In a DMP, can i only make decent token payments for months, then make offers.

fatbelly

stu12345_2 said:

the random video is not a random video, it is a well respected knowledgeable guy , with 20 yrs experience, what he said i already knew, but was looking at how to do it exactly. 

Can you post a link, Stu?

There's some amazing rubbish on youtube.

sourcrates

stu12345_2 said:

ok, that is the first thing i do then, not make any more payments, whilst they search.  hang on, the debt camel link says pay them for a couple of months whilst they search, how much?????
 This  £1 fee,cheque or postal order, who do i write it to?

and how do i make payments to the creditors in the meantime, do i ask for bank account number in the same letter ive wrote to them? I will not phone them at all, as ive read there is no need to phone, as they will just try to put pressure on me.

You can send the CCA request letter asking for your copy credit agreement, to the generic service address for your creditor, obviously including your account number/s, contact information etc.

The £1 statutory payment is a bit of a farce these days, as many creditors don`t even cash them, but you should send an uncrossed postal order, or a cheque if still have them, its quite likely they will return it uncashed, but you should send it to comply with legislation.

Making this kind of request has the added benefit of effectively putting all your accounts "on hold", so no payments are necessary during this time, until they have responded with the correct documentation.

This is a standardised process, and is one of your statutory rights under the terms of the consumer credit act, so you cannot be made to or forced to pay any of these debts whilst the requests are outstanding.

It`s a great little piece of legislation, that if nothing else, bides you some time to save up that ever so important emergency fund, and don`t expect a quick response to this, it may take many months for them all to comply, some may not be able to do so, but just relax, and let the process work for you.

Keep in mind that this only applies to loans/credit cards/catalogue accounts etc, that are regulated by the consumer credit act, it does not apply to service contracts for broadband/landline phones or mobile phone accounts.

RAS

Stop paying anyone until they produce supporting documentation. Do come back here if something arrives, because it's not unusual for them to just send a statement of account and ask for payments, hoping you are unwary.

And keep that money in an emergency fund. Start by aiming for enough to replace an item of white goods, and aim for enough to live on for a couple of weeks, then a month. 

stu12345_2

ok.i write to them. with the fee of £1 for the search. and pay them nothing whilst they search.dont owe any phone bills.im pay as you go. looked at moorcroft.they have phone numbers and webchat and automated payment lines.but I will need to write if I'm to enclose the fee.but my bank sold my loan on except the credit card debt.i hope they don't try and take all my wages whilst this search goes on.or after the search grab my wages if it's found the credit card debt is enforceable.

stu12345_2

can anyone tho comment on my plan to make tiny monthly payments if debts enforceable in order to save money so that maybe months down the road I can make a F and F offer without telling them where the money came from or how to avoid them getting suspicions how I'm paying so little when I could prob afford a bit more.

stu12345_2

there is something else I wish to add.plesse comment.
my mother is old and not in the best health.she wants me to visit more often.she lives 600 miles away.it would cost me around £500 just to train.fly hotel to see her for a weekend.how the devil do I ever put that expense down on a budget sheet if I ever create a budget sheet for creditors if I need to do one at some point after I leave stepchange.
when I was on step change I missed 3 payments cos of my trips to visit here.she is getting more frail and wish to visit much much more often she is 86 .she has carers that visit daily.

Rob5342

Your personal budget and what you tell your creditors are two different things. Your top priority should be to have a sustainable budget for yourself. That budget should include every expense you know about, rent, bills, repair costs, travel costs etc, plus an amount to an emergency fund, and whats left is money you can use towards debts. If anything changes you should adjust that budget straightaway to keep it sustainable which will change the amount of money you have to use towards your debts. As a secondary priority you should look at how you apply the leftover money to your debts. To start with you can stop paying everything and save that money towards full and final settlements, and then when you find out if the debts are enforceable or not you can decide on an approach for paying each one (reduced payments with a F&F later etc). Don't worry about how you will justify the payments to them or what they'll think, just tell them what they'll be getting, set the standing order up and that's it.

When you've been in debt for a long time you can feel like you are at the mercy of the creditors. It can take a while to change your mindest but once you realise that you are in control and call all the shots you begin to feel a lot more confident about things.   

Rob5342

stu12345_2 said:

ok.i write to them. with the fee of £1 for the search. and pay them nothing whilst they search.dont owe any phone bills.im pay as you go. looked at moorcroft.they have phone numbers and webchat and automated payment lines.but I will need to write if I'm to enclose the fee.but my bank sold my loan on except the credit card debt.i hope they don't try and take all my wages whilst this search goes on.or after the search grab my wages if it's found the credit card debt is enforceable.

If you are in a DMP It's advisable to bank somewhere where you don't hold debts. You can apply for a new account in about 10 minutes and they switch everything for you.

stu12345_2

don't like standing orders.too used to paying via a DD with stepchsnge.so maybe just see what systems the creditors prefer.i know some have a phone number to make a payment and a number to arrange a payment plan. dd.
tbh.the whole plan is to max out expenses on my budget plan in order to put away savings so in the future say 6 to 9 months plus.
offer them a F and F at a very reduced price on the balances.
don't consider this unethical plz.i know Im stopping my DMP. as I really want to avoid having to pay back every penny when there is the F and F option.even tho it will be me that pays it and not a gift from friends which won't happen anyway from friends . 
if I can reach the F and F stage by this method.eg save up without creditors getting narky over eg this couple  have high expenses eg food.gas elec water car repairs emergency fund etc 
then it gives me a way to cut £1000s off the outstanding balances via a F and F offer.

stu12345_2

so if I do a F and F at some point.i never need to explain where the money is coming from is that right
.cos no way can I say to creditors hey ive saved up £1000s so here is my offer.
cos many debt sites like CAB debt camel etc say hey your friend gives you money or you get redundancy pay or perhaps an inheritance.
none of those sites say hey if none of these windfalls apply to you.heres another method -----just increase your expenses on your budget  (but in reality you don't actually have those expenses at such highish prices ) in order for  you to max your savings  so you can make an F and F offers.)