DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

heavenlyharry01

Hello everyone hope you are all well


I wrote to our 11 creditors last week, informing them that we had left StepChange and were self managing. Inclosing a financial budget and offering small payments. (StepChange worked out we could afford £575 per month but I reduced it to just over £100)
We have used the NEDCAB website which is so so good.
Argos have refused our offer and said they will be closing the account, handing it over to ZINC group and issuing a default notice.
NRAM have accepted the offer (for a year) and frozen interest and charges.
NCO resolve called a couple of days ago to confirm a couple of details and are considering our £1 offer.


I have to say so far I'm really enjoying being self managed and having the direct contact and taking control.
I rushed into StepChange, didn't budget correctly and didn't have any money saved.
I initially thought creditors would be banging the for down and calling no stop and I was so so wrong. It's much easier and stress free than i thought. And I've now got a budget that reflects our lifestyle.

The year before last I was working three jobs and paying minimum payments on the 11 debts, skint two weeks before payday and using credit cards to get by. It's a sad situation when you have exhausted every card you have and have no money to buy milk.
Every time a credit card was maxed out they increased the limit and we spent it. Bad lending on their part which (I've said before) they should take some responsibility for. When they see people are paying the bare minimum each month and maxed out, they really shouldn't extend the limits. But I completely acknowledge that I shouldn't have spent on them.

Finding this forum has been one of the best things that could have happened. I didn't even know help was out there, I'm just gutted I spent so long working jobs I hated just to pay interest, when I could have made headway x

heavenlyharry01

One of my creditors is refusing to freeze interest or accept my repayment offer until I send my last 3 payslips and bank account statements for the last 3 months.

I have nothing to hide so could do this.

Can anyone think of any drawbacks?

Should I try refusing and quoting the lending code which states that people self managing shouldn't be treated differently than if they went through a debt charity?

Even StepChange don't ask for bank statements and only one month payslip is enough.
I would too be reluctant to send those in.
I'm interested to see what advice you receive as I had some creditors ask for pay slips and bank statements which I have just ignored that part of their request and sent a financial budget only.

January2015

Keezing wrote: »

One of my creditors is refusing to freeze interest or accept my repayment offer until I send my last 3 payslips and bank account statements for the last 3 months.

I have nothing to hide so could do this.

Can anyone think of any drawbacks?

Should I try refusing and quoting the lending code which states that people self managing shouldn't be treated differently than if they went through a debt charity?

At the end of the day you need to be comfortable with whatever you decide to do.

Personally, I wouldn't send those documents in. That's just my choice. Creditors accepted your word on income when they loaned you money so why should they doubt your word now.

Others on this forum will decide they are happy to send them in. You will always get a split view.

The fact is that if you have sent an income and expenditure statement and signed that it is a true reflection of your current financial circumstances they should accept that. That's my take on this.

Puzzcat

Keezing wrote: »

One of my creditors is refusing to freeze interest or accept my repayment offer until I send my last 3 payslips and bank account statements for the last 3 months.

I have nothing to hide so could do this.

Can anyone think of any drawbacks?

Should I try refusing and quoting the lending code which states that people self managing shouldn't be treated differently than if they went through a debt charity?

Hi,
I am with January, I would only send an I&e and just pay them what I offered. If they continued to add interest and charges write to complain and if not sorted take to the fos.


Puzz

Keezing

Thanks guys.

Sending in the evidence seems like the easy option to stop the interest and charges, but I will mull it over this weekend.

Sazzie23

Sleepysophie wrote: »

