DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

Suseka97

tonyace123 wrote: »

Hi all,I have not been on here for a while due to being in hospital for server depression but that's a different story,been on a dmp with sc for over a year everyone of my creditors have excepted my plan apart from Halix they stop interest for a while then start adding it again so I phone them and ask why it's not been put in default yet and not sold on they won't give me a straight answer it's there anything at all I can do as I can't face bailiffs or court I am at my wits end and sinking fast

I know sourcrates has provided his usual sage advice - but I just wanted to add to that. I had a debt with Hfx and they took longer than all the rest of my creditors to default. They did much the same as you're experiencing, stopping interest, adding interest blah...blah. I wrote a number of letters and managed to get interest refunded (back to the debt, not to me) and there was one time they sent me £50 compensation (go figure!). The debt eventually was sold off to Westcott (who now just manage debts rather than purchase) and I continued to pay them until the account was cleared.

There was a time during my DMP that I went through what I call 'dark times' and my mental health suffered. It was several months after the Hfx/Wescott debt was cleared that I was able to lift my head out of the fog and return to handling my DMP with vigour. So I thought, what the hell, and decided to send a letter to the (then) Managing Director of Hfx stating my case. I complained about the length of time it had taken them to default me, sent copies of all the previous letters I'd written and waited... a few weeks later I got a call from a senior manager (I think from their collections department) who, after a brief introduction, basically told me that he'd reviewed my case and agreed that they should have defaulted the account sooner and would be backdating the default to 2013 (when the DMP started). He confirmed the same in writing and a few months later when I was routinely checking my credit report I noted that the Hfx default had completed disappeared. So the account has no default marker and the status shows as 'late payment' with a zero balance.

So the moral of this story is to keep at it and hassle them -but above all, take care of your mental health and please put all worries of bailiffs or court action aside. If you get nowhere with letters (don't call) - then do as advised and stop paying them completely. They'll then hand the debt over to Wescott to collect and I found them very easy to deal with, and the bonus in that is interest and charges will finally stop.

sillybilly1983

I'm currently looking at new bank accounts in anticipation of starting a DMP.

bit if advice please.

so I choose one that I have no ties to debt wise. in my case I could go coop, satander, or HSBC. while I have currently not missed any payments on my current liabilities do I apply for just a normal current account, or is it recommended I just go for the basic ones?

also do I use their switching service or better to move the DD I want to keep myself? I've never switched accounts before so not sure how it works? the switching service says it will transfer incoming payments also which I guess will be my salary etc.

can you pick and choose what transfers?

thanks

[Deleted User]

sillybilly1983 wrote: »

I'm currently looking at new bank accounts in anticipation of starting a DMP.

bit if advice please.

so I choose one that I have no ties to debt wise. in my case I could go coop, satander, or HSBC. while I have currently not missed any payments on my current liabilities do I apply for just a normal current account, or is it recommended I just go for the basic ones?

also do I use their switching service or better to move the DD I want to keep myself? I've never switched accounts before so not sure how it works? the switching service says it will transfer incoming payments also which I guess will be my salary etc.

can you pick and choose what transfers?

thanks

Sorry, can't answer all your queries as I've had no experience of a switching service. What I've heard from others though is that if you apply for a regular account before your DMP starts and if your credit history is reasonable with no defaults or missed payments so far you may well be accepted. If you don't meet their criteria they will then offer you a basic account instead. Someone on here posted about this fairly recently so I'll see if I can find the post for you in a mo. I'm assuming that you don't use the bank's switching service but can't be sure:o

EDIT: Here ya go:beer:. Hope it helps.

DMP_Tiger wrote: »

Just opened up a savings account with Nationwide for my Emergency Fund/F & F's. I had already opened up a basic bank account with them, although it's actually a credit-checked Flexi-Plus account as my Credit File hasn't yet gone down the toilet.....no overdraft though.....

DMP_Tiger wrote: »

If your credit file is still ok at the mo, Nationwide do a Flex Plus current account and for a £13 per month fee, you get Travel insurance, car breakdown recovery and mobile phone insurance. If it's a joint account, you will both get car breakdown recovery.

They will check your credit file first but as long as it's in reasonable shape and you are not applying for an overdraft you should be ok.

You didn't mention Nationwide as one of your potential banks but I expect others do the same. I'm with Nationwide myself:j, sadly only qualified for a basic account:o, but can't recommend them highly enough.

sourcrates

Suseka97 wrote: »

. So I thought, what the hell, and decided to send a letter to the (then) Managing Director of Hfx stating my case. I complained about the length of time it had taken them to default me, sent copies of all the previous letters I'd written and waited... a few weeks later I got a call from a senior manager (I think from their collections department) who, after a brief introduction, basically told me that he'd reviewed my case and agreed that they should have defaulted the account sooner and would be backdating the default to 2013 (when the DMP started). He confirmed the same in writing and a few months later when I was routinely checking my credit report I noted that the Hfx default had completed disappeared. So the account has no default marker and the status shows as 'late payment' with a zero balance.

