DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

[Deleted User]

Bebop, thank you for posting and well done on taking that first scary step. This is a very supportive, friendly and non-judgemental thread so you've come to exactly the right place. I'm in a massive hurry just now but I just saw your post and wanted you to know that you're not alone. Someone will be along soon and will give you some great advice.


For now, if it's possible please stop worrying:). Easy for me to say you might think but I can empathise totally with your situation. It could have been me writing your post just prior to my DMP. Honestly, I've been exactly where you are now. Things will get better for you. They certainly have for me. There is a light at the end of that horrible dark tunnel. Please take the advice of the wonderful posters on here like January for instance who I know will offer you the best advice you could get anywhere.


Good Luck. I hope to talk to you again soon:)

Suseka97

January2015 wrote: »

........Barclaycard only stop interest if the amount you pay them is below 1% of the outstanding balance each month, so try and keep your payment to them below that.Jan :beer:

Just to add to January2015's good advice in relation to my experience with BC. They were the toughest in terms of getting interest and charges to stop. They did at the outset, when the payment was below what would have been the contractual minimum payment -but, as the DMP progressed over the years and eventually their payment amount went above the standard minimum they reinstated interest:(

The trouble was we couldn't lower their payment because the allocation is managed by SC and even though we raised it with them, SC would not alter that payment. We even took the case to the FOS, but they too wouldn't intervene. So we sort of resigned ourselves to accepting they would continue and then -rather oddly, they just sold the debts (x2) onto a DCA and the interest stopped. I must admit before that happened I was considering going self-managed so that I could control the payment to BC -but my other creditors had all stopped interest and charges, so I wasn't sure whether to go down that route. In the end it wasn't necessary - but it did take close to 2 years in.

I'm in my last year of the DMP -and when it is all finished what I plan to do is go back to all creditors and check default dates and pursue those who DF'd more than 3 months on from the DMP start date. BC is one of them, Halifax the other - so they are definitely on my hit list.

Bepop

found myself in a financial situation that i cant see anyway out of. I cant tell anybody about this as i feel like a failure having let this happen. Im in full time employment. I pay all my main household bills. My debt is credit cards, store cards and an overdraft. Currently I have 4 credit cards, 2 of which are with the same provider and one with my bank. I have 3 store cards and an overdraft. After paying my household bills I found myself having to rely on my credit card more often to get through the month. The credit card reached its max so I applied for a balance transfer card and cleared the card on to the new one. Over the years I was surviving off the credit card and each time I was offered a 0% balance transfer I kept transferring. I don't know where to turn and my fear is now verging on being unable to cover the payments. Each card is well over the 0% interest period and I am not in a position to transfer to another balance transfer card. I've sat every night on the Internet scaring myself to death reading about the debt management schemes. I don't want to lose my house as I'm scared this will be the first thing they suggest. I share the house with my sibling. The debt is my problem nobody else's. I was thinking of making an appointment with my bank and asking for a personal loan to consolidate the debt but I'm so scared as I'm in my overdraft with them and one of my credit cards are with them. I wasn't sure whether to apply elsewhere. If I can be given the chance to consolidate the cards and pay over a long term this would at least pay off the debt in the long run but im worried about being seen as at risk, but i know i can pay it this way just given the chance. I don't have a fancy car, I don't socialis as I have no money and I don't go on holiday. I work Monday to Friday and pay my bills. After bills I pay £655 on debt and I'm verging on not meeting this. I can't sleep, I'm worried sick and just want a normal life back. I hate myself for ending up like this. I just want somebody to help. Thank you for your time

Bepop

Thank you for replying this morning..just to hear from somebody who understands..I hope to speak soon and take further advice as I don't have a clue what to do or where to start
I have never felt so ashamed as I do just now that I'm in this situation. Thanks again x

sourcrates

Bepop wrote: »

Thank you for replying this morning..just to hear from somebody who understands..I hope to speak soon and take further advice as I don't have a clue what to do or where to start
I have never felt so ashamed as I do just now that I'm in this situation. Thanks again x

Hi, hello,

Welcome to the thread.

It's only money, not worth getting upset about, there are procedures and support in place to help you deal with it, don't even think about consolidation, that's a backward step.

You need to be forward thinking now, and that does not involve any further borrowing.

Your aim is to pay off/reduce your debt, not add too it.

Plenty of help and advice available on here.

[Deleted User]

Bepop wrote: »

Thank you for replying this morning..just to hear from somebody who understands..I hope to speak soon and take further advice as I don't have a clue what to do or where to start
I have never felt so ashamed as I do just now that I'm in this situation. Thanks again x

You're very welcome:)

And please don't feel ashamed. I've 'been there and done that', as they say. I guarantee it doesn't help and only adds to the stress and anxiety. Debt problems can happen to the best of us, it's how we deal with them that matters:)

Rushing off again. Hopefully back soon.

Suseka97

Bepop wrote: »

Thank you for replying this morning..just to hear from somebody who understands..I hope to speak soon and take further advice as I don't have a clue what to do or where to start
I have never felt so ashamed as I do just now that I'm in this situation. Thanks again x

Replying to this and your earlier thread...

