Scared to start dmp

Debnlee

Hi. So we are in a mess with our debts . We have not missed any payments as yet but are finding harder every month to find the money to pay eveything. We have two personal loans with natwest and other debts on credits cards . There is about 44k debt.  I've been in touch with stepchange ,filled in all our details and its says to go ahead with a joint dmp.
I'm just really scared to go ahead as I'm worried that natwest wont accept the offer  as my loan is for a big amount. Step change says there shouldnt be a problem . But natwest can give me a ccj  or even a charge order.  What do both of these mean? Has anybody on a dmp actually had their offer turned down ? 
I'm really scared to go ahead .I know I need to and I know I've done the right thing seeking help it's just so scary. 
Also I have a mortgage I believe that a dmp wont affect this.  Any reviews from people who are with step change ?
Thankyou .

Kakiste

I didn't own my own house when I did it but I've completed a DMP with Stepchange this year and found them to be really helpful and supportive. 

RAS

A DMP won't affect your existing mortgage, how long is the fix? At the end you can transfer to most of your existing provider's other deals without another credit check.

What does matter is that defaults drop off your credit record after 6 years, and the fastest way to achieve that is to get defaults early in. Meantime you use your payments to build an emergency fund, as you won't get easy credit during those 6 years.

If you make token payments or start early, you can end up with Arrangement to Pay markers which only fall off your credit record 6 years AFTER the debt is paid, so cause damage a lot longer.

And you need new basic bank accounts with a group to whom you owe nothing.

I'd recommend a Statement of Affairs, format for MSE, and people may be able to suggest more detailed strategies.

MalMonroe

Debnlee said:

Hi. So we are in a mess with our debts . We have not missed any payments as yet but are finding harder every month to find the money to pay eveything. We have two personal loans with natwest and other debts on credits cards . There is about 44k debt.  I've been in touch with stepchange ,filled in all our details and its says to go ahead with a joint dmp.
I'm just really scared to go ahead as I'm worried that natwest wont accept the offer  as my loan is for a big amount. Step change says there shouldnt be a problem . But natwest can give me a ccj  or even a charge order.  What do both of these mean? Has anybody on a dmp actually had their offer turned down ? 
I'm really scared to go ahead .I know I need to and I know I've done the right thing seeking help it's just so scary. 
Also I have a mortgage I believe that a dmp wont affect this.  Any reviews from people who are with step change ?
Thankyou .

Hi, I've been helped out of major debt with StepChange. 

What you should do really is contact StepChange again and ask as many questions as you need to so that you know exactly what is happening, or will happen. You do need to get all the facts and information you can before you make your decision so that everything is clear in your mind and you understand it all. Do contact them as often as you need to - by phone is always a better option, that's what I found anyway. Didn't cost me anything.

If it is still the same system at StepChange, you should have been - or will be - allocated your own adviser - I was, and she was lovely - extremely helpful and reassuring and also, non-judgemental and friendly.

Please try not to be scared. I have been in your position and I do understand that feeling so I know exactly what you are going through. StepChange are there to help people just like us. I can assure you that they DID help me and I'm now debt free, apart from having my car on a PCP, which is something that is now very manageable for me.

I cannot recommend StepChange too highly, from my experiences with them. 

Good luck! But do let them know of your worries. They can and will help.

Grumpelstiltskin

Deb  Number 1 is don't panic, nothing terrible is going to happen.

First thing to do is to get a new basic bank account with a bank you don't owe money to, so no bank that is in the same group as Nat West.

Then fill out a honest SOA   
http://www.stoozing.com/soa.php format for MSE and put it up on here.

Next thing after you have moved  everything to your new bank account is to stop paying all your unsecured debts and save the money for your emergency fund, you are going to need an emergency fund so the sooner you start it and the more you have in it the better.

It takes months for your creditors to do anything apart from phone calls which you ignore and letters again which go into the pending files.

By then you will know what your budget is and you can start a DMP

sourcrates

Nothing whatsoever to be scared about.

Creditors are well used to customers entering debt management.

It doesn't matter if a creditor won`t accept what you offer by way of a DMP payment, you just continue to pay it anyway.

All that will happen is the creditor will probably sell the debt to someone else, that`s what happens with 90% of bad debt in the UK.

The companies that buy the debts do so for a very small percentage of their face value, so they can happily accept whatever affordable payments you want to offer.

Legal action may be taken, for various reasons, usually after a debt is sold and you fail to make arrangements with the new owner, if you have arrangements in place, such as a DMP, then legal action is very unlikely to happen, but can be a possibility, all a charging order does is secure the debt against your property, this again is quite rare if you are making efforts to pay the debt.

Usually those who enter debt management find it helps them greatly, as you are repaying what you owe at an affordable rate, over a longer period of time.

Rob5342

Stepchange are good but they are funded by the lenders. As a result they tend to focus on repaying the whole amount to everyone which isn't always helpful. To start with I'd definitely recommened using them for all the support they can give you, but as you get more comfortable with the process you might want to manage it yourself to make settlement offers when you have spare money etc.

I was worried about starting my DMP but 18 months in I can say it was one of the best things I've ever done. I had a few phone calls but when I mentioned Stepchange they apologised for phoning and just asked for the reference number. Three of them have sold my accounts to debt purchasers but all that happened there was that I just carried on making the same payments to them instead.

Legal action can never be 100% ruled out, but if you are repaying via a DMP then it's not at all likely. It's much more likely that being on a DMP will make things much easier and far less stressful for you.

zippygeorgeandben

Some good advice here.  Please try not to panic.

Rob5342

I changed to a new fixed rate mortgage deal in the summer. I had three defaults but it didn't affect it at all as I stayed with the same lender and they didn't do a credit check.