DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

OrganisedNic

Hi all hope you had a relaxing Christmas break. Way to go January, sounds like you have a head start on 2017! And thanks Sazzie for the giggles - it's so easy for people to assume you can "just get it on credit" and forget about it - my way of thinking is drastically changing already and I'm only just starting, I feel much more in control. Time to stop keeping up with the jones, and do it my way.

A lovely Christmas present from Tesco credit card rejecting SC offer of repayment but they haven't added any charges or interest on my recent statement which is a silver lining. Thankfully most of my creditors have been quite amicable but that's two rejections I have now - is it common for creditors to not play ball so early on when I've been paying on time up to now?

Nic x

sourcrates

OrganisedNic wrote: »

A lovely Christmas present from Tesco credit card rejecting SC offer of repayment but they haven't added any charges or interest on my recent statement which is a silver lining. Thankfully most of my creditors have been quite amicable but that's two rejections I have now - is it common for creditors to not play ball so early on when I've been paying on time up to now?

Nic x

Very common, in time they will do one of the following :

Either accept the offer you made them

Or

Keep rejecting it, whilst accepting the payment, then sell your debt on.

Either way makes little difference to you.

Sazzie23

sickasachip13 wrote: »

Hey, hey, hey. Any long-timers around? I'm just passed the six year mark in this most epic of journeys! We've gone from over £40k owed to around the £10k mark. I've also almost finished paying off my student debt too!

It's a great feeling to be at this stage. I'm thinking now that we could pick up the pace and hammer the last £10k especially as we've managed to actually save some money too. We've been with Stepchange throughout the journey but we're considering going self-managed - we think it might get us better f&f deals. Has anyone else gone s-managed after being managed? Any thoughts to share would be gratefully received.

In the meantime, I remember the dark days of that first few months/year, I'd say to anyone feeling the weight of it all at the moment, hang in there, don't be ashamed, and things will improve.

Cheers y'all SAAC13 x

Great achievement, and yes loads,on here moved from SC to self managed (not me though, but it is on my consideration list).
I think January15, Puzz and time to face the music all did it if you wanted to search back on their posts and diaries, but many others too. I don't think anyone regretted moving.

Start by making sure all your creditors are defaulted.

Saz

Sazzie23

bexbex wrote: »

Morning all.
My DMP is due to start on the 1st of January and I'm in the process of changing banks. I've never been so stressed in my life as what I am now.
I'm also handing in my notice at work and moving from an office job in the hospital to a healthcare role so I'm very nervous about that too!
I just hope things start getting brighter soon so me.

Hi bexbex

It's really tough at the start, like all change is, but once you get into the habits and change your thinking it'll get loads easier.

Remember that your office job will have given you lots of useful skills and knowledge that'll help in your clinical role, knowledge of systems and computers and the healthcare service in general, organisation skills etc. good luck with it, sure it'll be a rewarding change for you. Don't worry if it seems hard at first, just treat everyone like you would if they were family and it'll soon make sense.

With the DMP, expect a few hiccups, paperwork going astray, creditors having a.little sulk, budget refining needed and it'll soon settle down. Some folk find motivation through spreadsheets helps to monitor progress, find something that works for you. Never forget you're one of the good guys, facing your debt, not running away, just needing a little more time to pay, and don't let the creditors disrespect that.

Saz

CP2016

OrganisedNic wrote: »

Hi all hope you had a relaxing Christmas break. Way to go January, sounds like you have a head start on 2017! And thanks Sazzie for the giggles - it's so easy for people to assume you can "just get it on credit" and forget about it - my way of thinking is drastically changing already and I'm only just starting, I feel much more in control. Time to stop keeping up with the jones, and do it my way.

A lovely Christmas present from Tesco credit card rejecting SC offer of repayment but they haven't added any charges or interest on my recent statement which is a silver lining. Thankfully most of my creditors have been quite amicable but that's two rejections I have now - is it common for creditors to not play ball so early on when I've been paying on time up to now?

