DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

Time_To_Change

Just wondering if anyone had any advice for my post from yesterday? I have copied it in below. Many thanks.

Hi all hope everyone had a good xmas. Just after a bit of advice. I had a call from Tesco bank a couple of weeks ago to say my 2 accounts are due for review. I told them I would send out an updated SOA and payment offer which i done straight away. They said my account has been put on a 30 day hold while i sort this out. I have yet to hear anything back from them and was wondering if I should still make my regular payments I have been making for the last year which will be due tomorrow or should I just wait to hear back from them before making any further payments? It would obviously be nice to have the extra money spare after xmas but I am not sure on how it works with a review. Just wondering what other peoples thoughts/experience is with this. Many thanks.

sourcrates

Time_To_Change wrote: »

I have yet to hear anything back from them and was wondering if I should still make my regular payments I have been making for the last year which will be due tomorrow or should I just wait to hear back from them before making any further payments? It would obviously be nice to have the extra money spare after xmas but I am not sure on how it works with a review. Just wondering what other peoples thoughts/experience is with this. Many thanks.

Just use your own discretion, if the money would be handy, you keep it, your not tied to any regualr monthly agreement in a DMP its an informal arrangement after all.

Paulapips

Hi, hope this ok to ask,
Just setting up a dmp with StepChange, £78,000 unsecured debt, credit cards and loans.... brought a house 15yrs ago interest only, struggled from day one, never had savings and lived month to month, various pay decreases, problem after problem, ended up using cc to pay for fuel and food, all came to a head last month. Tried to sell house as there’s £35,000 equity but nothing is selling round here, tried to remortgage but obviously that was a no go.... in ten years we will have to sell regardless....
Anyways... StepChange are in a hurry to start payments..
After reading so many stories on here, I really need an emergency fund, how do I do this? Do I ask StepChange to wait a few months or will they wash their hands of me?
Now also it seems it’s better to have the accounts defaulted, how do I do that? Do I just not make payments? Do I contact them? So far I’m on the second month of breathing space. I just want to make sure I do this right.
My poor mental health is taking a battering, doesn’t help that my father passed away in October, seems like a lot coming down at once.
(Also side note this debt has amassed over a 15 year period, new boiler, new fence, fixing things, it’s just so much)
Any advice would be greatly received x

Willing2Learn

Paulapips wrote: »

Just setting up a dmp with StepChange, £78,000 unsecured debt, credit cards and loans.... brought a house 15yrs ago interest only, struggled from day one, never had savings and lived month to month, various pay decreases, problem after problem, ended up using cc to pay for fuel and food, all came to a head last month. Tried to sell house as there’s £35,000 equity but nothing is selling round here, tried to remortgage but obviously that was a no go.... in ten years we will have to sell regardless....
Anyways... StepChange are in a hurry to start payments..
After reading so many stories on here, I really need an emergency fund, how do I do this? Do I ask StepChange to wait a few months or will they wash their hands of me?
Now also it seems it’s better to have the accounts defaulted, how do I do that? Do I just not make payments? Do I contact them?

Hi,

An EF is an essential component of any successfully managed budget. Your EF is there for all the unknown expenses that WILL occur whilst on your debt-busting journey. To start an EF, you just delay the start date of the DMP for six months, so you can save up the money that would ordinarily go toward your debt repayments. That way you will have a nice little pot to fall back on.

The other reason to delay things for six months is so that your creditors default all your accounts nice and early. Defaults mean frozen interest and fees, with the added benefit of your credit file getting 'cleaned up' much sooner. The 'breathing space' that the delay gives you will be good for your emotional health too.

There is no requirement to let your creditors know. But I always suggest people write to their creditors, stating that there will be a six month delay whilst you seek advice. It just keeps them updated. Whether you send out letters or not, you will still get bombarded with the auto-generated letters. And don't forget to give SC a call, to let them know you will be back in touch with them in May/June time, with a view to starting the DMP at that time.

Paulapips

Thank you so much for explaining this, there’s so much jargon around I get lost in all the different terms.
It’s makes it a little bit clearer now, thank you for taking the time to respond to me x

User_060921

This is the mistake i made -not stopping payments for 4-6 months before starting my DMP.

