Feels like im going under!

EssexHebridean

Yep, that’s fair enough all round on the job front - for some folk a switch to private can work as the salary increase can mean that they are still going to be better off and in the long term in a position to add additional funds to a pension pot to not leave them any word off, that’s never going to be the same for everyone though! 

Kakiste

Hiya- to part answer your question from the 10th Nov- I owed HSBC an awful lot in 2019- I cancelled the DD in March and was defaulted at the beginning of June. I then paid a minimum amount to them for the next 3 years and then made a F&F offer over a series of weeks. They eventually settled for 60%!

In case your wife is still worrying about bailiffs etc to further reassure you, I owed £49K in total to six creditors. I had the stream of phonecalls and letters at the very beginning of stopping payments. I blocked all the numbers, read and filed the letters (but never responded to them) started a DMP and then made a series of F&F offers 3 years later (all the big ones settled) despite all the debt- it never went further than annoying letters/calls. I never was taken to court, I never had bailiffs or even the threat of them- once I'd defaulted and settled into the payment plan I had with all of them I actually only heard from the companies once a year which was an annual summary of everything I'd paid with a sentence that said something hopeful along the lines of "if you want to pay off your debt in entirety please call us!" 

She shouldn't worry. You'll both be fine. (And as others have said, you're doing something about it now so from the moment you started this process it's been getting better because you've not been sliding further into debt by inaction.

NiteEyez1980

Kakiste said:

Hiya- to part answer your question from the 10th Nov- I owed HSBC an awful lot in 2019- I cancelled the DD in March and was defaulted at the beginning of June. I then paid a minimum amount to them for the next 3 years and then made a F&F offer over a series of weeks. They eventually settled for 60%!

In case your wife is still worrying about bailiffs etc to further reassure you, I owed £49K in total to six creditors. I had the stream of phonecalls and letters at the very beginning of stopping payments. I blocked all the numbers, read and filed the letters (but never responded to them) started a DMP and then made a series of F&F offers 3 years later (all the big ones settled) despite all the debt- it never went further than annoying letters/calls. I never was taken to court, I never had bailiffs or even the threat of them- once I'd defaulted and settled into the payment plan I had with all of them I actually only heard from the companies once a year which was an annual summary of everything I'd paid with a sentence that said something hopeful along the lines of "if you want to pay off your debt in entirety please call us!" 

She shouldn't worry. You'll both be fine. (And as others have said, you're doing something about it now so from the moment you started this process it's been getting better because you've not been sliding further into debt by inaction.

Thank you so kindly

How long did you wait to send them a dmp. I'd like to know what you wrote if you don't mind

Kakiste

I'm taking 'send them a DMP' to mean a F&F? (I'm assuming a mistype- sorry if I'm mistaken) 

I started a DMP with them in spring 2019- paid every payment on time. Then in February 2022 I offered them an F&F- I initially sent them a letter but it never ended up in the correct department as it was never acknowledged or responded to. About a week later I rang them and had the conversation over the phone. I offered 40% of the debt- they sent me a letter about 10 days later saying they didn't accept the offer. I then rang them back and offered 50% over the phone- they rejected it over the phone, I then offered 60% in the same phonecall and they accepted it. At that point I asked them to put it in writing and send it to me and I would pay them (took another 10 days) 

Negotiating back and forth took just over 2 weeks and it took exactly a 30 days from starting negotiations in February to recieved the letter confirming the 60% accepted offer and paying them. 

What I said in the phonecalls was that I had received a lump sum of money and wanted to use it to clear my debts. I then said that as my biggest creditor I wanted to settle with them first but if they weren't open to a settlement I would approach my other creditors and the money to settle those debts. I repeatedly mentioned that the money would be used to settle in F&F offers and that if they didn't agree to my offers then the money would be spent and wouldn't be available to make a payment towards the amount left outstanding. (I deliberately was really friendly and chatty with them each time- spoke to some woman about her daughter for about 10 minutes at one point and I do think that approach really helped) 

In the end the 60% offer was low enough that I was about to settle with them and then pay off the rest of my creditors. 

kimwp

Kakiste said:

I'm taking 'send them a DMP' to mean a F&F? (I'm assuming a mistype- sorry if I'm mistaken) 

I started a DMP with them in spring 2019- paid every payment on time. Then in February 2022 I offered them an F&F- I initially sent them a letter but it never ended up in the correct department as it was never acknowledged or responded to. About a week later I rang them and had the conversation over the phone. I offered 40% of the debt- they sent me a letter about 10 days later saying they didn't accept the offer. I then rang them back and offered 50% over the phone- they rejected it over the phone, I then offered 60% in the same phonecall and they accepted it. At that point I asked them to put it in writing and send it to me and I would pay them (took another 10 days) 

Negotiating back and forth took just over 2 weeks and it took exactly a 30 days from starting negotiations in February to recieved the letter confirming the 60% accepted offer and paying them. 

