DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

egnt

sourcrates said:

egnt said:

After much reading and motivation from this thread, I am about to begin a self managed DMP as I recently had to take a big drop in salary changing my job due to my health.

I will be sending my holding letters to all of my creditors tomorrow advising of my financial difficulties, asking them for up to date account details and finally asking them to remove my telephone number and only contact me by post.

However, I have already been on the phone to one of my creditors (this was before I came across this thread!) who I currently have a loan, credit card and overdraft with advising of my difficulties and they agreed to apply "breathing space" to all three of my accounts for 90 days - this 90 days comes to an end at the end of this month. Would you still send the holding letter to this creditor? If not would a different letter be better or just sit tight and wait for the default?

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your financial and health issues.

Lenders are required to try and help customers who fall into arrears as much as they can, its an FCA requirement, meant to benefit the customer, however, those entering debt management want their accounts defaulted quickly, so the more letters and information you send your creditor, they more they may feel obliged to "help" you, by holding your account etc.

This fly`s in the face of what you want to achieve, which is a default, the best way to get that default is to do nothing, and to say nothing, just let the usual collection process take its natural course.

By writing to, and updating the creditor, your just prolonging the time it takes for the relationship between you to sour, and for them to issue the default notice you are wanting.

Thanks for your reply sourcrates. 

So would I be better off just not sending any of the holding letters at all (and saving myself the cost of all the stamps!)? Would it leave me no worse off regarding my creditors? I assume they'd just treat me the same way just without the "breathing space" at the beginning that just delays the inevitable default? 

Moveslikeagger

Hi egnt..
When I first entered my self managed DMP I emailed all my creditors explaining my situation. Then I ignored until I got my defaults. Then I starting paying them what I can afford. 

Suseka97

Moveslikeagger said:

Hi egnt..
When I first entered my self managed DMP I emailed all my creditors explaining my situation. Then I ignored until I got my defaults. Then I starting paying them what I can afford. 

For all the recent newbies... this is pretty much it in a nutshell.

As @sourcrates states a few posts above this... the name of the game is to go silent and not get embroiled in any form of letter ping-pong, or telephone calls.  This new 'debt respite scheme' aka 'breathing space' is really for those who are in temporary/short term financial difficulty - not for the many who find themselves here seeking, or needing, a longer term informal solution.

It does go against the grain to not make your contractual payments, at least it did for me in the beginning, and there was a time for me that it carried a bit of a stigma and I felt ashamed to have found myself in that position.  But you soon realise it's just money and at the end of the day your creditors, and eventually the DCAs, just treat this as a business transaction.  Some may show sympathy for your situation, but in the main they are simply interested in you setting up some form of payment arrangement - whatever that may be. 

So if you find yourself heading down the DMP route, do so by remaining in control of your plan (its fine if folks need one of the debt charities to help out in the beginning) and do some of your own research (plenty of advice on the National Debtline website, or Debt Camel, or NEDCAB).  Knowledge is power and the more you understand the process the easier it will be and help ease the initial onslaught of worries and concerns.

iace53

Suseka97 said:

Moveslikeagger said:

Hi egnt..
When I first entered my self managed DMP I emailed all my creditors explaining my situation. Then I ignored until I got my defaults. Then I starting paying them what I can afford. 

For all the recent newbies... this is pretty much it in a nutshell.

As @sourcrates states a few posts above this... the name of the game is to go silent and not get embroiled in any form of letter ping-pong, or telephone calls.  This new 'debt respite scheme' aka 'breathing space' is really for those who are in temporary/short term financial difficulty - not for the many who find themselves here seeking, or needing, a longer term informal solution.

It does go against the grain to not make your contractual payments, at least it did for me in the beginning, and there was a time for me that it carried a bit of a stigma and I felt ashamed to have found myself in that position.  But you soon realise it's just money and at the end of the day your creditors, and eventually the DCAs, just treat this as a business transaction.  Some may show sympathy for your situation, but in the main they are simply interested in you setting up some form of payment arrangement - whatever that may be. 

