DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

funny_bunny

Moveslikeagger said:

They wont take you to court. just tell them you will pay a fiver a month due to your current situation. then pay and ignore. eventually they stop calling and writing and just accept it. they did for me anyway 

@Moveslikeagger did you call them or contact was in writing/email?

Also, did you provide your income/expenditure when you started paying them £5?

TIA

debtermined

Possibly immoral question here but if I was to take advantage of a 0% money transfer promo made available to me by CC provider then soon after start a DMP including the money transfer debt, how would creditors view this? 

I simply cannot afford my rent or utilities next month without taking the free money transfer. I’m aware it means more debt but I’m in so deep already, it’s a case of in for a penny in for a pound now. 

Is it fraud? Would it be grounds for creditors to petition for bankruptcy? Could I get away with it and start making DMP payments through StepChange as normal? 

stu12345_2

debtermined said:

Possibly immoral question here but if I was to take advantage of a 0% money transfer promo made available to me by CC provider then soon after start a DMP including the money transfer debt, how would creditors view this? 

I simply cannot afford my rent or utilities next month without taking the free money transfer. I’m aware it means more debt but I’m in so deep already, it’s a case of in for a penny in for a pound now. 

Is it fraud? Would it be grounds for creditors to petition for bankruptcy? Could I get away with it and start making DMP payments through StepChange as normal? 

only in a bankruptcy or DRO application you may get a restriction order that lasts after your dro or  bankruptcy ends.cos it's seen as reckless borrowing.

but on a dmp, firstly,creditors would have to default you, accept a payment plan and that's really the end ., you plod along for years repaying,
do it before you do a dmp with stepchange imo.

anyway , what makes you think you will get the offer, your creditors must think you are a good repayer?


cos utilities let you repay your bill slowly usually interest free, and does your landlord let you catch up slowly or just add them into your step change dmp

and stepchange don't like you taking out more credit whilst on a plan with them

creditors only make you bankrupt if you have assets, car, house, stocks and shares ,that will cover the debt you owe them and it's above £5000 per creditor.
but that's well after default, a repayment plan and if all else fails

sourcrates

debtermined said:

Possibly immoral question here but if I was to take advantage of a 0% money transfer promo made available to me by CC provider then soon after start a DMP including the money transfer debt, how would creditors view this? 

I simply cannot afford my rent or utilities next month without taking the free money transfer. I’m aware it means more debt but I’m in so deep already, it’s a case of in for a penny in for a pound now. 

Is it fraud? Would it be grounds for creditors to petition for bankruptcy? Could I get away with it and start making DMP payments through StepChange as normal? 

You should really post this in the general DFW forum, however, the wording of your post suggests you have little experience of these matters, so if things are that dire, stop paying your non essential credit debts immediately, you should never prioritise credit debts over essential rent/utilities payments, that`s never a recommended choice.

Unsecured, non essential debts such as loans and credit cards are last on the list for payment.

Please take a moment to think about what you have proposed, does it sound sensible to you?.

Rent/utilities/council tax/food etc all come first in your budget, what`s left goes to pay the debts, if there is nothing left, then they don`t get paid, you must stop this cycle of borrowing.

Check out this thread on DMP first steps here -

In Debt and Wannabe Debt Free? First Steps! — MoneySavingExpert Forum

FreyaFluffkins

Hi everyone,

Capquest/Dryden

I am a newbie and I didn't want to start a new post so here goes. 

I have some ancient credit card debts and owing to some extremely difficult challenges in the past 15 years, I negotiated to pay £1 to several creditors (I have experienced domestic abuse, homelessness for 3 years, mental health issues, double bereavement... the list is long!)

I wanted to update my debt agencies yesterday as I have finally a more permanent home and was pleased to hear I have paid one debt off and another one has been written off. 3 remains and all have a standing order of £1, something I negotiated about 8 years ago. 

I wanted to delete the 2 above standing orders and by mistake deleted Capquest!!! My heart sank as I don't have their details anymore. Just the long card number from the original debt.

They took me to a county court in 2019 through Dryden but as I was living with a homeless charity, I explained my situation and have since paid £1 per month. Something by the way I had been doing before they took me to court as well, it's just that they had sent their letters to my old address so I didn't know. 

I called Capquest yesterday firstly to update them with my new adress. Once I had made my mistake I called them again and they refused to give me their payment details (sort code, account and reference) and said they will send me a letter. They gave this reason: - "we don't know if we are going to manage the debt or someone else". 

I said ok but then called later again as I felt increasingly anxious. They said I had to wait for their letter.

