ticking along I have noticed the odd card limit increase, or new offer come thru and I leap at them. Need to stop now.
Out of interest... And I know everyone is different, but once people's fuel, food bills and everything is accounted for what are you actually left with per month to spend on... I seem to feel the need to have cash on my
wallet. Even tho I don't really have anything to spend it on...

Hi PC2003
I don't often post these days but you have prompted me.
Like to shop at M and S? I currently have £40 of vouchers for them in my purse and it is all guilt free money. How? Go to the boost your income board and start doing surveys whilst your watching tv . It is truly amazing how it mounts up (remember to pay some tax but its not onerous!). Some sites pay cash others give vouchers. I also have some Argos voucher, have just spent £30 on Amazon and have had £50 transferred to my bank from Paypal.
Small amounts I know but when your on a DMP sheer luxury to have a little guilt free money.
Maybe as you are earning it it will curb your impulse /need to spend urges. I like to see my points add up and plan what I would like.
Then your email inbox will be full of survey notifications not offers that you have to resist.
Good luck
svc

MitziB

Pc2003 wrote: »

Hi!
Ye I have read/heard of that but a couple of my cards had tiny balances and were paid off recently so they came off the dmp but I then got new cards, bigger limits and you know the rest...
It's so silly as the I run the joint finances really well and never over spend on that side.

I'm amazed you managed to get new cards with bigger limits whilst on a DMP. Lenders are very picky these days and I know people with good credit histories who are turned down for credit cards. I have a basic bank account (opened when I started my DMP) and have tried to upgrade it to the next one up offered by the same bank. Even though I declined the optional overdraft facility I was turned down. My existing basic account with them has been maintained in impeccable manner this past 3 years too.

Whenever I have to speak to anyone on the phone at Stepchange he/she always asks as one of the presumably standard questions whether I've taken on any more credit recently. I think they're pretty hot on that issue

Bouncybubbles

Had letters this morning from step-change stating that co-op (Cc and OD) have rejected their offers. to be honest i find that daft as my Od is only £200 which i was not paying off anyway yet they have rejected the payment of £10/month. My CC payment was £35ish and they have rejected £29! Also just discovered that both the co-op CC and argos card are continuing to charge me huge amounts of interest which means that stepchanges payments will just about cover the interest but not the balance

Bouncybubbles

Just to add i have now discovered that it was rejected due to recent spending habits!

grant1wish

ploppy57 wrote: »

We had to reduce payments to £5 for 3 months before I got my few hours a week job, but that didn't help with BC.....for the last 3 months our debts with them have actually gone up as the amount of interest they have added, is more than the £5 we were paying!:mad: Then they had the nerve to send a letter telling us we were in arrears!!! :rotfl:

This just shows that there is no structure or logic to BC. :mad:

chiefsfanuk

Bouncybubbles wrote: »

Just to add i have now discovered that it was rejected due to recent spending habits!

Oh dear, this worries me as some of the debt accounts I want to include in my DMP have been used fairly recently...

Pc2003

MitziB wrote: »

I'm amazed you managed to get new cards with bigger limits whilst on a DMP. Lenders are very picky these days and I know people with good credit histories who are turned down for credit cards. I have a basic bank account (opened when I started my DMP) and have tried to upgrade it to the next one up offered by the same bank. Even though I declined the optional overdraft facility I was turned down. My existing basic account with them has been maintained in impeccable manner this past 3 years too.

Whenever I have to speak to anyone on the phone at Stepchange he/she always asks as one of the presumably standard questions whether I've taken on any more credit recently. I think they're pretty hot on that issue

And so they should be to be fair! Honestly 2 of my credit cards have recently been removed from the dmp as repaid and both credit cards companies upped my limits... One of them actually doubled my limit!!! Crazy isn't it!

I need to get back on top of my dmp now tho and reading some of these posts has spurred me on as I have no idea who I'm paying on it now and what the balances are.. In fact there may be another one that's paid off and I'm still paying to it. Need to get back on top of it just for my own knowledge.

Scottishmummy

Pooh, pooh, pooh! 1dem have managed to come up with my CCA from nearly 14 years ago so looks like we will still be paying that up. But the good news is it shows we paid PPI which I could have swore blind I didn't take out on anything after Jan 2002 so need to get that complaint in.

Sazzie23

Bouncybubbles wrote: »

Just to add i have now discovered that it was rejected due to recent spending habits!

Why what did you buy? I certainly used my cards just pre -DMP as I had no other way to buy food, fuel etc? That's why I had to go to DMP.

Highly judgemental of them, justified or no, only you would know. Either way I think SC will say keep paying and just ignore the rejection. Problem of course is the interest, you can fight it by writing to explain/complain or maybe you might have to go self managed and cut the payments down, but that's probably in the future.

Saz