Question...

LucyGalbo

Hello all
I have been with StepChange on a DMP for 2 years now, have about £4750 left to pay on my plan - however this month I have had to miss my DMP payment, due to a broken cooker, it’s my first ever missed payment and I made one reduced payment nearly a year ago - StepChange have reassured me it won’t mean my plan is cancelled but it got me thinking about going self managed.
The main reason for this is because I want a bit more flexibility with my payments and honestly with the money I’ve had to pay out this month, I could actually do with skipping a payment next month as well I know it’s not ideal, but unfortunately, life happens! Also, I’m starting to sell a bit of stuff online in the new year and I’d like to pay off more when I can.

3 of my 5 debts have already been sold to DCs and 2 of them are Lowell and Moorcroft, which when I look at their sites, there are easy ways to set up your own payments. 

I just wanted a bit of advice from anyone who has gone it alone before, and especially if you made £1 token payments for a few months, did you just drop your DD and send £1? How do debt collection agencies respond to that? The only thing I’m scared of is threatening letters and doorstep collectors but I need to get a bit of an emergency fund behind me!
Thanks in advance
Lucy

sourcrates

Don`t bother with token payments, it`s debt purchasing companies you're now dealing with, so if you want a break from payments, just tell them so, and also tell them when payments will resume, the collection process tends to move very slowly due to the sheer numbers of clients these companies deal with, it can take a month or two for them to respond to letters, so don`t worry how they will respond.

Threatening letters are recycle bin fodder, nothing more, they are standardised, and templated, similar to the letters we send on this forum, full of "what if`s" and "we may`s", all computer generated.

Lowell don`t employ doorstep collectors, Moorcroft I`m not sure, but that honour is usually reserved for those who haven`t paid for a while, not those just taking a break, honestly, don`t fret about these toothless companies, do what you have to do, and they will just have to fall into line won`t they.

RAS

You'd probably be better taking a defined break and building up an emergency fund. Just don't get tempted to spend it. Get it moved into a separate account as soon as you are paid. That way it's more likely to be used for emergencies.