DMP & Mutual Support Thread - Part 11

[Deleted User]

Well, mine was just short of £57000:eek: and that whopping total was amassed all by myself:o. Not sure if that trumps anyone else though;). Am paying it off myself too. Over half way now and feeling good about what I've achieved so far:)

Keezing

EmmaMicawber wrote: »

Okay, you win - we are "only" £73500 :-)

Wow, you are 30k better off than me. I am jealous

In all seriousness, just remember that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Things will get better.

sourcrates

EmmaMicawber wrote: »

Thanks for your patience Keezing and sorry to have annoyed you sourcrates.
.

You haven't, honestly, and i realize this must be a tough time for you.

I didn't mean to come across any other way except to be helpful.

Basically starting a DMP resets your relationship with your creditors, gone are the statutory monthly repayments, gone are the "0%" deals, the limit increases, everything changes.

You decide on your budget, and via stepchange, make your monthly repayments, of what you can afford, as you are already on "0%" deals, your creditors may choose to carry on at that rate, in which case, all well and good, however, they may decide to charge interest again, if that happens, there are steps you can take, letters you can write etc, to get them to cease doing that.

Most creditors will stop interest, those who dont, usually do eventually.

Hope that answers your particular question.

sourcrates

EmmaMicawber wrote: »

Maybe a FAQ sticky at the top of the thread would help new people like me who are at the start of trying to work out what is best to get out of a frightening financial mess and not waste your time.

.

That is a good point, which i will look into.

lumpyspaceprincess

I've just spotted that one of the companies on my DMP have stuck a default on in December, 2 years after everyone else registered theirs. I don't recall getting a letter - is there anything I can do to ask for it moving back in time or am I destined to fail?

January2015

EmmaMicawber wrote: »

Hi everyone- I've been reading some of this thread to understand more about the practicalities of a DMP. I took the plunge and contacted Stepchange a couple of days ago and they're recommending OH and I have a joint DMP. OH is not at all keen and I'm trying to understand what's involved and the pros and construction.

I think we're fairly borderline at the moment - we can just about manage as most of our cards are on 0% deals. We won't be able to get any more new ones (trashed credit score) and when they expire our minimum payments will go up by a massive amount if we can't move the balances around on our existing cards.

Will a DMP mean that the credit cards are likely to stay on the 0% rates until the balances are paid Off?
Is it better to do it now, or wait until September?

We haven't missed any payments yet- will we start getting nasty letters / phone calls if we opt for a DMP?

I realise others have probably asked but I can't find the answers with so many posts!

Thanks

Hi EmmaMicawber

If you know you are going to be entering a DMP then don't wait for September to start the process. Stop trying to tread water now - you are wasting your time, energy, and to be honest your money.

When we entered our DMP we owed about £95k and had never missed a single payment of anything, ever. We had owed over £100k but sale of a vehicle had helped us reduce it a bit.

Once you enter a DMP your relationship / contract with your creditors will change. As soon as your break the contract for 0% deals, creditors are entitled to increase the interest rate. Notice I say entitled to, rather than they automatically will. As soon as you notify creditors you are seeking support for financial problems creditors will implement 30 days of no contact, no interest, no charges. This can be extended if necessary, i.e. if you are still not ready to set up the DMP. However, some creditors will not play ball and will start charging interest again after this period but with help on this forum most people get interest back to zero again. We all help each other through our shared experience with each individual creditor. We've all been there with MBNA, Barclaycard, Halifax - you name it one or more of us has had dealing or challenges with them and we've come out the otherside.

On this forum we advise:

• taking advice and implementing the 30 day period as soon as you realise you need a DMP
• delaying the start of actual DMP payments for several months to allow you to build up an emergency fund
• delaying the start also helps with creditors defaulting accounts more quickly (in fact we recommend no payment or token payments only until an account has been formally defaulted)
• as your credit files are going to be trashed anyway, consider defaults to be your goal - they are olympic gold in DMP land
• if you can't cope with phone calls from your creditors you should write to them and state you wish all communication to be in writing. Provided you stay in contact with them they have to honour this request
• you should open a new bank basic bank account with a bank that has no relationship with any of your existing debts and you should arrange for your salaries to be paid into this new account asap
• cancel all payments out of existing banks immediately and contact utility companies and anyone else you need to set up payments to (not creditors) and ask them for payment details or authority forms. Set the payments up in the new bank yourself - do not use any transfer services
• don't feel guilty about letting any creditors down. You are just an account number to them at the end of the day and they see literally thousands of accounts not being paid every day. You are just another one

