Asking credit cards to freeze or reduce interest

sammyjammy

Stop making the payments immediately, its generally agreed use this to build yourself an emergency fund so that you have something to fall back on when the credit availability is gone.  You don't have to speak to anyone on the phone, I would recommend sending a template letter suggesting you will only converse with them in writing and that you are stopping payments whilst you talk to Debt help people etc etc.

If you feel up to doing it all yourself it can really help with a feeling of control over the process.

Good advice and templates https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/guide-to-dmps/

BlueJ94

Hey! So, regarding the DMP. I decided very very quickly it was a great idea and within one month I had already cancelled and ended up doing a self managed DMP, I personally think it's much easier to self manage. Also, default on payments and then phone credit cards/loans and explain the situation and offer so much (that's affordable) ALL of my credit cards and loans no longer have interest and I'm paying what I can afford to them. I wish you luck and hope you decide what's best for you!

midlands13790

Jade Did you set up an emergency fund first before setting up the payments?

sammy can i ask for fees and interest to be frozen whilst seeking debt help? Ofcourse they have no obligation to accept this.

What is considered a good emergency fund?

sourcrates

midlands13790 said:

Jade Did you set up an emergency fund first before setting up the payments?

sammy can i ask for fees and interest to be frozen whilst seeking debt help? Of course they have no obligation to accept this.

What is considered a good emergency fund?

If you are going to do this yourself, then its extremely important to get it done the right way, which means pre-preparation.

If you start a DMP with any of the debt charities, they will pretty much want you to start paying straight away, this is because they are funded by the creditors, and in return they expect prompt repayments.

That`s all well and good, but you will normally be marked as been in an arrangement, rather than having a default applied, this stays longer on your credit file, and of course interest is not guaranteed to be stopped, unlike with a default.

So we always recommend saving an emergency fund up, £1000 plus is good, and wait until your accounts are defaulted, before you start debt management, its just better for you in the long run.

The GDPR see too it that you can now choose how you are contacted, so a letter to each creditor telling them contact in writing only please, sorts out a lot of problems.

We have a dedicated DMP support group thread, top of this forum, pop along and ask any questions you may have.

BlueJ94

midlands13790 said:

Jade Did you set up an emergency fund first before setting up the payments?

sammy can i ask for fees and interest to be frozen whilst seeking debt help? Ofcourse they have no obligation to accept this.

What is considered a good emergency fund?

No I didn't, which was silly of me but I've opened a new account with starling and as I have a second job at sainsburys all that wage is going to debt repayments but say i get paid £450 I'll pay £400 to debts and £50 to savings. This is the plan from sainsburys pay in the next couple of days. Then two weeks later my main job pay which is around £1300 pays my priority bills etc and I'll see whatever I have left at the end of the month and pay that to savings. Hopefully that made sense.

But as @enthu@enthusiasticsaver said, as soon as you're in a DMP they want to get the payments sorted ASAP, which is good and they do talk to your lenders and you can see who's offered to stop interest etc (payplan plus I was with) but they also took a direct debit from me which was more than I said I could afford and they also got my name and bank details wrong the first time.

Good luck with whatever you decide

enthusiasticsaver

Thrugelmir said:

EssexHebridean said:

Halifax are delighted to offer you a consolidation loan because they are fully aware that the vast majority of people who consolidate end up in more debt. 

Front line staff are not trained debt advisors nor is Halifax in the business of giving tailored advice. They are merely providing an option, not the solution. That can only come from the person themselves. 

As a previous employee of Halifax some 20 years ago (not my choice, my previous building society employer was bought out by them) the front line staff are given targets to sell whatever the product of the week was, credit cards, consolidation loans, personal loans etc. They used the blanket selling approach - offer it to everyone. As you say the front line staff are not trained debt counsellors ( I was a mortgage arrears counsellor) and I eventually resigned in protest at this practice. I would hope things have changed in the last few decades since I left but sadly I think not. 

sourcrates

enthusiasticsaver said:

Thrugelmir said:

EssexHebridean said:

Halifax are delighted to offer you a consolidation loan because they are fully aware that the vast majority of people who consolidate end up in more debt. 

Front line staff are not trained debt advisors nor is Halifax in the business of giving tailored advice. They are merely providing an option, not the solution. That can only come from the person themselves. 

As a previous employee of Halifax some 20 years ago (not my choice, my previous building society employer was bought out by them) the front line staff are given targets to sell whatever the product of the week was, credit cards, consolidation loans, personal loans etc. They used the blanket selling approach - offer it to everyone. As you say the front line staff are not trained debt counsellors ( I was a mortgage arrears counsellor) and I eventually resigned in protest at this practice. I would hope things have changed in the last few decades since I left but sadly I think not. 

Same employees that flogged PPI to death, and told you square in the face that it was a necessary requirement in order to be approved for the loan/credit card, you had applied for, regardless of your suitability status.

I was shot down in flames for even suggesting this may have happened, when I first posted this some years ago now..........but it was the truth guv.

midlands13790

So I think I am going for the DMP. From what I gather I need to do the following things:

1) Cancel all payments and holding letters. Is a seperate letter needed requesting written correspondence only? What do I do after the first 30 days have expired?
2) Start building a fund - how many months should I spend building this? I am spending around £1100 a month servicing debts at the moment so I should be able to build a decent fund even without putting all this away?
3) Wait for defaults to come through. Should I setup the DMP once one comes in or hold on?

It feels very scary taking this jump but I can't see any other way out. Hopefully around 3 years time this will be paid off and then 18-24 months after that hopefully I may be able to go for a mortgage and give my family a more secure future. Is it normal to have a sick or doom like feeling before going ahead with this?

midlands13790

Sorry one more thing, should I make token payments of £10 to all accounts for example or not?

sourcrates

midlands13790 said:

So I think I am going for the DMP. From what I gather I need to do the following things:

1) Cancel all payments and holding letters. Is a seperate letter needed requesting written correspondence only? What do I do after the first 30 days have expired?
2) Start building a fund - how many months should I spend building this? I am spending around £1100 a month servicing debts at the moment so I should be able to build a decent fund even without putting all this away?
3) Wait for defaults to come through. Should I setup the DMP once one comes in or hold on?

It feels very scary taking this jump but I can't see any other way out. Hopefully around 3 years time this will be paid off and then 18-24 months after that hopefully I may be able to go for a mortgage and give my family a more secure future. Is it normal to have a sick or doom like feeling before going ahead with this?

Keep it simple, get on with your life, don`t over complicate matters, its really very easy, save your EF the more the better, you don`t need to play letter tennis with everyone, sometimes doing nothing is the way forward.

The relationship with your current creditors is over, you should no longer have any interest in what they say or do, unless you receive court papers from them (which you won`t) then that is that.
Once your debts are defaulted and sold on, then you engage with whoever writes to you, you don`t need to go all guns blazing requesting this/that/the other.

Payment arrangements can be made form all debt purchasing companies websites, without the need to speak or write to anyone, very simple, very straightforward process.