Too soon for DMP?

tiredwithtwins

Hi,
I was wondering if it was too soon to organise a dmp?
I have been managing my debts fairly well until the last 6 months.
my situation is this - I left my full time NHS sister's post (approx. £30k/yr) due to constantly working overtime that was never paid, constant late finishes meant my family life was falling apart (im separated from the father of my kids - we have 3 teens, 14&14&18 all in full time education, no support from ex. he has them at weekends) - I never knew what time id finish work, couldn't commit to any after school activities due to not knowing what time id finish so my kids were regularly left alone until gone 7pm,8pm,9pm at night. The NHS wanted to change our contracts, so after a lot of consideration I decided to leave. I was lucky enough to land some part time teaching at FE, its a decent rate of pay and I lecture about 15 hours a week but only get paid for the hours I lecture (its college agency) so don't get sick/holiday pay. I also work for the NHS doing ad hoc work (so again, no sick/holiday pay) and I work for the NHS nurse bank at w/ends.
due to the nature of the hours I now work, my salary has literally halved ... and im struggling to meet all the repayments that until 6 months ago I managed.
My problems were compounded by the fact that in trying to save money I switched bank accounts (mse!!) but delayed the switch as I realised I was going to be overdrawn in my account at the time ... the delayed switch date came and I was too late to cancel it so have now run up an overdraft I need to repay asap.
so my debt is now;
2 x cc - £160 for both/month (that's rounding up the minimum repayment to 90 + 70)
Halifax loan - 10k - 254/month
overdraft with Halifax - 2100 + 1100 - both accounts are still within the limits and have credits going in, but the 2100 account will go to collections as I cant pay the full amount off.
my new account with first direct (who have been fantastic) is currently 500 overdrawn but my wages from all 3 jobs goes in to it as well as my partners £250 contribution to bills + rent (he pays a couple of bills and buys food).


as im struggling with meeting everything should I start a dmp straight away before the debt gets out of control?
Im trying my best to manage them, ive just signed up with a nursing agency that pays twice the nhs rate of pay but I will need to travel out of city (NHS rules, long story) so need my car (that is going for its mot tomorrow but is a wreck so im dreading it failing, and having to pay to fix it!). I do need the car, as I have to carry boxes of folders around and public transport just isn't an option (poor local service, long travelling times) plus once I start with this new agency I will be travelling long distances (Sheffield - Birmingham/Manchester/Nottingham) so again public transport will just be too inconvenient ...


so, do I start a dmp or wait?


thanks for any advice ...


sue


ps, ex is a waste of space who wont pay up, so that avenue has been exhausted.

sourcrates

Hi Sue,


Lots of people make the mistake of jumping straight into a DMP, thinking there doing the "right thing".

You need to take a little time, calm down, b r e a t h e .......

Normally we ask you to post up a statement of affairs, which you should do anyway, but as you've asked a specific question, I`ll try and answer that first.

If you cant meet all your financial commitments, and have an irregular income, as you seem to have, then a Debt management plan is a good way to go, there are other options too, more formal solutions, but I think a DMP may suit you better.
I would say get some good advice on this first, National Debtline and Stepchange are the places to go for this, they can help you decide on a course of action that will suit your needs.


Should you decide to opt for a DMP, you need to go about it in the right way, stopping all your unsecured payments to creditors is the first step, or just make token £1 payments, ideally you need to get all your accounts defaulted before you start a DMP, that way you have a clear end date for negative info to drop off your credit file, six years from default.

You should also use the time to build up an emergency fund, for life's little emergencies that come around from time to time.


Of course its not always possible to get all accounts defaulted, but the more the better, then only after having saved a good emergency fund, then you should start your DMP.

Non of the debt charities will tell you that bit though, this has been gleaned from people who were in exactly your position now, there is lots of good advice available on this forum, I suggest you have a good search through it, and find out as much as you can before you do anything.

make_the_change

I can't offer advice but I too have seeked help from people on this forum and I am going to be starting a DMP in a couple of months. I have listened to some great advice and will be stopping payments, offering token payments whilst I build an emergency fund. Working to a strict budget which I went through with StepChange, they spoke to me via chat and were really helpful. It's a bit scary when you hear yourself say out loud that you're in financial trouble. I wish you luck.

clint_S

SOA will give a clearer picture, but a few things do stand out.
Your ex doesn't support his children, why haven't you taken this to the CSA?
Are your CC 0%, if not what is the APR and have you tried applying for a 0% card to stop the interest increasing the amount of debt on these?
Does your 18 year old contribute towards bills, pay rent, etc?

enthusiasticsaver

Whether or not you go down the dmp route depends on your income. Can you post a soa and ask the Halifax for some breathing space? I used to work for them as a debt counsellor some years ago and providing customers went in for an interview and were willing to fill out an income and expenditure form they were usually accommodating with debt arrears. I mention Halifax as they seem to be your biggest debtor but if you have others too the same applies.


One thing that stands out to me is the £250 your partner pays for 3 teenagers does not sound a lot. Is that the recommended csa contribution? It is difficult when you have children in their teens as they are usually a lot more vocal than small children in wanting this or that. You mention out of school activities and these can often ratchet up so I wonder if part of the reason you are struggling is because you are trying to maintain your previous standard of living (on a reasonable full time wage) on your current reduced and probably erratic income. You may need to speak to them and reduce some of the things they do if they are expensive. It is a valuable lesson I think to give youngsters that living within your income is good.

January2015

SOA will help. Do you own or rent your house?

tiredwithtwins

Thank you so much sourcrates and everyone else for your advice and replies, you have certainly given me some ideas!
My problem is that my income is so irregular and due to illness (and subsequent lack of sick pay) its thrown me into a bit of a panic, but Im following your advice sourcrates and take a bit of time to just look at my options, and along with debtlines advice will come to a decision this week about what to do. I already have my SOA, so once ive figured out what to do about work (fulltime nhs v agency) I will get back in touch with debtline and sort out a plan of action.


thanks again sourcrates and everyone for your kind advice,


Sue

asparagus1968

Hi,
here's the link for the SOA:
http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php


I'd suggest getting a permanent post as a staff nurse-
less money/responsibility than your sister post,so more chance off getting off on time, but regular wage .
you could still bank on your days off.


refer to CMS for child maintenance asap.


why is your current partner only contributing £250 towards the household? Are they not working?


does the 18 year old work at all as well as being in education?


good luck, you will get more ideas once you have posted your SOA too.