Is a debt management plan right for me?

Rob5342

Your credit record will be marked in one of two ways, either as an arrangement to pay or as a default. A defaulted debt will drop off your credit record 6 years after the default has been applied, but a debt with an arrangement to pay marker won't drop off until 6 years after the debt has been repaid, which could potentially be much longer. Also once defaulted a debt will usually be sold to a debt collection agency who would be more likely to accept a reduced settlement offer than the original creditor.

It's completely counter intuitive, but ignoring a debt until it defaults can see your credit record clean and the debt cleared much sooner than if you start paying straightaway with a dmp.

RAS

Don't think anyone's mentioned this yet, but get yourself a new basic bank account with a provider that has no relationship with any of those to whom you owe money.

Do NOT use the account switching facility. That also switches all the DDs set up to pay your creditors. Talk to HR, move across your salary, housing and utilities DDs. Plus any essential media. 

Also set up another interest bearing account for your emergency fund and set a SO for £345 into it each month.

That'll help you cope without credit if anything goes bang. And identify anything missing from your SOA if you get to the end of the money before the end of the month.

It's also worth thinking about a car boot or similar if you have stuff that might sell and you no longer use, to give the emergency fund an early boost.

kpols

Santander contacted me to tell me that they have removed the overdraft from my account because I didn't update them - does this affect anything? 

fatbelly

As long as you took RAS's advice and are using a new bank account not connected to your debts, then what Santander choose to do with their overdraft is up to them and won't have any impact on you

kpols

fatbelly said:

As long as you took RAS's advice and are using a new bank account not connected to your debts, then what Santander choose to do with their overdraft is up to them and won't have any impact on you

yeah so I took out a new account with Chase and I'm having my salary paid there. so the £1800 I owe them will just go into the DMP?

RAS

Yes, just another debt to get defaulted. You'll be OK.

fatbelly

kpols said:

yeah so I took out a new account with Chase and I'm having my salary paid there. so the £1800 I owe them will just go into the DMP?

Good choice. You walk away from Santander and it just becomes another non-priority debt.

sourcrates

Just one thing with Banks, they can take forever to stop charging you interest on overdrafts, so to hasten the process along, you might want to write and tell them your in financial trouble, that you won`t be using the account anymore, so can they hurry up and close it so the debt does not escalate into infinity !!