Many OH's don't want to get involved in / enter a DMP and need talking round to see it is the best way forward. I can honestly say my marriage has never been stronger and never been so happy as the day we entered our DMP. Financial worry literally lifted off our shoulders and we had a life worth living. We have grown up children and grandchildren and of course life was worth living for them - but it was seriously dragged down by financial worry and we were just getting in deeper and deeper. Now we have the children, grandchildren and enjoyment of everything we do for them and with them - everything is planned and budgeted for - nothing is done on credit - and life is just so good. Keep working at your OH and hopefully he will come round.


I've just skimmed over the bits that come to mind. I think you are right a sticky at the top of the thread would be a good idea.


Welcome to our thread and DMP land:beer:

Sleepysophie

Sazzie23 wrote: »

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

Thank you Saz, I will check back to BlisteringBlue's posts. I have sent off the written letter now and taken a picture of it on my phone. I even got an email response the very next day to confirm the receipt of it. I just hope they are also that quick to investigate my points... I don't expect handouts but I do think I have been treat unfairly given the circumstances. I will keep you updated!

January2015

Hi everyone :wave:

I've just posted our annual I&E statement to all creditors - job done. They haven't chased us for it, but as with all good girl guides and scouts - I was prepared :rotfl:

Naff day at work but then most days at work are naff. Hey ho it all helps clear the debt.

Sleepysophie

EmmaMicawber wrote: »

Thanks for your patience Keezing and sorry to have annoyed you sourcrates.

Looking at starting a DMP is not a fun place to be and I did spend quite a lot of time trying to find the answers in 237 pages of posts, particularly about what happens if you're on 0% deals and haven't missed payments yet etc.

Maybe a FAQ sticky at the top of the thread would help new people like me who are at the start of trying to work out what is best to get out of a frightening financial mess and not waste your time.

I was misled by the message at the top " if you're thinking of starting a DMP this is the place to be" and "we are non- judgmental, all questions welcome"

I'm probably a bit over-sensitive at the moment as realising the extent of our debt has not been great but I'm trying to sort out a plan that will work for us.

Hi There EmmaMicawber,

As you will see, I am not a seasoned poster but there are a few things you've said that I totally understand and I just wanted to tell you that. I started a DMP in Sept 14 and I did feel complete relief when I arranged that first payment through SC but I can also tell you that I asked myself so many times over the last 29 months whether we did the right thing. This is mainly because some of the creditors never stopped charging us interest and our once 'excellent' credit score became 'very poor'. We have struggled to meet bills when our car needed repairing and when the garage roof blew off in the wind! (Insurance Company said it was wear and tear!) :mad: BUT we did manage in the end after lots of scrimping and saving which we wouldn't have ever done if credit had been available to us. The reason we are in this mess in the first place, I suppose! We always went for the easy option.....
There is still times even now I wonder how great it would be to walk into a dealership and by a much needed 7 seater vehicle for our family but that is not an option unless I take a 30% offer of finance, which I will never do. :eek: The great thing is, we have now repaid over half of our debt and are looking like we may be debt free in 2018 if things continue as they are :T This would NEVER have happened without doing it the hard way and telling ourselves we had a problem and owning that problem!
When we started out, 4 years seemed like a lifetime away, now it just seems the end is round the corner. I admire people who say they never looked back after making the decision to enter the DMP - I'm not one of them, but, if you talk through the alternatives you may see it is the only realistic option you have to eventually live your life debt free in the future.
Good luck !!:A

BeingDebtFreeStartsHere

January2015 wrote: »

Hi everyone :wave:

I've just posted our annual I&E statement to all creditors - job done. They haven't chased us for it, but as with all good girl guides and scouts - I was prepared :rotfl:

Naff day at work but then most days at work are naff. Hey ho it all helps clear the debt.

Every day is a naff day at work for me too Jan - glad I am not alone!!

Strangely now tho - I look forward to pay day to put my income into my budget spreadsheet and work out how much I have to live on each week. I quite enjoy it (weird I know!!) 3 years ago I would have been going deeper into my OD with my head in the sand. How I've changed!!!

Take care,

BDFSH x