DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

stu12345_2

saving_88 said:

Floss said:

@saving_88 are you on a self managed DMP? If so, keep paying everyone their usual amount & stop the ones who haven't defaulted.

No, I am with Step change. I went with Step change from day one. Before i discovered this Forum i thought id go with Step change as i was wary of Court action etc. To me being on a plan was advised helps if creditors take this step.  Discovering this forum, people say the best way is default first. wish i knew that. Im thinking to not pay this month or reduce my payments. 

it will take a while , a long while for the creditors that haven't defaulted you to default, especially if you are on a dmp.

lowering payments via stepchange won't force a default imo.

stopping paying will, but you can't pick and choose who to pay if you are on a dmp with stepchange

do as floss says, run your own dmp, pay the defaulted ones and not the non defaulted ones.

CuteLegaibo

Good evening all, I have been with stepchange for a few years and I plan to go self manage but I haven’t told stepchange because I was waiting to get to this point. Now they have written me to review my debt plan or they will close my plan but I don’t intend to review my plan. Should I just let stepchange know that I don’t want to continue with them or just let them close my plan? I have taken all the information I need from my DMP account with stepchange. Also do I tell my creditors that I am no longer with stepchange when either of the events occur or should I just continue making payments into their bank accounts? If you advise that I contact my creditors, should I complete a new I&E statement or tell them that there is currently no change to my I&E statement from stepchange? Thank you

Newbie83

I really need some help! My husband lost his job last year and his new job means he is earning 2k less a month. My huge debts that were manageable are no longer manageable and just getting worse. We done interest only on our mortgage for the 6 months which has just ended and can now no longer pay the new amount along with our debts. I work for a bank so I need to be careful on how solve this issue without impacting our house or my job. How do I go about contacting my credit card and loan companies to reduce or stop interest and allow me to pay a lower amount over a longer period of time? Has anyone had any success in doing it themselves? My debts are with Virgin, NatWest, Halifax and Barclaycard. They total over £50k. I do earn over £60k but can’t afford all this debt plus my husbands debt and mortgage. I need to reduce my outgoings by about £1k a month at least. Thanks for any advice 

stu12345_2

CuteLegaibo said:

Good evening all, I have been with stepchange for a few years and I plan to go self manage but I haven’t told stepchange because I was waiting to get to this point. Now they have written me to review my debt plan or they will close my plan but I don’t intend to review my plan. Should I just let stepchange know that I don’t want to continue with them or just let them close my plan? I have taken all the information I need from my DMP account with stepchange. Also do I tell my creditors that I am no longer with stepchange when either of the events occur or should I just continue making payments into their bank accounts? If you advise that I contact my creditors, should I complete a new I&E statement or tell them that there is currently no change to my I&E statement from stepchange? Thank you

 this is what I did when I left stepchange

you simply email stepchange to say you are closing your account. thr creditors wil be notified by step change, the creditors may then write to you to ask what method you wish to repay the debts.

you simply make sure that stepchange have not made any more payments, especially if they are due in next few days.

in order to work out the balances remaining of the debts.

then you set up standing orders directly with your creditors, you find their bank details via any letters on how to pay us or via their website,  ( put your debt reference number  in the standing order so they know the payment is from you)

you pick an amount that suits you!!
you do not do a direct debit or a continuous debit card method which they will suggest on their site.

standing orders out you in control 

you also did not have to fill in their income expenses form, be firm with this.

you email them to tell them you have set up a standing order for such and such a payment due every month on such and such a date.

that is about it, ignore their demands for an income expenses form to be filled in, they can't legally force you.
 they should write back saying we look forward to your payment 

stu12345_2

Newbie83 said:

I really need some help! My husband lost his job last year and his new job means he is earning 2k less a month. My huge debts that were manageable are no longer manageable and just getting worse. We done interest only on our mortgage for the 6 months which has just ended and can now no longer pay the new amount along with our debts. I work for a bank so I need to be careful on how solve this issue without impacting our house or my job. How do I go about contacting my credit card and loan companies to reduce or stop interest and allow me to pay a lower amount over a longer period of time? Has anyone had any success in doing it themselves? My debts are with Virgin, NatWest, Halifax and Barclaycard. They total over £50k. I do earn over £60k but can’t afford all this debt plus my husbands debt and mortgage. I need to reduce my outgoings by about £1k a month at least. Thanks for any advice 

firstly write to creditors , there maybe a section in their site  for having financial difficulties, which may also include a phone number to call.

they will probably ask you to fill an income expenditure form for all the income coming into household, including husbands income.and outgoings and all your creditors balances and min amounts required for them

your creditor may reduce your payments for a while if they think it's a temporary situation, eg they  expect any income rises. they won't stop interest though imo 

if things don't help, then you may have to consider a debt management plan , either run by yourself or a debt charity where you make reduced payments over say 5 years max and the interest will stop quickly , especially if you delay  the start of a dmp, cos consumer debts will default, then interest must stop.

however you must concentrate on not letting your mortgage ever default, so payments must be made to it. before any consumer debts

the last resort is an IVA, but be very careful about them, they can be very bad, they can last 6 years and you end up paying more than your debts total once you add IVA fees!!!
and it's a form of insolvency so you work in a bank and will affect your job.