What I said in the phonecalls was that I had received a lump sum of money and wanted to use it to clear my debts. I then said that as my biggest creditor I wanted to settle with them first but if they weren't open to a settlement I would approach my other creditors and the money to settle those debts. I repeatedly mentioned that the money would be used to settle in F&F offers and that if they didn't agree to my offers then the money would be spent and wouldn't be available to make a payment towards the amount left outstanding. (I deliberately was really friendly and chatty with them each time- spoke to some woman about her daughter for about 10 minutes at one point and I do think that approach really helped) 

In the end the 60% offer was low enough that I was about to settle with them and then pay off the rest of my creditors. 

OP is just at the start of the dmp journey, he's asking when you sent the paperwork to set up the dmp to the companies. (Unless I'm mistaken). Full and Final offers won't be for a little while.

NiteEyez1980

kimwp said:

Kakiste said:

I'm taking 'send them a DMP' to mean a F&F? (I'm assuming a mistype- sorry if I'm mistaken) 

I started a DMP with them in spring 2019- paid every payment on time. Then in February 2022 I offered them an F&F- I initially sent them a letter but it never ended up in the correct department as it was never acknowledged or responded to. About a week later I rang them and had the conversation over the phone. I offered 40% of the debt- they sent me a letter about 10 days later saying they didn't accept the offer. I then rang them back and offered 50% over the phone- they rejected it over the phone, I then offered 60% in the same phonecall and they accepted it. At that point I asked them to put it in writing and send it to me and I would pay them (took another 10 days) 

Negotiating back and forth took just over 2 weeks and it took exactly a 30 days from starting negotiations in February to recieved the letter confirming the 60% accepted offer and paying them. 

What I said in the phonecalls was that I had received a lump sum of money and wanted to use it to clear my debts. I then said that as my biggest creditor I wanted to settle with them first but if they weren't open to a settlement I would approach my other creditors and the money to settle those debts. I repeatedly mentioned that the money would be used to settle in F&F offers and that if they didn't agree to my offers then the money would be spent and wouldn't be available to make a payment towards the amount left outstanding. (I deliberately was really friendly and chatty with them each time- spoke to some woman about her daughter for about 10 minutes at one point and I do think that approach really helped) 

In the end the 60% offer was low enough that I was about to settle with them and then pay off the rest of my creditors. 

OP is just at the start of the dmp journey, he's asking when you sent the paperwork to set up the dmp to the companies. (Unless I'm mistaken). Full and Final offers won't be for a little while.

That's correct apologies for the misunderstanding

NiteEyez1980

I have mots etc in February. 

If I can get thru Dec, Jan and Feb and save 1k that should help.

Will they let me go 3 months tho without a response? 

EssexHebridean

If you have MOT tests due in February (anything else at the same time - servicing? Were there any advisories from the MOTs previously that will need doing before this time? Does either vehicle need tyres, or new wiper blades?) then you need to start planning for that now.  Hopefully your reworked budget already includes for 1/12th of your annual costs of this type and so you'll already have a start from this month's money - you have another two months to plan, and save - so with luck you should be able to cover the costs of the tests themselves from savings - which would I'm guessing be quite the step forwards, no?! 

You're still worrying about what the creditors will think about you not paying though - remember, you're controlling this now. If they contact you by phone, you tell them they are only to contact you in writing, and that you are asking them politely to make a note of that, and then you will be hanging up the call, and they are not to phone you again. Then you hang up the call. They'll likely scratch their heads for a bit over that, and try calling you again - but you'll ignore those calls and wait for a letter. When that letter arrives, others have already taken you through your options there - but just ignoring them will hopefully get you to defaults sooner was I believe the thrust of that. 

One thing that worries me though - you say 

If I can get thru Dec, Jan and Feb and save 1k that should help.

Where has that figure of 1k to save come from? If I remember your SOA correctly then finding a £330-ish saving per month was going to be quite the tall order - have you made changes that have created this amount of surplus?

NiteEyez1980

Hi essex 

I have some advisories and will need new tyres etc. 

The 1k was a combined car and emergency fund for eventualities. 

Realistically I think £600 max however we have cut back on a huge amount, and if we go to the needle then allowing for not paying the existing payments, using a/l ( 2 weeks left - to mitigate fuel costs), keeping our food bill very low, having a clear out (car boot sale etc), the 2 months of no council tax (as pay over 10 months) then that was my target total. 

I'm realistic but wanted to have something to gun for. 

Makingabobor2

NiteEyez1980 said:

I have mots etc in February. 

If I can get thru Dec, Jan and Feb and save 1k that should help.

Will they let me go 3 months tho without a response? 

As others have said, just ignore the creditors. If you feel you must answer their calls, then just tell them to only contact you in writing. I never answered 1 phone call from ours, once we started our journey. Eventually they will get the message and default you.  They will get their response, when you are ready to give it to them

As @EssexHebridean has said though, how are you going to manage to save an EF of £1K by February? You have no spare money every month to do this,,,,,....