Paranoid about debt

bigd58

Hi everyone

i have just taken a huge step towards managing my debt.

i have registered with stepchange and they have suggested a DMP.

i current debts are

Tesco - loan and cc
MBNA - 2no cc
Barclaycard - cc
natwest - od
halifax - od
littlewoods - catalogue.

i am paranoid, reading others stories that these companies will not accept my DMP and i dont really know what to do.

i have around £37k debt and am angry with myself and feel a failure but i had no other option than to look for help.

what happens if it is not agreed? do i get whatever can be agreed agreed and continue payment for the ones that are not?

any feedback would be welcome.

thanks

SnowTiger

bigd58 wrote: »

i current debts are

Tesco - loan and cc
MBNA - 2no cc
Barclaycard - cc
natwest - od
halifax - od
littlewoods - catalogue.

i am paranoid, reading others stories that these companies will not accept my DMP and i dont really know what to do.

i have around £37k debt and am angry with myself and feel a failure but i had no other option than to look for help.

what happens if it is not agreed?

Your debtors are all large, household names. They have been working with StepChange (formaly CCCS) for decades. It's extremely unlikely they would reject a DMP put together by them.

David2Prit

Settle down and have a cuppa.
As mentioned above, the companies expect this and would be unlikely not to accept a DMP. If they reject (and I don’t expect they would), you can carry on as like. They’ll have to decide if you should have a CCJ, which you would then send in your defence stating offered DMP, all evidence and the court would most likely look at everything and accept the amount you pay back is that originally requested.
It would stay on your record for 6 years, but eh, I’m guessing your credit rating is a little trashed at the moment.

Not a failure, but a learning curve, one of which you’ll come out of better.

bigd58

thank you, what happens if a ccj is sent to me?

enthusiasticsaver

Unsecured debtors have no teeth. There is very little they can do except take you to court to gain a CCJ which is expensive and likely to be overturned anyway if you have offered a DMP. Do you have any assets like a house?

The names of your lenders are household names and they have a duty of care to people in your position so I think it unlikely they will not agree to a DMP put together by stepchange. How long do stepchange think it will take for you to clear the debt if interest frozen etc?

bigd58

Yes I do have a house. Which does have equity

Stepchange believe I can pay off in 10 years however I believe the the first 33 months I can pay £100 more than they suggest

enthusiasticsaver

I would stick to the amount they suggest and save the extra £100 a month initially. You won't have access to borrowing so you need savings. Hopefully none of the lenders will go after your equity by going for a second charge.

bigd58

What happens if they do? Will I be forced to sell my house?

NeverendingDMP

I started with stepchange and now self manage. It will be okay. Between us me and hubby had debts with mbna barclaycard x2 , tesco loan and tesco c card and some. All accepted the dmp even though it would take a long time. we got lots of standard letters but nothing scary. No one has mentioned the equity we have other than stepchange who explained an iva as a possible option. We have no ccj nor has it ever been mentioned by anyone. Some debts have been sold on to debt collectors but that has not caused any problems. In fact it can become a positive thing as they buy them for cheap and may agree a settlement amount with you later down the line.
I know you will want to put your extra 100 to stepchange due to all the emotions you are experiencing but i would strongly hint that you open a seperate account and put the 100 in there, be as strict as you can about not spending it then rethink in 12 months time what you want to use that money for. Once you sign up to a dmp you will really struggle to get any credit for the first year or two so if your boiler breaks for eg you can just get out a card or use finance to buy a new one.
If you bank with the people you owe money to have stepchange recommended opening a brand new account somewhere else to use from now on.

bigd58

Thank you. I hope this all works out. The worst part for me now is ringing round to all my creditors and saying I have spoken to Stepchange about a dmp.

I know I should probably be asking them but if I ever get a bonus or have some additional money that I can use am I able to do a one off additional payment through Stepchange?

bigd58

Also what were the letter you received and what did you do about them?