Okay - first things first, take a deep breath. I can feel your panic and you are not the first, nor will you be the last to find yourself at this point in your life. You've taken the first step and have come to the right place for advice -so that's a good start.

I was where you are 4-years ago and you'll see by my signature how bad things had got. What you need to do is talk to one of the free debt management companies, such as Payplan or StepChange (there may be others). I'm with the latter. They will work through an income and expenditure statement with you and will then be able to advise what course of action might be the best. Once done, you can always come back here for more advice if you're unsure which way to go. If they offer to assist you to set up a Debt Management Plan (DMP) - there's lots on here who can help you navigate that process. You can also go on the NEDCAB site which offers a free online DMP service here: https://nedcab.cabmoney.org.uk/remedy_4.asp which you could have a read through if you'd rather not call or speak to anyone right now.

So, get yourself a cup of tea or coffee - get together a list of all your debts, bills etc and either call one of the free DMP companies or log on to the NEDCAB site. Trust me, you'll sleep better and will be taking the first step to a debt-free life.

You can do this

January2015

Hi Bepop and welcome :wave:

I second the advice given above by CBC, Sourcrates, and Suseka.

One thing I would add is that if you don't feel you can talk to anyone about this, even a debt charity, then you can fill out a debt remedy tool online - Stepchange (SC) has one here on this link. Doing this will give you a starting point. If you decide to go ahead with the recommendations of the debt remedy tool then you can do most of it through the post with SC.

Again, I echo what others have said. You are not the first, you won't be the last, and this is definitiely fixable and no-one you know will ever need to know about it. Your house will not be at risk from your credit card debts as long as you take steps to sort out a plan to deal with them.

Look at my signature. Just over 2 years ago I was actually over £100k in debt with unsecured loans and credit cards. I sold a car to bring it down to £95k. I wasn't sleeping, I was constantly worrying about meeting payments, I was borrowing from A to pay B - life was literally a nightmare and not worth living (well it really did feel that way most days). I had never missed a single minimum payment to any of the debts but they just kept mounting and I couldn't go on like that.

The relief of sorting out the DMP was instant. SC were great. Creditors stopped all interest and charges whilst the DMP was sorted out. Most stopped interest and charges for good. Others - well I had a bit of battle but by the time I needed to face those battles I was in a much stronger frame of mind and I had the support and guidance of the wonderful people on this forum. I won those battles

Life on a DMP is very good. It really is. If you read posts and people's signatures on here you will see people constantly posting 'I love my DMP' and one signature that sticks in my mind is from a user called 'motivated'. Great name and she has a great signature.....which is "I have arrived in DMP Land and I like it. I may stay a while" For me that signature says it all. motivated arrived here at the beginning of this year, just after Christmas I think. Despite the username she, like us all, was worrying about her debts and what entering a DMP would mean. The turn around in her posts is literally motivational. She is now so positive and deals with her debts and challenges creditors when she needs to. There are many, many others just like myself, Suseka, CBC and motivated. We've either all been there or are all going through our journey. Please, please, take a deep breath and keep posting and know that you can sort this and still have a wonderful life which will one day be debt free.

[Deleted User]

Bebop

Wrote this and then saw January had beaten me to it. I was hoping she would come along to help you as she's been inspirational to me:A. I'm leaving my post as I wrote it anyway as it may have something in it to help you. Sorry if there's any overkill:o

I seem to be zooming in and out of here in short blasts a lot this morning:rotfl:


To add to what's been said, you can do a lot of things online without having to speak to anyone at the various organisations and certainly without any commitment to anything on your part. There are lots of online tools to use to work out your options prior to actually starting to set any repayment plans up. Don't jump in and set everything up today, there'll be lots of advice given when others post about building up an emergency fund prior to your start date. This will be from people who have done it and know the ins and outs. I hadn't discovered this thread prior to setting up my DMP and I hadn't the forethought to build up an emergency fund first. I soon ran into difficulties (which Stepchange helped me through) and it's my only regret about the whole DMP journey so far.


My only dealings were with Stepchange who were brilliant in every way during my DMP. I started off with almost £57000 debts and early this year have decided to self-manage. I've already paid off over £31,000 (all by myself without even my partner knowing, and I'm retired with only pensions to rely on). People like Suseka and January have done even better:T. This is possible, please trust us. My deciding to self-manage my DMP at this stage was not a reflection on Stepchange by the way, I just felt I was ready for more flexibility in my repayments. Whatever you do, please don't even consider a fee-charging company:eek:. There are various free charities out there who will do you proud.

Take a look at the Stepchange website and have a play with the various budgeting tools on there. Then come back and let us know what you think. The link is here:


https://www.stepchange.org/


And, to set your mind at rest, on a DMP (if that's the right option for you) you definitely won't lose your house. That's one less thing to worry about:T:T

Worriedman

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply, January. I appreciate your help and advice.

I've cancelled all non-essential direct debits now, the first of which is due to go out tomorrow. Should I wait until I have missed all my payments this month before I write to my creditors as I've never missed a payment before? My overdraft and credit card that's linked to my current account don't go out until the end of the month, and I want to make sure that I definitely have my new bank account up and running before I tell them in case they put restrictions on, or close the account.