DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

swansea_lad

Nationwide say the account is up to date its because they have accepted an offer from payplan and this is a generic letter they send out. 

Hols2021

I have just cancelled my DD but i have not been able to get my bank account swapped yet and i have a loan and overdraft with them so i am assuming they will take the money from my account anyway?  I spoke with someone on the app to tell them that i will be speaking to SC and they then sent me a link for me to complete an affordability tool so i am assuming from this i might get an AP marker on my credit file if i enter into an agreement with them. Am i better to empty my acc and swap my DD over to my new account and then not pay my loan or OD fees and wait until they both default then contact SC? this is all so scary and i'mreally worried about it

sourcrates

Hols2021 said:

I have just cancelled my DD but i have not been able to get my bank account swapped yet and i have a loan and overdraft with them so i am assuming they will take the money from my account anyway?  I spoke with someone on the app to tell them that i will be speaking to SC and they then sent me a link for me to complete an affordability tool so i am assuming from this i might get an AP marker on my credit file if i enter into an agreement with them. Am i better to empty my acc and swap my DD over to my new account and then not pay my loan or OD fees and wait until they both default then contact SC? this is all so scary and I'm really worried about it

I doubt they will be able to take the money without an authorisation from you, that would not be in line with guidance, and you won`t be needing the DD again, as you are defaulting.

Ideally, to avoid these kinds of situations, things should be planned well ahead, so that new banking facilities are available, and the means to take money from your account have been removed, well before you start missing payments.

Anyway, I would still withdraw the money, just to be safe.

What exactly are you worried and scared about ? these are non priority debts, and the usual way they deal with bad debt is via either internal collections, or an external DCA, they don`t automatically go to court, if that`s what`s causing concern.

Many thousands of customers are in a similar position to you, so you are not the exception here, just one thing about your old bank account, often it takes banks many months to default an account, due to the nature of how they work, it can be a problem when you want to start a DMP, but free from interest etc.

Best advice is by all means keep an eye on what they send you in the post, but otherwise ignore everything for a year or so, and then see who owns what, by then all should have defaulted and been sold on at least once, that is the perfect time to enter debt management.

Hols2021

Thanks again for your advice Sourcrates, i'm just finding the whole thing a bit overwhelming. I know people comment and say it's not a big deal the world isn't going to end etc etc but i find having £77k a huge deal and not keeping up with payments and getting into the state we are in really stressful. 

We don't want people chasing us and getting constant calls and the whole process of not paying anything for months is daunting. I also find it hard to believe that if we don't pay our bills we won't get any Court action or ccj's i think this is what is worrying me the most. I know this is what everyone is advising so we will go with it and follow the advice and i guess if we get into difficulty then we got to SC or CAB. No doubt i will be back with more questions sorry when we start to get contact from the creditors but really appreciate this wonderful thread and all the advice it gives otherwise we would have jumped right in with a DMP right away. 

PrettyWoman

Hols2021 said:

Thanks again for your advice Sourcrates, i'm just finding the whole thing a bit overwhelming. I know people comment and say it's not a big deal the world isn't going to end etc etc but i find having £77k a huge deal and not keeping up with payments and getting into the state we are in really stressful. 

We don't want people chasing us and getting constant calls and the whole process of not paying anything for months is daunting. I also find it hard to believe that if we don't pay our bills we won't get any Court action or ccj's i think this is what is worrying me the most. I know this is what everyone is advising so we will go with it and follow the advice and i guess if we get into difficulty then we got to SC or CAB. No doubt i will be back with more questions sorry when we start to get contact from the creditors but really appreciate this wonderful thread and all the advice it gives otherwise we would have jumped right in with a DMP right away. 

Just wanted to pop in and say I am at exactly the same stage as you. This is my first month of missed payments having never missed a payment on anything in my life.

My accounts have all been put on hold for 30 days, I’ve informed all my creditors I am in financial difficulty either by email, letter or over the phone. The ones I spoke to were very matter of fact, totally non judgemental, didn’t ask how I’d arrived at this situation and just said that I should speak to them again within 30 days.

