DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

Onebrokelady

I’ve opened a new account today with Nationwide, this will be my main account for my wages to go in and my bills to be paid from,my old account is with NatWest and I have an overdraft and Cc with them that will be part of my DMP,I want to get rid of the overdraft so the nationwide can switch my account instead of me having to do it,I can only do this if do a balance transfer onto my Barclaycard which will also be part of my DMP,I haven’t received my pack from Stepchange yet but they know I have the overdraft with NatWest,will this be frowned upon if I do the transfer to clear the overdraft before I start my DMP,it will be the same amount of debt just not with the same people

January2015

Onebrokelady wrote: »

I’ve opened a new account today with Nationwide, this will be my main account for my wages to go in and my bills to be paid from,my old account is with NatWest and I have an overdraft and Cc with them that will be part of my DMP,I want to get rid of the overdraft so the nationwide can switch my account instead of me having to do it,I can only do this if do a balance transfer onto my Barclaycard which will also be part of my DMP,I haven’t received my pack from Stepchange yet but they know I have the overdraft with NatWest,will this be frowned upon if I do the transfer to clear the overdraft before I start my DMP,it will be the same amount of debt just not with the same people

Don't complicate things. Do not use Nationwide switching service. Open the account but set everything up yourself that you need to pay.

Onebrokelady

January2015 wrote: »

Don't complicate things. Do not use Nationwide switching service. Open the account but set everything up yourself that you need to pay.

I’ve just decided not to be a baby and sort it myself,I’m so useless though that I’m worried I will mess it up,I suppose the most important thing is to get my wages moved to the new account,I’m going to phone my payroll dept tomorrow to find out how to do that,I think we can do it electronically at work,there is also a form attached to our wage slip with bits to fill out if you want to change it to another bank,my payroll dept can be a bit useless though so I’m worried they won’t do it 😀Then do I just phone all my DD people and move them,what if I move them and my wages don’t get transferred.......arrrggghhhhh I’m so stupid

System

Onebrokelady wrote: »

I’ve just decided not to be a baby and sort it myself,I’m so useless though that I’m worried I will mess it up,I suppose the most important thing is to get my wages moved to the new account,I’m going to phone my payroll dept tomorrow to find out how to do that,I think we can do it electronically at work,there is also a form attached to our wage slip with bits to fill out if you want to change it to another bank,my payroll dept can be a bit useless though so I’m worried they won’t do it 😀Then do I just phone all my DD people and move them,what if I move them and my wages don’t get transferred.......arrrggghhhhh I’m so stupid

You'll be fine. Its really simple. Just give your company your new details and ring all your DD's. Took me no time at all when we did ours. Spent about an hour one afternoon ringing council tax, insurances, mortgage etc. Some even have online facilities and you can do it on there.

Onebrokelady

ploppy57 wrote: »

You'll be fine. Its really simple. Just give your company your new details and ring all your DD's. Took me no time at all when we did ours. Spent about an hour one afternoon ringing council tax, insurances, mortgage etc. Some even have online facilities and you can do it on there.

I’m going to be brave and put my big girl pants on and do it myself 😀honestly I’m so used to not being involved with my money I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing half the time,this has taught me a lesson to be more proactive in managing my money that’s for sure
I’m thinking that as all my DDs come out over the next few days I could canceleach one as it comes out and then I know it won’t be taken from that account come the day I stop using it,then as I cancel them I can phone each one and move them,for instance my mortgage was paid on the 27th so I could cancel that one tomorrow ,I also don’t have to pay my council tax until the1st of April so could cancel that too

FoolishGirl77

Suseka97 wrote: »

Hi all,

Following on from the number of recent posts about CCA requests, I though I'd update with my experiences and the current situation.

So - 6 CCA requests sent Aug17 (3 to PRA, 3 to Link) and all Barclays related (loans and credit cards). It took 3+ months for either of them to get back to me. PRA acknowledged receipt of request and advised accounts were on hold pending their enquiries. Link didn't acknowledge anything but they were the first to send what they claimed were the requisite documents towards the end of Nov. The documents they sent did not include either a true or reconstituted copy of the agreements, so I simply replied that they had not complied with the CCA and would continue to withhold payments until they did. I've since chased and have heard nothing since before Christmas. Just after Christmas I had letters from the PRA group advising I was in arrears with payments on the accounts and asked me to contact them to reinstate my arrangement. So they got a letter back reminding they had yet to respond to my CCA requests and yesterday I had responses to two accounts and in both cases they are unable to provide the documents and have therefore said the accounts are currently unenforceable etc. and so forth :T

So I'm now hoping I hear that the 3rd account is also UE, but I'm not overly bothered because that is the smaller of the three. The plan now is to file the 2 UEs and see what happens -who knows, they may suddenly get what they need but until then the F&F pot keeps growing.

Hi everyone! I’m a long time (ish) DMPer (since 2014) with some success. Started with £34k of debt and now down to £15k. I started with a fee paying company originally but switched to self managed a couple of years ago. How I wish I had known About this forum 4 years ago. No one told me about an emergency fund so never had one, launched straight into a fee paying DMP never having missed any payments to creditors and even when I went self managed I kept up lo my payments. Now I’m about to give birth to a daughter (got two boys from previous relationship - relationship that sadly didn’t survive the money troubles that lead me to here! ☹️).

