DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

19ryanh93

Hi All
Im currently in a DMP with stepchange as some people know with a rather substantial debt c.£35k and currently paying around £700 a month. somethings come up and now im not going to have that to pay and might have to reduce substantially, would stepchange be prepared to do that or not? Would i be better off self managing?

Thanks

TheWickerMan

sunshinevicky said:

So I’m just checking in really as this forum feels a bit like my safe place! After the initial period of having accounts on hold I’m now starting to hear a bit more from my creditors.... I’m doing my best to stick to my plan of not paying anything until they default me even though it is hard as part of me wants to get on with the DMP so I feel like I’m back paying what I owe BUT I know whilst I’m waiting for the defaults I’m saving my EF and the sooner the default comes the sooner the 6 year clock will start ticking!!! Reading through these posts I’ve today sent off CCA letters to all creditors... some are relatively new so not holding out much hope but my Very, Littlewoods, capital one and Vanquis accounts are all over 10 years old so hoping they may come back unenforceable.... then I will
be back on here to basically say... ermm what do I do now!!! 😂😂😂
Anyway two months after sending initial letters I’m starting to have less and less sleepless nights.... the worry is still there that hubby will find out but feel
like I’m finally admitting to my mess and taking a step forward! Thanks for listening!!! Xxx

I would stick to your guns for now, no matter how much your gut reaction is to start paying now. I'm further along the line - about 7 months since I stopped making payments and notified creditors, and I still haven't finalised anything with Stepchange yet. My issue is that some creditors have defaulted (and sold on debts to other companies) but a couple haven't defaulted yet - ideally I would like those final two to default, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold off now!

sunshinevicky

TheWickerMan said:

sunshinevicky said:

So I’m just checking in really as this forum feels a bit like my safe place! After the initial period of having accounts on hold I’m now starting to hear a bit more from my creditors.... I’m doing my best to stick to my plan of not paying anything until they default me even though it is hard as part of me wants to get on with the DMP so I feel like I’m back paying what I owe BUT I know whilst I’m waiting for the defaults I’m saving my EF and the sooner the default comes the sooner the 6 year clock will start ticking!!! Reading through these posts I’ve today sent off CCA letters to all creditors... some are relatively new so not holding out much hope but my Very, Littlewoods, capital one and Vanquis accounts are all over 10 years old so hoping they may come back unenforceable.... then I will
be back on here to basically say... ermm what do I do now!!! 😂😂😂
Anyway two months after sending initial letters I’m starting to have less and less sleepless nights.... the worry is still there that hubby will find out but feel
like I’m finally admitting to my mess and taking a step forward! Thanks for listening!!! Xxx

I would stick to your guns for now, no matter how much your gut reaction is to start paying now. I'm further along the line - about 7 months since I stopped making payments and notified creditors, and I still haven't finalised anything with Stepchange yet. My issue is that some creditors have defaulted (and sold on debts to other companies) but a couple haven't defaulted yet - ideally I would like those final two to default, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold off now!

Thanks for this WickerMan... makes me feel bit more positive knowing you are just a tad further along than me.... can I ask have you had a huge amount of contact from creditors over the last 7 months? Have many contacted via phone or mainly post? I have asked all to only contact via email or post but wondering if many actually stick to this? 

TheWickerMan

sunshinevicky said:

TheWickerMan said:

sunshinevicky said:

So I’m just checking in really as this forum feels a bit like my safe place! After the initial period of having accounts on hold I’m now starting to hear a bit more from my creditors.... I’m doing my best to stick to my plan of not paying anything until they default me even though it is hard as part of me wants to get on with the DMP so I feel like I’m back paying what I owe BUT I know whilst I’m waiting for the defaults I’m saving my EF and the sooner the default comes the sooner the 6 year clock will start ticking!!! Reading through these posts I’ve today sent off CCA letters to all creditors... some are relatively new so not holding out much hope but my Very, Littlewoods, capital one and Vanquis accounts are all over 10 years old so hoping they may come back unenforceable.... then I will
be back on here to basically say... ermm what do I do now!!! 😂😂😂
Anyway two months after sending initial letters I’m starting to have less and less sleepless nights.... the worry is still there that hubby will find out but feel
like I’m finally admitting to my mess and taking a step forward! Thanks for listening!!! Xxx

I would stick to your guns for now, no matter how much your gut reaction is to start paying now. I'm further along the line - about 7 months since I stopped making payments and notified creditors, and I still haven't finalised anything with Stepchange yet. My issue is that some creditors have defaulted (and sold on debts to other companies) but a couple haven't defaulted yet - ideally I would like those final two to default, but I'm not sure how much longer I can hold off now!

Thanks for this WickerMan... makes me feel bit more positive knowing you are just a tad further along than me.... can I ask have you had a huge amount of contact from creditors over the last 7 months? Have many contacted via phone or mainly post? I have asked all to only contact via email or post but wondering if many actually stick to this? 

