DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

KimbullDF

Halfwaythere said:

Don’t worry a DMP is amazing. I started with 47k and now at 16k you can do it. Use these forums they are amazing, read and read and reach out for advice, there are some very learned, clever people on here willing to help, not judge and have been there themselves, good luck 

Was it as terrifying setting it all up as it feels right now? Just have images of coming home to stacks of letters and constant phonecalls. 
Also does know of a decent template letter that I can send to creditors to advice SC will be in touch and I will not be paying anything in the mean time, or do I literally just stop paying, feels incredibly wrong but what do I owe know, I'm in a s**t ton of debt !

ditty1234

Hi just want to say I finally posted my cca letters, got a letter from HS8C that I will get an answer to my complaint about non default within 8 weeks(taking their time) so have now addressed all aspects of my DMP, and even though I have lost a year in terms of defaults lots of positive things have happened in the mean time. And in November when I am looking to start my payments again (associate work hours is not paid out until then) I will hopefully know more where I'm at - paying the 2 bank defaults will be a priority and any enforceable credit card debts. I won't be doing F and F as will not have any lump sums for the foreseeable future. Anyways if you're out there just starting out @KimbullDF just hang in their, quote the old car breakdown to Stepchange and get your defaults sorted. The credit club is a good place to check for defaults. And get your EF up and running, the pence multiply once you get into the habit. As always thanks to @sourcrates and the other board guides and forumites on there for excellent advice.

Halfwaythere

Not sure about template but look on national debtline, Nedcab and debt camel they have tonnes of templates and resources. Learn from my mistake stop paying them so they default otherwise they put on AP markers forever which last for 6 years after you finish paying the debt. Please resist paying at first wish I took that advice. I imagined tonnes of letters and phone calls and trouble and I really didn’t get hardly anything just standard letters that come with the process, don’t be scared by default warning letters. I started with about 9 creditors and they all froze interest and kept it that way throughout (I started jan 2018). Also if phone calls unnerve you which they do with me, write to the companies and say you will only communicate via email or letter. I hated taking on the phone because I would just forget everything. There are Templates for that too. Anyway I don’t know much just my own experience but admin on here can answer detailed questions they are really good

sourcrates

KimbullDF said:

Was it as terrifying setting it all up as it feels right now? Just have images of coming home to stacks of letters and constant phonecalls. 
Also does know of a decent template letter that I can send to creditors to advice SC will be in touch and I will not be paying anything in the mean time, or do I literally just stop paying, feels incredibly wrong but what do I owe know, I'm in a s**t ton of debt !

Colletion letters are to be expected, as are phone calls, but you can specify how you wish to be contacted by creditors under GDPR rules, phone numbers can be blocked, letters are just recycle bin fodder, i cannot stress enough how uninportant all that really is in the long run, the collection process can take many months even years, nothing happens quickly, especially in todays current climate.

We have a number of letter templates in the sticky section at the top of this forum, however National Debtline has an ample supply also on its website.

Try not to stress, dealing with debt can be hard, but the mechanisims are in place to help you, best advice i can give you is try not to take it too seriously, and i don`t mean that flippantly, its only money, and the very worst a creditor can do for an unsecured debt, is obtain a county court judgement against you, which you repay via your DMP, not ideal, but not the end of the world either.

This forum has many pages of information, a very long read i grant you, anything you feel unsure about, just feel free to ask.

KimbullDF

sourcrates said:

KimbullDF said:

Was it as terrifying setting it all up as it feels right now? Just have images of coming home to stacks of letters and constant phonecalls. 
Also does know of a decent template letter that I can send to creditors to advice SC will be in touch and I will not be paying anything in the mean time, or do I literally just stop paying, feels incredibly wrong but what do I owe know, I'm in a s**t ton of debt !

Colletion letters are to be expected, as are phone calls, but you can specify how you wish to be contacted by creditors under GDPR rules, phone numbers can be blocked, letters are just recycle bin fodder, i cannot stress enough how uninportant all that really is in the long run, the collection process can take many months even years, nothing happens quickly, especially in todays current climate.