So the moral of this story is to keep at it and hassle them -but above all, take care of your mental health and please put all worries of bailiffs or court action aside.

These banks receive thousands of complaints every day, and with such numbers, they have to prioritise which get a general response, and which ones get looked at in more detail.


You should, as Suseka97 says, keep at them, keep writing, keep complaining, go straight to the top, be that itch they just cannot scratch, you will get listened to eventually.

[Deleted User]

I'm still paying token £1 to each creditor at the moment now I'm self-managing and trying to get a decent F&F pot together, None of the creditors have asked me to review or up the payments yet and it's gone on for months now:j


That is. except for Cabot who have bought my old RBS Mint card debt. Looks like Wescot are still managing it though as the letter I got from them yesterday came from Wescot. It mentions my agreed repayment plan is coming up for review, although it doesn't ask me for details or an updated I&E at this stage. It does say Cabot have allowed them to discuss a settlement discount although no figure was mentioned.


I'm tempted to start my F&F ball rolling with this one and contact them very soon. The problem is that I need to keep on with the £1 monthly payments for as long as possible (any updated I&E I would send will reflect this is all I can afford;)) so I'm a bit concerned that if I suddenly propose a settlement they'll think I have money available and demand more than £1 per month should their settlement figure be refused by me. Not sure how to go about this:o


It's my second smallest debt, only around £2500 so I should be able to clear this one first. Strange that £2500 is described as 'only' but after the mountainous debts I started my DMP with:o it seems like a drop in the ocean to me now.

NewbieNat

Hi,
I have made 2 token payments via SC. However I have just received a statement from Argos, saying I have missed 2 consecutive payments & to ring them to discuss. It does show my 2 token payments. It also says they could take legal action, etc.It also says next months interest is 0.00. but also that interest is 29.9% per annum! Do I need to ring them?

Many thanks
Nat

sourcrates

NewbieNat wrote: »

Hi,
I have made 2 token payments via SC. However I have just received a statement from Argos, saying I have missed 2 consecutive payments & to ring them to discuss. It does show my 2 token payments. It also says they could take legal action, etc.It also says next months interest is 0.00. but also that interest is 29.9% per annum! Do I need to ring them?

Many thanks
Nat

Nat, you know the answer to this one.


Send a letter, DO NOT PHONE, again re-iterating why they are receiving token payments.


You know the drill by now.

Maverick87

Feel like I don't have this in me or I need to do more reading up on this process. I've sent out all my letters/secure messages, cancelled all direct debits and already the first response has me confused.

My letter :

Dear Sir/Madam

Temporary payment arrangement - Card No: ****************

I have received advice from StepChange Debt Charity to help solve my debt problem, my stepchange Debt Management Plan reference number is XXXXXX.

I am in financial difficulties at the moment and not able to meet my normal monthly payments. I will make a monthly payment of whatever I can afford until more money is available.

As I will no longer have access to credit, Stepchange have advised me to build an emergency fund over the next few months before I begin the ongoing monthly payments. I will therefore be making a token payment of £1.00 per month for approximately 4 months. I will continue to follow the advice I receive from StepChange Debt Charity to improve my circumstances and find a more permanent solution to repay my debt. In the meantime, please consider stopping interest or any other charges on my account to help me during my financial difficulties.

To help me make payments to you, please confirm the bank account details so I can set up a standing order.

In order for me to keep proper records, please only contact me in writing, please do not telephone me. I will respond to your letters in a timely manner.

Yours faithfully,


Their reply :

Thank you for contacting us, I am sorry to hear you are experiencing financial difficulties at the moment. Please be assured I am here to help you at this difficult time.

I can see you have sought advice from StepChange Debt Charity and would like to make payments of £1 per month for the next four months. Before I can consider this I will need to ensure that the offer is affordable. To do this we will need a little more information from you.

Here is the information we will need:

* Your income and full expenditure details

* Confirmation that your household bills are up to date. This includes rent/mortgage and any utility (gas/electric/council tax) payments

* Balances of any other creditors including loans/Hire Purchase (HP)/secured loans/store cards and payment agreements made with them

* How long you expect your financial difficulties to last

If you prefer to send these details via email you can complete and download a form from mymoneysteps then email it to us at payment.solutions@barclaycard.co.uk]

You can also send details of your income and expenditure to the following address: Barclaycard, PO Box 5402, Northampton, NN4 1ZR. Please include details of whether your situation is likely to be short term or long term.

Once a mutual agreement has been reached, we can then advise you of the different ways you can make payment.

It is important to make you aware that if you enter into a payment plan with any debt management organisation, Barclaycard would register a default. As a responsible lender, we provide factual and up to date information to credit reference agencies. Any default, missed payments and repayment agreements will reflect on your credit file for six years. This may affect your ability to obtain future credit.

Your request not to be contacted by telephone has been noted. We will endeavour to contact you in writing provided you maintain payments under any agreement reached. If you fail to pay as agreed we may call you.

