DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

neiljmuk

carbootcrazy wrote: »

Thanks, neiljmuk, for the information on being able to email Stepchange on requests for reduced payments.

I had to resort to reduced payments this year (already just over 3 years in to a 6.5 year DMP). It was the first time I had to do it but I was desperate .

I phoned them and it was all sorted so easily:j. I asked just for 2 months of reduced payments and the woman I spoke to was incredibly on my side and advised me to take a month or two extra to get a little emergency fund built up so the situation wouldn't arise again (dire emergencies apart) for the remaining 3.5 years of my DMP. They are happy to do it as a 'one off' but she suggested that they frown on people needing to keep asking for reduced payments.

So, my experience of the advice given was a bit different from yours, I think it depends on the advisor who deals with you at the time. There seem to be no hard and fast rules;).

Good luck:beer:

Yes, they do push back a little on the phone and just ensure the conversation is thorough as it were but nothing uncomfortable. I think if you try and do it more than twice in a year they can say you are not sticking to it. Creditors seems to be totally not bothered by it but happy to risk the prospect of upsetting the odd one that still have not defaulted me......

Good luck to you as well...
:beer:

sourcrates

As most of you know, Stepchange are funded by the major banks in order to help people who cant pay there debts, essentially.


When you sign up for your DMP, you are expected to budget for "life's little emergencies" of course everyone mucks up occasionally, to err is human, so the saying goes, but if your having to change your payment amount on a regular basis, then its a sign something is wrong, and the stepchange advisor will be trained to pick up on this.

On the whole they will be ok with you, its the people who constantly abuse the system that they are looking to weed out, for the simple reason they could be helping someone in greater need.

newlywed

carbootcrazy wrote: »

I phoned Tesco Bank (I thought those stomach-churning days were long gone:() and I was told a company called Hoist had taken over the debt. Has anyone heard of them please, they're a new one on me?

Apparently the transfer of lots of people's details is being processed but they've hit a few snags:eek:. I'd have thought Tesco Bank would have kept on accepting payments until everything was finalised instead of rejecting payments.

Tesco say Hoist will be writing to me and StepChange as soon as it's all sorted.

I have dealt with Hoist for some time. Their statements rarely add up and their statements are issued before they get the dmp payment from step change so I always get statements saying I haven't paid and then a week later get one showing I've paid.

Other than that.... They have been fine! Never ever ring me or bother me, just lots of pointless statements and then updated ones when payments go through.

Thought you should be warned so you don't panic

newlywed

My Min has just been passed to Westcott after 10 years on DMP, so definitely no rhyme or reason to them.

All my other debts were passed to collection agencies ages ago. Had no problems with debts being passed over through various companies.

System

hello lovely people.

Just a general question from me to those of you who are a little further on in the DMP process - when do you feel OK about it all?

Just had letters back from 2 of 3 creditors saying they are stopping interest and charges and accepting my payment (but as it's not as much as they want they may default me etc) and it's just made me feel really low and worried for the future.
I feel like I am making a mistake and should be doing something (no idea what) to try and scrabble to make the payments.
Have this feeling of impending doom about it all - still can't get my head around the what'if's of not having a good credit rating...Is this just because we have been conditioned to being made to believe that having a good credit score is everything. Has not having a good credit score had a huge impact on your life choices after starting DMP?
Thanks Ramble.

sourcrates

ramblehan wrote: »

hello lovely people.

Just a general question from me to those of you who are a little further on in the DMP process - when do you feel OK about it all?
.

Hi,


You should not feel anything about it really, you could not afford to repay your debts at the contracted levels, so have made a business decision to tackle them in the only way you can, by making reduced payments.


How you feel about it is up to you, but you have made a decision based on your circumstances, and common sense, so that's that.


Credit rating is only a problem should you want to borrow again, which in your current position is unlikely, once my debt solution was in place, I just got on with my life and never gave it another thought, except at review time, and then for all of 10 mins.

Triangle

Hi all - haven't popped in for a while but could do with a bit of support (rather selfishly!) as feeling very low

It's been almost a year on our DMP now and there seems to be no light at the end of this tunnel. That's not to say it hasn't been the best thing we have done financially - there is no way we could have continued as we were - but we seem no further forward.