We have a number of letter templates in the sticky section at the top of this forum, however National Debtline has an ample supply also on its website.

Try not to stress, dealing with debt can be hard, but the mechanisims are in place to help you, best advice i can give you is try not to take it too seriously, and i don`t mean that flippantly, its only money, and the very worst a creditor can do for an unsecured debt, is obtain a county court judgement against you, which you repay via your DMP, not ideal, but not the end of the world either.

This forum has many pages of information, a very long read i grant you, anything you feel unsure about, just feel free to ask.

You've been an absolute god send reading your comments throughout this thread. I was freaking out reading the various stuff online not really understanding any of it, ever since reading your comments I feel so much more at ease about everything.
I know you have repeated this hundreds of times, but should I stop all my payments with immediate effect despite the DMP not yet being set up? And should I write to the creditors to advise of this or do I just pull the plug and let then figure it out? 
Thanks again 

sourcrates

KimbullDF said:

I know you have repeated this hundreds of times, but should I stop all my payments with immediate effect despite the DMP not yet being set up? And should I write to the creditors to advise of this or do I just pull the plug and let then figure it out? 
Thanks again 

You can write and advise them of your financial situation, tell them your seeking advice from stepchange, and it may take a while to assertain your position, you get 30 days grace min, in reality that can last a lot longer, you have to start thinking differently now, its best practice, to get all your accounts defaulted, so that interest stops, and cannot start again.

If they mark your file with "AP" markers (arrangement to pay) they stay on your file a full 6 years after you make your final payment, so potentially a very long time, in contrast a default will be gone in 6 years regardless of what you do.

It makes no difference to you who owns your debt, original creditors don`t hang on to delinquent accounts very long, they either pass them to a collector to manage, or assign (sell) them to a debt purchasing company.

There is a standard process to debt collection, creditors/debt collectors/debt purchasing companies all use very similar methods to contact you, usually a succession of phone calls, and a series of standard template letters/texts or emails, the law states if a company want to speak to you about a debt that is owed, they must write to you, so you can ignore calls/texts and emails, a letter you should take note of, but again, it depends on the contents, we can help with that.

So basically its really up to you what you do, i/we can tell you the pro`s and con`s of each way to deal with this, your much better off starting from a position of default, with a nice EM tucked away safely, than you are rushing into something you don`t understand, just because you may think its the right thing to do.

Stepchange are fantastic, but they are creditor funded, with a modus operandi of getting the debtor repaying their debts as quickly as possible, I prefer to take time out and even up the odds a bit before deciding on a course of action, we recomend others do the same.

19ryanh93

Hi All
me again sorry to be a pain. Wrote to PRA about getting a copy of my CCA and they said as it’s a current account (overdraft) such agreement isn’t in place and as such they can’t provide it. Is this true? And as they can not provide it is it still enforceable?

thanks

ryab

sourcrates

19ryanh93 said:

Hi All
me again sorry to be a pain. Wrote to PRA about getting a copy of my CCA and they said as it’s a current account (overdraft) such agreement isn’t in place and as such they can’t provide it. Is this true? And as they can not provide it is it still enforceable?

thanks

ryab

CCA surrounding overdraft debts can be complicated.

CCA does not normally apply to an overdraft except under certain very specific circumstances.

It only applies to certain agreements which have been renewed on an annual basis since 2012 i believe.

You would need specific advice from an expert, such as National Debtline on wether your account fell into this catagory or not.

natlie

Hi @KimbullDF I was in the exact same situation as you, I just went for it with the DMP and didn't wait for default, partially because my debt is hidden and I didn't want anyone finding out via the mail. I am two months in, three of my creditors defaulted me straight away. I already had an EF but SC allows you an amount to save.
I didn't speak to my creditors, SC handled all of that. I did speak to some of them after due to a few teething problems. Ive had one letter from each of them just saying that they accept my payments. 
I have to mention that with you Pay@al Credit debt they will close your normal Payp@l account too, this was a surprise to me and its been really difficult coping without Payp@l.
I have a diary Ive kept about my debts you can find it through my profile. 
Nat

scotty1971

Would I need to tell step change debt charity if I was going to make extra payments to a creditor?