Help! Payplan threatening to shut down our DMP because no fixed abode

Dubberuck

Hello there👋, 

Hubby and I  have been on a Debt Management Plan with Payplan for about 14 years - as the big financial crash hit - and we are very very grateful for it. 
Unfortunately we had to leave our rented accommodation in 2009 due to loss of income and have been homeless ever since, living in a caravan on various sites.

I have copies of correspondence going back as far back as 2012 - there may be older - letting them know we are homeless and living in a (elderly, leaking) caravan. 🏕️

However now they are threatening to cancel our DMP unless we provide an address for them. Unsurprisingly friends/family are unwilling to provide their home address for our debt correspondence, so Payplan are demanding the addresses of any camping site we stay at. This is impossible since no camping and caravanning site would allow anyone they thought was homeless to stay there. 

Our debts (mine is £20k, his is £8k)  to income (v low) are such that our DMP estimated completion date is 2065 (we are in our 50s!)) I know people's advice would be to go for a DRO/IVA/DMP but it's a terrifying prospect; I have weaned myself off anxiety medication and am scared that going thru insolvency would kick off panic attacks/insolvency again.

Since Payplan have officially known we are homeless do we have a legal leg to stand on to stop them kicking us off the DMP? ⚖️

Thank you for your time reading this.  

fatbelly

A dmp is an informal arrangement so you don't have a legal right to one. If Payplan want to close it, I would say to let them. The debt advice field has changed a lot over 14 years, no necessarily for the better, and I can see how the regulators wouldn't like this arrangement.

You have lots of options including:

take over the dmp yourself
walk away from the whole thing
Debt relief order - which Payplan can do. Insolvency is usually a huge relief


I wouldn't consider an IVA and if you meet the criteria for a DRO and know all your debts, there's no advantage to bankruptcy.

Pixie5740

Dubberuck said:

Hello there👋, 

Hubby and I  have been on a Debt Management Plan with Payplan for about 14 years - as the big financial crash hit - and we are very very grateful for it. 
Unfortunately we had to leave our rented accommodation in 2009 due to loss of income and have been homeless ever since, living in a caravan on various sites.

I have copies of correspondence going back as far back as 2012 - there may be older - letting them know we are homeless and living in a (elderly, leaking) caravan. 🏕️

However now they are threatening to cancel our DMP unless we provide an address for them. Unsurprisingly friends/family are unwilling to provide their home address for our debt correspondence, so Payplan are demanding the addresses of any camping site we stay at. This is impossible since no camping and caravanning site would allow anyone they thought was homeless to stay there. 

Our debts (mine is £20k, his is £8k)  to income (v low) are such that our DMP estimated completion date is 2065 (we are in our 50s!)) I know people's advice would be to go for a DRO/IVA/DMP but it's a terrifying prospect; I have weaned myself off anxiety medication and am scared that going thru insolvency would kick off panic attacks/insolvency again.

Since Payplan have officially known we are homeless do we have a legal leg to stand on to stop them kicking us off the DMP? ⚖️

Thank you for your time reading this.  

What is it that scares you so much about a DRO? They’re designed for people in your situation. A DRO would make me a lot less anxious than a DMP for the rest of my natural life. 

In answer to your question there is nothing legally you can do if PayPlan no longer wish to administer your DMP. 

Suseka97

As you have been in a DMP for around 14 years, it would be very easy for you to take over the reins and self-manage.  Its just a case of getting the payment details and setting up standing orders to send whatever the agreed payment is direct to whoever is holding each individual debt.  That's all there is to it in a nutshell.

But, my concern is that you've been paying for 14 years and still have another 44 to go!   So, you agreed to a DMP to run for 58 years - or am I missing something?  

You should look into the DRO option and I've taken a snip from the government website which sets out the new criteria in terms of eligibility and it sounds as if you are just the type of people this is aimed at.

The changes to the criteria will:

• Increase the threshold on the value of assets that a debtor can hold and be eligible to enter into a DRO from £1,000 to £2,000.
• Increase the value of a single motor vehicle that can be disregarded from the total value of assets from £1,000 to £2,000.
• Increase the level of surplus income received by the debtor before payments should be made to creditors from £50 to £75 per month.
• Increase the total debt allowable for a DRO from £20,000 to £30,000.

Edit to highlight the two key points, amount of debt and amount of income available once all household and essential bills have been paid.

RAS

Could you take this one step at a time? If hubbie does a DRO your situations will improve and you personally can see what it's like to do one.

And then have a chat with someone like Stepchange or Christians against Poverty (you don't have to be Christin and they may offer face to face advice0.

sourcrates

Its pointless you trying to pay these debts off via a DMP, it will be a weight around your neck forever, I cannot understand why you would not opt for a DRO each, and have done with it.

Technically you have been insolvent for years already, can`t for the life of me see why you would want to continue like this, when as fatbelly has said, you have many options open to you.

Why do you consider insolvency to be a terrifying prospect ?

Nothing could be simpler, you apply via an intermediary, they take your details, make sure you fit the criteria, process and submit your application, usually approved in a few days, job done.

Your DRO lasts 12 months, you make no payments during that time, and your creditor's are not allowed to contact you, after the moratorium period ends, all your debts are written off, and you will be debt free, nothing could be easier or simpler, I would really urge you to look at the bigger picture here, these debt solutions are designed to help people clear their debts, all you have to do is access them, nothing to worry about whatsoever.