We are with stepchange and they have been brilliant, had to review payments a couple of times in the year with no problems. But of our four creditors, two are still charging interest (the other two have defaulted). My Argos CC has had something stupid like £50 paid off it in a whole year because of it And barclaycard are even worse. Sent letters, no response.

Budgeting wise we've done pretty well, it's actually been life changing. I now have a separate bank account with about 10 online savers attached to it - clothes, Xmas, car etc - and we've even managed a cheap family break. Have a family wedding this summer which has hit us hard but we are still doing ok. And things will also look up in September when my eldest starts school - approx £300 month saved from nursery fees :eek:

But I can't shake this feeling of uselessness. I've had a look at self-managed but got confused. I thought it would be as easy as cancelling stepchange, calling creditors and getting payment details, sending income and expenditure forms then simply paying them a set amount every month (doing token payments to Argos and BC until default) but the NEDCAB said something about logging in and having an account which confused me.

I've reached a proper lull - any advice?

Tx

zenshi

When first started my self managed I wrote to each creditor enclosing I and E, stating how much I would be paying them and asked for their bank details so I could set up a Standing order

It really was that simple!

Puzzcat

Triangle wrote: »

Hi all - haven't popped in for a while but could do with a bit of support (rather selfishly!) as feeling very low

It's been almost a year on our DMP now and there seems to be no light at the end of this tunnel. That's not to say it hasn't been the best thing we have done financially - there is no way we could have continued as we were - but we seem no further forward.

We are with stepchange and they have been brilliant, had to review payments a couple of times in the year with no problems. But of our four creditors, two are still charging interest (the other two have defaulted). My Argos CC has had something stupid like £50 paid off it in a whole year because of it And barclaycard are even worse. Sent letters, no response.

Budgeting wise we've done pretty well, it's actually been life changing. I now have a separate bank account with about 10 online savers attached to it - clothes, Xmas, car etc - and we've even managed a cheap family break. Have a family wedding this summer which has hit us hard but we are still doing ok. And things will also look up in September when my eldest starts school - approx £300 month saved from nursery fees :eek:

But I can't shake this feeling of uselessness. I've had a look at self-managed but got confused. I thought it would be as easy as cancelling stepchange, calling creditors and getting payment details, sending income and expenditure forms then simply paying them a set amount every month (doing token payments to Argos and BC until default) but the NEDCAB said something about logging in and having an account which confused me.

I've reached a proper lull - any advice?

Tx

Hi,
Have you written and complained? If not do so, if you have then escalate to the fos. This is your dmp and you will need to do some of the work if you want interest stopped.e
Puzz

Sazzie23

Triangle wrote: »

Hi all - haven't popped in for a while but could do with a bit of support (rather selfishly!) as feeling very low

It's been almost a year on our DMP now and there seems to be no light at the end of this tunnel. That's not to say it hasn't been the best thing we have done financially - there is no way we could have continued as we were - but we seem no further forward.

We are with stepchange and they have been brilliant, had to review payments a couple of times in the year with no problems. But of our four creditors, two are still charging interest (the other two have defaulted). My Argos CC has had something stupid like £50 paid off it in a whole year because of it And barclaycard are even worse. Sent letters, no response.

Budgeting wise we've done pretty well, it's actually been life changing. I now have a separate bank account with about 10 online savers attached to it - clothes, Xmas, car etc - and we've even managed a cheap family break. Have a family wedding this summer which has hit us hard but we are still doing ok. And things will also look up in September when my eldest starts school - approx £300 month saved from nursery fees :eek:

But I can't shake this feeling of uselessness. I've had a look at self-managed but got confused. I thought it would be as easy as cancelling stepchange, calling creditors and getting payment details, sending income and expenditure forms then simply paying them a set amount every month (doing token payments to Argos and BC until default) but the NEDCAB said something about logging in and having an account which confused me.

I've reached a proper lull - any advice?

Tx

Hi Triangle, it's a wobble, we all have them at some stage. You're doing great, imagine what you debt would have been like if you hadn't gone to DMP? You've learnt budgeting skills and discovered you're strong enough to confront debt.

Now is the time to write to creditors charging interest and say...
This is a complaint, You're charging me interest so I've only been able to pay off x amount therefore I'm contacting the FOS.

Have you been defaulted on many debts? I found one year seems to be a turning point for some so write to them all and ask to be defaulted if you haven't been yet, can save bother later on.

Remember that increasing your repayments is more likely to get you charged interest.

Keep up the good work

Saz.