DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

Sunday_reader

Hello everyone, 

I have been visiting the debt forum for a while and now I have worked out a plan for my outstanding debts. There are couple of pieces of advice I urgently need before I finalize my letters to debt companies.

first of all, due to my oversight, I completely missed a few letters from one of the creditors and now I have a CCJ sitting in front of me. I think I am in a real mess.

I have a total of 4 debts, just over £10k, for which I have put together a payment plan that should have it cleared in 16 months. Not too long ago I got a new job after completing my studies which have increased my income and so I am in the position to tackles this headstrong. I have £1400 in my savings for the emergency fund and budgeted a healthy amount for each month's expenditure. I have also left a small buffer each month in case something unexpected happens - which if I don’t spend I will save. 

I have a couple of questions before I send off the letters:

• CCJ - for my largest debt of £4900 - am I ok to send a payment plan directly to the best agency or do I need to contact the court as well?
• Is it ok to set up a payment plan via their website or doing it by letter is better?
• the smallest debt - £556 - dept agency offered 30% discount to settle - I can settle this one go and be done with. 
• is there anything else I am missing? Does this plan make sense?

I am attaching my calculations to this spreadsheet - let me know if you have any other suggestions, I am in a bit of a panic and I am afraid I can get something wrong. 

Many thanks and looking forward to your advice

Suseka97

Time_To_Change said:

Suseka97 said:

Time_To_Change said:

Hi all just have a question regarding a recent CCA request I sent to PRA for a barclaycard account opened in 2009. I sent the request a few weeks ago and received a letter a week later saying they were looking into my request. I had another letter today saying they have attached the paperwork received so far but deem the debt as unenforceable but will be in touch if they receive any further information. There is a letter attached from barclaycard with some general terms and conditions which goes on to say they have satisfied a section 78 CCA. I am not really sure what this means so am a bit confused what they have sent me if PRA are saying the debt is unenforceable. I am fully expecting them to come up with the relevant paperwork eventually as the card was only opened in 2009 but just wondering what I should do in the meantime? Should I reply or just sit and wait. I was thinking of just paying £10 monthly token payments instead of the £80 I currently pay to keep them from harassing me. Just wondering how everyone else would approach this. It is one of my largest debts so if it did turn out to be unenforceable that would be great. Thanks.

If you have something from PRA saying that they deem the account to be currently unenforceable, then just take that as read. It's a standard type of letter and they may dig something up eventually, but in the meantime - just stop paying and put that money aside for possible F&Fs further down the line.  They will write from time to time - usually in the form of a statement showing the outstanding balance - but it won't be a demand for payment.  Eventually you may find they start offering you discounts, as time passes by.  If you think about it, the original paperwork is over 10 years old and often when debts are sold on - there is little to no paperwork exchanged between the OC and purchaser. Which is good news in your case, or so it seems

Thanks for your reply. Would you not bother paying anything at all? I didnt really want to deal with the hassle from them as I am self managing my creditors so was going to offer them a £5 or £10 a month payment. Would I need to write to them and tell them I am not going to make any payments or be reducing it? Thanks again.

In this case I would stop paying, yes  - in fact, have done exactly that on getting a similar response to my CCA requests to PRA. I wrote and thanked them for looking into the matter and said that I would now be focussing on my enforceable debts, but would be happy to re-enter into an agreement at some point in the future.  Now that was something like 2 years ago and I've just sat on them waiting for offers of a discount I'm  happy with.  There are others who simply stop paying and walk away completely - but I'm planning to clear the balances eventually (this year most likely).  For me the reason is so I can draw a line under it and not worry that they may eventually dig something up.  Even if they did, I'd just pay a monthly amount I'm happy with - this type of thing no longer worries me.  

Suseka97

Girl_unknown said:

Hello
If I was to be made redundant (there appears to be a high chance it will happen before I get chance to find another job) I know I should reduce my dmp payments while looking for work to make the redundancy money last as long as possible just in case I can't get another job straight away, I have worked out with how I'm paid now I'll have 2 to 3 months before I run out of money i currently pay £348 a month towards the dmp through stepchange, but how much should I try stretch it out for?

If it were me, then I would put my DMP on hold until I found alternative employment.  I'd just let SC know and would put aside any redundancy monies for household bills etc. I really hope that if you are made redundant you will find another job swiftly, but it's an unknown and that redundancy payment is there to ensure you have sufficient funds to live on whilst looking for work. But its really up to you - of course you could simply pay them token payments if you want to keep paying something.

Suseka97

tinkerbell73 said:

Hello everyone I was a poster a long time ago - split with my ex husband (11 years ago ) he left me in £40k of debt, arranged my DMP through PayPlan - I pay each month and it is going down very slowly. But still have  years to go (about £24k ) life has got a little easier a the kids have grown and now I want to see if there is anyway of speeding up the process maybe trying to save for paying off some ( I have had  a few 50percent offers but just don’t  have the cash and Paypaln insist all debts are treated equally )  should I be sending CCA letters most of the debts are pre 2005 and some started cards were started in early 90’s ,what do they mean if the debt comes back as unenforceable  where do I start managing my own plan ? Can I take it back from PayPlan - don’t get me wrong it is working but I can’t see an end to it and I want to be debt free before I retire ( currently 47)

Firstly well done for clearing 16k worth of debt.  If this were me I'd definitely go self-managed and send off CCA requests, especially given the age of your debts.  The fact you've been getting discount offers already suggests that whomever holds that debt knows that they are unenforceable.   To self-manage you just need to tell Payplan that's what you intend to do - make a note of all your DCA details (account numbers, balances etc.) cancel your DD payment to Payplan (you probably need to give them a months notice) - then write to your creditors with the CCA requests and sit back and wait.  Put the money you would have paid into the DMP aside and see what happens.  Don't expect quick responses from your DCAs, this process can take months.

