DMP Mutual Support Thread - Part 12

DMP_Tiger

January2015 wrote: »

When I started my DMP, I raided my credit cards by drawing cash out wherever I could. Yes it raised the debt balance but it gave me a start to my emergency fund. The debt balance went up a bit, but none of my creditor ever commented. I did what I needed to just to survive at the beginning of my DMP.

I did this too and the Credit Card fraud department phoned me up because I'd never withdrawn cash on my CC before. They thought my card had been stolen because I did the maximum cash withdrawal 4 days in a row.

I thought I was going to be in big trouble but the creditor in question have been fine about my DMP and haven't mentioned the cash withdrawal

Billy12345

January2015 wrote: »

Hi :wave:

Yes, when I went self managed I wrote to all my creditors and advised them I would be paying £1 per month until xx/xx/xxxx, and subsequently would be paying £xx.xx from xx/xx/xxxx.

Essentially, I sent them an income and expenditure statement which showed them what I could afford to pay, but told them I would be paying £1 a month for the first 3 months and would start full DMP payments after that. I didn't ask, I just told them this is what would be happening.

I didn't show a shortfall which meant I could only afford £1 each - the I&E statement showed what I could actually afford. I didn't mention an emergency fund - I let them work out for themselves why I was only going to pay £1 per month.

I did take the opportunity when going self managed to really re-visit my budget. I almost halved what I had been paying through SC. Not one creditor queried why there was such a drop in the available funds.

All were fine with it. Go for it :beer:

Thanks January2015, your advice is awesome as always. Wasn't sure what the creditors would say about the token payments once a default has been registered but from reading the forum they don't seem to give a monkeys. NEDCAB site here I come....... :T

January2015

January2015 wrote: »

When I started my DMP, I raided my credit cards by drawing cash out wherever I could. Yes it raised the debt balance but it gave me a start to my emergency fund. The debt balance went up a bit, but none of my creditor ever commented. I did what I needed to just to survive at the beginning of my DMP.

DMP_Tiger wrote: »

I did this too and the Credit Card fraud department phoned me up because I'd never withdrawn cash on my CC before. They thought my card had been stolen because I did the maximum cash withdrawal 4 days in a row.

I thought I was going to be in big trouble but the creditor in question have been fine about my DMP and haven't mentioned the cash withdrawal

We do what we need to at what is probably the most stressful time of our lives - worrying about keeping up payments, worrying if a DMP is the right thing to do, how will we manage if we have no access to credit cards anymore (which most of us have been using just to get by at this point).

Don't feel guilty if you have to raid cash from credit cards to help you get started on a DMP. Only you have to know about it, you don't even have to admit it on this forum.

Needs must, sometimes

sara2018

Hi motivated
I have just had my DMP activated and wondering how long it takes before you hear from the creditors. I am so hoping they will all agree to the plan and to suspend any further interest but I don't think life is that easy somehow.
I want to feel the relief that everyone else speaks about.

Willing2Learn

Hi Sara2018,

Your creditors don't have any other realistic option, except to accept the DMP. You may still get computer generated letters, but you can just ignore them since your DMP provides the creditors with a repayment plan.

Steff90

Hello everyone

I'm back...again :rotfl:

I mentioned in an earlier post I was thinking about entering a trust deed as this was recommended to me by Payplan. A DAS was also one of the options.
After speaking to a trust deed advisor on another forum I've been told a DAS isn't much different and is a better choice as it isn't a form of insolvency. It would take me 7 months more on a DAS to pay off my debt but in the long run this doesn't make much difference to me.

I just wondered if anyone else had any experience of being in a DAS? If not are there any threads on here or elsewhere on the internet to give me some advice?

Thanks again as always

stuart0161

Hello. I’m new to this forum, but have read many of the excellent informative pieces of advice and support that have been posted. I am (take a deep breath…) £51000 in debt. I have been in denial about it up until just recently, but I have decided enough is enough and I must do something about it as I am starting to sink. I’ve cut up all of my cards, and I do know that I want to have a DMP with Step Change, but I do have a question before I start on my DMP journey (apologies if this has already been asked and answered before). I have stopped all of my direct debits to my creditors and have set up another bank account. My question is regarding the Emergency Fund. I have done what January2015 advised – I’ve stopped the payments and written to creditors. The question is, how long can I stop paying them before the DMP begins? I am sure I have read somewhere that it is 30 days? I was actually hoping for longer than that in order to build up an Emergency Fund. If I wanted to make it longer than 30 days should I offer token payments? Thank you in advance for your advice.

coolcait

Steff90 wrote: »

Hello everyone

I'm back...again :rotfl:

I mentioned in an earlier post I was thinking about entering a trust deed as this was recommended to me by Payplan. A DAS was also one of the options.
After speaking to a trust deed advisor on another forum I've been told a DAS isn't much different and is a better choice as it isn't a form of insolvency. It would take me 7 months more on a DAS to pay off my debt but in the long run this doesn't make much difference to me.

I just wondered if anyone else had any experience of being in a DAS? If not are there any threads on here or elsewhere on the internet to give me some advice?

Thanks again as always

Hi Steff

There are a few threads on MSE about DAS - if you use the advanced search you can find them - along with a lot of threads about the DAS insurance company and random bursts of German

You say that a DAS would only take about 7 months more than a trust deed. Your creditors would have to freeze interest and charges and couldn't take legal action against you whether you're in a DAS or a trust deed.

The big difference is that - as you now know - DAS isn't insolvency. A trust deed is.

If you don't need to declare yourself insolvent, why do it?

The big debt charities like StepChange and Christians against Poverty will help you with DAS free of charge. So do some local charities - often housing related - plus local CABs and council money advice teams.

Hope this helps.

sourcrates

stuart0161 wrote: »

Hello. I’m new to this forum, but have read many of the excellent informative pieces of advice and support that have been posted. I am (take a deep breath…) £51000 in debt. I have been in denial about it up until just recently, but I have decided enough is enough and I must do something about it as I am starting to sink. I’ve cut up all of my cards, and I do know that I want to have a DMP with Step Change, but I do have a question before I start on my DMP journey (apologies if this has already been asked and answered before). I have stopped all of my direct debits to my creditors and have set up another bank account. My question is regarding the Emergency Fund. I have done what January2015 advised – I’ve stopped the payments and written to creditors. The question is, how long can I stop paying them before the DMP begins? I am sure I have read somewhere that it is 30 days? I was actually hoping for longer than that in order to build up an Emergency Fund. If I wanted to make it longer than 30 days should I offer token payments? Thank you in advance for your advice.

Hi,

Take as long as you like, the debt collection process is not fast, it’s got to go through numerous stages, it can take years, so a few months is nothing.

Just remember to keep your creditors informed of what you are doing, that will keep the calls and letters to a minimum.

Also with the new data protection rules, you can specify how your creditors can contract you, most opt for contact in writing only, I see no reason to be any different.

MK-4

sara2018 wrote: »

Hi motivated
I have just had my DMP activated and wondering how long it takes before you hear from the creditors. I am so hoping they will all agree to the plan and to suspend any further interest but I don't think life is that easy somehow.
I want to feel the relief that everyone else speaks about.

Hi Sara,
I am not the expert on here but have been with StepChange for 5 months now. It is hard to believe that it has been so easy, and why I did not do this years ago.
None of my creditors are adding interest and no nasty letters, just normal computer generated ones.
Some defaults have come through but that is a good thing.
The emergency fund is crucial though.
The relief started a little at the beginning but is better day by day with not having to worry constantly on how to pay the debts.
Most people seem to have occasional hiccups, but I have not had any yet.
Welcome and good luck.