I have a pretty storage box for all the letters, I’ve had a couple so far, I’ve opened them, read them and filed them. Nothing unexpected and nothing scary so far.

I have sent off CCA requests to my creditors just so I know where I stand regarding enforceability. I would rather throw as much spare cash as I can at the enforceable ones and sort out the others further down the line with hopefully some good discounts.

From everything I’ve read on here this is just a process, you follow the process and come out the other side, hopefully happier, wiser certainly debt free.

Good luck, you’ve got this 💪

sourcrates

Hols2021 said:

Thanks again for your advice Sourcrates, i'm just finding the whole thing a bit overwhelming. I know people comment and say it's not a big deal the world isn't going to end etc etc but i find having £77k a huge deal and not keeping up with payments and getting into the state we are in really stressful. 

We don't want people chasing us and getting constant calls and the whole process of not paying anything for months is daunting. I also find it hard to believe that if we don't pay our bills we won't get any Court action or ccj's i think this is what is worrying me the most. I know this is what everyone is advising so we will go with it and follow the advice and i guess if we get into difficulty then we got to SC or CAB. No doubt i will be back with more questions sorry when we start to get contact from the creditors but really appreciate this wonderful thread and all the advice it gives otherwise we would have jumped right in with a DMP right away. 

Like many things in life, there is a specific process to Debt collection, its not all ad hoc, there is a process companies follow.

The timeline goes something like this :

If you miss a payment, your lender may call you, or write to you, if you continue to miss payments, then your account is moved from customer services, over to collections, again, they will try to call you, and send you letters, this may continue for a number of months.

If they still cannot make contact, your account may then be passed over to an external debt collector, who will then again, try to call you, and will also run through there standard series of debt collection letters with you.

This may continue on and off for a period of time, if no contact is made, the debt will be returned to the original creditor, and it will then either be passed over to another collector to try their luck, in which case its rinse and repeat, side-lined as non collectable, and it may stay unactioned on the books for any amount of time, or sold on to a debt purchaser, who will then go through there own collection process, again with letters and calls. 

Legal action nowadays is only considered after a debt has been sold, and bought up by one of the major debt purchasing companies, such as Lowell/Cabot/PRA Group etc etc, legal action by original creditors is extremely rare, they normally just employ the collections route, as they just do not have the time, or staff to deal with the amount of bad debt.

The debt purchasing companies have there own specialised solicitors, who work on a numbers basis, to take cases to court, so you see any legal action is a long way off yet.

If you feel better starting debt management without waiting for defaults, then that`s your choice, you can always go down the complaints route if creditors won`t stop interest etc, you can be forever writing letters under those circumstances though, much simpler to allow the defaults to happen first, but its your choice in the end.

Pygsley

Hi there I'm starting my dmp journey when would the best time to start off my dmp I've just been paid and its been swallowed up by my overdraft which is included in the dmp, should I wait until my next pay so the money can be paid into a new bank account.

I'm just worried about doing it too soon and my overdraft being stopped and being unable to pay my priority bills or would it be OK I'm also applying for breathing space

Thanks 

MMPhi123

Suseka97 said:

MMPhi123 said:

sourcrates said:

MMPhi123 said:

Hello, I have been on a DMP with PayPlan since May 2021. I have made my payments on time every month and all creditors froze interest and charges (though one has started charging interest again and I need to write to them to tell them nothing has changed for me financially). I'm thinking of going it alone, as I receive late payments letters because PayPlan take so long to send the payments across. For example, my December payment, which went to PayPlan on the 25th December didn't clear with my creditors until 7th Jan. Typically, my payments that go to PayPlan on the 25th of each month will clear for my creditors on the 6th/7th, but it varies. 

If I go it alone, I could just send them all on the 25th and know they'll clear in the next day or so and cut out the middle man. However, are they likely to start up interest and charges if I come away from using PayPlan? That is my worry. I'm currently due to be debt free in April 2024 on my current plan, though as I get incremental pay rises each April, this should decrease. I would also look at full and final payments as I near the end of the plan.