Nic x

Hi Nic, I didn't have Tesco so I don't know what they're like to deal with but as Sourcrates says it doesn't really matter either way to you, just keep on making the DMP payments. A couple of mine didn't accept SC's proposal either but they did accept my payments and the accounts just followed the usual processes and were defaulted after a few months then passed to in-house collection and finally out to a DCA with DMP payments being made all the while.

mica2

Hi, I've been putting off starting a DMP as I'm worried if it's the right thing to do. I was hoping that maybe a new relationship with a guy I'm seeing might offer me a chance to half my spending and to avoid going the DMP route as I want to be able to get a mortgage in the future but I'm being naive. I need to do this for myself and sanity as each month I'm struggling more and more and life's too short to be this worried about money all the time.
Would someone be able to tell me a bit more about the process and what to expect? Will I be able to arrange a plan that gives me a bit more money each month? As that's what's got me into this mess as I've ended up on a low income and haven't been able to afford to live so survived on credit cards. Now my monthly payments take up most of my income which leaves me with hardly anything each month. I just want to gain some control back and to not constantly struggle. I realise that I will have to budget but at the moment my money doesn't go far, will a dmp help give me a bit of freedom? Also I've read that creditors refuse the plan? Do I have to provide lots of paperwork as evidence of income etc? I am thinking of using Step Change, are they good? I just feel so rubbish with money, I'm never going to get a credit card ever again after this!

MrsPennyPot

Hello, we have spoken to SC and they have recommended a DMP for our particular situation. OH and I really like the fact that they will take care of everything on our behalf as we have no experience of this however, after reading some of the posts on here I am now thinking we'd be better to go self managed.

So worried about taking the leap tbh but I think that is just anticipation of the unknown as not sure how our creditors will react.

If anyone has any advice as to the pro's and con's of SC vs Self Managed so that we can make an informed decision that would be so helpful.

Thank you.:rotfl:

sourcrates

MrsPennyPot wrote: »

Hello, we have spoken to SC and they have recommended a DMP for our particular situation. OH and I really like the fact that they will take care of everything on our behalf as we have no experience of this however, after reading some of the posts on here I am now thinking we'd be better to go self managed.

So worried about taking the leap tbh but I think that is just anticipation of the unknown as not sure how our creditors will react.

If anyone has any advice as to the pro's and con's of SC vs Self Managed so that we can make an informed decision that would be so helpful.

Thank you.:rotfl:

Hi,

DMP or "debt management plan" is just a fancy name given to a very straightforward process.
But as with everything, there's a right way and a wrong way, to do things.

As you would be making payments that are less than specified by your agreement, your credit file would be marked as "AP" or arrangement to pay, now these markers can show on your file for a further 6 years AFTER you have repaid the debt, as the accounts don't usually default.

We always recommend trying to get all your accounts defaulted first so that you have a clear 6 year time frame till your credit file is clear again, that's usually achieved by either making £1 token payments, or no payments at all, till the creditor defaults you.

Stepchange won't sanction this though, so self managing can be beneficial to you in that respect, if your credit file is of little importance to you anyway, then go with stepchange straight away.

CP2016

mica2 wrote: »

Hi, I've been putting off starting a DMP as I'm worried if it's the right thing to do. I was hoping that maybe a new relationship with a guy I'm seeing might offer me a chance to half my spending and to avoid going the DMP route as I want to be able to get a mortgage in the future but I'm being naive. I need to do this for myself and sanity as each month I'm struggling more and more and life's too short to be this worried about money all the time.
Would someone be able to tell me a bit more about the process and what to expect? Will I be able to arrange a plan that gives me a bit more money each month? As that's what's got me into this mess as I've ended up on a low income and haven't been able to afford to live so survived on credit cards. Now my monthly payments take up most of my income which leaves me with hardly anything each month. I just want to gain some control back and to not constantly struggle. I realise that I will have to budget but at the moment my money doesn't go far, will a dmp help give me a bit of freedom? Also I've read that creditors refuse the plan? Do I have to provide lots of paperwork as evidence of income etc? I am thinking of using Step Change, are they good? I just feel so rubbish with money, I'm never going to get a credit card ever again after this!

Hi Mica, have you done your income and expenditure on StepChange yet? Their online debt remedy is a good place to start, you aren't committing to anything (at that early stage it's all anon) but it will help you clarify your position. Read Sazzie's post - it's the second one on the first page of this thread.

As for being rubbish with money, if you go the DMP route you'll probably be very good with money by the end of it. I've never been so on top of my finances as I am now.

Triangle

sourcrates wrote: »

No they aren't.

The clue is when they refer to "there client".

They are only acting for Argos, a simple letter stating you are in a DMP and are paying Argos directly will deal with them.

Thanks Sourcrates.
I'm just going through all my paperwork now (I know how to live on New Years eve!) and I haven't received anything from Argos since their default letter in October. Since then it's just been letters from Zinc (and a lot of them :mad:)
The letters all call Argos their client and the last one said something about 'we haven't been able to contact you to start process of closing your account'. However nothing from Argos (when BC sold their debt they wrote to us). So just to clarify you advise continue paying Argos? Should I call just to confirm they still own it?

Thanks again, much appreciated