In a new relationship now and so much to look forward to but need to adjust payments to allow for my little girl and would like to build up emergency fund (just shelled out £600 on 2nd hand cot, pram, and other assorted baby bits).

I do t really know how to go about it, have never missed any payments either before or during my DMP so I can’t just suddeny stop paying for a few months can I? I am redoing my I & E for revised offers so know what to do there but what about emergency fund? Feel I might need it now with a baby due imminently (Monday to be precise!). So worried 😧

[Deleted User]

FoolishGirl77 wrote: »

I do t really know how to go about it, have never missed any payments either before or during my DMP so I can’t just suddeny stop paying for a few months can I? I am redoing my I & E for revised offers so know what to do there but what about emergency fund? Feel I might need it now with a baby due imminently (Monday to be precise!). So worried 😧

Congratulations on the new happy relationship and the new baby:T:j:beer:. Exciting and busy times for you and the last thing you need now is to be worrying and stressing about money.

Sorry, need to dash but just wanted to say that ceasing payments for a few months, especially as you are self-managing your DMP, so you can build an emergency fund are not a problem:j. I did it and so did many others who post on here. Hopefully, someone else will be along soon to give more advice. Good luck:beer:

Suseka97

FoolishGirl77 wrote: »

....II do t really know how to go about it, have never missed any payments either before or during my DMP so I can’t just suddeny stop paying for a few months can I? I am redoing my I & E for revised offers so know what to do there but what about emergency fund? Feel I might need it now with a baby due imminently (Monday to be precise!). So worried 😧

Congratulations on the new arrival and new relationship :T

Seriously - don't worry, it's really easy. After all its your DMP to manage how it best works for you. Simply contact your creditors, or whoever is managing the debts, advising that your financial circumstances have changed and whilst you review the situation you will be reducing your payments to £x per month for the next x months (3 - 6, you choose). You can say then complete a revised I&E and adjust it until it shows how much surplus you would like it to show. By that I mean make sure you include as many expenditure items at an amount that covers your costs.

Like you I jumped into a DMP straight off and my monthly DMP payment was quite crippling for over 4+ years. I went self-managed towards the end of last year and so far haven't actually paid the remaining 6 (out of an original 14 creditors) any money. Admittedly I've been able to put my accounts on hold by sending them CCA requests (if you look back at my posts or one slightly further up this thread you'll see the results).

The advice we tend to give new DMPers is not to jump in too quick - but like you, when I started I didn't know about this forum. And to be honest I was so scared and anxious about the repercussions (and guilt) of not being able to make my contractual payments I just wanted StepChange to take control and I would have paid anything to sleep at night!

Oh how I wish I'd have happened across this thread at the time... or even have read online about debt management a little more. I always say, knowledge is power.

Anyway, enough babble - just go for it, you've nothing to lose.

FoolishGirl77

carbootcrazy wrote: »

Congratulations on the new happy relationship and the new baby:T:j:beer:. Exciting and busy times for you and the last thing you need now is to be worrying and stressing about money.

Sorry, need to dash but just wanted to say that ceasing payments for a few months, especially as you are self-managing your DMP, so you can build an emergency fund are not a problem:j. I did it and so did many others who post on here. Hopefully, someone else will be along soon to give more advice. Good luck:beer:

Thank you so much, this forum is worth its weight in gold - if only for the mutual support let alone good advice!

I thought I was so good at DMPing dealing with creditors and getting them to accept payment offers, maybe its the hormones! :rotfl: I guess the though of not paying anything is the most frightening thing. Have always been able to justify paying what I can afford but with the baby due I know I need a cushion to protect me from unexpected expenses (forgot to mention had to get toilet replaced before Christmas due to nasty leaking pan!!!).

I will be writing to all creditors to advise of my change in circumstances and request updated balances so I can complete my updated I&E and make revised - lower - payments. I want to postpone the start of the repayment plan till April/May to allow for a bit of contingency - should build up about £1500 in that time which is a good buffer. Is it really as simple as writing to the creditors telling them I'm having a baby and need to stop payments until then? So scared of what they might do :eek:

Should I immediately cancel standing orders pending replies? I just feel so unsure/unstable at the moment when I have been so proud of my DMP achievement till now.

FoolishGirl77

Suseka97 wrote: »

...advising that your financial circumstances have changed and whilst you review the situation you will be reducing your payments to £x per month for the next x months (3 - 6, you choose). You can say then complete a revised I&E and adjust it until it shows how much surplus you would like it to show. By that I mean make sure you include as many expenditure items at an amount that covers your costs...

...Oh how I wish I'd have happened across this thread at the time... or even have read online about debt management a little more. I always say, knowledge is power.

It’s so good hearing from somebody who has been where I am goi g and still as positive as you are! Thank you!

I guess it’s just frightening because obviously I can pay something but if I pay nothing or just token payments for a few months it will make such a difference at such an uncertain time.

Most of my debts are now with DCAs and defaulted, It’s so terrifying thinking of how they will react to going from an agreed payment t to nothing - with only my promise that payments will start again on x date. What if they don’t accept? I can’t have people knocking on the door When I’ve got the new baby.

I know you say not to worry, it’s easier said than done. Sorry. 😐 I’m such a scardy cat.