I would say post your problem in the main debt free wannabe forum and post an income expenditure, fill this in an attach it to your first post in the main forum, 
you will get many more detailed replies.

this will also let us see where you can cut back on.
https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php

lisamarie85

Hello! I’m back again - I’m on a DMP with PayPlan and have been for just over 3 years now. 

PRA have bought all 3 of my debts and sent me an offer on my Tesco account. I owe £4670.26 and they offered me £3736.21. I countered at £2650 but they said the lowest they will accept is £2918.00. 

I think this is quite a good discount, I am able to get the funds to pay it. I’m just worried about their conditions or what I should ask for before agreeing to it? Time is of the essence as I only have 14 days to accept the offer.

The wording they sent was as follows; 

This offer is open until 26-Aug-2024. 

The discount will automatically show on your online account and you can accept the offer by logging in to your PRA Group account.

If you cannot pay the discounted amount, please continue with your payments to PayPlan.

Please note:
If you accept the discount and clear your balance, your account, if we report on your credit file, will be marked as ‘partially satisfied’, instead of ‘satisfied’. This means that paying the discounted amount may not look as positive on your credit file as paying off your balance in full. This may impact your ability to acquire future lending like credit cards or mortgages.

If you want to take up this offer, we will accept your payment as settlement of your outstanding balance. This means the account will be closed and we will not contact you again about it.

I did already ask them to report as satisfied. They responded to say that they cannot legally do that? I am just concerned about what actual wording I get from them to ensure NOBODY chases me for the difference and if I should get that in a letter or email? I’ve been corresponding via text at present. Any advice on how to handle this situation would be great. 

I should also ask, is it worth settling? I am a homeowner with the intention of moving in the next 5 years. I don’t want to risk any CCJ’s or any further issues with mortgages etc.. so I always intended to settle or partially settle all debts but I have been advised many times that come the 6 year mark, I should just ignore everyone. But how would that pan out for people knocking on the door or chasing the debts? Thank you :-) 

stu12345_2

if a debt never defaulted and you pay back the full amount your file is marked as settled.

if it defaulted and I expect it did 3 years ago when pra bought the debt then it can only be marked as satisfied if you pay the lot back or partially satisfied if you pay back not the full lot cos you got a discount and pra wrote off the remainder and closed your account.

regardless it will disappear of your file 6 years from the date of default.

but if it never ever defaulted then it will leave your file 6 years after you make the full payment or a discounted full and final offer.

you only get a ccj if a creditor takes you to court mostly cos you ignored the debt completely and they got the ccj by default cos of your ignoring or you offered say £1 a month and the creditor rejected it and the court sided in the creditors favour.

if you like pras offer take it.they aren't very good at offering much discount tbh. 5% is their norm max.!!!!
if the debt defaulted then count 6 years from the date of default then apply for a mortgage 

stu12345_2

you won't get chased by anyone in the future if you take the offer as pra said your account will be closed and they accept your payment as settlement on the outstanding balance owed.

the key words are closed and  outstanding 

lisamarie85

stu12345_2 said:

you won't get chased by anyone in the future if you take the offer as pra said your account will be closed and they accept your payment as settlement on the outstanding balance owed.

the key words are closed and  outstanding 

Thank you, I just read horror stories about people settling and the difference being sold on to another company the day after, purely because they didn’t have the correct wording in a letter etc.. 

Also, yes they all defaulted in 2021, but again, I hear stories of accounts being marked AP (it’s a minefield for ignorant people like me, trying to research you get so much info you never know what is right or wrong) and I believe as I did my DMP through PayPlan and didn’t stop payments prior to this, that could apply to me? Is there any way of knowing? Many thanks for your response :-) 

stu12345_2

pra offered me 25% off in one payment or 6 payments to close it and not sell it on.

I couldn't afford to take their offer up.but it would have stopped a dro application as it's huge prefential treatment 

pra are evil but they won't break the rules and sell  on the difference 

pra own the debt, it's all theirs, they bought it after it defaulted 

you can see the date of default on your credit file, creditkarma is good and free