DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

January2015

Superhoop91 wrote: »

Hi, newbie here. I've got myself so very stupidly into payday loan debts that in the past I could pay off but this time accumulated too many in a short space of time that I won't be able to pay living expenses from next month onwards. I checked out options and SC seemed like a potential helpful way out. I can pay these loans in a few months time but I went to the biggest one and asked to go onto an alternative payment plan and they refused. Is a DMP the right option for me? My debt remedy says I can pay these, my credit card and my overdraft off in 12 months. I'm presuming they'll be a hit to my already awful credit score so is there much harm in going through a DMP as I would to get debt free asap. Let me know please if you need any more information to best help me determine if an SC is best for me. Presuming full interest on these loans, I'm looking at about 7k of debt.

Many thanks for any help you can offer.

Superhoop91 wrote: »

Hi,

I posted on page 145, I know there's lots of on going stories here but would really appreciate any possible advice people can offer as we are approaching the end of the month where I'll be short of money after making all current payments.

Hi

Sorry your post was missed

I've never had payday loans so have no personal experience of them.

However, if you cannot afford day to day living costs them you need to do something now and if that means entering a DMP then so be it. Whatever you do, you credit rating will be impacted - whether you make late payments to your payday loans or whether you enter a DMP. To a certain extent the fact you have payday loans has already impacted your credit rating anyway.

If I were you I would stop struggling and enter the DMP. Once you get to grips with clearing your debts and learning to live within your budget you will never look back. It's the best thing I ever did financially.

MK-4

Hi All, need some help to get my head around the token payments system. Will be doing a letter to each creditor before going with SC to implement a DMP. Do I need to offer a token payment or do I just stop payments altogether?

January2015

MK-4 wrote: »

Hi All, need some help to get my head around the token payments system. Will be doing a letter to each creditor before going with SC to implement a DMP. Do I need to offer a token payment or do I just stop payments altogether?

Don't bother with token payments. Tell them you are working with SC and once SC has organised your DMP, payments will be made through SC. Just add a note to say all communication should be in writing and that you do not give them permission to telephone you.

They are used to this - don't worry about not making payments whilst your DMP is being set up

MK-4

January2015 wrote: »

Don't bother with token payments. Tell them you are working with SC and once SC has organised your DMP, payments will be made through SC. Just add a note to say all communication should be in writing and that you do not give them permission to telephone you.

They are used to this - don't worry about not making payments whilst your DMP is being set up

Thanks January. Will do the letters this week and cancel the DD's for each one. It seems that the interest will be stopped for a month but I am hoping to build the emergency fund for at least three months before going onto SC. I suppose the extra interest will just take a little longer to my DFD.
One other thing though, does an I&E or SOA need to be included with the first letter?

January2015

MK-4 wrote: »

Thanks January. Will do the letters this week and cancel the DD's for each one. It seems that the interest will be stopped for a month but I am hoping to build the emergency fund for at least three months before going onto SC. I suppose the extra interest will just take a little longer to my DFD.
One other thing though, does an I&E or SOA need to be included with the first letter?

When you write to creditors tell them entering a DMP is not a decision you have taken lightly and you request they stop all interest and charges with immediate effect to support you to work to clear your debts.

The one month stopping of interest and charges is an industry standard agreement where people identify they are in financial difficulty and it allows them time to seek help. You are acknowledging you are entering a DMP so know straight away you will need long term support in the way of suspension of interest and charges to get your debts cleared. Creditors don't have to freeze interest and charges but from personal experience most of the major lenders are ok with this.

BC are a bit of a pain. If you are paying 1% more than the balance they continue to charge :mad: Just try and make sure your payment (if you owe BC) is below the magic 1% mark.

For me, Hellifax, MBNA, NW, RBS, Virgin all stopped interest and charges straight away :j

MK-4

January2015 wrote: »

When you write to creditors tell them entering a DMP is not a decision you have taken lightly and you request they stop all interest and charges with immediate effect to support you to work to clear your debts.

The one month stopping of interest and charges is an industry standard agreement where people identify they are in financial difficulty and it allows them time to seek help. You are acknowledging you are entering a DMP so know straight away you will need long term support in the way of suspension of interest and charges to get your debts cleared. Creditors don't have to freeze interest and charges but from personal experience most of the major lenders are ok with this.

BC are a bit of a pain. If you are paying 1% more than the balance they continue to charge :mad: Just try and make sure your payment (if you owe BC) is below the magic 1% mark.

For me, Hellifax, MBNA, NW, RBS, Virgin all stopped interest and charges straight away :j

Thanks, currently getting a budget done. On my SC form the suggest £144 for a Food / Housekeeping budget but this seems very low for two of us. My accounts since 2001 show we spend an average of £343 pm. The NEDCAB site seems suggests up to £505 for two people.

I do not want to send an I&E budget that makes it impossible to survive.

January2015

MK-4 wrote: »

Thanks, currently getting a budget done. On my SC form the suggest £144 for a Food / Housekeeping budget but this seems very low for two of us. My accounts since 2001 show we spend an average of £343 pm. The NEDCAB site seems suggests up to £505 for two people.

I do not want to send an I&E budget that makes it impossible to survive.

Bump up the food budget to a more realistic figure. Make sure all categories are realistic. If you make your budget too tight you are more likely to fail your DMP.

IANB77

Ok so i started my DMP about 3 week ago with SC. So far so good. Most have agreed to stop interest and to the repayments, some i have not heard from yet. Bamboo, Vanquis and Littlewoods. Oh and B/card sent me a letter saying they were upping my CC limit to £7000 on Saturday even though they are aware of my situation..

Must admit i have found it hard and the docs put me on anti depressants and beta blockers to try and help....

So a mixed bag overall so far for me, but its early days so need to remain optimistic!!

sourcrates

IANB77 wrote: »

Must admit i have found it hard and the docs put me on anti depressants and beta blockers to try and help....
!

Hi,

What bits of it have you found particularly difficult ?

Maybe i can ease your mind somewhat.

[Deleted User]

MK-4 wrote: »

I do not want to send an I&E budget that makes it impossible to survive.

January2015 wrote: »

Make sure all categories are realistic. If you make your budget too tight you are more likely to fail your DMP.

Absolutely agree with January on this:T


I started off my DMP with SC with such a tight budget I found it nigh on impossible to get through each month, especially as I didn't have the lifeline credit cards to fall back on anymore:o. I stupidly thought that SC or my creditors wouldn't accept my DMP if I looked as if I was profligate with my money. I ended up not claiming for anything at all in several budget catagories and the absolute minimum in others. As I had no savings whatsoever I was really struggling, desperate even, if I ever needed to pay for anything unexpected. I became a dab hand at putting even absolute essentials back on the supermarket shelves because when I got to the checkout I didn't have enough shrapnel in my purse to pay. I've been embarrassed and mortified more times than I can bear to think about:o

Good luck:beer:


I contacted SC after about 6 months of this when I was in real danger of failing on my DMP. We negotiated a much better budget and I never looked back:j