To help you I have placed your account on a 30 day hold which will end on 9 July. Interest, fees and calls from our Collections Department will be suspended until this date but arrears will still accrue for missed payments. It is important you contact us before this date to avoid fees and interest being reapplied to your account.

While the hold is in place you will continue to receive monthly statements requesting payment of the arrears and standard collection letters which will include Notice of Arrears.

In the meantime, please do not use your card to prevent any further financial difficulties. Any missed payments could result in your card facility being cancelled. This means that there would still be an outstanding balance to repay but you would no longer be able to use your card.

I hope this information has been of assistance to you.

Kind Regards,

I didn't think I would need to send them any kind of income/expense information or anything that they are asking for when doing this via stepchange.

As it stands I don't have payment details to send the token payment, which means I will need to respond. Do I ignore all their questions, ask them again for the payment details and advise that StepChange will be handling communications regarding my DMP once it begins in 4 months?

With the interest and fees on hold for a month and me wanting 4 months to build up my emergency fund, do I need to challenge that and ask for an extension?

NewbieNat

sourcrates wrote: »

Nat, you know the answer to this one.


Send a letter, DO NOT PHONE, again re-iterating why they are receiving token payments.


You know the drill by now.[/QUOTE

Quite right, sourcrates, I was having a mini wobble and needed telling:D It's all been going so smoothly so far. The DMP bubbles away quietly in the background, I almost forget about it. I'm not too bothered about the confusion over the interest, once this debt is sold on & defaulted the interest will stop. See, I do listen

Many thanks
Nat

January2015

See my comments in red in your original post below. Don't panic or feel too stressed - these are standard creditor questions.

Maverick87 wrote: »

Feel like I don't have this in me or I need to do more reading up on this process. I've sent out all my letters/secure messages, cancelled all direct debits and already the first response has me confused.

My letter :


Their reply :

Thank you for contacting us, I am sorry to hear you are experiencing financial difficulties at the moment. Please be assured I am here to help you at this difficult time.

I can see you have sought advice from StepChange Debt Charity and would like to make payments of £1 per month for the next four months. Before I can consider this I will need to ensure that the offer is affordable. To do this we will need a little more information from you.

Here is the information we will need:

* Your income and full expenditure details They will all ask for this - they need to make sure you can afford the payments offered. I have had creditors refuse my £1 token payment because my I&E evidenced I didn't have enough to pay it. Tell them you are working with stepchange to prepare this and will send it via SC as soon as it is sorted

* Confirmation that your household bills are up to date. This includes rent/mortgage and any utility (gas/electric/council tax) payments Household bills are priority bills and if you are in arrears with any, they will want to see you are paying toward clearing these before making allowance to pay your non-secured creditors

* Balances of any other creditors including loans/Hire Purchase (HP)/secured loans/store cards and payment agreements made with them This is to ensure you are treating all creditors equally and not prioritising one creditor over others. Again I would just say you are working with SC to collate this information and will send it through as soon as it is available.

* How long you expect your financial difficulties to last I would just respond that the decision to enter a DMP was not made lightly and after taking advice this is the only way you will be able to clear your debts.

If you prefer to send these details via email you can complete and download a form from mymoneysteps then email it to us at payment.solutions@barclaycard.co.uk]

You can also send details of your income and expenditure to the following address: Barclaycard, PO Box 5402, Northampton, NN4 1ZR. Please include details of whether your situation is likely to be short term or long term.

Once a mutual agreement has been reached, we can then advise you of the different ways you can make payment.

It is important to make you aware that if you enter into a payment plan with any debt management organisation, Barclaycard would register a default. As a responsible lender, we provide factual and up to date information to credit reference agencies. Any default, missed payments and repayment agreements will reflect on your credit file for six years. This may affect your ability to obtain future credit.

Your request not to be contacted by telephone has been noted. We will endeavour to contact you in writing provided you maintain payments under any agreement reached. If you fail to pay as agreed we may call you.

To help you I have placed your account on a 30 day hold which will end on 9 July. Interest, fees and calls from our Collections Department will be suspended until this date but arrears will still accrue for missed payments. It is important you contact us before this date to avoid fees and interest being reapplied to your account.

While the hold is in place you will continue to receive monthly statements requesting payment of the arrears and standard collection letters which will include Notice of Arrears.

In the meantime, please do not use your card to prevent any further financial difficulties. Any missed payments could result in your card facility being cancelled. This means that there would still be an outstanding balance to repay but you would no longer be able to use your card.

I hope this information has been of assistance to you.

Kind Regards,

I didn't think I would need to send them any kind of income/expense information or anything that they are asking for when doing this via stepchange.

As it stands I don't have payment details to send the token payment, which means I will need to respond. Do I ignore all their questions, ask them again for the payment details and advise that StepChange will be handling communications regarding my DMP once it begins in 4 months?

With the interest and fees on hold for a month and me wanting 4 months to build up my emergency fund, do I need to challenge that and ask for an extension?