So if you find yourself heading down the DMP route, do so by remaining in control of your plan (its fine if folks need one of the debt charities to help out in the beginning) and do some of your own research (plenty of advice on the National Debtline website, or Debt Camel, or NEDCAB).  Knowledge is power and the more you understand the process the easier it will be and help ease the initial onslaught of worries and concerns.

hello all, I've been following all the excellent advice on this forum and waiting to receive defaults and subsequent letters from debt collectors as the debt is passed / sold on before setting up payment plans. However, I have a couple of credit cards debts that have been passed over to debt collections (Moorcroft and Aravato) but there is no default placed on my credit report, instead an Arrangement to Pay marker. I had assumed that if the debt went to a collection agency it would have defaulted by then, is this not the case. I haven't started to make any of the agreed payments for these debts yet, any advice what I should do? Will the defaults follow or shall I contact the debt collection agencies and ask them to default so that I can start making payments. I wont have paid off these debts in 6 years so don't want them to remain on my credit file after that or accrue any further interest.

debtfreeme2021

Moveslikeagger said:

Debtfreeme. Nothing to feel guilty about. You have done nothing wrong. Wait for the defaults. I have 7. Some came in 5/6 months. Tesco took over a year. The quicker the better so stay firm and ignore. 

@Moveslikeagger thanks for the assurance I’m filing the letters and ignoring the calls , interesting that no one leaves a voicemail. 

Moveslikeagger

iace53..
I believe moorcroft only mange debts and are still therefore owned by the original creditor. I would continue to pay nothing until you get the default. 

bluebell_on_track

I have recently checked my credit report via credit karma and some of them have D’s and a default date. Some have 6 months of D’s, some have less. Does this mean they are all now defaulted and my 6 years starts ticking? Sorry if it’s a stupid question but I didn’t know if you need a certain amount of D’s? All of the ones with D’s have a ‘date defaulted’. I only have one debt left that doesn’t have a D and these have an arrangement to pay ‘A’. I have stopped paying this creditor now in the hope it will be defaulted. 

Suseka97

bluebell_on_track said:

I have recently checked my credit report via credit karma and some of them have D’s and a default date. Some have 6 months of D’s, some have less. Does this mean they are all now defaulted and my 6 years starts ticking? Sorry if it’s a stupid question but I didn’t know if you need a certain amount of D’s? All of the ones with D’s have a ‘date defaulted’. I only have one debt left that doesn’t have a D and these have an arrangement to pay ‘A’. I have stopped paying this creditor now in the hope it will be defaulted. 

Ignore the monthly marker, what you are looking for is the default date, that's when the 6 year clock starts counting down from. So it doesn't matter how many D's are showing.  As for the AP one, you are doing the right thing to force the default.

sourcrates

iace53 said:

Suseka97 said:

Moveslikeagger said:

Hi egnt..
When I first entered my self managed DMP I emailed all my creditors explaining my situation. Then I ignored until I got my defaults. Then I starting paying them what I can afford. 

For all the recent newbies... this is pretty much it in a nutshell.

As @sourcrates states a few posts above this... the name of the game is to go silent and not get embroiled in any form of letter ping-pong, or telephone calls.  This new 'debt respite scheme' aka 'breathing space' is really for those who are in temporary/short term financial difficulty - not for the many who find themselves here seeking, or needing, a longer term informal solution.

It does go against the grain to not make your contractual payments, at least it did for me in the beginning, and there was a time for me that it carried a bit of a stigma and I felt ashamed to have found myself in that position.  But you soon realise it's just money and at the end of the day your creditors, and eventually the DCAs, just treat this as a business transaction.  Some may show sympathy for your situation, but in the main they are simply interested in you setting up some form of payment arrangement - whatever that may be. 

