DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

Brave_Up

Thank you both for your replies.  I'm going to sit down tonight and make a start. 

bluebell_on_track

Good morning, 
as you can see it’s 5am so I am up fretting again. I currently have a DMP with step change paying £330 a month. I want to go self managed and pay token payments because I left very little wiggle room, which is meaning I literally have nothing left each month. My debt is around £50k - all unsecured. 

I have a few with moorcroft, PRA and then a couple with the original lenders such as John Lewis and RateSetter. I also have a debt with PayPal credit that I didn’t put on the DMP. My query is this 
a) If I go self managed, will I be bombarded with letters every month? 

B If I stop paying PayPal credit, will they default me? 

C) What stage does it have to get to before people start sending bailiffs etc round as this terrifies me. 

Penguin_

HI Bluebell,

Going self managed was the best thing I ever did. I would let your DMP provider know you wish to do this & then write to each creditor & check firstly that they have a CCA to ensure they are enforceable. This could take a couple of months for them to provide, by which time you can set up a nice emergency fund using the money you'd usually pay the DMP provider.

Suseka97

bluebell_on_track said:

.... I have a few with moorcroft, PRA and then a couple with the original lenders such as John Lewis and RateSetter. I also have a debt with PayPal credit that I didn’t put on the DMP. My query is this 

a) If I go self managed, will I be bombarded with letters every month? 

B If I stop paying PayPal credit, will they default me? 

C) What stage does it have to get to before people start sending bailiffs etc round as this terrifies me. 

Going self-managed is really straightforward, just let your DMP provider know your intention and make a note of all your current balances and payment details.

You then write to your creditors and let them know that you are reviewing your situation and if you feel the need to explain you can say you've had unexpected expenses (car maintenance, household expenses, boiler breakdown - stuff like that).  I wouldn't say you want to build an emergency fund, personally.  Or say nothing and tell them you'll be in touch in x months time (give yourself at least 3 months grace, longer if they haven't defaulted you).

You will get letters, yes, but unlikely to be bombarded, but if you find that happens you can simply file them away in the recycle bin.  Most will simply acknowledge your letter, some might say that they want you to complete an I&E or they will write again in a month or ask you to update them in a month.  

Any creditor you stop paying may likely default and in truth, that's what you want PayPal credit to do- however some won't and those that don't are the ones you hold off making any arrangements to pay until they do.

As for 'sending in the bailiffs' that's really not something you need to concern yourself with at this point.  It's very rare for consumer debts to end up in court (which is what would need to happen before bailiffs can be appointed) and if a debt was heading in that direction you would be given notice of that intent and would be able to agree a payment plan to avoid that action.  If your concern is about debt collectors knocking on the door (who are not court appointed bailiffs), they have no more power than you or I and you would simply tell them to go away - but, again, I don't see that happening here.

Moveslikeagger

Bluebell. 

Nobody will send bailiffs. Get that out of your head and stop panicking. Stop paying those who have not defaulted until they do default you. Tell your creditors your situation and drop to token payments. I have been doing this for a year now and all creditors have been fine. 

bluebell_on_track

Penguin_ said:

HI Bluebell,

Going self managed was the best thing I ever did. I would let your DMP provider know you wish to do this & then write to each creditor & check firstly that they have a CCA to ensure they are enforceable. This could take a couple of months for them to provide, by which time you can set up a nice emergency fund using the money you'd usually pay the DMP provider.

Thank you penguin! That is very helpful advice. 

Mine at all quite recent debts so I’m guessing they will be enforceable but it doesn’t hurt for me to ask does it.  

debtfreeme2021

Hi all , I’ve been doing lots of reading on the previous posts and getting myself familiar with some of the lingo as I’m very much new to this . Always paid on time and was getting prepared to go down the step change route but after reading this page I have decided to go self managed. I’m not made any payments this month as had some car/house maintenance I needed to sort urgently . I’ve sent my first letters and started to receive letters chasing payment and late payment fees. I’m obviously playing the waiting game now until they default. I have seen reference to enforceable debts ? Are all enforceable ?? In terms of budget how much wriggle room should I allow ? This month I hope to stash some into my emergency fund and start building this . The cost of living is increasing , fuel , groceries etc do you budget for inflated living expenses ?  Thanks  

bon007

Hi 
I am in the process of setting up a DMP . I have started the process by stopping my payments. As I understand by reading through the forum you now wait for your accounts to default . I have 6 creditors in total and these are all unsecured as they are credit cards . My question is do I wait  for every account to default before I contact SC ? What happens if 4 out of the 6 default do I still wait or do I set up payments for the defaulted accounts . Now I have stopped the payment would I send a letter stating I am in financial difficulty and I will be in touch once the situation is clearer ? Sorry for the questions but I am a beginner and I am determined to get this right . 

Cooperblue43

Hi, I’m new and looking for some advice before starting my dmp.
 I have some smaller debts which I could clear but using the remaining credit on my credit card. So then its the same debt but not against so many different companies. Stepchange said it makes no difference to them but I’m wondering if it’s a good idea or to proceed with it all as it is. ?? 

Any help would be great 

thanks 

Marie 

Suseka97

debtfreeme2021 said:

Hi all , I’ve been doing lots of reading on the previous posts and getting myself familiar with some of the lingo as I’m very much new to this . Always paid on time and was getting prepared to go down the step change route but after reading this page I have decided to go self managed. I’m not made any payments this month as had some car/house maintenance I needed to sort urgently . I’ve sent my first letters and started to receive letters chasing payment and late payment fees. I’m obviously playing the waiting game now until they default. I have seen reference to enforceable debts ? Are all enforceable ?? In terms of budget how much wriggle room should I allow ? This month I hope to stash some into my emergency fund and start building this . The cost of living is increasing , fuel , groceries etc do you budget for inflated living expenses ?  Thanks  

Most debts will be enforceable, but over time some may become unenforceable for various reasons - it's worth having a read of this https://debtcamel.co.uk/ask-cca-agreement-for-debt which provides some very useful info on this topic.  Those that speak about their debts being UE will be either because they are statute barred, or. because they have sent a CCA request (usually to a debt purchaser) and the DP has been unable to provide the requisite documentation.

As for your budget, the beauty of being self-managed is you can make your budget fit your needs and you are not governed, as such, by a set of standards set by others in terms of what allowances you make for your living expenses.  Of course the trade off is that the less you set aside to pay the debts, the longer the DMP will last.  So its very much a personal choice that people have to make for themselves if they choose to go down the SM DMP route.