DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

danielmarch69

step change.actually quite excited by it all.and hope all goes to plan.cant get any worse lol..

Growurown

danielmarch69 wrote: »

step change.actually quite excited by it all.and hope all goes to plan.cant get any worse lol..

Brill, well you are off to a good start going with Step Change. I found them really good, and when I knew what I was doing and felt able to cope with creditors I decided to go self managed for the last year of my DMP. It is quite exciting because you are doing something positive rather than burying your head in the sand, and you have enough money to live on rather than robbing Peter to pay Paul all the time, and yes fingers crossed things will get better:)

Kate_fixing_it

Dandytf wrote: »

I cheekily offered 40% of a debt as F&F

i'm only 1/3rd through dmp

Which creditor accepted the F&F offer

This something I might consider in next year.

My DMP started in May 2014 and DFD was originally 20 years! After a few months that dropped to 6 years and with this second F&F it'll drop to 4 years and 7 months in total (I'm 1 year and 5 months in).

I offered 60% to the same creditor last year and was told they wanted 70%. It really was a ridiculous offer but they chose to accept. With any creditor it depends on the debt total/repayment value ratio and varies between companies, stage the debt is at, time of year (it's almost the mid point of the tax year so many are keen to clear debts off their books) and your own circumstances. I've had one with a total of £500 refuse anything but 100% even though they're getting £7 per month! Every case is individual just be sure to treat them all the same.

Ask them! The worst they can say is no and if the answer is no you just continue to pay the DMP and the debt continues to decrease so 6/12/18/100 months down the line your next F&F will be smaller.

You quite simply have nothing to lose

Kate x

danielmarch69

sorry to ask but what is f/f.? newbie.

danielmarch69

plus how do u put all your details at the bottom of posts ie dfd n how much u owe etc....many thanks people.

Triangle

Kate - what an inspiration you are! Thanks so much for posting and glad to hear you are feeling much better

Tx

patch22

Hi everyone! Hello to those who are just starting out on their dmp. We're a few months down the line now, promise that the anxiety and worry does get better. I was in bits first posting here but the lovely people here made me realise it was all pretty much normal. If you have anything that you're worried about then ask here or give Stepchange/whoever your dmp is with a call to talk things through. It can feel so isolating in the early weeks and months and talking to people who know what you're going through is a big help.

Things are rumbling along here at the moment. Been suffering the 'few months into dmp slump' but am getting over that now. Still have a slight panic whenever the letter box rattles with post though! OH's Barclays overdraft has finally reached collections and mine is on the way (stopped my online access yesterday). Dmp has been accepted on OH's so hoping for the same for mine. Sainsburys seem to have accepted, as have BC. The two that are already with DCAs have been very quiet... Did have a letter from C(r)a(p)bot offering me the opportunity to reduce the balance in order to become free of the debt sooner. So wish we could take them up on it, but no chance at the moment! Also actually looked at my Sainsburys statements for the first time in a long time and noticed that I was paying almost 30% interest and clearing only a few pence off the balance each month. It's going down quicker now with the very much reduced payments - madness!

Kate - so glad you're in a much better place now.

Just wondering, how easy would it be to open an instant access savings account? Never opened one before, so don't know if a credit check would be carried out and we'd be declined because of bad credit. Obviously don't have huge amounts to save, but OH has the odd bonus or overtime that we'd like to put aside and would like a seperate emergency fund from our main account.

Sazzie23

Kate_fixing_it wrote: »

Hi all,

It's been a VERY long time since I last posted. I'll put my hands up and say I had to walk away from a while. Adding up debts, payments, DFDs, NSDs etc became the only "safe" thing in my life. So so much was going on and in January I suffered a breakdown.

It's now September and I'm finally feeling good again. Throughout the year I've continued paying my DMP to stepchange but I've had to force myself to let the monthly payment go out and the DMP to roll along without my input. Roll along it has! I am right at this second around the £7,500 mark. It's been a long and hard road but it's getting there.

Now for the unbelievable, unexpected and utterly wonderful news that this week the remaining debt total will plummet to £5,000! I cheekily offered 40% of a debt as F&F fully expecting to be told where to go but... They've accepted!!! It's my biggest debt, a third of the total currently owed and the only one still charging interest (albeit at a teeny tiny amount). I'm absolutely thrilled. This will cut 2 years off my DFD!

Being so ill was no picnic but I am now stronger and more alive than ever before. I have missed posting here and hope you can all forgive me for disappearing, I feel a bit like I deserted you all and I'm an ungrateful mare! But you have been in my thoughts and your past support had helped so much as I've recovered.

Kate x

Good to see you back Kate, and what a fantastic DFD change that's made for you. Don't ask you don't get.

f&f for anyone new is a full and final payment, some creditors wil offer a discount on the total, but it's highly dependant on what you owe, how long it will take you to pay it off and as Kate says even the time of year, month, or what targets they've met.

Kate you've been an inspiration to me on this thread, and a valuable source of information, did DD make it to vet school?

Sazzie23

patch22 wrote: »

Hi everyone! Hello to those who are just starting out on their dmp. We're a few months down the line now, promise that the anxiety and worry does get better. I was in bits first posting here but the lovely people here made me realise it was all pretty much normal. If you have anything that you're worried about then ask here or give Stepchange/whoever your dmp is with a call to talk things through. It can feel so isolating in the early weeks and months and talking to people who know what you're going through is a big help.

Things are rumbling along here at the moment. Been suffering the 'few months into dmp slump' but am getting over that now. Still have a slight panic whenever the letter box rattles with post though! OH's Barclays overdraft has finally reached collections and mine is on the way (stopped my online access yesterday). Dmp has been accepted on OH's so hoping for the same for mine. Sainsburys seem to have accepted, as have BC. The two that are already with DCAs have been very quiet... Did have a letter from C(r)a(p)bot offering me the opportunity to reduce the balance in order to become free of the debt sooner. So wish we could take them up on it, but no chance at the moment! Also actually looked at my Sainsburys statements for the first time in a long time and noticed that I was paying almost 30% interest and clearing only a few pence off the balance each month. It's going down quicker now with the very much reduced payments - madness!

Kate - so glad you're in a much better place now.

Just wondering, how easy would it be to open an instant access savings account? Never opened one before, so don't know if a credit check would be carried out and we'd be declined because of bad credit. Obviously don't have huge amounts to save, but OH has the odd bonus or overtime that we'd like to put aside and would like a seperate emergency fund from our main account.

Hi patch, glad to hear it's going ok now, I think maybe if you opened savings acc with someone you bank with already it wouldn't be a problem, not sure about anyone else, but it would be a shame wouldn't it as you are not asking for credit,

I think I opened my post office on line account whilst in DmP, but o can't recommend it as I find the access clunky.

I know it's a fear of humiliation and rejection, but if you open it with the attitude 'it's their loss if the say no' you might feel like you can try and apply.

Ellieseleven

Sorry to hear you have been unwell Kate-fixing-it. Welcome back and with such fabulous achievements. Well done on the f&f

Ellie x