DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

lillypoo

sourcrates said:

lillypoo said:

Hi all

I am just starting to get set up for managing my debt. I've bern accepted for a basic bank account  but haven't got the paperwork yet. 

I intend to just stop paying my four debts either may or June

Am I supposed  to tell my creditors that this is my plan? Or do I just stop?

Also .. saving for emergencies and having "pots" ...whete do you recommend I save and what's the strategy for organising various pots please?

Savings pots are usually for cash, jars, pot’s whatever, a savings account is just as good.

You just stop paying, chances are the people that own your debts now, won’t be the ones you eventually start a DMP with, as your accounts will likely have been sold.

Thank you 

kb_soma

@sourcrates - it's been a while, I haven't been on this forum for such a while - lovely to see you're still here keeping the ship oiled. Is there a thread dedicated to IVAs? Looking for some advice for a friend. 

sourcrates

kb_soma said:

@sourcrates - it's been a while, I haven't been on this forum for such a while - lovely to see you're still here keeping the ship oiled. Is there a thread dedicated to IVAs? Looking for some advice for a friend. 

Try here -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/iva-dro

Haybop

Hi
I’m new here 👋 I’ve realised that I’m basically using credit to survive at the minute so decided to take out a DMP. I’d like to go through stepchange, have filled it all in etc but haven’t submitted yet as fortunately found the advice here around letting the accounts default first. So today I cancelled direct debits (so scary!) to begin my emergency fund from next month. My question is, what do I do about breathing space? I haven’t applied for it but I’m guessing I should? And can I do that part through stepchange without starting the actual DMP yet? Any advice would be really appreciated, thanks 

sourcrates

Haybop said:

Hi
I’m new here 👋 I’ve realised that I’m basically using credit to survive at the minute so decided to take out a DMP. I’d like to go through stepchange, have filled it all in etc but haven’t submitted yet as fortunately found the advice here around letting the accounts default first. So today I cancelled direct debits (so scary!) to begin my emergency fund from next month. My question is, what do I do about breathing space? I haven’t applied for it but I’m guessing I should? And can I do that part through stepchange without starting the actual DMP yet? Any advice would be really appreciated, thanks 

It`s not that scary, I can honestly say nothing will happen if you stop payments.

The "Breathing space scheme" could have been so much better, debt advisors wanted 6 months, we got 60 days, nothing really in the grand scheme of things.

It takes a creditor 60 days to respond to letters, collection activity lasts 5/6 times that period, to be honest, if you stop paying today, apart from the odd letter/phone call/email nothing else will happen for a good 6 months or longer, and even then your debt will just be passed over to collections, or an external debt collector, who will run through there standard range of letters for another 6 months, and on it goes.

After that time period, your looking at creditors possibly selling debts on, hopefully defaulting them first, so if you need some time to create an emergency fund, and get those defaults, then I would not bother with breathing space, just do what you have  to do basically, stop paying, start saving, defer your DMP until all, or most, are defaulted.

Haybop

sourcrates said:

Haybop said:

Hi
I’m new here 👋 I’ve realised that I’m basically using credit to survive at the minute so decided to take out a DMP. I’d like to go through stepchange, have filled it all in etc but haven’t submitted yet as fortunately found the advice here around letting the accounts default first. So today I cancelled direct debits (so scary!) to begin my emergency fund from next month. My question is, what do I do about breathing space? I haven’t applied for it but I’m guessing I should? And can I do that part through stepchange without starting the actual DMP yet? Any advice would be really appreciated, thanks 

It`s not that scary, I can honestly say nothing will happen if you stop payments.

The "Breathing space scheme" could have been so much better, debt advisors wanted 6 months, we got 60 days, nothing really in the grand scheme of things.

It takes a creditor 60 days to respond to letters, collection activity lasts 5/6 times that period, to be honest, if you stop paying today, apart from the odd letter/phone call/email nothing else will happen for a good 6 months or longer, and even then your debt will just be passed over to collections, or an external debt collector, who will run through there standard range of letters for another 6 months, and on it goes.

After that time period, your looking at creditors possibly selling debts on, hopefully defaulting them first, so if you need some time to create an emergency fund, and get those defaults, then I would not bother with breathing space, just do what you have  to do basically, stop paying, start saving, defer your DMP until all, or most, are defaulted.

Thank you so much for this response, you’ve made me feel much more at ease and less overwhelmed about the whole thing  

Lemonade_budget

Hello, looking for some help on a couple of points. I've been in my DMP with Stepchange for a year now, 3 years to go. 
M&S haven't defaulted the CC and loan, even though it's been 13 months. Am I best to ditch SC and go self managed, so I can drop the payments down to £1 a month to encourage them to default?

Does this allow me to include all my outgoings? Eg to allow me to go to work, doggy daycare costs me £400 a month which I can't put anywhere in my SC budget

sourcrates

Lemonade_budget said:

Hello, looking for some help on a couple of points. I've been in my DMP with Stepchange for a year now, 3 years to go. 
M&S haven't defaulted the CC and loan, even though it's been 13 months. Am I best to ditch SC and go self managed, so I can drop the payments down to £1 a month to encourage them to default?

Does this allow me to include all my outgoings? Eg to allow me to go to work, doggy daycare costs me £400 a month which I can't put anywhere in my SC budget

The beauty of self management is that you call the shots, and not some 3rd party whose line you have to tow.

You are the boss, you decide who gets what and when, you run the show, no one else, are you getting the drift here lol.

aquafish_2

Just a bit of reassurance to the guys further up about stopping payments and doing their own thing.  It works.  I was very unsure about self managing but it works.  I've had my creditors contact me a couple of times but only to check i'm paying what I can afford, making sure all necessary bills are paid.

wildheart83

Thanks aquafish_2 - it's so reassuring to hear that you can go self managed without too much hassle. I think we are so accustomed to being told here are the rules, this is what you need to do etc.

I phoned SC to give them details of a debt I'd forgotten about and the first question was "why did you take out more credit when you knew you couldn't afford it?" that kind of attitude sets my teeth on edge!