DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

[Deleted User]

kram, if you'd like a basic bank account there's no reason why you can't have one as well as the regular account although it will have to be with a different bank. I have both with different banks. I have a fairly sizeable credit card debt with my regular bank (Lloyds) and this is part of my DMP. Although the bank account still exists I don't put money into it because the bank has the right to take funds from it towards debts. As you've been advised by others, if you have debts of any kind with the bank that you have your standard account with, don't deposit money into it just in case.


There are plenty of basic accounts about, a lot of us have the Nationwide FlexBasic one. Does all you need it to do except offering an overdraft. You can apply online, a very simple process, and they'll send the debit card, PIN etc by post. I've also opened various online savings accounts with them to keep my emergency savings in.

January2015

carbootcrazy wrote: »

There are plenty of basic accounts about, a lot of us have the Nationwide FlexBasic one. Does all you need it to do except offering an overdraft. You can apply online, a very simple process, and they'll send the debit card, PIN etc by post.

Strangely, the only thing I miss having a basic bank account is a cheque book. I say strange because when I had one I rarely used it - but on the occassions I have needed a cheque I have to make the effort to go into town and get a counter cheque at the bank. They are supposed to charge £5 for cheques but I have never actually been charged for cheques yet.

It does bug me that basic accounts cannot have cheques books. Cheques are no longer guarantted by bank cards anyway, so it is no longer a form of credit. I appreciate the use of cheques is gradually dwindling away but there are occassions when you need a cheque and cannot use a debit card. One example is when sending off data protection subject access requests. Frustratingly I did this and at the time got a postal order (because I couldn't be bothered to go into town, pay for parking just to get a cheque). I receivedback all the information I needed and the company involved returned the postal order to me saying they did not require it. The postal order was crossed and made payabe to the company and I could not get my £10 back from the post office (I tried - and I had the receipt from when I bought it). If that had been a cheque I could have just shredded it - the money would never have left my account in the first place.

Hey ho - I can't have a cheque book and I will just have to live with it :rotfl:

Happy Sunday everyone :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

January2015 wrote: »

Strangely, the only thing I miss having a basic bank account is a cheque book. I say strange because when I had one I rarely used it - but on the occassions I have needed a cheque I have to make the effort to go into town and get a counter cheque at the bank. They are supposed to charge £5 for cheques but I have never actually been charged for cheques yet.

It does bug me that basic accounts cannot have cheques books. Cheques are no longer guarantted by bank cards anyway, so it is no longer a form of credit. I appreciate the use of cheques is gradually dwindling away but there are occassions when you need a cheque and cannot use a debit card. One example is when sending off data protection subject access requests. Frustratingly I did this and at the time got a postal order (because I couldn't be bothered to go into town, pay for parking just to get a cheque). I receivedback all the information I needed and the company involved returned the postal order to me saying they did not require it. The postal order was crossed and made payabe to the company and I could not get my £10 back from the post office (I tried - and I had the receipt from when I bought it). If that had been a cheque I could have just shredded it - the money would never have left my account in the first place.

Hey ho - I can't have a cheque book and I will just have to live with it :rotfl:

Happy Sunday everyone :rotfl:

I didn't mention that basic accounts don't offer a cheque book as cheques are such a distant memory for me that I'd forgotten about them:rotfl:. Can't recall how many years it was since I last issued one and I even get peeved if anyone sends me a cheque and I have to go to the faff of paying it in and waiting days for clearance. Seems so archaic somehow with all the other options available. I expect I've still got the cheque book from my Lloyds account gathering dust somewhere but even then I expect the cheques in it are so old they'll have expired (if indeed they ever do). Plus, as I haven't even a single penny deposited in my account with them I couldn't issue one anyway.


I do take your point about the Postal Order 'thing' though. On the very rare occasions I resort to using them I tend to get them crossed by the issuing PO but leave the 'payee' bit blank. Not 100% safe to do this but as they are crossed and need to be paid into a bank by the receiver I don't worry too much about a dishonest postal employee or bank clerk stealing them. By doing this, if they are not required I can pay them into my own bank if they are returned to me unused:j. This has happened to me a couple of times. If the recipient decides they want the payment they fill in their 'payee' details themselves. It was only M&S who returned my PO to me and requested that I write in the payee details myself before returning it to them:(. Shouldn't grumble, it eventually resulted in a PPI payout:j


I'm very sorry you lost your money.

