DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

DJB343

Fantastic Max, Great to hear. It's reading things like this, that really help the rest of us!

MMC87

Well done, Max! Dreaming of that moment so great to see others achieving this goal.

charlie_27

Hi All,


This is my second ever post in the same day but I had to post as this thread is so nice - there's so much support here.


After months of thinking and worrying, I had a very sharp wake up call in the form of two CCJs in as many months. I have been on the phone to step change today and they have emailed me my form to send back - I am worried about squeezed finances but feel like I am finally taking control.


As a single person with a bad credit history, the overall debt is relatively small but entirely unmanageable and I think I would have ended up borrowing to consolidate which I don't think would be the right choice either. I feel quite ashamed that I have buried my head for so long and ignored the obvious mounting debt.


They advised that if I start next month and remain on the same payment plan, I can have all my debt cleared in three years. Currently, my DFD is some point in 2021 and I couldn't be more excited.

MMC87

I spoke to StepChange on the phone for the first time today. I was ready to accept the monthly repayment sum they calculated online (£544) but admitted that I found it overwhelming and was a little worried. We went through my budget and the advisor I spoke to said I was being far too tight on myself so we made some adjustments and I’ll be starting to pay £390 per month initially and then seeing how I get on with what’s essentially going to be my first budget ever, I’m hoping to add a little more each month to that.

I wasn’t expecting judgement but the advisor totally surpassed my expectation. I felt so reassured and understood. It’s been mentioned in this thread already but hearing from SC themselves that the DMP is not about living in misery on the breadline was hugely comforting to me.

selinek

MMC87 wrote: »

I spoke to StepChange on the phone for the first time today. I was ready to accept the monthly repayment sum they calculated online (£544) but admitted that I found it overwhelming and was a little worried. We went through my budget and the advisor I spoke to said I was being far too tight on myself so we made some adjustments and I’ll be starting to pay £390 per month initially and then seeing how I get on with what’s essentially going to be my first budget ever, I’m hoping to add a little more each month to that.

I wasn’t expecting judgement but the advisor totally surpassed my expectation. I felt so reassured and understood. It’s been mentioned in this thread already but hearing from SC themselves that the DMP is not about living in misery on the breadline was hugely comforting to me.

Well done for taking your 1st step to being control. I was with step change for 8 years. I could don’t thank them enough. They had dug
Me out of a very large hole that I was sinking in fast. Now I am self managed which I’m loving. With taking my 1st step with SC and the support from this thread I’m confident about finances and in control
Of my life again :T

MMC87

When I was looking into a DMP I saw lots of reviews about it taking ages to set up. Just for info, I sent my pack off last Wednesday and today I got text confirming that it’s all set up and my first payment is to be made 10/01/18. Just wanted to post this for anyone who read similar reviews.

pinkpunto

I was all set to get a DMP set up in October. Set up a basic bank account and was about to send the forms off to StepChange and then my car packed in and I ended up having to scrap it. My dad has lent me the money to buy a cheap car which I’ve agreed to pay home back over the next few months. My boiler now needs fixing too .

I’ve now written to all my creditors saying that due to unforeseen circumstances (car and boiler problems) I’m unable to start a DMP which StepChange have advised is my best option. I said that I will pay a token £1 for the next 4 months. I can then pay my dad back and repair the boiler.

I’d never missed a payment until I got into financial difficulty due to reduced income but have now not been able to make a payment since August, which is when I wrote to my creditors advising that I was in financial difficulty and receiving advice from StepChange.

Since I’ve written to my creditors advising that I will pay a £1 token they are requesting to receive details of my income and expenditure before they will accept it. Do I have to send them all this detail separately and this will also show that I do have £173 left to split between my creditors, but I won’t have this spare for another 4 months.

So any advice on what I should do now, do I need to send them all Income and expenditure separately? If I contact StepChange again wil they want me to start the DMP straight away or will they allow me to delay this by 4 months. Any advice would be appreciated.

tonyace123

Hi I am on a dmp with sc paying each month,I've just had a final demand of hsbc which defaulted last month,question is do I need to worry about this and just carry on paying, it's just took the wind out of my sail that's all thank you in advance

sourcrates

tonyace123 wrote: »

Hi I am on a dmp with sc paying each month,I've just had a final demand of hsbc which defaulted last month,question is do I need to worry about this and just carry on paying, it's just took the wind out of my sail that's all thank you in advance

Just computer generated letters they must send you prior to default.

Won’t take your DMP into account.

All normal, don’t worry.

sourcrates

pinkpunto wrote: »

I was all set to get a DMP set up in October. Set up a basic bank account and was about to send the forms off to StepChange and then my car packed in and I ended up having to scrap it. My dad has lent me the money to buy a cheap car which I’ve agreed to pay home back over the next few months. My boiler now needs fixing too .

I’ve now written to all my creditors saying that due to unforeseen circumstances (car and boiler problems) I’m unable to start a DMP which StepChange have advised is my best option. I said that I will pay a token £1 for the next 4 months. I can then pay my dad back and repair the boiler.

I’d never missed a payment until I got into financial difficulty due to reduced income but have now not been able to make a payment since August, which is when I wrote to my creditors advising that I was in financial difficulty and receiving advice from StepChange.

Since I’ve written to my creditors advising that I will pay a £1 token they are requesting to receive details of my income and expenditure before they will accept it. Do I have to send them all this detail separately and this will also show that I do have £173 left to split between my creditors, but I won’t have this spare for another 4 months.

So any advice on what I should do now, do I need to send them all Income and expenditure separately? If I contact StepChange again wil they want me to start the DMP straight away or will they allow me to delay this by 4 months. Any advice would be appreciated.

Send them an income and expenditure sheet that shows them what you want them to see, simple.