Stepchange DMP

Rob5342

I self manage mine and it's really not a lot of admin. It's just a case of.sending a letter to say how much you will be paying a creditor and setting up an standing order for that amount. With the others you can just use the same letter and and adjust the amount.

ForwardisForward

So you basically have a DMP but manage it yourself?  I guess this would work better with my husbands weekly pay as I could pay them when I can rather than the date on the monthly statement and Stepchange want one payment a month.

Do you send a budget breakdown or do they just accept what you say?  I guess they all respond differently?

Thanks for your comment 

ForwardisForward

Hello again. One week until I stop payments, no DMP yet, but I've just read my personal loan agreement and it states 

If you miss a number of payments, or do not make your monthly payments in full, we may end the loan agreement and you will have to repay the total amount you owe us early. We may take legal action against you if your payments are not made and you will be responsible for the cost of us doing this. If that action is successful, we may apply to enforce any judgment in a number of ways including getting a charging order against your home or an inhibition if your home is in Scotland. This means that if your home is sold the amount you owe us can be paid out of the proceeds of the sale.

Now I feel really stressed. Any experience anyone?

Thanks

fatbelly

May...May...May

ForwardisForward

Yes I know but this is all new and terrifying to me and it just helps to hear of peoples experiences to calm my heart rate a bit!

Brie

Companies threaten because for a lot of people that means they keep paying even when they shouldn't.  

But companies are also very aware that the current climate is making it very difficult to clear their arrears.  Net result is that many are willing to make an agreement, sometimes without interest, almost certainly without any fees, as long as you prove exactly what you can afford and continue to make payments.  

What some recommend is doing the full and accurate statement of accounts which you can send to the creditors to show exactly what you owe everywhere and how much you can afford.  The thing then is normally to prorata that "excess" to the creditors based on the debt you have with each.  So if you owe C1 £100 and C2 £500 and you had £6 excess you'd pay £1 to C1 & £5 to C2.  That way you are not favouring one over the other.  Hope that makes sense.

Best of luck with it all - it takes time but is doable if you are determined.

ForwardisForward

Thanks Brie. I am going to do a DMP with Stepchange but am going to do a couple of months, more if I'm braver, of just not paying so that I can get a head start with a new bank account. My husband gets paid weekly so I need to build up at least the first DMP payment.

RAS

Hi Keezing posted an excellent thread a couple of days ago reporting back on their experience of starting a DMP 6 years ago. You may find it useful to read their initial thread as well.

The two biggest take aways were:

Stop paying until you get defaults.
Send each provider a letter or email instructing them to communicate by letter only, no calls, texts or emails. Given OH shifts, that is even more important.

Keezing paid the minimum possible and saved up for full and final settlements, clearing £120k debt for £45k. That may sound unfair but the debt companies will have paid 2-25% when they bought the debt, so could still turn a profit.

ForwardisForward

Thank you so much. The recommended post is so helpful.  I feel committed to it all and can totally see the benefit of paying nothing until defaults. I just need to find my bravery .....

lillypoo

Forwardisforward

I am in the exact same position as you.

I usually pay my three credit cards on around 7th of the month. I'm feeling sick at the thought of not doing that on 7th May but I trust the advice I've read on here.

I haven't even had the nerve to say that I'm in so much debt yet ..I did post once but feebly claimed I was asking for a friend hahaha

Let's be brave! Hope the defaults come quickly