I called Lloyds today and was on the phone for 30 minutes and managed to retrieve their sort code and account number. I set up a new standing order and used an old reference from when they contacted me on my mobile phone. Or do you think I should use the old credit card number as a reference?

I feel really anxious now as it was a genuine mistake and I fear they will again take me to court. At least I'm trying to sort everything out but with the pressing of one button online I feel I have created a Capquest/Dryden monster!!! 

I just hope my attempt at paying £1 will count for something!

Thank you for listening. 

Freya x

sourcrates

Hi Freya,

You have posted in the DMP support thread, but I guess your situation could be described as that lol.

I wouldn`t worry, nothing will happen, they can`t take you to court again for the same debt, genuine mistake on your part, once they have decided who is managing your debt, wait till they write, then set it up again.

Nothing whatsoever to worry about.

CuteLegaibo

Hello, I am new to the forum and this is my first post. 

I have been on DMP with Step Change since July 2015 with a significantly high debt owed to 9 creditors including an overdraft. Since on DMP, I have never looked at my credit report because I didn’t want to see how bad my report is. The good news is that I have finished paying my mortgage and associated debts so I now have almost £2k extra each month to use towards my non priority debts so I have decided to leave Step Change and self manage so I can make F&F offers. I bravely checked my credit file last week and was shocked to find that all the debts have fallen off my report which I didn’t expect because I still receive monthly credit card statements from Marks and Spencer.  I was pleased to find out that my credit score is very good and that taking out a credit card would improve my score so I took one out last week just for the purpose of improving my credit score to excellent in the next few months. 

My questions are:

Will going self manage count against me with my creditors? 

Capital One and Marks and Spencer have not sold my debt to a third party and I still receive monthly statements from M&S but as both are not on my credit file, can I assume they have both defaulted?  

Can they decide to reinstate my debts with them on my credit file?

I need to know so I can focus on clearing the balances I owe them first but if not, I want to negotiate with those who have offered me F&Fs at 50% and 70% in the past but I wasn’t in the position at the time to accept their offers. 

Can I negotiate to repay a reduced amount on the overdraft with HSBC? 

My annual budget review with step change is due in the 1st week of July but I don’t intend to complete it through them because I plan to self manage however I need a little bit more time to go through the forum for advice on self managing my DmP. 

Do you know how long after the annual review is due before SC starts to chase me. I intend to continue to make the payments as agreed in the plan so I can buy sometime to set up my self manage before letting SC know that I will not be continuing with them and contacting my creditors.

Apologies for the really long post and multiple questions. 

Thank you in advance for your advice and support

tksnota

Hi

I started getting defaults on few of my accounts and called some DCAs who managed these debts because the original debtors informed me to get in touch with them

Almost all refused to setup token payments without Stepchange being involved even after I supplied my latest income and expense statements

Kindy advise me on what to do

//NT

sourcrates

tksnota said:

Hi

I started getting defaults on few of my accounts and called some DCAs who managed these debts because the original debtors informed me to get in touch with them

Almost all refused to setup token payments without Stepchange being involved even after I supplied my latest income and expense statements

Kindy advise me on what to do

//NT

(1) Stay off the phone to debt collectors, it was no help to you whatsoever was it!!
(2) Always state you have had advice from a debt charity or advice service, even if you haven`t.
(3) Pay what is affordable to you, do not go looking for acceptance of that payment from the creditor.

sourcrates

CuteLegaibo said:

Hello, I am new to the forum and this is my first post. 

My questions are:

Will going self manage count against me with my creditors? 

Capital One and Marks and Spencer have not sold my debt to a third party and I still receive monthly statements from M&S but as both are not on my credit file, can I assume they have both defaulted?  

Can they decide to reinstate my debts with them on my credit file?

Can I negotiate to repay a reduced amount on the overdraft with HSBC? 

Do you know how long after the annual review is due before SC starts to chase me. I intend to continue to make the payments as agreed in the plan so I can buy sometime to set up my self manage before letting SC know that I will not be continuing with them and contacting my creditors.

Accounts show on your credit file for 6 years, they are then automatically removed no matter their status.

They will not come back under any circumstances.

Self management is a fancy word for paying your own bills, its nothing more than that.

You don`t need to say anything to creditors unless asked, you simply pay monthly on the individual website of the collector or company concerned, or arrange through online banking, whichever is your preference.

I`m unaware of how Stepchange operate individual accounts, but just cancel in writing as you would any others service.

If your asking any "can I do" type questions, the answer is always yes, you can do as you wish.