Anyone else paying £1,000+ monthly with StepChange DMP?

iceandfire1

Currently £36k in debt. Combination of loans, credit cards, and overdraft.

Wondering if anyone else is paying this amount or if this is a good idea? Let's say I finish paying everything is 2 years +. My credit file would still be bad until 6 years after.

And also, my accounts haven't defaulted yet. 

I wonder how long StepChange is willing to wait for me to say I want to start my DMP payments.

DullGreyGuy

Knew one person paying vastly more... what's a "good idea" depends on what's affordable for you, size of the debts, what interest you'll be paying etc. 

iceandfire1

I currently pay £1,700 with interest and all charges.

I feel £1,000 is affordable for me but I need to make sure I do overtime shifts.

Rob5342

It all relative to how big your debts are and what you can afford, so you can't judge the repayment on its own. If you get to the stage where you need a DMP then one thing I would say is that it's probably not a good idea to try and pay it off too quickly. If you throw everything at to try and pay it off quickly then the chances are that you will repay close to the full amount. If you pay a reduced amount, save the difference, then at some point down the line you can make reduced settlment offers and clear everything for much less. Throw in CCA requests and you might not have to repay some of it at all.

EssexHebridean

iceandfire1 said:

Currently £36k in debt. Combination of loans, credit cards, and overdraft.

Wondering if anyone else is paying this amount or if this is a good idea? Let's say I finish paying everything is 2 years +. My credit file would still be bad until 6 years after.

And also, my accounts haven't defaulted yet. 

I wonder how long StepChange is willing to wait for me to say I want to start my DMP payments.

The OP is in the Channel Islands IIRC? Have we established what the rules around markers on credit files are there? In England and Wales OP, if you get a default, the 6 year clock starts ticking from the default date. So if you have a debt that defaults on 1/2/25, it will disappear from your file on 1/2/31. If you enter into the DMP without getting the defaults though and get AP markers instead, then the debt drops off your file 6 years after you finish paying. Let’s assume you make the final payment to the DMP and are debt free on 1/2/2028 - that then gives you a date for the debt to drop off your file of 1/2/2034. Things MAY not be the same in the Channel Islands though - you may want to check, or someone else who does know may be along shortly.