DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

vaper

Hi all
I've been viewing the boards for a few weeks now and finally posted last week after days of trawling through paperwork and trying to find a solution to this sorry state we have found ourselves in.
Long story short we started using credit cards and transferring onto 0% offers when we could, then the offers became harder and harder to get, then impossible. fast forward a few years and we find ourselves dependent on credit cards to survive ..............Now I'm here searching for solutions and support.
We have credit card debts of around £56.000 and £12.000 left on the mortgage.
It's scary, I have nights laying awake doing the sums in my head trying to get us through another month but I have made a decision, we're going to get through this, I have been reading a lot of threads on the forum and taking inspiration from others who have been through and are still in a similar situation to us.

I know we will probably go with a DMP and at the moment I am trying to find a bank account not connected to our credit cards - easier said than done when you seem to have almost every credit card on the market, but I will find one.
I'm hoping for a little encouragement to help me get through this, I need to toughen up, I have spent the last few days staring at a computer screen, very often through floods of tears but that needs to stop.
There was a thread about someone who said he feels like he is emptying a lake with a teaspoon, this is exactly how I'm feeling at the moment, although I think my spoon is leaking!
Anyway I'm off to continue my search and will continue to read the posts on here, I will post again when my head feels clearer.

motivated

Hi vaper and welcome to the DMP thread. (the best thread in town) So glad you have posted here, you will get lots of information and guidance here too. Stick around and good luck
M

January2015

vaper wrote: »

Hi all
I've been viewing the boards for a few weeks now and finally posted last week after days of trawling through paperwork and trying to find a solution to this sorry state we have found ourselves in.
Long story short we started using credit cards and transferring onto 0% offers when we could, then the offers became harder and harder to get, then impossible. fast forward a few years and we find ourselves dependent on credit cards to survive ..............Now I'm here searching for solutions and support.
We have credit card debts of around £56.000 and £12.000 left on the mortgage.
It's scary, I have nights laying awake doing the sums in my head trying to get us through another month but I have made a decision, we're going to get through this, I have been reading a lot of threads on the forum and taking inspiration from others who have been through and are still in a similar situation to us.

I know we will probably go with a DMP and at the moment I am trying to find a bank account not connected to our credit cards - easier said than done when you seem to have almost every credit card on the market, but I will find one.
I'm hoping for a little encouragement to help me get through this, I need to toughen up, I have spent the last few days staring at a computer screen, very often through floods of tears but that needs to stop.
There was a thread about someone who said he feels like he is emptying a lake with a teaspoon, this is exactly how I'm feeling at the moment, although I think my spoon is leaking!
Anyway I'm off to continue my search and will continue to read the posts on here, I will post again when my head feels clearer.

Welcome :beer:
A useful list of which banks own or are affiliated with which credit cards can be found on this link.

What a lovely low mortgage you have :T Whatever you do, don't be tempted to move your unsecured debt to a secured loan or remortgage. Stick with the plans for a DMP.

You can do this. Let us know if you are planning to go through a DMP provider such as Stepchange or Payplan, or whether you are planning to self manage your DMP. You'll get lots of pointers on how to get going from the gang on this thread. We've all been there, and been through the set up of a DMP and we are here to share our experiences and to support you through the process.

I promise you within a few weeks those tears will be a thing of the past, and that teaspoon will have emptied that huge lake before you know it

[Deleted User]

vaper wrote: »

Hi all
I've been viewing the boards for a few weeks now and finally posted last week after days of trawling through paperwork and trying to find a solution to this sorry state we have found ourselves in.
Long story short we started using credit cards and transferring onto 0% offers when we could, then the offers became harder and harder to get, then impossible. fast forward a few years and we find ourselves dependent on credit cards to survive ..............Now I'm here searching for solutions and support.
We have credit card debts of around £56.000 and £12.000 left on the mortgage.
It's scary, I have nights laying awake doing the sums in my head trying to get us through another month but I have made a decision, we're going to get through this, I have been reading a lot of threads on the forum and taking inspiration from others who have been through and are still in a similar situation to us.

I know we will probably go with a DMP and at the moment I am trying to find a bank account not connected to our credit cards - easier said than done when you seem to have almost every credit card on the market, but I will find one.
I'm hoping for a little encouragement to help me get through this, I need to toughen up, I have spent the last few days staring at a computer screen, very often through floods of tears but that needs to stop.
There was a thread about someone who said he feels like he is emptying a lake with a teaspoon, this is exactly how I'm feeling at the moment, although I think my spoon is leaking!
Anyway I'm off to continue my search and will continue to read the posts on here, I will post again when my head feels clearer.

Hi, Vaper:hello:. I'd just like to add my welcome to those you've already had. Please stick with us as there's a massive amount of collective wisdom on this thread (usually not from me, alas:o).


