DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

Misswelsh84

Thank you. That really does helps. Okay I'm more clear on what I need to do. I get the EF now as we all know we can get unexpected bills etc.

I was confused about whether I contact my creditors. I have the letters ready so will get them sent off today.
Would you advise not to continue paying my creditors even though i can cover what is due until this is set up? I dont like the idea of not paying in the interim stage.

I can afford the minimum payments at the moment but I'm not getting anywhere with paying it off as i then use my cards to live. The bank have now changed the overdraft fees which when that kicks in i wont be able to continue all payments.

sourcrates

Yes those overdraught fees are going to hit a lot of people come November, i can see our workload increasing.

The thing is misswelsh84 if the creditors see you are making the minimum payment, then they are much less likely to stop interest and charges on your accounts, as to them, as far as they are concerned, your able to service your debts with no problems.

You must change your mindset from now on. you should really default on your payments, then you are sending a clear message to the creditor, help, i cant afford my repayments, other wise they wont be able to evidence your in trouble.

You need to be looking after No1 now, it does require a different train of thought, one other thing i forgot to mention was when you send your letters to your creditors, ask them to stop interest and charges.

Bewildered_Banshee

Hi
I'm working on my dmp which I'm hoping to do myself, although Stepchange have been really helpful.
But!!! This may be a stupid question.


Nationwide have a credit card, current acounts (along with husbands who is not part of the dmp), my mortgage etc. Can any one company get preferential treatment?


If I include them in my dmp will they take money out of my current account to cover my credit card. I know I can open up a basic account elsewhere, but it is so easy as things are for transferring money between us. My life is with Nationwide!

sourcrates

Bewildered_Banshee wrote: »

Nationwide have a credit card, current acounts (along with husbands who is not part of the dmp), my mortgage etc. Can any one company get preferential treatment?


If I include them in my dmp will they take money out of my current account to cover my credit card. I know I can open up a basic account elsewhere, but it is so easy as things are for transferring money between us. My life is with Nationwide!

The olde adage applies here "never bank where you have debts".

If you have money in any joint accounts, its not safe, you need to bank somewhere you dont have any debts, otherwise, although its rare, they can take money from any account held in your name, within the same company using the right of set off.

Obviously there are rules that apply to this, but you should take measures to avoid it happening in the first place.

Bewildered_Banshee

Thanks Sourcrates - appreciate your advice again.
Is there anyway that I can keep my Nationwide CC out of the DMP?
I'm guessing not, and not sure I'd want to, but just thinking out aloud

sourcrates

Bewildered_Banshee wrote: »

Thanks Sourcrates - appreciate your advice again.
Is there anyway that I can keep my Nationwide CC out of the DMP?
I'm guessing not, and not sure I'd want to, but just thinking out aloud

Realistically you must include all your creditors, otherwise you will have issues with treating all your creditors fairly, and that could lead to non of them agreeing to your terms.

Its hard i know, i really didn't want to lose my old bank, First Direct, but i owed them a whole lot of money, couldn't do anything else, they were the best bank i have ever been with, but needs must, i had to bite the bullet, i suspect you will have to as well.

Bewildered_Banshee

Thanks again Sourcrates, I feel the same about Nationwide as you did about First Direct, but I guess its time to bite that bullet.

Bewildered_Banshee

Thanks again Sourcrates, funny how you get attached to a bank, but I feel the same way about Nationwide as you did about First Direct.
Time to bite the bullet though, off to apply for another account.

Suseka97

Misswelsh84 wrote: »

Thank you. That really does helps. Okay I'm more clear on what I need to do. I get the EF now as we all know we can get unexpected bills etc.
I was confused about whether I contact my creditors. I have the letters ready so will get them sent off today. Would you advise not to continue paying my creditors even though i can cover what is due until this is set up? I dont like the idea of not paying in the interim stage.I can afford the minimum payments at the moment but I'm not getting anywhere with paying it off as i then use my cards to live......

Hello and welcome to the DMP board and I see you've had great advice from sourcrates already. Above all else do follow the advice to stop paying your creditors as of now - send your letters as planned and include the request to stop interest and charges (I'd suggest sending by a tracked method). Most, if not all, creditors will put a standard 30 day hold on the account once you've made them aware of the situation and they won't expect you to be making any payments at this stage. Some folks sent token payments for a month or two (tokens are generally around the £1 mark) - I did, but in reality there's no need to do that, it's more of a gesture of intent. Try to leave it at least 3 months before you start actually paying into the DMP and save what you would have been paying (the minimum payments you refer to) so that you can set that aside for anything that might come your way in the future. You will undoubtedly need it - so be strict and don't be tempted to spend what you save frivolously (not that I'm suggesting you would).

I know you said you've read back on the thread and found it a bit confusing, but do try again - maybe when you've sent off your letters and can start to get your head around this. Knowledge is good and there is a wealth of information for you to access both on this thread and on the North East Derbyshire Citizens Advice Bureau (NEDCAB.org.uk) website - which has a dedicated DMP section which you'll see posters refer to from time to time.

Good luck with your DMP and welcome aboard.

curlu

Hi everyone, after being told by SC that I don't qualify for a DMP at this stage as I can currently afford my contractual payments, I'm struggling to see a way out of the mess I foresee down the line I'm torn between borrowing more to consolidate(if thats even possible) continuing to pay the debt by using a snowball calculator, or stopping payment and entering into a self managed DMP.
What would you do?
Just a reminder I have £60K between 7 creditors and I have already written to them all to tell them I am working with SC, and asking them to freeze all interest and charges while I work with SC. This was based on the online remedy tool which suggested DMP as the way forward and I was then told it wasn't an option....now that I've done the letters, is it worth stopping payment anyway??