New to DFW! Advice needed please

Youreds92

Good day all. I just wanted to ask a few of you some questions.
I am 23, in £24,000 worth of debt, no house to pay for just general bills. I built up these debts on loans and credit cards through a gambling addiction I am seeking help for. My current pay is take home 1300, I'm thinking about setting a DMP with step change paying around £700 a month and will take around 3ish years to clear. Has anyone ever used step change and how do lenders react to them? Any advice welcomed. Thank you

National_Debtline

Hi

Welcome to the forum. Well done for seeking advice and trying to deal with your debts.

There are lots of people on here that have used Stepchange and they are very well regarded. Although I haven’t used them personally I heard lots of positive things in my line of work.

Creditors do seem to respond well to negotiating with them as there are no fees so creditors know they are getting their fair share of you available money. I’m sure some other people will be able to give you their first-hand experiences.

James
@natdebtline

KID77

Hello Youreds!

I am currently in a dmp with stepchange and it was great for us as we could not afford the mininum payments and the debt was not reducing so we really had no other option.

If you can afford to pay £700 per month, I imagine thats around minimum payments or above? Maybe I am wrong as if loans perhaps the monthly amount is higher?

All I wanted to say is that your credit rating will be ruined for at least 6 years when entering a dmp so not something to be taken lightly. It can affect something as simple as new phone contract.

However if you can no longer make the monthly payments then it may be a good option.

My advice is read as much as you can of the DMP Mutual Support Thread and previous ones to give you a real insight into life in a DMP. Its alot of reading but as its something that affects your life for 6 years, its worth taking the time to read :-)

Good luck with whatever you decide xx