DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

Plucky_Lion

sourcrates wrote: »

Do whatever you want chap.

Save that emergency fund.

Thank you for the advice. I would be lost without the help of this thread. At the moment I feel a bit in limbo as I don't feel that much is happening. It has been nice to get paid and not see most of it swallowed up from debt payments. Does anyone know how many months that I can save for an emergency fund before they get nasty? Would you recommend that I send another letter asking for more time?

Thanks again for your help.

Sazzie23

Plucky_Lion wrote: »

Hi. I have received a message from Barclaycard, letting me know that my 30 days of breathing space is up and that I should contact them etc. I was hoping to establish an emergency fund over the next two months and then contact Stepchange. Can I ask for another 30 days or do I need to contact Stepchange and get my DMP ball rolling?

Thank you

Hi Plucky Lion (what brill names we've got on the thread at the mo).

You could ask for another 30 days, or you could contact Stepchange which will give you another 30 days or so, and if you mess about a bit, delay sending paperwork, querying stuff etc you could swing it for longer. I think mine took 3 months to set up (mainly because I was in such a state I couldn't focus to get the paperwork together, ))or you could do nothing.

If you want to get defaulted before you start your DMP, paying nothing, especially to BC is probably a reasonable choice, though you have to be prepared for the inevitable, calls, texts, letters etc. I am with SC and often get letters from BC saying they are going to terminate the agreement as they didn't get xxx paperwork, but they never did cut me off.

You may also incur charges until the account defaults, and there is no saying how long they will take to default you, but as they often fail to cut interest for DMPers it could be a while.

However you do it though, the emergency fund is not a realistic option, whatever SC or BC say.

Saz

Sazzie23

Leanneglos1 wrote: »

Sooo in a nutshell from what I can see the main difference doing a self managed plan is that you pay all the individual lenders and deal with them, rather than paying sc who then split the money out, im thinking of going self managed, can anyone briefly explain the pros and cons to help with my decision, thanks:)

Self managed -need to be more disciplined
Need to be more organised
Need to be ok with negotiating

You get the results you want, when you want and have more flexibility on who you pay what and when.

SC - you only have to make sure the SC payment goes to them,
You don't have to contact creditors, though you can
You have to play by SC rules
SC decide how much to pay to who and when.
SC don't negotiate, the creditors have to abide by what they say, however the creditors can still charge interest, SC won't stop this.

For me SC is a blessing as I don't have to think about anything and the debts are being paid. Doesn't mean I've given up responsibility, I still monitor balances and am planning to F&f, but for me it's worked since 2013. Perhaps could have cut the payments and stopped the interest earlier if I'd been self managed but I'd probably have had a nervous breakdown trying to do it, so it's horses for courses as they say.

Many start with SC and move to SM later.

Saz

Sazzie23

purplepaws wrote: »

Hello,
I'm about to agree to a DMP with Payplan but I've just read that they are not the 'charity' imply they are and I'm worried that this could be a bad idea. I'm slightly put off by the time it would take to go through all the finance stuff again with another company. If anyone can advise as to whether I should stick it out with Payplan or should I try StepChange?

Many thanks.

Hi Charity in terms of non-profit making to themselves, however as Sourcrates says they are funded by the industry so they don't necessarily have your best interest at heart. The rules of engagement and repayments differ slightly with PP and SC, there's also Christians against poverty who are reputable charity. Try them al to see which you are happiest with.

You can start with one and move to another if you wish, it's not a fixed agreement.

Saz

Sazzie23

TurningACorner wrote: »

Hello! I'm new and have very recently started my DMP journey with StepChange and I was wondering about other people experience. Firstly how do we find out if our creditors have accepted the new payments and to freeze the interest and charged and also, I was wondering what people experience where with my specific creditors. I have a lot so please bare with me im ashamed to admit it.

I owe NatWest with a personal (unsecured) loan and an arranged overdraft. I have 2 credit cards with Tesco and capital one and I also have existing balance with an old Vodafone contract. I also have an unsecured loan with leading stream. And I was just wondering if anybody else had experienced these companies during a DMP and what your experience was like?

Thank you for any help or guaidance or just advice, I'm proud I hVe tken that first step but I feel I have a long way to go

Hi Turning

Welcome to the thread. Don't beat yourself up about how you got to this position, we've all had to make tough decisions in the past which may or may not have helped or hindered. What's important is that you have turned the corner and are looking forward to dealing with the debt.

I had a NW overdraft £5k, they were OK about the repayment although it got paid off early on due to a PPI reclaim.

Saz

Twins

Hello All,

I just want to vent about Capital One and how shocking they've been to deal with.

I wrote to them initially to tell them I was self managing my DMP and to also ask for a copy of my CCA. They didn't respond, so I wrote again. They didn't respond so I ended up calling them and spoke to someone who gave me the address of where I should be writing to. I wrote again and then on Friday I received 5 different letters from them all ranging from yes we agree to your payments to a letter saying here is a list of payments made but then was no list included :mad:

This morning 2 more letters arrived, one is a print out of payments made and the other is a letter telling me how to pay by standing order.

Still no CCA acknowledgment but a pile of letters and all of the content could have been put in 1 letter!

Useless idiots!!

vaper

Hi twins
What sort of offer did you make to capital one?
Hubby has a card with them and I'm thinking of starting my dmp alone so just wondering what sort of amounts people offer. The amount outstanding is £9.500. I have not sent them the I& E form they sent us as I'm not sure which route to take yet.
Thanks
Vaper

Billy12345

Twins wrote: »

Hello All,

I just want to vent about Capital One and how shocking they've been to deal with.

I wrote to them initially to tell them I was self managing my DMP and to also ask for a copy of my CCA. They didn't respond, so I wrote again. They didn't respond so I ended up calling them and spoke to someone who gave me the address of where I should be writing to. I wrote again and then on Friday I received 5 different letters from them all ranging from yes we agree to your payments to a letter saying here is a list of payments made but then was no list included :mad:

This morning 2 more letters arrived, one is a print out of payments made and the other is a letter telling me how to pay by standing order.

Still no CCA acknowledgment but a pile of letters and all of the content could have been put in 1 letter!

Useless idiots!!

Hi twins,

Oh dear I have just sent my I&E statement and a letter asking for CCA to Cap one. I'm not filled with confidence about them :eek:

leanne12345

Another stupid question from me I'm afraid we have a settee which was purchased with 4 years interest free credit which we have included in our DMP. I think I'm over thinking this but does this just work like a loan or is it like car finance where they would take the settee away? Noddle is showing the finance as a loan but MSE Credit Club is showing it as 'fixed term credit sales' so I am a bit confused :huh:

zenshi

Annual review letter from tesco cc arrived today.

Defaulted in 2013, paying £5 month on a debt just shy of 7K

Letter states my agreed payment is due for review, if we don't hear from you then we will reset your plan as before.......

LOL, no brainer then, happy days! Though they haven't yet sold the damn debt!