Initially I had quite a bit of attempted contact by phone (despite requesting it in writing), but I didn't answer and it then quickly dwindled. I've had quite a few letters and a few e-mails from some creditors but little from others. I expect it may increase again now COVID situation is clearing slightly.

sunshinevicky

Today I received a letter to say my loan debt with Lendable had been sent to Moorcroft collections..... any advice on dealing with them? Does this mean my account will have been defaulted? Should I now contact Moorcroft and send them my offer of payment even though I don’t want to start paying for another two months? Are they likely to adhere to my request to only contact via post or email? Xxx

ditty1234

Hi just checking in with a question about my not defaulted HS8C loan - I sent them a letter last week asking for a default and they have now sent a letter about missing payments and a standard FCA arrears letter, previously I have called them when I have gotten this letter as that what they ask - but they have then not defaulted the loan ... should I just file and ignore and hope they will now default at least the loan?
I got an email from Wesc0t offering me 20 % off one of my old cc balances  - but I'm nowhere near being able to benefit from that. 
So sort of happy days - hope everybody is well.

Also: If I went self managed and switched the priority to paying off the two HS8C balances while I send for CCA's on the credit balances - will that be acceptable to the other creditors? Or do I have to pay with the same key as StepChange? I do want to pay the two bank balances as they are much less likely to be discounted later, I assume!
Or might they be sold off like the cc balances(once they are defaulted)?

ditty1234

sunshinevicky said:

Today I received a letter to say my loan debt with Lendable had been sent to Moorcroft collections..... any advice on dealing with them? Does this mean my account will have been defaulted? Should I now contact Moorcroft and send them my offer of payment even though I don’t want to start paying for another two months? Are they likely to adhere to my request to only contact via post or email? Xxx

You should get a letter form Moorcroft directly at some point! But at the moment they have just received your balance. Give them time to default your balance before you do anything, unless they call or email you! 

Suseka97

ditty1234 said:

Hi just checking in with a question about my not defaulted HS8C loan - I sent them a letter last week asking for a default and they have now sent a letter about missing payments and a standard FCA arrears letter, previously I have called them when I have gotten this letter as that what they ask - but they have then not defaulted the loan ... should I just file and ignore and hope they will now default at least the loan?
I got an email from Wesc0t offering me 20 % off one of my old cc balances  - but I'm nowhere near being able to benefit from that. 
So sort of happy days - hope everybody is well.

Also: If I went self managed and switched the priority to paying off the two HS8C balances while I send for CCA's on the credit balances - will that be acceptable to the other creditors? Or do I have to pay with the same key as StepChange? I do want to pay the two bank balances as they are much less likely to be discounted later, I assume!
Or might they be sold off like the cc balances(once they are defaulted)?

When it comes to SM arrangements, its really up to you how you want to run it.  There are no right or wrongs and you don't have to follow the methodology adopted by the likes of StepChange and/or Payplan.  You will likely get asked to provide the debt owner/s with an I&E, or some explanation as to why you have reduced a particular payment - but what you provide or say is really up to you.  
If there are some that simply will not default, and sadly I'm reading more frequently of the stubbornness of some creditors, then it makes sense to try and clear those as soon as possible, so that it doesn't impact on your credit file longer than necessary.  Of course I would still chase the defaults regardless of how you intend to proceed.  
Also when it comes to discounts - again, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how debt owners respond to offers.  Many will say that if you are only paying small amounts, or even tokens, and as such your payment plan is likely to extend for many years, then eventually those discounts will become more generous.  But sometimes a debt owner will hold out and not offer good discounts - ever!  
So my advice is to make a decision on how you want to run this and just follow it through - its your plan  

dfwb20

Hi everyone - another newbie here!
Thank you so much for all of the help & advice in this thread it has been extremely helpful. I am in the process of setting up a DMP with step change, just set up a clean bank account etc however the only thing I am unsure of is how to build my emergency fund. I have seen posts here suggesting to delay the DMP for 6 months to build up an EF and have accounts defaulted. Please can someone advise me how to do this? Do I send them a letter (also are there any templates for this available?) saying I am struggling and seeking advice and then just not pay them? Or is there a way to delay the DMP with step change? 

Thanks so much for the help in advance  

sourcrates

dfwb20 said:

Hi everyone - another newbie here!
 however the only thing I am unsure of is how to build my emergency fund. I have seen posts here suggesting to delay the DMP for 6 months to build up an EF and have accounts defaulted. Please can someone advise me how to do this?

You don`t pay your credit bill`s, its as subtle and as straightforward as that.

Ah you say, won`t they do horrible things to me, come and take my shackles, imprison my BMX bike, err, No, they won`t.

You must understand how debt collection actually works, its a very long process of calling folk, writing to them, that kind of thing, and can go on for years in a lot of cases, so we always advise you to obviously pay attention to what creditors are sending you, but stop your payments for a few months, in order to build up your fund.

Usually by the time you get around to starting the DMP, your accounts have hopefully defaulted, and may possibly have been sold on, or at least passed to a debt collector.

Once defaulted all charges and interest stop, forever, and you have a clear 6 year time scale to when your file will be rid of the negative information, so it benefits you in two ways.