About to begin a DMP with £53k of debt.

fatbelly

wildstyle2019 said:

That's super helpful. Becoming less daunting about managing it myself now although my husband is now very concerned about how much it's going to affect his credit file. I wish there was a way of getting more clarification about this. 

What exactly is he worried about?

If he can ask a precise question ( through you, on this thread) we can attempt an answer

sourcrates

Nothing lasts forever.

Defaulted accounts stay on file for 6 years, then they are removed.

Debt management will only affect yours and his ability to obtain credit, nothing more.

The sooner your accounts default, the sooner things will return to normal, if your goal is to be debt free, you won`t want credit anyway, and your husband may want to take a leaf from that book also.

Rob5342

One thing to add is that if you stay with the same lender you can usually switch to a new mortgage deal without a credit check. I have three defaults on my credit record and when my Santander fixed rate ended last summer I switched to one of their new fixed rate deals with no problems at all (all it took was two minutes in their online banking to choose the new one)

Karonher

Is your husband worried that there may be an issue that needs to be dealt with and he will not be able to access credit to deal with it? If he has a good credit rating and would be in a position to keep up any payments that might need to be made, could he get a credit card now before his rating is affected? He doesnt have to use it, just know ti is there if he needs it.

wildstyle2019

fatbelly said:

wildstyle2019 said:

That's super helpful. Becoming less daunting about managing it myself now although my husband is now very concerned about how much it's going to affect his credit file. I wish there was a way of getting more clarification about this. 

What exactly is he worried about?

If he can ask a precise question ( through you, on this thread) we can attempt an answer

His main concern is if we need to get a new mobile phone contract or things like Virgin Broadband but I am not sure if you need to a credit check for simply upgrading or renewing a broadband contract. Also, were trying to move away from phone contracts as we'd prefer to just buy refurb phones or buy ones outright. Not that we need to get new phones or broadband contracts as yet - he's just trying to think of issues we may run into over the 6 year period. He's not bothered about getting more credit cards. Having just renewed our mortgage we're not overly concerned about that but I agree with Rob5342 - we would just stay with our current lender and switch to their new fixed rate. 

wildstyle2019

I should add that he works full time at home and is a computer systems developer so good broadband is essential.

sourcrates

You don`t "need" new phone contracts, buy used with a PAYG sim, easy, deals these days are as good as, or better than pay monthly, free mins/texts/internet, payment taken monthly, just upfront rather than in arrears.

As for Broadband, even those who have been through insolvencies, never had an issue obtaining or renewing broadband/insurances, or anything of that nature.

The only things you won`t be able to get are those that involve new credit agreements.

Rob5342

I have three defaults and I've got new car insurance, new home insurance, new energy and new broadband deals without any problems. I've also got new mobile contracts with no problems, but only £6 a month SIM only contracts.

It is going to affect your ability to get credit, but against a background of you living frugally and putting money into an emergency fund that shouldn't make too much practical difference.

I was apprehensive about starting mine and the thought of living without access to credit seemed a bit daunting, but now I've been on it for a while I feel quite comfortable. I have to forego a lot of things but when my washing machine went wrong I was able to just go out and buy one.

As Sourcrates says nothing lasts forever and it's surprising how quickly it goes. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was looking at starting a DMP, but next June it will only be three years until the first defaults drop off.

fatbelly

I notice you've just renewed your car but even if he wanted new car finance this is not likely to be difficult for him as the finance is secured against an asset

wildstyle2019

Thank you all for your help. We have had a long chat and he is supportive of my plan now. As I said, we don't anticipate we'll need new phones or a new broadband contract but 6 years is a long time and sometimes you just don't know what will happen in the future. Can I just check (pretty sure I know the answer to this) do you only have to get a new bank account if you have credit cards or overdrafts with that particular bank? 

Almost ready to get started!