So if you find yourself heading down the DMP route, do so by remaining in control of your plan (its fine if folks need one of the debt charities to help out in the beginning) and do some of your own research (plenty of advice on the National Debtline website, or Debt Camel, or NEDCAB).  Knowledge is power and the more you understand the process the easier it will be and help ease the initial onslaught of worries and concerns.

hello all, I've been following all the excellent advice on this forum and waiting to receive defaults and subsequent letters from debt collectors as the debt is passed / sold on before setting up payment plans. However, I have a couple of credit cards debts that have been passed over to debt collections (Moorcroft and Aravato) but there is no default placed on my credit report, instead an Arrangement to Pay marker. I had assumed that if the debt went to a collection agency it would have defaulted by then, is this not the case. I haven't started to make any of the agreed payments for these debts yet, any advice what I should do? Will the defaults follow or shall I contact the debt collection agencies and ask them to default so that I can start making payments. I wont have paid off these debts in 6 years so don't want them to remain on my credit file after that or accrue any further interest.

Occasionally debts are passed to a collection agency to collect on behalf of the client.

Same advice applies, they will try and contact you for a certain period of time, then return the account to the client.

It may then be defaulted, sold, or again passed to another collection agency to have a go, this may happen numerous times before eventual default, unfortunately there is no knowing what course of action a creditor might take with a particular account, some default quite quickly, other`s go around the houses first.

iace53

sourcrates said:

iace53 said:

Suseka97 said:

Moveslikeagger said:

Hi egnt..
When I first entered my self managed DMP I emailed all my creditors explaining my situation. Then I ignored until I got my defaults. Then I starting paying them what I can afford. 

For all the recent newbies... this is pretty much it in a nutshell.

As @sourcrates states a few posts above this... the name of the game is to go silent and not get embroiled in any form of letter ping-pong, or telephone calls.  This new 'debt respite scheme' aka 'breathing space' is really for those who are in temporary/short term financial difficulty - not for the many who find themselves here seeking, or needing, a longer term informal solution.

It does go against the grain to not make your contractual payments, at least it did for me in the beginning, and there was a time for me that it carried a bit of a stigma and I felt ashamed to have found myself in that position.  But you soon realise it's just money and at the end of the day your creditors, and eventually the DCAs, just treat this as a business transaction.  Some may show sympathy for your situation, but in the main they are simply interested in you setting up some form of payment arrangement - whatever that may be. 

So if you find yourself heading down the DMP route, do so by remaining in control of your plan (its fine if folks need one of the debt charities to help out in the beginning) and do some of your own research (plenty of advice on the National Debtline website, or Debt Camel, or NEDCAB).  Knowledge is power and the more you understand the process the easier it will be and help ease the initial onslaught of worries and concerns.

hello all, I've been following all the excellent advice on this forum and waiting to receive defaults and subsequent letters from debt collectors as the debt is passed / sold on before setting up payment plans. However, I have a couple of credit cards debts that have been passed over to debt collections (Moorcroft and Aravato) but there is no default placed on my credit report, instead an Arrangement to Pay marker. I had assumed that if the debt went to a collection agency it would have defaulted by then, is this not the case. I haven't started to make any of the agreed payments for these debts yet, any advice what I should do? Will the defaults follow or shall I contact the debt collection agencies and ask them to default so that I can start making payments. I wont have paid off these debts in 6 years so don't want them to remain on my credit file after that or accrue any further interest.

Occasionally debts are passed to a collection agency to collect on behalf of the client.

Same advice applies, they will try and contact you for a certain period of time, then return the account to the client.

It may then be defaulted, sold, or again passed to another collection agency to have a go, this may happen numerous times before eventual default, unfortunately there is no knowing what course of action a creditor might take with a particular account, some default quite quickly, other`s go around the houses first.

Thanks both for the advice that's really appreciated, I will continue to hold off paying these until I receive the default notices.