Debtfreehopeful

Hi,

Does everyone use Noddle to check their credit reports? I am due to make my first SC payment on 10th May.
I have checked my Noddle credit report and I have 2 phone accounts with 3 which I owed approx £700 from terminating my contracts early- as these are in the 'closed accounts' section does that mean that my DMP money doesn't need to be paid to 3?
Also some of my account statuses are showing as 'AA' 'AC' or 'DM'- apart from the 'DM' does anyone know what they stand for? Like everyone else I can't wait for these accounts to be defaulted but don't know how to get there quicker!

Thanks

Suseka97

sourcrates wrote: »

T.....Everyone else is your equal, however much money they purport to have or however large there business is, they have no more rights over you or your affairs than the paper boy does.

Great post sourcrates and good advice to all of us.

I used to worry myself sick at the start of my DMP journey - fearing what creditors might do and imagining that 'knock on the door'. It took a while to realise that neither creditors nor DCAs had authority over me and my situation was no-one else's business but mine.

[Deleted User]

Suseka97 wrote: »

Great post sourcrates and good advice to all of us.

I used to worry myself sick at the start of my DMP journey - fearing what creditors might do and imagining that 'knock on the door'. It took a while to realise that neither creditors nor DCAs had authority over me and my situation was no-one else's business but mine.

I know exactly what you mean:T. It's a hard lesson to learn isn't it? I struggled along for years before I read a similar, earlier post by sourcrates which put it all into perspective. sourcrates is a star:beer:

Suseka97

Debtfreehopeful wrote: »

.....I have checked my Noddle credit report and I have 2 phone accounts with 3 which I owed approx £700 from terminating my contracts early- as these are in the 'closed accounts' section does that mean that my DMP money doesn't need to be paid to 3?
Also some of my account statuses are showing as 'AA' 'AC' or 'DM'- apart from the 'DM' does anyone know what they stand for? Like everyone else I can't wait for these accounts to be defaulted but don't know how to get there quicker!. Thanks

I use Noddle - but not sure why any accounts with balances outstanding would be listed in the 'closed account' section. All mine in there have zero balances - so maybe someone else will come along and explain. I would have thought if you still owe 3 mobile contracts, then the debt stands and should be in your DMP. As to the account markers you mention - I'm not sure what AC stands for, but AA is for 'Early Arrears' and DM is for 'Debt Management'. If you hover your mouse over the letter a little window pops up and tells you what the letters mean.

Some creditors will default you pretty quickly without you having to do anything - others might need a little push. So if, after 3 mths, you find some haven't - start the process by writing letters asking them to default. Most of mine did - but Halifax refused to do it until a year later and that's only because the debt got sold on to a DCA. I'm going to get back on to them about that now the account is paid in full.

Debtfreehopeful

Thank you Suseka97- I thought it was strange for 3 to close both accounts- it says 'account settled' and are in the closed account section on Noddle....I haven't received any correspondence from 3.

kram

Thanks for all your replies, but just so I don't apply for the wrong thing am I right in thinking the following.
So from my normal current account add online savings account with same bank then drip feed any money into it to build an emergency fund.
Is this right.

motivated

kram wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies, but just so I don't apply for the wrong thing am I right in thinking the following.
So from my normal current account add online savings account with same bank then drip feed any money into it to build an emergency fund.
Is this right.

Hi Kram
That's exactly what I do. I have 4 savings accounts now with the same bank and I use them for different things. One holds my EF And the others are for my yearly bills like the car insurance and vet bills, one I call my DMP account it holds my monthly DMP payment and one for any household things we may need and I transfer money from my main account into to each savings account what I can afford and just let them build up. It may not work for everyone but it helps me to see exactly how much we have for each bill etc.
M