Giving you an answer - close to debt crisis and seeking advise

moneyislove

I looked at your site MSE for one on one money help. I read i could get help from CCCS, National Debtline or CAB (look under the page Debt Councelling: where to get one on one help. I rang CCCS as your site recommends and I just want to mention to people who are going down this route to really ask questions.

I watched your MSE video about debt crisis and decided i wasnt in debt crisis but came in very close to being so. I rang CCCS for advise and they were really helpful. I went away and filled in the forms they sent me and got everything ready they requested and then I rang to ask them to just go over it all with me again as its quite overwhelming.

I asked this question " By making payments through CCCS how does this effect my credit rating?"

It wasnt until then when the nice lady on the phone got a bit humpty that she mentioned each payment, each month shows up on my credit report as though I have missed a payment.
So for the 36 months I was to be paying off my debts through CCCS it would appear as though for the 36 months I was missing my payments which would be kept on credit rating reports for 7 years.

This is just a word of warning! as its something that wasn't explained upfront.
This is just what happened to me, they may work for you. I have managed to take my debts into my own hands by being disciplined and focussed and am seeing a way forward to get myself out of debt. I hope this information may help someone.

newlywed

I have been on a DMP with CCCS for 6 months now.

Not every creditor will list your payments as "missed". Only one of mine has (they've given me a default on the credit report). One has marked it as "under arrangement". One just shows each payment as "late".

One has left it showing payments on time as agreed and has promised no further action if my DMP payments remain the same.

To be honest, I needed to do a DMP as I really was in a crisis. Best thing I ever did was contact CCCS. I couldn't sort it on my own - I tried lots of the tips here but I was already much too much in debt.

The stress it put me under - I don't want any more credit for a very very long time - so why should I worry what my credit score is?

Broken_hearted

It would have seemed obvious if you wern't meeting your payments then it would effect your credit. I'm sorry you feel it wasn't explained.

Kevicho

I think this is a small price to pay to avoid reposession or a million other ways the banks and CC companies will try to screw you

Miss_Marple_2

My DMP is with Payplan (not that it makes an difference with this issue) and when I checked my credit file, although it had that I was in an arrangement, each creditor also had it marked down as my having made payments, and not that I had missed payments.

I think it depends how much of the payment you are making. the lady at Payplan told me that as long as you were paying over 50% of the minimum payments, not many would put you in default. Only one of my creditors did this - all the others look very nice & green on my credit file.

Like Kevicho said, though, this is the price we pay. What's the alternative ? If we can't pay our creditors, I think it is reasonable that this is recorded on our credit files, provided the information is correct

Jacks_xxx

:wave: Hiya hon,

It doesn't necessarily work like that.

Lenders vary in the way that they note your status on your credit report, but yes you will have defaulted on the loans when you enter a DMP because you will be paying less than the originally agreed payments.

But on the whole people only enter a DMP when they can't make the payments and defaulting on the loan is inevitable anyway.

If it's possible for you to pay your debts just by being more disciplined then a DMP with CCCS or Payplan is not necessary or advisable.

But if it's a choice between DMP, bankruptcy or and IVA then a DMP with CCCS / Payplan is very often the best choice.

In my opinion...

Love Jacks xxx