To Dmp or self manage?

clairebeth

Keep this thread and keep all your info in one place. You can switch during a fixed period, have a look at the 'ditch my fix' section of this site. Obviously it all depends on what your fees are and whether you can get a new rate. Did your mortgage provider say you had to have the life assurance? Hopefully some wiser people than me will be along soon!

clairebeth

Can I ask how you got into this debt? Is there something that caused you to borrow that you are yet to change? Because if you don't change that, it will just continue. X

National_Debtline

Enough17 wrote: »

Got round to doing my SOA, still very unsure as to what my options are. Would I be considered for a debt management plan or is my debt too high? self managed or with Step Charity?

Hi

It would be good if you could make reductions as suggested by the others, but based on this budget as it is I think a free DMP is a viable option. With £731 per month surplus you could clear £50k of debt in under 6 years if interest is frozen. You could also self-negotiate affordable payment offers directly with your creditors yourself if you prefer. There are sample letters on our website to help with that if you need them.

I wouldn’t say one option is better than the other really, it depends on your outlook. Some people like the simplicity of making one payment per month to Stepchange and allowing them to do the legwork. Other people prefer to be more hands-on and in control.

James
@natdebtline

Enough17

Thanks James. Think I'll call Stepchange this week. Was hoping for a few more replies to be honest. Think somone said the replies would be flooding in once I posted Soa. Suppose just wanting reassurance that a DMP is most viable option. Can't talk to anyone about this so looking for the support in here I guess. Husband ignoring the situation (he's not spending) but we're not tackling this together so am feeling very alone and unsure. Usually a happy person but this is affecting my health now as feeling very anxious about everything. Hopefully I'll feel some relief when I talk to sc. thanks again.

National_Debtline

Enough17 wrote: »

Thanks James. Think I'll call Stepchange this week. Was hoping for a few more replies to be honest. Think somone said the replies would be flooding in once I posted Soa. Suppose just wanting reassurance that a DMP is most viable option. Can't talk to anyone about this so looking for the support in here I guess. Husband ignoring the situation (he's not spending) but we're not tackling this together so am feeling very alone and unsure. Usually a happy person but this is affecting my health now as feeling very anxious about everything. Hopefully I'll feel some relief when I talk to sc. thanks again.

As a DMP isn’t legally binding you can stop it whenever you like. For that reason I personally think Stepchange is the better option for you at the moment, even if you change your mind later. They’ll help you get past the initial hurdle of contacting all of the creditors and establishing the payment plans. When people first start out negotiating it may seem a bit daunting if there are lots of companies to contact and correspondence to keep track of. As time goes on you might feel confident that you can handle it yourself, and may want more control of the offers being made. Of course, you may be happy to just leave the DMP running.

I’m sure you’ll feel relieved when a plan is set up. Think of it as a positive move in taking control of your finances.

James
@natdebtline

Enough17

Hopefully im posting in the right place.

It's been nearly a year since I posted on here and haven't done anything in terms of paying off the debt. Had a car accident in May which really knocked my confidence and basically we've been burying heads in the sand but now want to deal with this as the sleepless nights are becoming the norm. So so ashamed of myself. Not got into any further debt so the SOA should be almost the same. Only change is my income...got a job closer to home so that has reduced to 1279 but fuel expense has also been reduced as a result. Prob only £50pm max. Childcare costs have also reduced so technically we should be better off although it doesn't feel like it.

The car accident I had resulted in me having to pay £2300 to the other driver as when we moved here (NI) we hadn't updated car insurance and I wasn't insured as the provider didn't cover NI. Another thing I am disgusted myself with. I have always been the one that looks after finances etc and with the debt worry etc I just started to ignore stuff..relationship was suffering at the time also.

For the past few nights myself and partner haven't slept...I am now worrying a charge will be put on house we own (tenanted) Another reason we didn't do anything was we thought about selling rather than DMP back in Aug last year and had 3 offers that fell through, obviously once we put house up for sale our tenants left and that brought more stress and worry. So we took off the market and got new tenants.

My credit report is for 3 X cc which have all defaulted - total £25k. Just waiting to do husbands but I think his will be roughly the same.

Sorry such a long post...important thing to add, it's now moorcroft, and other dca's chasing us, I have emailed most of them but need to check. I have told them about to sort DMP with step. But just haven't been able to take the next step in dealing with it. I just want to make sure the DMP is still the best option now it's dca's contacting me rather than cc company. Mortgages are up to date. I really really want to sort this now. Will update SOA as soon as I can.
Thanks for reading

clairebeth

Hi. Well done on coming back and asking for help. Must be so hard. Get onto Stepchange first thing tomorrow. They open at 8am : https://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

The most important thing is to reduce your stress and get you and your hubby back on track with your sleep and relationship and provide a happy environment for your kids. This CAN get better. Stop beating yourself up about the car insurance and not being able to manage, these things happen. ALL the time. There is nothing to do but put it down to experience and move on.

Do another SOA, just so you can see the current picture. Sit down with your hubby and go over it all. Is he fully in the picture? This is his responsibility too. Perhaps someone could take the kids for a few hours this afternoon and you could sit down together and look at the Stepchange website and make a plan for contacting them tomorrow with all the details you need.

All the best to you.

Enough17

Thanks for your reply. Yes he knows and we are working through it together.

I'm just really worried after reading on here about charges on property owned, can that happen?

Getting the ball rolling tomorrow with a phone all to step change.

Thanks

sourcrates

Enough17 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. Yes he knows and we are working through it together.

I'm just really worried after reading on here about charges on property owned, can that happen?

Getting the ball rolling tomorrow with a phone all to step change.

Thanks

Just one thing to keep in mind when dealing with debt collectors.

Unless you specifically get a "notice of assignment" letter in the post to say such and such a debt has been sold to a new company, then debt collectors, such as Moorcroft, are only managing these debts for their clients.

This means they cant do anything without the clients blessing, they do not own the debt, so cannot take legal action, or enforcement action of any kind.

They will of been given a certain amount of discretion by there clients, in terms of what they can and cant accept payment wise, but its just something to keep in mind in case they try to flex their muscles, the function they serve is just as a payment collection service really, neither use nor ornament in my book.

clairebeth

How did the phone call go? X