DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

[Deleted User]

sourcrates, I see you told a previous poster to keep this thread just for DMP stuff and I think my query is that, pretty much, so I hope it's OK to ask for advice, probably yours.

How much information can lenders and others see when they do a credit search on people?


I am paying £1 token payments to most of my creditors on my self-managed DMP and plan to do so for as many months as I can get away with;) but I'm continuing to pay one of them £30 a month (long complicated story so won't bore anyone with it). Is there any way that the ones getting the £1 can see how much I'm paying anyone else? Likewise, when debts are paid off through F&Fs, can creditors know which have been paid off, by how much, and how much total debt balance over all debts remains?


You'll probably say they won't care and won't even bother to look;) but I'm very interested just how much of my personal financial info might be available to lenders and such like.

StopIt

carbootcrazy wrote: »

sourcrates, I see you told a previous poster to keep this thread just for DMP stuff and I think my query is that, pretty much, so I hope it's OK to ask for advice, probably yours.

How much information can lenders and others see when they do a credit search on people?


I am paying £1 token payments to most of my creditors on my self-managed DMP and plan to do so for as many months as I can get away with;) but I'm continuing to pay one of them £30 a month (long complicated story so won't bore anyone with it). Is there any way that the ones getting the £1 can see how much I'm paying anyone else? Likewise, when debts are paid off through F&Fs, can creditors know which have been paid off, by how much, and how much total debt balance over all debts remains?


You'll probably say they won't care and won't even bother to look;) but I'm very interested just how much of my personal financial info might be available to lenders and such like.

While I could be mistaken, I do not believe that creditors have access to "live" balance information when it comes to your credit files.


They'll see initial loan amounts, credit card limits, missed payments and defaults etc, but I do not think (From a quick research trip) that they'll see rolling balances so shouldn't know that you're paying one creditor more.


Edit: of course, if this one creditor is reporting as "Up to Date" they'll know this too, but again, there's no law to say you have to treat all creditors the same, only good practice and if any other creditors get the hump, deal with them accordingly. I suspect it wont ever be an issue.


Also, a partially settled account shouldn't report to other lenders as anything other than that. They should not see anything like the following:


Balance: £1000, Partial Settlement: £400.


Of course they will see settled accounts, so will know that you've paid off other accounts, but frankly it'll make little odds to them either way, especially if they're the ones playing hardball and not offering settlements!


Also, sorry to ask but I've been wondering if you told Link where to go yet?

[Deleted User]

StopIt wrote: »

Also, sorry to ask but I've been wondering if you told Link where to go yet?

Thanks very much for the credit file info:T:beer:


I phoned Link as requested, supposedly something urgent according to them, and you and others who gave advice would have been proud of me, if it had worked out according to plan that is;). I did it the same evening we'd been talking about it on here.


I started off giving the person who answered the phone my rehearsed 'script' only to be stopped in my tracks and having to go through the full security vetting palaver. No real problem, she needed to know who I was after all. I should have thought of that but I'd worked up a real head of steam before picking the phone up


Once that was done I launched into only contact me by post complaint once more as well as asking what it was that was supposedly so urgent that they needed me to contact them so quickly. The poor woman hadn't a clue why I'd been phoned and couldn't see anything urgent on my file so said she'd put me through to the department dealing with my account. I expected having to go through the whole rigmarole again but I was up for it:j


Obviously it was now taking longer than I anticipated but I was up for a fight so was prepared to wait. I heard the phone to the other department ringing for ages, without being answered after which the original operator came back on and said they were experiencing an unexpected volume of calls and could someone phone me back later?


Er, well no. I was ringing to ask them not to phone me as per my original written request months ago:eek:. She said, well, we won't be phoning you as such, just returning your call to us:rotfl:.


I declined her offer and made it clear that whatever it was and however urgent they should put it in writing and I'd do my best to deal with it as soon as I received it.


Guess what? Not a single letter or phone call has been received since:j

StopIt

carbootcrazy wrote: »

Thanks very much for the credit file info:T:beer:


I phoned Link as requested, supposedly something urgent according to them, and you and others who gave advice would have been proud of me, if it had worked out according to plan that is;). I did it the same evening we'd been talking about it on here.


I started off giving the person who answered the phone my rehearsed 'script' only to be stopped in my tracks and having to go through the full security vetting palaver. No real problem, she needed to know who I was after all. I should have thought of that but I'd worked up a real head of steam before picking the phone up


Once that was done I launched into only contact me by post complaint once more as well as asking what it was that was supposedly so urgent that they needed me to contact them so quickly. The poor woman hadn't a clue why I'd been phoned and couldn't see anything urgent on my file so said she'd put me through to the department dealing with my account. I expected having to go through the whole rigmarole again but I was up for it:j


Obviously it was now taking longer than I anticipated but I was up for a fight so was prepared to wait. I heard the phone to the other department ringing for ages, without being answered after which the original operator came back on and said they were experiencing an unexpected volume of calls and could someone phone me back later?


Er, well no. I was ringing to ask them not to phone me as per my original written request months ago:eek:. She said, well, we won't be phoning you as such, just returning your call to us:rotfl:.


I declined her offer and made it clear that whatever it was and however urgent they should put it in writing and I'd do my best to deal with it as soon as I received it.


Guess what? Not a single letter or phone call has been received since:j

Haha, that's simply amazing. Well done for phoning and a special gold star for Link for not even knowing why they're phoning people, heh. Glad they took the hint though.