EssexHebridean

sourcrates said:

Its pointless you trying to pay these debts off via a DMP, it will be a weight around your neck forever, I cannot understand why you would not opt for a DRO each, and have done with it.

Technically you have been insolvent for years already, can`t for the life of me see why you would want to continue like this, when as fatbelly has said, you have many options open to you.

Why do you consider insolvency to be a terrifying prospect ?

Nothing could be simpler, you apply via an intermediary, they take your details, make sure you fit the criteria, process and submit your application, usually approved in a few days, job done.

Your DRO lasts 12 months, you make no payments during that time, and your creditor's are not allowed to contact you, after the moratorium period ends, all your debts are written off, and you will be debt free, nothing could be easier or simpler, I would really urge you to look at the bigger picture here, these debt solutions are designed to help people clear their debts, all you have to do is access them, nothing to worry about whatsoever.

The OP is essentially a generation older than me, and I know that even as I was growing up bankruptcy was regarded as one of the worst things that could happen to you. For younger generations I think we’re taking great strides to beat the stigma around it, and to increase understanding that while not something to be undertaken lightly, or viewed as a “easy way out” it is also not something to be ashamed of. We do need to remember and accept though that for those approaching retirement ages, they are potentially still in a mindset where they see bankruptcy as something that will have all their friends and relatives shunning them - indeed I suspect if you ask a lot of people they would still imagine that a notice will appear in the local paper announcing their “shame” to all and sundry! 

@Dubberuck - you have some great advice here already, and I urge you to look into the options that have been suggested. Sourcrates last paragraph above summarises the DRO route well.  It’s really not practical for you to continue as you are - not least because you need a solid roof over your heads, or you run the risk of damaging your health irretrievably.  Please also consider completing and posting your Statement of Affairs (SOA) in this thread - there is a ink to one of the templates we recommend in my signature below - and let us look over it and see if we can spot any savings that you may have missed. Frankly your life currently sounds like more of an existence, and I rather think you both deserve more than that. Please - let us help, but also be prepared to take the steps to help yourselves also. 

sourcrates

EssexHebridean said:

sourcrates said:

Its pointless you trying to pay these debts off via a DMP, it will be a weight around your neck forever, I cannot understand why you would not opt for a DRO each, and have done with it.

Technically you have been insolvent for years already, can`t for the life of me see why you would want to continue like this, when as fatbelly has said, you have many options open to you.

Why do you consider insolvency to be a terrifying prospect ?

Nothing could be simpler, you apply via an intermediary, they take your details, make sure you fit the criteria, process and submit your application, usually approved in a few days, job done.

Your DRO lasts 12 months, you make no payments during that time, and your creditor's are not allowed to contact you, after the moratorium period ends, all your debts are written off, and you will be debt free, nothing could be easier or simpler, I would really urge you to look at the bigger picture here, these debt solutions are designed to help people clear their debts, all you have to do is access them, nothing to worry about whatsoever.

The OP is essentially a generation older than me, and I know that even as I was growing up bankruptcy was regarded as one of the worst things that could happen to you. For younger generations I think we’re taking great strides to beat the stigma around it, and to increase understanding that while not something to be undertaken lightly, or viewed as a “easy way out” it is also not something to be ashamed of. We do need to remember and accept though that for those approaching retirement ages, they are potentially still in a mindset where they see bankruptcy as something that will have all their friends and relatives shunning them - indeed I suspect if you ask a lot of people they would still imagine that a notice will appear in the local paper announcing their “shame” to all and sundry! 

@Dubberuck - you have some great advice here already, and I urge you to look into the options that have been suggested. Sourcrates last paragraph above summarises the DRO route well.  It’s really not practical for you to continue as you are - not least because you need a solid roof over your heads, or you run the risk of damaging your health irretrievably.  Please also consider completing and posting your Statement of Affairs (SOA) in this thread - there is a ink to one of the templates we recommend in my signature below - and let us look over it and see if we can spot any savings that you may have missed. Frankly your life currently sounds like more of an existence, and I rather think you both deserve more than that. Please - let us help, but also be prepared to take the steps to help yourselves also. 

I myself am of the OP`s age, but have always taken a pragmatic approach to anything that has gone "pete tong" in my life.

Perhaps its because I keep up to date with the debt industry and solutions, what others think of me has never been a consideration to me, I am practical through and through, if there is a problem, which is solvable, then I solve it.

It`s the message I try to get across in my posts, you should never continue with a strategy that isn`t working, or worry what others may think of you, if you do X or Y, do what`s best for your situation, and never look back.

I agree that an SOA would be helpful here, as living in your own caravan may mean that for DRO purposes, you could be considered a homeowner, not sure on that one, fatbelly ????

Could be a case to go bankrupt and get afresh start at things.

fatbelly

I thought about that.

The caravan would be regarded as an asset and subject to the 2k limit. But it sounds like it's not worth much anyway. 

The car has its own 2k limit.

I'd try to push it through. But most intermediaries are new to the game now and constantly looking over their shoulder in case they are criticised. OP would have to see how it goes.

Dubberuck

Hi Fatbelly,
thank you for your advice.

We do fulfil the requirements of a DRO but my hubby is self-employed and I don't want to risk problems with his bank account.  I need to look deeper into DRO for me, and possibly manage my husband's DMP myself. I think.

fatbelly

If he has a current account with someone he doesn't have debts with (which should be the case on a dmp anyway) and isn't overdrawn then there shouldn't be a problem.

Very occasionally an account will get downgraded but I can't remember the last time it happened to one of mine.