Hi Jubilee14
Thanks for this, I called them in the end as I don't have any printer ink, they had disabled access to my online account and it just seemed easier than pen and paper as I wouldn't be able to take a copy of the letter I had written but to no avail. I was told my account was closed so Customer Services couldn't help me with the interest hike query. They put me through to Collections but Collections said I wasn't with them so in order to speak with them I would need to wait 24 hours for them to 'force' my accounts into collections....I called the next day (on the number collections gave me) to be told my account had been frozen from interest for 4 months due to my illness....I have no illness??? So he said I might have complained of a cough or cold when I had been on the phone to the them previously and it may have been recorded as me saying I was ill? Of course I do not remember ever having said anything like this at all but how would I remember? It had been 5 months ago....I certainly wouldn't have said I was suffering from an illness as I wasn't and I wouldn't have made that up?! So, then he went back to what you have mentioned in your post. He said I was paying over the minimum payment so they've assessed that I can pay and it is affordable so are now charging me 29.9% compound interest?! Despite my account being closed and not ever wanting anymore money from them EVER! It is so unfair. He sent me a new income and expenditure form and this will show I can afford the minimum (more probably) so what is the point in sending it back? What a farce. At this rate, I will still be paying BC in 10 years time! Since I started on my DMP I have paid them £6198 and they have charged me just short of £2k in interest. :eek:

Ridiculous of them, since at some point most of us will be down to an affordable level. They shouldn't just add the interest back on. Stop paying them. Tell them whatever you need to to stop paying them, but stop paying. Make it a token £5 if you want to feel like you are doing the right thing. There are lots of valid reasons not to pay, loss of income through pregnancy, illness, divorce, bereavement and redundancy, even training for a new Job, or extra expenses, from boilers, cars etc.

I think Blistering Blue is still on a non-paying BC mission for this reason, maybe you can find some posts to see how BB is dealing with it.

Write to them, explaining the DMP timeframes and using the quotes Jan15 has given from the new Lending code. Use the word complaint and that they are putting you back into financial difficulties etc. but stop paying!

They defaulted me after about 6-9 months I think of token payments. And have recently sold the debt on to IDEM.

Btw if you need a copy of something and don't have a printer, tyou could take a photo of it on yr phone and get it printed either on line or at one of the Ryman, Staples, Sainsbury etc print stations.

Saz

blisteringblue

heavenlyharry01 wrote: »

Every time a credit card was maxed out they increased the limit and we spent it. Bad lending on their part which (I've said before) they should take some responsibility for. When they see people are paying the bare minimum each month and maxed out, they really shouldn't extend the limits. But I completely acknowledge that I shouldn't have spent on them.

Hi Harry, and this is the very reason they are now in the position they are now with record levels of debt and the flipside of this is us pariahs with defaulted debt.

They REALLY should take as much of the blame for this, and this is why we can now play it our way to clear them.

At the start of this process I would have been horrified thinking I was trying to weedle out of paying my debts that I had run up, but that was a long time ago, I will be going to try big Full and Finals hopefully towards the end of next year without an ounce of guilt anywhere to be seen.

blisteringblue

Sazzie23 wrote: »

I think Blistering Blue is still on a non-paying BC mission for this reason, maybe you can find some posts to see how BB is dealing with it.

Hi Saz, we've got both our BC defaults now, but we only got them by stopping paying. You pay them money they will keep charging interest, it's as simple as that.

Seriously stop paying they won't bat an eyelid and the interest will stop almost instantly, the default can take 6-8 months but it will come.

January2015

blisteringblue wrote: »

Hi Saz, we've got both our BC defaults now, but we only got them by stopping paying. You pay them money they will keep charging interest, it's as simple as that.

Seriously stop paying they won't bat an eyelid and the interest will stop almost instantly, the default can take 6-8 months but it will come.

Yep - same here. Play hardball with BC or else pay interest. It took us from Jan 2016 through to end Oct 2016 to get the final BC default letter. Credit files not updated until Jan 2017 with this info, but eventually updated and backdated to Oct 2016.

Interest did stop, but we challenged interest that had been charged and eventually got it all refunded

sourcrates

Keezing wrote: »

One of my creditors is refusing to freeze interest or accept my repayment offer until I send my last 3 payslips and bank account statements for the last 3 months.

I have nothing to hide so could do this.

Can anyone think of any drawbacks?

Should I try refusing and quoting the lending code which states that people self managing shouldn't be treated differently than if they went through a debt charity?

Hi,

As others have said, do what your comfortable with, personally i`d tell them to sing for their supper, they have enough information required to make an informed decision, they dont need any more, its just there way of exercising control over you really.

If it were me, i`d pay them nothing until they have defaulted me, and sold on my debt, you can bet your bottom dollar you wont have this problem with the collector that buys your debt.