2017spark

hello all - hope you are all well.
I haven't posted in a while but feel I need to now - I've had my DMP with SC for a few months now and in theory am happy with the process but am struggling.
Ive dropped them a note today, basically outlining the following:
1. unexpected car repairs that are the amount of my monthly payment (a little more) - ive asked if they would cancel my payment this moth so I can pay it
2. Ive asked for my DMP to be put on hold for 3 months so I can get sorted - I need to do a proper budget, that allows me to live to - at the moment im struggling to meet everything and finding myself sliding backwards. Ive asked to redo a budget and payments etc - ive been changing the payment amount almost each month and I fear this is making me look unreliable
3. I have an old CC that ive kept hold of, its not part of my DMP - it should have been I know but I thought I could manage - I clearly cant and would like to make it part of my DMP


I feel like im drowning again under it all Has anyone else found themselves like this???
The actual DMP has been great, I want to carry on - just need to get myself sorted out before I carry on
I hope SC can help - they seem great so far. I'm just waiting to hear back from them.


Hope you are all having a better time than me!

StopIt

Hi 2017 Spark


It seems to be quite a common scenario with Stepchange. They encourage you to enter a DMP as soon as possible, which while it means the least chance of any adverse actions by your creditors, means that you'll be very vulnerable to any financial shocks.


I would always advise anyone now thinking of entering a DMP, via a free company or self managed to send creditors notice of the intention to enter the DMP, but give at least 3 months notice and pay token payments until the DMP is established. During that time it is essential to build an emergency fund, because they can, and do happen.


In your case, I'm sure SC will assist, and give you the time needed to not only pay for this car trouble and save up to avoid shocks in future, but I wish they factored this into their advice to people about to enter a DMP. It helps nobody wishing to be debt free to be in a financial situation where you have no contingency for unexpected costs, especially as the aim is to do this without access to credit.


I'd advise once you've saved the emergency fund to review your DMP payments also, if you're paying so much to leave yourself with nothing at the end of the month, it may be worth giving yourself some breathing room.


Regarding the CC, just inform SC of it and they'll factor it into your DMP. Hindsight I know, but if you're entering a DMP, it is never a good idea to think "Ah, I can manage some of the debt/credit lines" myself. It is a gateway to more debt and at the end of the DMP you may well end up back where you started.


Either way though, don't worry, it's still fixable, just take this as a wake up call that while a DMP is a great tool, you have to find new ways to manage your money without credit.

Suseka97

Hi 2017spark

Great advice from StopIt. Quite a few of us (me included) jumped into the DMP too quick and either struggled with an unexpected bill or realised the DMP payment was unaffordable. It's easy done when we're encouraged to get our finances sorted quickly and not given any breathing space (or advice on that score at the outset).

As StopIt suggests - you really do need to include all your creditors and not try to 'manage' a debt outside of the DMP, just doesn't work. I'm sure SC will be helpful and allow you to add that debt in and review your monthly payment. I'm not sure how flexible they are these days with the amounts they allow for x and y (they were quite tough with us at the time, but we did owe rather a lot!). If I were starting again, and in a way I am now that I'm self-managing my DMP for the remainder -then I would do exactly as StopIt describes - giving myself a good 3 months minimum to get my house in order and pay only token payments to creditors. I would also insist my monthly payment was affordable and with the help of this forum would have self-managed from the get-go (but I didn't know about the forum then).

So don't let this get you down and just reset the DMP terms to better suit your circumstances.

tkell

Hi all,

I have been on my DMP with stepchange for two months. I have multiple PDL's. I have three with Lending stream and they passed it onto Credit Resource Solutions. However, Lending stream call me daily, send 3 texts and an email everyday. They charged me 3 X £15 late fee and interest last month and the same again this month. They wont reply to my emails. What can I do? CRS are happy with my payments.

StopIt

tkell wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been on my DMP with stepchange for two months. I have multiple PDL's. I have three with Lending stream and they passed it onto Credit Resource Solutions. However, Lending stream call me daily, send 3 texts and an email everyday. They charged me 3 X £15 late fee and interest last month and the same again this month. They wont reply to my emails. What can I do? CRS are happy with my payments.

Write to them, with the letter clearly marked COMPLAINT in bold on the letter subject and the envelope, sent recorded delivery. Do not e-mail them as it isn't a formal method of communication.


State that you have entered a DMP because of financial hardship, and that the continued fees and interest is causing further hardship and ask them to stop these charges immediately.


Also state that you will not be engaging in any other form of communication than Writing. Ask them to cease any other forms of communication and that if they persist, that you'll be reporting them to the FCA for harassment.


It can't hurt to state also that (if applicable), that the lending behaviour of Lending Stream as well as the other PDLs contributed to your debt crisis and you feel you should have been told to seek debt help, rather than being extended high cost credit and ask for redress. Sourcrates has posted a few times with links on how to specifically reclaim Interest and charges from the PDL industry, it may be worth looking that up.

[Deleted User]

Suseka97 wrote: »

Hi 2017spark

Great advice from StopIt. Quite a few of us (me included) jumped into the DMP too quick and either struggled with an unexpected bill or realised the DMP payment was unaffordable. It's easy done when we're encouraged to get our finances sorted quickly and not given any breathing space (or advice on that score at the outset).

I certainly agree with that, Suseka:T:T. I'm one of those who dived into a DMP too quickly and who also set my repayments unrealistically high:o. Also, I had never come across this wonderful DMP support thread at the time otherwise I'd have gone about things totally differently;)

Thanks too, as always, to StopIt for the earlier post to 2017 Spark and the great advice always so generously given:T:beer: