On a DMP and now my boiler needs replacing!

essexinthenorth

I'm a couple of years into a DMP with Payplan and currently paying back around £450 a month (it has been higher but I couldn't maintain the payments). I have 30 months left to go but money is very tight each month. .'

I'm a single parent with three children and although I have a decent job and work full time, the debts and DMP mean that our budget every month is very tight with very little room for sudden emergencies.We have no luxuries and my poor kids must be sick of hearing me saying 'I haven't got the money for ....'

This month my 14 year old car broke down (and had to be scrapped as the repairs would have cost more than the car was worth and I didn't have the £1000 needed anyway) so I have had to replace that with a £250 car that I got cheap from a friend. Now my boiler has broken and cannot be repaired. The cost to replace this is £1500 and I just don't know where I am going to get the money. My family members can't help out (some of them have already helped me buy the replacement car).

DMPs are great but what do you do if you have a sudden financial crisis like this? Anyone got any experience of this?? I'll be speaking to Payplan tomorrow but just wondered if others have been in the same situation.

Thanks in advance.

HappyMJ

essexinthenorth wrote: »

I'm a couple of years into a DMP with Payplan and currently paying back around £450 a month (it has been higher but I couldn't maintain the payments). I have 30 months left to go but money is very tight each month. .'

I'm a single parent with three children and although I have a decent job and work full time, the debts and DMP mean that our budget every month is very tight with very little room for sudden emergencies.We have no luxuries and my poor kids must be sick of hearing me saying 'I haven't got the money for ....'

This month my 14 year old car broke down (and had to be scrapped as the repairs would have cost more than the car was worth and I didn't have the £1000 needed anyway) so I have had to replace that with a £250 car that I got cheap from a friend. Now my boiler has broken and cannot be repaired. The cost to replace this is £1500 and I just don't know where I am going to get the money. My family members can't help out (some of them have already helped me buy the replacement car).

DMPs are great but what do you do if you have a sudden financial crisis like this? Anyone got any experience of this?? I'll be speaking to Payplan tomorrow but just wondered if others have been in the same situation.

Thanks in advance.

Stop paying the DMP and save every penny you can fix what needs fixing and resume payments to your DMP.

Don't ask Payplan....tell Payplan what you're doing and why and do not even make token payments.

There is no need to live so frugally you are allowed some money for emergencies.

£1,500 will take 3 months to save at £450 per month. Can you go without a boiler for 3 months? It's warm now so you don't need it for heating. If you've got a kettle you've got hot water in the kitchen. The washing machine heats it's own water. If you've got a cylinder you can use the immersion element. If you've got an electric shower you can have a hot shower.

If you've not got an electric shower I would with the first months saving of £450 install one then save for another month to replace the boiler for heating when it comes to winter.

You're lucky it's summer and a boiler is not essential.

sourcrates

Good advice from happy MJ.

What type of boiler is it ?

If gas or electric, then they are specialist, hence the price.

If it's an oil boiler, you only need a new burner, around £300.

havecourageandbekind

Hi,

I've been on a DMP with Stepchange since last year and back in March dropped my payments from £188 to £21 (around £5 for each creditor) for 6 months so I can fix problems with damp I've had around my house. I'm expecting next month so I simply said damp can affect a baby's health and Stepchange were fine with that.

They asked me to write to each of my creditors to explain the situation, Barclaycard and the PRA Group wrote back and accepted and although Natwest didn't acknowledge my letter they've been accepting my reduced payments.

HappyMJ

havecourageandbekind wrote: »

Hi,

I've been on a DMP with Stepchange since last year and back in March dropped my payments from £188 to £21 (around £5 for each creditor) for 6 months so I can fix problems with damp I've had around my house. I'm expecting next month so I simply said damp can affect a baby's health and Stepchange were fine with that.

They asked me to write to each of my creditors to explain the situation, Barclaycard and the PRA Group wrote back and accepted and although Natwest didn't acknowledge my letter they've been accepting my reduced payments.

They asked you to do the writing? I thought Stepchange are supposed to deal with creditors on your behalf and write the letters.

It sounds more like a self managed DMP with some advice from Stepchange rather than a fully managed DMP.

I know several people one of them being my partner who wouldn't have a clue about how to approach a creditor and write a letter asking for reduced payments. I've written all the letters for her and so far succeeded in writing off most of the outstanding debts with just a few to go. I thought that's what Stepchange were there for....to do the letter writing.

Puzzcat

Stepchange do the initial set up and annual reviews, all other communication is down to yourself.

phoenixx

essexinthenorth wrote: »

I'm a couple of years into a DMP with Payplan and currently paying back around £450 a month (it has been higher but I couldn't maintain the payments). I have 30 months left to go but money is very tight each month. .'

I'm a single parent with three children and although I have a decent job and work full time, the debts and DMP mean that our budget every month is very tight with very little room for sudden emergencies.We have no luxuries and my poor kids must be sick of hearing me saying 'I haven't got the money for ....'

This month my 14 year old car broke down (and had to be scrapped as the repairs would have cost more than the car was worth and I didn't have the £1000 needed anyway) so I have had to replace that with a £250 car that I got cheap from a friend. Now my boiler has broken and cannot be repaired. The cost to replace this is £1500 and I just don't know where I am going to get the money. My family members can't help out (some of them have already helped me buy the replacement car).

DMPs are great but what do you do if you have a sudden financial crisis like this? Anyone got any experience of this?? I'll be speaking to Payplan tomorrow but just wondered if others have been in the same situation.

Thanks in advance.

Hi essexinthenorth - totally agree with happymj on this! Co-incidentally we find ourselves in the same boat re our boiler. It is 15 years old and we have been limping along with British Gas boiler cover. The Christmas before last we had no hot water or heating for 3 weeks! We have now reached a point where the boiler has been condemned and we have to get a new one. BG reckon between £1600 and £3000! Creditors will get only token payments for next couple of months and nothing else we can do under the circumstances! Not sure how it will sit with self managed but can't be without a boiler...:(

DireDebts

phoenixx wrote: »

Hi essexinthenorth - totally agree with happymj on this! Co-incidentally we find ourselves in the same boat re our boiler. It is 15 years old and we have been limping along with British Gas boiler cover. The Christmas before last we had no hot water or heating for 3 weeks! We have now reached a point where the boiler has been condemned and we have to get a new one. BG reckon between £1600 and £3000! Creditors will get only token payments for next couple of months and nothing else we can do under the circumstances! Not sure how it will sit with self managed but can't be without a boiler...:(

Never buy the boiler from British Gas as they are charging at least the double price of the other suppliers. I am knowing this from my experience when the gas fitter told me that the £2,950 boiler would have cost £1,300 from another company :mad:

Ambersuccubus

We just got a new Gloworm boiler for just over £500 on a plumber's recommendation from Travis Perkins. He then charged £350 labour and materials to fit it in a single day...do shop around for a cheaper boiler, by the sound of it you're being ripped off!