Self managed DMP plus PayPal query

bluebell_on_track

Good morning, 
as you can see it’s 5am so I am up fretting again. I currently have a DMP with step change paying £330 a month. I want to go self managed and pay token payments because I left very little wiggle room, which is meaning I literally have nothing left each month. My debt is around £50k - all unsecured. 

I have a few with moorcroft, PRA and then a couple with the original lenders such as John Lewis and RateSetter. I also have a debt with PayPal credit that I didn’t put on the DMP. My query is this 
a) If I go self managed, will I be bombarded with letters every month? 

B If I stop paying PayPal credit, will they default me? 

C) What stage does it have to get to before people start sending bailiffs etc round as this terrifies me. 

I’d be grateful for any advice xx

fatbelly

You'll get a few letters - that's all part of the game

Paypal will default you - eventually

Bailiffs can only be instructed on a defaulted court order and most debts never see court action.

It's a big step from £330 to a few pounds. If you have less than £330 genuinely available then you could talk to stepchange about changing that figure

Token payments are not a long-term strategy. They're ok if you have something else in mind like saving for the bankruptcy fee or saving a lump sum for full & final settlement offers.

What's the plan here?

EssexHebridean

Hi Bluebell - sorry to hear that stress over this has been affecting your sleep, that's a horrible situation to be in, and something that a DMP should alleviate, not worsen. 

Has your SOA changed since you entered the DMP do you think, and is that why things are so tight now? As fatbelly says, there's a huge difference between "not having much wiggle room" while paying £330 a month, and dropping right down to token payments - it sounds as though there is more going on here somewhere along the line?  Have you been through your SOA line by line to make sure that routine spending hasn't crept up? 

peteuk

My advice - speak to Step Change, get PayPal Credit added to your DMP and at the same time work through a new SOA with them.   Obviously this will change your payments to each creditor, as if nothing has changed in your SOA then adding PayPal will mean the £330 needs to be stretched further.=

The letters you are receiving some are a legal requirement, if your DMP is working then my understanding is that these should be statements only. 

Good Luck....

fatbelly

So what's the plan here, bluebell?