I need help with a DMP

debtisnotme

I have registered on National Debtlines online system and about to submit my details for them to contact me about a DMP, their system has suggested this is the best option for me.

A bit about me:

• 41 years old, living alone in my Mortgaged property hundreds of miles away from family
• I am a Gambler, I haven't gambled for 13 days and am getting separate help with this through GA
• some of my debts are recent, kind of like a serial consolidator but the money went on gambling.
• I've known i have had a problem for some time but haven't been able to face it. As of today I have no money to feed myself or my cats for the rest of the month. I have a freezer full of food but am supposed to be on a medically advised elimination diet.
  
  I'm really grateful for any help offered, I am worried I will get into trouble because of some of the debt being recent and due to gambling, will National debtline tell my creditors. Also some of the Credit cards are 0% interest, will this make them look upon me more harshly.
  
  I see this as a way of not only being able to not gamble forever but pay off my debt whilst making it impossible for me to get more. I don't ever want more debt, My secured loan is only for five years at a fixed rate and I can remortgage with my existing provider when my fixed rate runs out next year for the same amount without further credit checks etc.
  
  CUrrently trying to finish my SOA so will post ASAP.

sourcrates

Hi,

Welcome to the MSE forums.

All debt help through Nation Debtline and other charities is completely confidential and you are not judged for your past financial behaviour.

People end up in debt for all kinds of reasons, you won't "be in trouble" so don't worry on that score.

Post up your SOA and we'll take it from there.

debtisnotme

Here is my SOA.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1807
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1807

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 432
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 323
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 79
Electricity............................. 17.5
Gas..................................... 17.5
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 12
Telephone (land line)................... 15
Mobile phone............................ 15
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 12
Groceries etc. ......................... 140
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 35
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 10.4
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 16.11
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 24
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 5
Entertainment........................... 15
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30
Total monthly expenses.................. 1220.51


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 125000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 125000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 63000....(432)......4.99
Secured Debt.................. 20000....(323)......15.9
Total secured & HP debts...... 83000.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................2727......33........0%
Santander......................2450......25........0%
Halifax........................4021......41........0%
Ratesetter.....................9311......274.......9.9%
First Direct...................2950......92........18.9%
Nationwide.....................954.......28........19.9%
Barclaycard....................960.......33........28.9%
Luma...........................942.......33........33.9%
Marbles........................2750......110.......33.9%
Aqua...........................5500......130.......34.9%
HSBC...........................5252......130.......0%
Total unsecured debts..........37817.....929.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,807
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,220.51
Available for debt repayments........... 586.49
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 929
Amount short for making debt repayments. -342.51

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 125,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -83,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -37,817
Net Assets.............................. 4,183



the interest rates on my credit cards are estimated

debtisnotme

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi,

Welcome to the MSE forums.

All debt help through Nation Debtline and other charities is completely confidential and you are not judged for your past financial behaviour.

People end up in debt for all kinds of reasons, you won't "be in trouble" so don't worry on that score.

Post up your SOA and we'll take it from there.

Your reply is very much appreciated, I feel so stupid.

tonycottee

Are your mobile and internet payments on a contract or are you free to move. Both could be reduced. And have you recently checked if you're on the best tariff for gas and electricity?
And tell me to mind my own business, but I see you live alone. Who is the beneficiary for your life assurance?

enthusiasticsaver

I would speak to stepchange and look into managed dmp or you can manage it yourself if you prefer.

Obviously your income is not enough to service all your minimum payments on your debt so you will need to default and ask for them to stop charging interest on the ones charging interest. Stepchange or you can then allocate monthly payments according to level of debt. There is not a great deal of leeway in your soa so you need to keep up payments on your secured loan and mortgage, council tax, utilities etc and from the look of it you have around £580 to service your unsecured debt.

If all your unsecured creditors agree to stop charging interest the best way of paying it back is at a rate of £15.33 for each £1k you have borrowed so on the largest debt Ratesetter which is 9,311k you would pay £142.74 per month and on the smallest debt which is Luma you would pay £14.44 per month and so on. You will probably need to send them your soa. Providing they agree to freeze the interest it would be cleared in about 5 years so it will be a long journey.

I would not advise consolidating any into secured debt just in case you are tempted to do that. I assume that is where the £20k loan came from?

debtisnotme

tonycottee wrote: »

Are your mobile and internet payments on a contract or are you free to move. Both could be reduced. And have you recently checked if you're on the best tariff for gas and electricity?
And tell me to mind my own business, but I see you live alone. Who is the beneficiary for your life assurance?

Its critical illness insurance. I have just moved my gas and electric. My phone and mobile and broadband are with Talktalk and i have cut to bare minimum.

fatbelly

65 months @£580 per month if all creditors freeze interest immediately.

It looks to me as if you are at the border of a dmp and an IVA - I suspect stepchange (and payplan if you tried them) would push for an IVA.

Probably go for a dmp and do some research into IVAs

enthusiasticsaver

fatbelly wrote: »

65 months @£580 per month if all creditors freeze interest immediately.

It looks to me as if you are at the border of a dmp and an IVA - I suspect stepchange (and payplan if you tried them) would push for an IVA.

Probably go for a dmp and do some research into IVAs

He has equity in his property so I think he may be required to release that with an IVA which would not be advisable.

fatbelly

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

He has equity in his property so I think he may be required to release that with an IVA which would not be advisable.

Doesn't seem to happen much in practice - they just do a sixth year.

OP needs to do his research - I agree it would need to be a lower monthly payment than the £580 suggested to make it attractive, given that there would be some uncertainty at the end of an IVA.

DrWatson1

debtisnotme wrote: »

Your reply is very much appreciated, I feel so stupid.

First of all, getting into debt doesn't mean you are stupid. There are many people on these forums, including myself, who are well educated and otherwise healthy functioning individuals who have got into debt through a variety of circumstances. No one is here to judge, and you don't owe anyone an explanation.

Your personal circumstances are very similar to mine (I'm a single, homeowner with around 30k debt, 70k mortgage against a £140k property). A DMP has worked very well for me thus far (if you search my posts on this forum, you will get an idea of my exact circumstances and how I'm dealing with debt), and certainly gives you a great deal more flexibility to cut deals further down the line than an IVA might.

Fatbelly is spot on IMO - a DMP would give you some breathing room to fully comprehend your situation and the options available to you. My only advice would be to over-egg your expenses and probably look to pay no more than £200pm (you could probably get creditors to agree to something around £125pm) while you take stock of everything and decide how best to move forward.

It's much easier to get creditors to agree to higher payments in future, than lower ones!

Edit: This calculator will give you an indication of what is acceptable for monthly outgoings in order to enjoy a minimum standard of living.

http://www.minimumincome.org.uk/results