Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

StepChange_Allen

bell2020 said:

StepChange_Aidan said:

bell2020 said:

Hi we have a dmp with you, its been active for 5 years.

I have offered full and final settlement offers to the creditors and have paid 2 of them today. I updated the balaances on the dmp account to show £0.00 however it says pending!? What does this mean? Thanks

Hi,

Thanks for your post.

When you change the debt balances on Online DMP, the status will show as ‘pending’ while the system is updating your information.

Your account should now be updated, and the two settled debts will be removed from your DMP. If you need any further help with the online system, please let us know.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

Thank you so much! I've been unable to log into my account today as it says there is an issue, but I'll keep checking.

Thanks 

Hi there

If you continue having problems logging in for any reason, please contact our Client Support team (that's looking after you during your plan) to let them know, and I'm sure they'll be able to help you get back on there.

Best wishes
Allen

jack290292

Hope you don't mind but just wanted to add my thoughts on my DMP journey with Stepchange.

Yes they have been great in telling me my options, providing an on-line budget plan, initial contact of my creditors and collecting and allocating my monthly payments....but....

every time I seem to have a question or a creditor contacts me I get the same response, deal with your creditor direct. I'm not sure why, but I did feel they would support me more, especially when creditors say they have not received payments of my DMP when I've always made them on time to Stepchange. I've almost completed a year of this very long journey but once the DMP was set up I have felt very alone on dealing with my creditors!

StepChange_Patience

jack290292 said:

Hope you don't mind but just wanted to add my thoughts on my DMP journey with Stepchange.

Yes they have been great in telling me my options, providing an on-line budget plan, initial contact of my creditors and collecting and allocating my monthly payments....but....

every time I seem to have a question or a creditor contacts me I get the same response, deal with your creditor direct. I'm not sure why, but I did feel they would support me more, especially when creditors say they have not received payments of my DMP when I've always made them on time to Stepchange. I've almost completed a year of this very long journey but once the DMP was set up I have felt very alone on dealing with my creditors!

Hi there

Thanks for your post. 

It’s great to hear you’re on the journey to becoming debt free with your debt management plan (DMP), but I’m sorry you’re feeling alone with your creditors.

Creditors can continue to contact you while you’re in a plan, it may be that the payments from the DMP aren’t being received by the creditors on the original, contractual payment date causing them to send you letters/make phone calls.

With that being said, if there are any missed payments we will certainly look into this for you. It can sometimes take a little while for your creditors to settle into your plan.

If you do need any further support with your plan, please don’t feel like you can’t contact our Client Support Team, we’re always here to help.

I hope this helps a little.

Patience

Abbafan1972

In the last few days I have done a budget with Step Change online and it's given me the options for a DMP in the (long) document I've downloaded.

As it's a joint thing, I am going to call them when hubby is at home at well.  There are 2 credit cards, one in my name and one in his, a joint overdraft, Very account and Ikano Bank which are both his.  

Do Step Change contact your creditors for you, or will it be up to me to do it?

StepChange_Allen

Abbafan1972 said:

In the last few days I have done a budget with Step Change online and it's given me the options for a DMP in the (long) document I've downloaded.

As it's a joint thing, I am going to call them when hubby is at home at well.  There are 2 credit cards, one in my name and one in his, a joint overdraft, Very account and Ikano Bank which are both his.  

Do Step Change contact your creditors for you, or will it be up to me to do it?

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

It's great to hear that you've completed our online budgeting and advice tool and have reached your options. If you choose a DMP, we manage this for you free of charge.

Please ask any other questions you have when you call, and we'll be very happy to help.

Best wishes
Allen

Mumto5

Hello,

I have used Flipper - the utility bill swappers. They swapped us from Company A to Company B. It took an eternity to get the balance refunded from Company A and I tool my eye off the ball a bit. 
Covid led to a drastic drop in household income in March 2020. I reviewed our budget and noticed we weren’t paying Company B. They did not set up the Direct debit. I contacted Company B and told them. We now have a balance in excess of £1k and are being pressured to pay it back. Our DD is currently £165 per month for dual fuel. My partner is on UC and we are really struggling. Do we have any grounds for redress as it is not our fault Company B didn’t set up the financial side of things?

StepChange_Aidan

Mumto5 said:

Hello,

I have used Flipper - the utility bill swappers. They swapped us from Company A to Company B. It took an eternity to get the balance refunded from Company A and I tool my eye off the ball a bit. 
Covid led to a drastic drop in household income in March 2020. I reviewed our budget and noticed we weren’t paying Company B. They did not set up the Direct debit. I contacted Company B and told them. We now have a balance in excess of £1k and are being pressured to pay it back. Our DD is currently £165 per month for dual fuel. My partner is on UC and we are really struggling. Do we have any grounds for redress as it is not our fault Company B didn’t set up the financial side of things?

Hi,

Thanks for your post.

If Company B didn’t set up the direct debit correctly, I’d recommend making a complaint to them in writing if you haven’t already. If you’re not happy with their response, the issue can then be raised to the Energy Ombudsman for further investigation.

I can’t say what type of redress the energy supplier would be willing to offer, but normally they will allow you to repay the arrears in instalments. If they do, you should only offer to pay them what you can afford after you’ve covered your ongoing priority bills and living costs.

I’m sorry to hear that you’re struggling. If you’d like further advice on dealing with utility bills or any other debts, please get in touch so we can discuss your situation in more detail.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

Abbafan1972

Hi there,

I am about to start a DMP and am just getting together the contact details for creditors.  I'm having an issue with what address to put down as our bank address (Halifax), as the overdraft is going to be one of our debts included.  Do I put it as the branch address from the Halifax website, or the head office in Leeds, which is what comes up when I do a search on the sort code?

Thanks in advance. 

mrjoshua88

If embarking on a DPP where interest is frozen at the start, does this mean the creditors have to default the accounts? Or is this not the case?

StepChange_Aidan

Abbafan1972 said:

Hi there,

I am about to start a DMP and am just getting together the contact details for creditors.  I'm having an issue with what address to put down as our bank address (Halifax), as the overdraft is going to be one of our debts included.  Do I put it as the branch address from the Halifax website, or the head office in Leeds, which is what comes up when I do a search on the sort code?

Thanks in advance. 

Hi,

Thanks for posting.

You can put down either the branch or the head office address (or both). This is just in case we need to contact any creditors to provide further information.

It’s more important that you include the account/reference number for each debt, as this is what will be used to set up the payment arrangements in the DMP.

I hope this helps.

Aidan