Natwest and DMP

Pipkin89

Hi all!

I am new here and just wondered if I could get some advice. I am in the process of setting up a DMP with Step Change. My creditor is Natwest, with whom I have two loans and an O/D.

I have never missed a loan payment with them, but have recently amassed a huge O/D debt, which means I will no longer be able to make the loan payments successfully. I have acted quickly and should still be able to make this month's loan payments, but won't be able to contribute to the O/D balance. What I'd like to know is whether I should write to Natwest now to inform them of my situation and request they freeze the charges, which stand at £6 per day?

I have briefly spoken to someone from Natwest on the phone to alert them to my situation, but they were of no help at all and pretty much said they'll just wait to hear from Step Change. However, I want to be proactive and on top of this. Would there be any benefit to writing to Natwest myself?

Thanks in advance.

Puzzcat

Pipkin89 wrote: »

Hi all!

I am new here and just wondered if I could get some advice. I am in the process of setting up a DMP with Step Change. My creditor is Natwest, with whom I have two loans and an O/D.

I have never missed a loan payment with them, but have recently amassed a huge O/D debt, which means I will no longer be able to make the loan payments successfully. I have acted quickly and should still be able to make this month's loan payments, but won't be able to contribute to the O/D balance. What I'd like to know is whether I should write to Natwest now to inform them of my situation and request they freeze the charges, which stand at £6 per day?

I have briefly spoken to someone from Natwest on the phone to alert them to my situation, but they were of no help at all and pretty much said they'll just wait to hear from Step Change. However, I want to be proactive and on top of this. Would there be any benefit to writing to Natwest myself?

Thanks in advance.

Hi
Don't pay the loan payment if you can avoid it. Have you opened a new basic bank account away from any of your creditors? If not you need to do this asap and get income paid into that. If you go to the dmp mutual support thread I posted a template recently you can send to creditors informing them you are setting up a dmp etc. You will need an emergency fund so best pay token payments for a few months before starting the dmp. I have 3 accounts with natwest and have had no trouble from them.
Do find time to read back over the dmp mutual support thread, loads of information and lots of us around to answer questions.
Puzz.x

patman99

Switch to paying the loan at £1 per month. This should help you clear your OD more quickly.
As has been said, open another account elsewhere (before you start a DMP if you can) into which your wages will go and your bills will be paid from.

If you can manage to clear the OD by paying the loan at £1 per month, then at least you can look at throwing more money at the loan without incurring anymore charges for your OD.

Pipkin89

Thanks for your replies. So do I simply not make the loan payments? Meaning cancel the direct debit?

I already have another account that all of my wages go into, so this isn't a problem.

National_Debtline

Hi Pipkin89


Yes, you should cancel the Direct Debit with immediate effect and contact Natwest ASAP to ask that any penalties, charges etc. be suspended while you are in financial difficulty and seeking to set up a debt management plan. Now that you are safely banking elsewhere, Stepchange will be able to deal with the OD debt on your behalf along similar lines to the loan.


Dennis
@natdebtline

Pipkin89

I have cancelled the direct debit on one of the loans, but as the other loan is new and I haven't made a payment towards it yet it isn't showing up as a direct debit. How do I go about cancelling this one? I am posting my letter to offer token payments of £5 per month. Hopefully they'll get it soon and accept the payments.

National_Debtline

Hi again


I should have pointed out above that as the debts are all with Natwest, there won't necessarily need to be a Direct Debit set up as such - Natwest would in theory be able to take the payments via internal transfers from your bank account.


If the loan is so recent that repayments have yet to begin, do you have any of the cash still available? Or was it used to settle other debts? I only ask because it could be problematic asking a lender to accept a reduced payment plan and to freeze charges so soon after borrowing from them, though I would like to be proven wrong.


Dennis
@natdebtline

Pipkin89

I don't have any of the funds still available, no. So they could still take payment from my current account putting my O/D into more arrears?

It was a top-up loan on my original loan to finance other debt.

National_Debtline

Hi again


Yes, they could do that in theory but it's unlikely to happen more than once if they're made aware of your circumstances - after all they would only be moving their own money around in circles.


Dennis
@natdebtline

Coinmachine

For what it is worth Natwest have been far and away my best creditor, accepted DMP and monthly payments, defaulted straight away and have never rung me.