I have Autism and ADHD, and managed to get myself into quite a debt pickle, and then sat on it and it go worse, but I'm determined to get it better.

Any advice gratefully received. Stick at it, or go alone?

Hi,

You will be getting late payment letters because your in debt management, and are no longer making the usual contracted repayments you originally agreed too.

The creditor is required to send these notices to you, to comply with your agreement, under the consumer credit act.

Now that your on a DMP, there is no longer a date to pay by every month, your payment`s are processed and paid monthly by payplan.

Its likely you are still receiving these notices because your accounts did not default, so they are essentially still live, and are been treated as "an arrangement to pay" by the creditor instead.

Going self managed won`t change this situation, the only thing that will do so is making written complaints to your creditors stating that all accounts should have been defaulted in line with FCA guidelines.

Under those circumstances all interest and charges stop, and you will no longer receive these letters.

Thank you for this, yes only one account defaulted. Another account I'm not sure if it defaulted or not? It doesn't say so on my credit report, but it did get passed to Westcot. All the other accounts are 'live' and show a payment due date. Just wish it didn't take so long for PayPlan to send the money across to them especially as bank transfers are instant now. But then I guess there's more admin to it than that. I think I'll stay as I am then, at least it's just one payment per month. But I'll let the creditor who wrote to me know that yes the payments are late, but it's on a DMP and I have no control over when they send the payment, and to take it up with them. I'm kind of glad the accounts aren't defaulting as that stays on your record for 6 years, and we'd like a mortgage at some point...I'm happy to keep paying the debt down, just wish I'd done a DMP sooner! I didn't know it would be so easy, and I was worried about being judged. I wish I'd seen this forum sooner though and taken some breathing space, as I didn't have an emergency fund built up. You live and learn though. Thank you for your help

I just thought it's worth clarifying that, in terms of your credit file, a default is better than any form of 'arrangement to pay' marker.  The latter stays on your file for 6 years after the debt has been settled, whereas a default stays on for 6 years from the date it was applied, irrespective of whether the debt has been cleared or not.  

As for the idea of a mortgage - whilst having defaults, or any other adverse marker on your file, will have an impact on achieving the better rates from high street lenders, it doesn't rule it out completely.  You just need to find a broker who has experience of adverse credit and the older those defaults are, the better.

Ah I did not know this at all, I am really struggling with the idea of not paying and letting things default. I've not missed any payments ever, the thought of doing so is quite frightening. I'm planning on having the debt potentially paid off end of next year, if not very early '24, but from what you're saying, when I get the debt paid off is almost irrelevant, as I will still have that mark against my name 6 yrs after it's been paid off? Where as if I get a default registered now, it will start the ball rolling and would only be on a few years once the debt is cleared?

I suppose I first need to check if any of my accounts are showing as 'arrangement to pay', if they're not, then I ought to carry on as I am and get everything cleared quickly, then there's just potentially the one default (Though I can't even see the account on my report!). If they're under arrangement to pay, my next step would be to request a default? To do that I would just write a letter? Or would I need to come off my payment plan and go self managed, ask for breathing space and just stop paying until they default?

MMPhi123

MMPhi123 said:

Suseka97 said:

MMPhi123 said:

sourcrates said:

MMPhi123 said:

Hello, I have been on a DMP with PayPlan since May 2021. I have made my payments on time every month and all creditors froze interest and charges (though one has started charging interest again and I need to write to them to tell them nothing has changed for me financially). I'm thinking of going it alone, as I receive late payments letters because PayPlan take so long to send the payments across. For example, my December payment, which went to PayPlan on the 25th December didn't clear with my creditors until 7th Jan. Typically, my payments that go to PayPlan on the 25th of each month will clear for my creditors on the 6th/7th, but it varies. 