NewHappyDad

Hi All, looking for any advice on remortgaging whilst on a DMP. I've been on a DMP since Apr last year paying £450pm to a debt combined of 2 loans, 2 credit cards and 1 overdraft, currently amounting to £10k. There has been no failures of payments towards the DMP since it began, however I have arranged a 2 month (this month and last) lower payment with Stepchange which was put in place to allow some breathing room whilst I was hit with an unexpected council tax bill - which I had no option but to pay within 2 months.
My current mortgage (not covered under DMP) is on a fixed term ending in June this year, (no missed payments - £126k outstanding). I would be looking to remortgage in June and pulling some equity out of the house to pay off the whole of my outstanding DMP in one go, plus allowing some left over equity (cash) for some additional home improvements. My house is currently worth approx £220k after a recent extension was made to the property. I would like to understand the possibility of me being accepted for a re-mortgage under my current situation, (credit rating showing v.poor and on DMP) and whether anyone has had any experience or tips they can share of how to get a mortgage offer in similar circumstances to mine. I am worried i'm going to get stuck in the cycle of not being able to clear the debts as I cannot establish a route to the equity within my property.... Appreciate any advice on offer! 

Time_To_Change

In this case I would stop paying, yes  - in fact, have done exactly that on getting a similar response to my CCA requests to PRA. I wrote and thanked them for looking into the matter and said that I would now be focussing on my enforceable debts, but would be happy to re-enter into an agreement at some point in the future.  Now that was something like 2 years ago and I've just sat on them waiting for offers of a discount I'm  happy with.  There are others who simply stop paying and walk away completely - but I'm planning to clear the balances eventually (this year most likely).  For me the reason is so I can draw a line under it and not worry that they may eventually dig something up.  Even if they did, I'd just pay a monthly amount I'm happy with - this type of thing no longer worries me.  

Sorry for all the questions but I have now had another letter from them today saying we have enclosed copy documents as requested and please contact our office within 10 working days to arrange settling the balance. It looks like the documents are just a load of fairly recent statements but I have no idea if this now makes the debt enforceable. They have not said the debt is enforceable now but just said about contracting them to make payment. This has left me pretty confused now.

Willing2Learn

Time_To_Change said:

... I have now had another letter from them today saying we have enclosed copy documents as requested and please contact our office within 10 working days to arrange settling the balance. It looks like the documents are just a load of fairly recent statements but I have no idea if this now makes the debt enforceable.

A 'true copy' of your agreement must be readable.  It must also include:

• your name and address when the account was opened;
• the creditor’s name and address when the account was opened;
• the terms and conditions of the account at that time, including the cost of credit (the Annual Percentage Rate), when you have to make payments and your cancellation rights; and
• any other documents that were mentioned in the Terms and Conditions.

It does not require your signature.

Time_To_Change

Willing2Learn said:

Time_To_Change said:

... I have now had another letter from them today saying we have enclosed copy documents as requested and please contact our office within 10 working days to arrange settling the balance. It looks like the documents are just a load of fairly recent statements but I have no idea if this now makes the debt enforceable.

A 'true copy' of your agreement must be readable.  It must also include:

• your name and address when the account was opened;
• the creditor’s name and address when the account was opened;
• the terms and conditions of the account at that time, including the cost of credit (the Annual Percentage Rate), when you have to make payments and your cancellation rights; and
• any other documents that were mentioned in the Terms and Conditions.

It does not require your signature.

Thank you for your response. I will take a look through all the paperwork they have sent me again. I am just finding it all a bit confusing as the letter I received Saturday from pra said the debt was currently unenforceable even though it contained a letter from barclaycard with some terms and conditions attached saying they had satisfied my CCA request under section 78. I have now received some statements from PRA which date between Jan and November 2018 and a covering letter saying to contact them to arrange payment. Although they have not actually said the debt is now enforceable again the way their letter is worded makes it seem like it could be. Would there be somewhere I could send what I have recieved so far to check it out? Thanks again.

Willing2Learn

Time_To_Change said:

...Would there be somewhere I could send what I have recieved so far to check it out?

If you head over to the AllAboutDebt forum, there is a stickie thread in the "Unenforceable Credit Agreements" board.  The stickie thread is titled "Document & CCA Checking Facility".  You would need to email the unedited documents to them and they will give their opinion on whether the account is enforceable or not.  (Sorry, I cannot provide the direct link, but MSE does not allow links to the AAD forum). 

Time_To_Change

Willing2Learn said:

Time_To_Change said:

...Would there be somewhere I could send what I have recieved so far to check it out?

If you head over to the AllAboutDebt forum, there is a stickie thread in the "Unenforceable Credit Agreements" board.  The stickie thread is titled "Document & CCA Checking Facility".  You would need to email the unedited documents to them and they will give their opinion on whether the account is enforceable or not.  (Sorry, I cannot provide the direct link, but MSE does not allow links to the AAD forum). 
Thank you that's much appreciated