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Clearing a small debt before a DMP - worth it?

yelf · 2024-02-07 19:18:51

Hello. A friend is looking at a DMP. One of their debts is a credit card of about £1,000. I have offered to clear this debt for them (it still wont make any real difference but is one less debt). If they go down the DMP route, which seems inevitable, is there any point in clearing debt? Thanks

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EssexHebridean Posts: 24,424 Forumite

10 February 2024 at 9:11AM edited 10 February 2024 at 9:29AM

I think the best help you could give your friend right now is not to give them money - indeed, that may be the worst thing you could do - but to gently encourage them to post here in their own right. You could also sit down with them and help them put together their SOA - two heads are often better than one on that. They should definitely let unsecured debts default (by stopping payments completely) before starting a DMP though.

🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25

SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator

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