I was very taken by your header 'hello from a drowning newbie'. Trust me, we've all felt like that. I promise you that things will soon begin to look a lot rosier once you have started on your DMP.


Your post struck a real chord with me as I too was relying on credit cards just to exist week to week for basic groceries until they all maxed out and I was in total despair:eek:. I was absolutely terrified of what might happen, what my creditors would do, how I could ever get through it. I had credit card debts of just under £57000 when I started my DMP, accrued on my own not as a couple:o. I have retired and although my pensions are reliably regular they are relatively meagre. A DMP has been my saviour and I've already paid off £32316 in exactly 4 years. Other people have paid off far more but as this is a solo effort from a low income I'm euphoric:j. I just couldn't have done this on my own without a DMP. I'm now self-managing but I needed the help and guidance of Stepchange until the end of last year.


Keep posting and asking questions. The journey through DMPland is much more enjoyable with company:beer:

motivated

Morning all

I have just made another DMP payment . However I keep toying with the idea of going self managed. I have been on the NEDCAB site and done the budget and debts etc. It's generated letters for me to print etc. But I'm scared of rocking the boat

I suppose I'm being impatient but I want creditors to default me and sell me on lol. I thought maybe this would force their hand so to speak. If I decide to go self managed should I hold off payments for however long and hope that they do this.

I suppose I want the freedom of paying extra if possible to one creditor to clear it quicker and so on.

Also are they then likely to load us up with interest and charges etc again.

Should I stay as I am. Any thoughts please
M

sourcrates

Hi Motivated,

If your ultimate first goal is to get defaulted, nothing works better than 6-8 months of either no payment at all, or a £1 a month token payment.

If you want results, you gotta play hard ball I'm afraid !!!

Max_and_sasha

“
Hi everyone

I am on a dmp with baines and ernst and I have finally plucked up the courage to dump them, my wife and I are going to do our own dmp saving us £50 per month that baines and ernst were charging us,

1, How do I go about ditching them, is there anything specific we should state in the letter?

2, What should we expect back from them and what reaction do you think we'll get from them?

3, What should we expect from our creditors, there are 7 of them?

Thank you and I look forward to any advice we recieve

January2015

motivated wrote: »

Morning all

I have just made another DMP payment . However I keep toying with the idea of going self managed. I have been on the NEDCAB site and done the budget and debts etc. It's generated letters for me to print etc. But I'm scared of rocking the boat

I suppose I'm being impatient but I want creditors to default me and sell me on lol. I thought maybe this would force their hand so to speak. If I decide to go self managed should I hold off payments for however long and hope that they do this.

I suppose I want the freedom of paying extra if possible to one creditor to clear it quicker and so on.

Also are they then likely to load us up with interest and charges etc again.

Should I stay as I am. Any thoughts please
M

Regardless of what SC tell you, you can pay more to one creditor than another. All you need to do is make the payments yourself, in addition to the payments you make to SC. However, that's a bit pointless in my opinion. You would be far better of saving any extra funds you can and when you have enough you can make settlement offers - picking them off one by one as you can

Billy12345

Morning all

Just an update from me, plodding along nicely in DMP land. I made six payments agreed with SC then dropped to token payments for three months due to stupid car breaking down and starting back up with more regular payments (although these are less as did review in February and starting this in May).

So in nine months paid off a little over £3,000. Most creditors have defaulted except Santander which I am hassling.

Anyway a bit of advice, I held back a CC from the DMP as I went on holiday (which was paid before I started the DMP) as I needed this for a swipe on the car hire. Nothing was charged to the card. This card has a balance of just under £4k (arghhh) which I was scrounging together from the food budget but couldnt see any other way to pay this and as the holiday was already paid I needed a credit card for the car hire (even though this was already paid, stupid i know), I really need to add this onto the DMP.

I was advised by the excellent prople on this forum to contact SC and ask this be added onto the DMP but I chickened out. I had just dropped payments and gone through an updated I&E form and really didnt want to rock the boat by going back and saying, whoops I forgot to add this card.

I'm starting to pay the normal payments this month and I really dont want to go back to SC and ask them to amend again then notify the creditors again, chicken I know, but I dont want to rock the boat. I should have asked SC when I was doing the updated I&E but I just couldnt do it.

Does anyone know if I can I self manage this one creditor using the NECCAB documents or would I have to self manage all of the creditors ?

Help

sourcrates

Max_and_sasha wrote: »

“
Hi everyone

I am on a dmp with baines and ernst and I have finally plucked up the courage to dump them, my wife and I are going to do our own dmp saving us £50 per month that baines and ernst were charging us,

1, How do I go about ditching them, is there anything specific we should state in the letter?

2, What should we expect back from them and what reaction do you think we'll get from them?

3, What should we expect from our creditors, there are 7 of them?

Thank you and I look forward to any advice we recieve

Hi,

Have answered your questions on your other post.