If I go it alone, I could just send them all on the 25th and know they'll clear in the next day or so and cut out the middle man. However, are they likely to start up interest and charges if I come away from using PayPlan? That is my worry. I'm currently due to be debt free in April 2024 on my current plan, though as I get incremental pay rises each April, this should decrease. I would also look at full and final payments as I near the end of the plan.

I have Autism and ADHD, and managed to get myself into quite a debt pickle, and then sat on it and it go worse, but I'm determined to get it better.

Any advice gratefully received. Stick at it, or go alone?

Hi,

You will be getting late payment letters because your in debt management, and are no longer making the usual contracted repayments you originally agreed too.

The creditor is required to send these notices to you, to comply with your agreement, under the consumer credit act.

Now that your on a DMP, there is no longer a date to pay by every month, your payment`s are processed and paid monthly by payplan.

Its likely you are still receiving these notices because your accounts did not default, so they are essentially still live, and are been treated as "an arrangement to pay" by the creditor instead.

Going self managed won`t change this situation, the only thing that will do so is making written complaints to your creditors stating that all accounts should have been defaulted in line with FCA guidelines.

Under those circumstances all interest and charges stop, and you will no longer receive these letters.

Thank you for this, yes only one account defaulted. Another account I'm not sure if it defaulted or not? It doesn't say so on my credit report, but it did get passed to Westcot. All the other accounts are 'live' and show a payment due date. Just wish it didn't take so long for PayPlan to send the money across to them especially as bank transfers are instant now. But then I guess there's more admin to it than that. I think I'll stay as I am then, at least it's just one payment per month. But I'll let the creditor who wrote to me know that yes the payments are late, but it's on a DMP and I have no control over when they send the payment, and to take it up with them. I'm kind of glad the accounts aren't defaulting as that stays on your record for 6 years, and we'd like a mortgage at some point...I'm happy to keep paying the debt down, just wish I'd done a DMP sooner! I didn't know it would be so easy, and I was worried about being judged. I wish I'd seen this forum sooner though and taken some breathing space, as I didn't have an emergency fund built up. You live and learn though. Thank you for your help

I just thought it's worth clarifying that, in terms of your credit file, a default is better than any form of 'arrangement to pay' marker.  The latter stays on your file for 6 years after the debt has been settled, whereas a default stays on for 6 years from the date it was applied, irrespective of whether the debt has been cleared or not.  

As for the idea of a mortgage - whilst having defaults, or any other adverse marker on your file, will have an impact on achieving the better rates from high street lenders, it doesn't rule it out completely.  You just need to find a broker who has experience of adverse credit and the older those defaults are, the better.

Ah I did not know this at all, I am really struggling with the idea of not paying and letting things default. I've not missed any payments ever, the thought of doing so is quite frightening. I'm planning on having the debt potentially paid off end of next year, if not very early '24, but from what you're saying, when I get the debt paid off is almost irrelevant, as I will still have that mark against my name 6 yrs after it's been paid off? Where as if I get a default registered now, it will start the ball rolling and would only be on a few years once the debt is cleared?

I suppose I first need to check if any of my accounts are showing as 'arrangement to pay', if they're not, then I ought to carry on as I am and get everything cleared quickly, then there's just potentially the one default (Though I can't even see the account on my report!). If they're under arrangement to pay, my next step would be to request a default? To do that I would just write a letter? Or would I need to come off my payment plan and go self managed, ask for breathing space and just stop paying until they default?

Further to this it looks like I have one account on 'arrangement to pay' (Very)

2 are defaulted (Natwest Loan now with Westcot and Barclaycard)

Halifax, Fluid, Tesco CC's are all live.

debtfreeme2021

Hello . Reading the above comment I had no idea that an arrangement to pay would stay on my file for 6 years after the debt had been paid. Currently waiting for all accounts to default since I stopped payments in September . I have one arrangement to pay marker but I was told by Tesco (who also stopped interest) that this would drop off my file when paid ?? Do different organisations have different rules for arrangement to pay. I’ve not set up any others but wondered if I should stop paying and let this one default also? Thank you