I think I will do this now, as although it will no doubt frustrate the people i owe money too, i need to be better prepared.

debtfreegirluk

Hello!
Been plodding along on my DMP (self managed) for a while now.
I’m nowhere near paying anything off but had a question - i keep reading the defaults etc fall off my credit file after 6 years, is that still the case if you have amounts outstanding? Will my credit score improve even though I still owe the debts?
Thanks

sourcrates

debtfreegirluk wrote: »

Hello!
Been plodding along on my DMP (self managed) for a while now.
I’m nowhere near paying anything off but had a question - i keep reading the defaults etc fall off my credit file after 6 years, is that still the case if you have amounts outstanding? Will my credit score improve even though I still owe the debts?
Thanks

Defaults drop off your file after 6 years, no matter what.
Credit scores are made in the fiction factory, so ignore them, concentrate on having a good credit history.

ditty1234

Hi all happy MMXX.
I have been on a DMP w stepchange for about 6 month now and now that things are ticking along I want to send off for CCA's - one of my CC's are from 207 or something - it has already been defaulted, sold off and i think there is a chance it is unenforsable, and it is about a third of my debt. Currently my DMP is running 16 years due to low income - so that would make a massive difference. Also I am super frustrated as I have 2 accounts w HSBC that are not defaulted. Each is about £900 and one was an over draft and one was a loan and I'm paying £8 and £16 on them every month. They won't default when I called them, yet the listing on the credit report just says 4 and 6 month late, which now bothers me more than the defaulted accounts.

So I want to stop payments and get them to default and get the CCA's. If I stop with Stepchange can I go back to them? Also I have lost my EF as my car has spent the whole year breaking down.

Would I be OK to stop with Stepchange and then go self managed? I find this scary as I am not the most organised person. I don't have any F and F fund, so If debt in unenforcable do I just stop paying it or just pay £1 a month to shut them up?

Paulapips

Paulapips wrote: »

Hi, hope this ok to ask,
Just setting up a dmp with StepChange, £78,000 unsecured debt, credit cards and loans.... brought a house 15yrs ago interest only, struggled from day one, never had savings and lived month to month, various pay decreases, problem after problem, ended up using cc to pay for fuel and food, all came to a head last month. Tried to sell house as there’s £35,000 equity but nothing is selling round here, tried to remortgage but obviously that was a no go.... in ten years we will have to sell regardless....
Anyways... StepChange are in a hurry to start payments..
After reading so many stories on here, I really need an emergency fund, how do I do this? Do I ask StepChange to wait a few months or will they wash their hands of me?
Now also it seems it’s better to have the accounts defaulted, how do I do that? Do I just not make payments? Do I contact them? So far I’m on the second month of breathing space. I just want to make sure I do this right.
My poor mental health is taking a battering, doesn’t help that my father passed away in October, seems like a lot coming down at once.
(Also side note this debt has amassed over a 15 year period, new boiler, new fence, fixing things, it’s just so much)
Any advice would be greatly received x

Willing2Learn wrote: »

Hi,

An EF is an essential component of any successfully managed budget. Your EF is there for all the unknown expenses that WILL occur whilst on your debt-busting journey. To start an EF, you just delay the start date of the DMP for six months, so you can save up the money that would ordinarily go toward your debt repayments. That way you will have a nice little pot to fall back on.

The other reason to delay things for six months is so that your creditors default all your accounts nice and early. Defaults mean frozen interest and fees, with the added benefit of your credit file getting 'cleaned up' much sooner. The 'breathing space' that the delay gives you will be good for your emotional health too.

There is no requirement to let your creditors know. But I always suggest people write to their creditors, stating that there will be a six month delay whilst you seek advice. It just keeps them updated. Whether you send out letters or not, you will still get bombarded with the auto-generated letters. And don't forget to give SC a call, to let them know you will be back in touch with them in May/June time, with a view to starting the DMP at that time.

Hey everyone advice needed,

Now regarding defaults, I want that done ASAP as a couple of creditors said that interest won’t stop whilst in a dmp,
Do I tell the creditors I’m going to wait six months before starting a dmp.?
Do I literally ignore all letters until defaulted?
Say if one defaults in three months but the others take longer to default (11 creditors in total) do I start paying token payments to the ones that defaulted until they all have?
Sorry if these seem like stupid questions but I’ve literally no clue.
I’ve contacted them all asking for breathing space but that stops in ten days. Although Paypal credit have ignored the breathing space and continually ring me and keep adding charges. Which I suppose I should get used to.
Can I ask my creditors to only contact me via email or post? My mental state would suffer more if I had continuous phone calls.
Also I’m super worried about someone coming to the door demanding money. Think that would send me over the edge to be honest all our debts are credit cards and two loans, but really worried about someone coming to the door. I’m not sleeping. I need advice. Please help a gal out x anyways thanks in advance for your time if you made it this far we’ll done as I tend to ramble on x