Switching to self managed DMP - quick question

DebtMagnet

Hi all

After several years of trying to stay afloat in an ocean of debt, we finally did the sensible thing and with help from this forum, we started a managed DMP in late 2013.

After all the initial worry and doubt I can honestly say it is the best thing we could have done and my only regret is that we didn't do it many years earlier.

Anyway we have now managed to half the total debt and as of the next few months, our total creditors will have also reduced to just 4 big ones.

Now over the years I have read lots about the for and against points for self managing and I think that with a few debts now being cleared, now is the perfect time to go for it.

The 4 creditors left are all debt companies who have bought/inherited the debts from the original creditors. As such they are all defaulted accounts and no interest is added. Since they took the debts on the interaction with them has been minimal and they all appear to be pretty content with what we are able to pay them.

So my question is, now that I am planning on taking the DMP on myself, and considering that the only creditors are secondary debt companies, do I actually even need to go to the effort of doing all the usual formal DMP stuff like creating and providing them with a budget/financial statement?

I ask this because the way I see it is that with a few other debts finishing soon, and with me being able to apply the available funds more fairly than the split used by my DMP provider, they will all be instantly getting a larger payment towards the debt then they do now, and because there is seemingly no action they can threaten us with (default etc) as they have already done that, then genuinely, what power do they have to require any further details from us other than an acceptable offer of payment towards the debt?

To be clear, my sole intention with this is to still repay the debts and actually increase the payments to them, but I genuinely don't know if I need to provide all the formal detail that you need in a DMP when they have no doubt bought the debt for a fraction of the balance and are probably happy to get whatever they can?

If its just one of those things that you HAVE to do then so be it, but I genuinely don't know if I need to.

Any thoughts from you lovely people would be greatly appreciated before I bite the bullet and attempt to go it alone:eek:

Thanks
DM

fatbelly

I think it's seen as 'good practice'

You could try just telling them what you're paying. I suspect most will write back asking for income/expenditure but I've never tested it.

sourcrates

Providing evidence of your income/expenditure, by way of a budget, is normally how affordability is calculated by these companies.

Remember, your budget is your budget, you can manipulate it to whatever you want it to show, you are under no obligation whatsoever to provide a debt collector with any personal information at all, but as Fatbelly says, if you want a quiet life, it is considered good practice to share that information with them.

You can of course refuse, and to be honest, there is nothing the DCA can do to force you to comply, but you run the risk of them selling on the debt, and having to start all over again with another buyer, sometimes a more business like approach is best.

fatbelly

sourcrates wrote: »

Remember, your budget is your budget, you can manipulate it to whatever you want it to show, you are under no obligation whatsoever to provide a debt collector with any personal information at all

I think that's the key - to appear as if you are being open and reasonable. But to end up with the result you want.

What I often say to people (privately) is to start with the figure you want and then work backwards!

Putting a budget together doesn't take long, you are sending two pieces of paper instead of one, and it should get the job done faster.

DebtMagnet

So........

The very next day after my post above, I'm driving to work and the car decides to give up. Long story short is that the head gasket has gone and its not economical to repair.

Anyway that led to many days of trying to get a new banger car that would be reliable yet dirt cheap, while relying on lifts to and from work and trying to get to view cars...... and this was just one of a number of life events that has happened over the past few weeks, end result being that I put the whole self managed DMP on the back burner until I had more time and so I completely forgot I'd even asked the question above!!

So now things have calmed down and I'm back on it, I suddenly remembered my question and I just wanted to say thanks to both of you for taking time to reply.

I agree completely with all your advice and I do think that regardless of their actual rights, I would prefer to treat them fairly and in a business manner, just as I would expect them to treat me.

I'll take the plunge and see what happens!

Thanks again DM