Time to wake up and smell the coffee!

NeverendingDMP

It shouldn't matter really. Stepchange work there payments like that so all the companies should be used to it

Abbafan1972

Got a letter from Very yesterday obviously stating that we are in arrears.  They have been informed that we are on a DMP.  

While we are in a DMP, are they supposed to waive the interest?  The letter gives estimated interest and recently they slapped on a BNPL charge of nearly £200.  If they still add on interest, then we will still be paying when we're dead lol!

It does say that we are on a temporary arrangement plan of £18.55 and the payment should reach them by 20th May, which it should do. 

Hubby worries terribly about letters like this - I think he under the illusion that when you're on DMP the letters stop, but I know that they don't.  Any letters that come he blames me, as it was "my idea" to contact Step change and go on a DMP and he said last night he's "relying on me".   And, in his eyes, when we get a letter from one of the creditors, the DMP is not working. 

Evenstar20

What are your amounts you need to pay back? Is your income enough to get you back on track?

Abbafan1972

Evenstar20 said:

What are your amounts you need to pay back? Is your income enough to get you back on track?

Hi there,  I don't really understand your 2nd question - do you mean pay the arrears?

We currently owe Very:-  £968.10.  We have £114.76 of arrears and according to our online account the minimum payment is £174.50.  Although the letter we received says that we are on a temporary payment arrangement of £18.55 a month. 

As I said, we are on a DMP, so any other payments we make to Very surely would affect this, and Stepchange have told us they can't make extra payments to just one creditor, as it's not fair to all the others.  So it would have to be shared out. 

Abbafan1972

Good morning,

A bit random, but does anyone have a direct number for Halifax Bank collections dept please?  I need to speak with them.  Last night I spoke with just general banking and she put me through, but the office was closed.

Thank you in advance. 

Abbafan1972

Hi there,

Just thought I would give you all an update.  

The overdraft with the Halifax has now been passed to a collection agency and stepchange have the new details.

Hubby has an old pension scheme from a company that has since gone bump - he has been in contact with them and he is going to take a lump sum from that - he turns 55 in April 2022.  (He has other pensions as well, so he's not clearing out his entire retirement fund).  He will have to take a lump sum and a monthly income, but have to make sure that this does not take him over the higher tax bracket, but I don't think it will.  The lump sum will be more than enough to pay off the car finance, which by the time we get the money, will be less than £9,000.  The monthly payment for the car finance is £285.00, so that will be freed up. 

Once that is sorted, we will be working on getting the DMP finished (the estimated date is May 2026) and then concentrate on the Mortgage which is officially due to finish Dec 2028.  We took out the Mortgage in 1995 for 25 years originally, so it would have been paid off by now, but over the years we've added and added to it and now we owe more than what we originally took out!  Unfortunately, we've had to learn the hard way!

We have come across a couple of stumbling blocks recently.  The agency I was working for before I got this permanent job, didn't pay enough tax for me, so I've been hit with a tax bill from the HMRC for £210.00, which has to be paid by 31st Jan 2022.  I am going to pay that monthly at £35.00, so it will be paid by the due date.  Annoyed isn't the word!

Also, we have a holiday booked (my Mom originally paid for this).  It was our anniversary holiday, as it was our 25th in October 2020.  The holiday was originally booked for October 2020, but we have since moved it twice and we are now going May 2022.  We just couldn't afford all of the testing required for October this year, which is the date we moved it to the 1st time.

We are going all inclusive, so won't need as much spending money.  Unfortunately though we had to pay £100 admin fee and £80 the 1st time we moved it.  Not very MSE I know, but we can't get a refund, so we are stuck with the holiday!

I have changed my signature to show what we owe and will update it accordingly.  For info, the stepchange DMP includes 2 x Credit cards, Overdraft, Ikano Bank (SCS sofas) and Very. 

Will try and give more updates as and when I can.

If anyone has any advice for me, that would be greatly appreciated. 

x

Abbafan1972

Hi all. I realise I’m not a regular visitor to this section, but I do feel a bit alone in all of this. 

Obviously there is my husband and my girls are aware there isn’t any spare money for this and that, but I cannot talk to anyone (like my parents for instance) as my Mom especially is obsessed with money and I think she’s under the illusion we are well off, as we both have full time jobs and hubby is working long hours, but that isn’t the case. 

Sone support here would be nice, but I do feel despondent when there’s no responses and I feel like I’m talking to myself, when other people’s threads are like a chat room. 

Have a good day all. 

x

warby68

I do know what you mean - some diaries do seem to take off. I think it tends to be the ones who post very frequently.

I remember you starting to tackle your debt while job hunting and really struggling with making some of the big changes and you've obviously come a long way since then with plans to tackle the debt plus looking at your mortgage as well.

If your mortgage only has 7 years to run are you making payments that will clear it in that time? If not that might be something to consider, even so far as adjusting your DMP to accommodate higher mortgage payments. 

I get that its tough when people in real life see you rather differently than the reality and have certain expectations. Is your OH fully on board now?

From other posters experience, you're probably in the 'slog' phase now where you just have to stick to the plans and not a lot else is changing. Good in some ways but hard in others.  

Hope you get some more responses too - if you have some specific things you need help or suggestions for that usually gets things moving.

And well done on your achievements so far

Abbafan1972

@warby68

thanks for your reply. 

OH I would say is better but I can’t get rid of the Sky tv, but we need the broadband as well. I honestly don’t know if we are in contract or anything. Our Sky bill is £71 a month, that’s the TV and BB together. We don’t have the movies. I cancelled Amazon prime - I paid for it yearly and got hit with £79.99 going out of the bank for it a couple of weeks ago, as I didn’t have the reminder box ticked. Luckily I was able to cancel it the same day and get the money refunded. 

He has to buy a case of beer every week with the weekly shop, we tried reducing this down to every 2 weeks but that didn’t last long. I am not trying to deny him his beer but I rarely drink and very occasionally have a bottle of wine but that’s it. We don’t smoke. 

Our next milestone hopefully will be April/May when OH can get that pension when he’s 55. 

I am annoyed about the tax bill I’ve had - My Mom did offer me some money but I declined. I have already borrowed money from her before but they don’t know the full extent of what we owe. The mortgage for instance - they know we still have a mortgage but not the amount that is outstanding. 

On the subject of the mortgage - our monthly payment is £1090.96. Minus the interest, we are actually paying about £884 a month, but the interest varies from month to month but it’s about £200. We have 89 months left. We did have a look at the paperwork regarding overpayments but we are not in a position to do this yet anyway. Our fixed rate comes to an end in April 2024. So not sure what will happen then. (I really don’t understand mortgages). 

We will hopefully be having a few months of not buying any non-essentials (the beer is exempt though obviously - I’ve tried). 

Speak soon.
x

warby68

Well that sounds like your mortgage is set to repay in full by its expiry date which is great. When your fixed rate is due to end, you are normally offered some new deals by your mortgage provider and the default if you don't choose one is usually to move to the standard variable rate. There isn't usually any affordability assessment for this.

Husband sounds a little less committed than you and you've said before he seems to hold you responsible for the finances. It must be hard but it isn't uncommon for one partner to carry more of the load. Unfair, but not unusual. That said, a case of beer a week probably isn't the end of the world if it keeps the peace, just on a relative scale.