DMP Advice

bon007

Hi
I have finally taken my head out of the sand and realised I need to act now before the situation gets any worse . I feel very ashamed and embarrassed about the whole situation so please go gently with me as I am very new to this .

I have been reading all the threads tonight and have realised my best option would be a DMP.

By what I understand you cancel all your D/D first and then wait for the accounts to default which can take up to 6 months in which this time you create a Emergency Fund . Am I correct with regards to this ? Also how do you know they are defaulted would they contact you or do you need to check your credit file ? 

Also all my credit agreements are Non Secured but I do have one joint loan with my wife but she is Self Employed and So I do not want to have any adverse affect on her credit file . Would there be any way around this ? 

I feel very scared of the prospect of starting this journey so any advise I would greatly appreciate.

I am sorry for all the questions but  I am very new to this .

EssexHebridean

Pretty sure you won’t be able to exclude the joint loan from the DMP but someone more expert than I am on that one can confirm. 

First port of call is to put together your SOA - Statement of Affairs - hit the “format for MSE” option and post it into here. We can then run our eyes over it to see if there are any savings we can spot that you may have missed. Make it open and honest - it needs to truly reflect where you are at right now otherwise it’s a waste of time. It may be that actually a DMP isn’t what you need at all - but some re-budgeting might sort things out in a similar way, but we can’t advise on that until we can see a full picture. 

Don’t feel ashamed either - almost all of us here have been in the same boat to some extent or another! 

Jude57

I agree with @EssexHebridean about posting up your SOA and would go further to caution against assuming a DMP is automatically an option. If you can, on paper at least, meet your contractual payments each month, then the reputable DMP providers won't set up a DMP for you. That's why we always ask to see your SOA, so we can try to give you some advice specific to your situation.

If you decide not to post your SOA that's fine too, but it will be the starting point for a debt adviser so it's as well to get the numbers together.

Finally, whatever you do, please don't seek advice or support from a fee charging DMP company. Use one of the free charity providers featured in the sticky at the top of this board. And good luck on your journey to becoming debt free.

bon007

Hi
Thank you for your reply . That sounds like a plan setting up an SOA but I would not know where to begin and it also feels quite daunting as my debt is very high . I appreciate all your help and beginning this process .

EssexHebridean

The link to the SOA template is in my signature for a start - or there is a different one linked in one of the “announcement “ posts at the top of the board. 

Essentially get together all the paperwork for your financial stuff - so everything you know you owe, plus current account statements and any credit card bills for cards you’re still using. The SOA asks for ALL your incomings and outgoings - then basically tells you if you should have money left at the end of the month, so it’s a great exercise to work through. 

bon007

Thank you so much . As I am doing this solely for me so I ignore the joint side of this & put down what I pay for ? 

EssexHebridean

bon007 said:

Thank you so much . As I am doing this solely for me so I ignore the joint side of this & put down what I pay for ? 

Ideally not - because it makes it incredibly difficult to see how the household budget as a whole really works. The full picture makes it far more straightforward to assess and offer advice on. 

Jasper_Cat_2

Hi, 
I have finally got to the point where the outgoings are larger than what is coming in and having used my savings to compensate... I am now at almost zero savings and no way to continue to pay the monthly payments on the credit cards. 
Up to now all bills and mortgage are paid, no missed payments and paying only just a bit more than the monthly required payments on 5 credit cards ( totalling £20,000).
I have now completed the initial Step Change forms to take out a DMP. Not yet completed the final forms to start the process. The online review says the budget is fair based on single person outgoings ( although now I have everything down on paper I think I can make some further savings), but it just leaves £217 a month for debts so at that amount will take 7 years, 9 months to pay.
My questions are - 
I have 3 of the biggest monthly payments due on 30th September. Having read through some of the threads on here the consensus seems to be to first stop paying now so that the card companies issue a default, and then complete the DMP?
I understand a default only stays on file 6 years but AP is 6 years after final payment. 
Do I at least send a letter to explain I am unable to pay and in the process of arranging DMP?
And once all have defaulted - then arrange DMP?
Also just trying to change bank account to another as currently with Lloyd's which I also have credit card debt with.
I have an unused account with Halifax, would it be safe to move wages to there even though they are in same banking group?
Sorry for so many questions, just trying to get it right, I don't want to fall deeper into debt with the high interest being charged, but  I do want to pay back  everything I own and hope gradually I can increase the payments eventually to reduce the years needed to pay. 
Thanks