I struggle to read, but want to run my own DMP

EssexHebridean

Just a note on the communication thing - you can ask that they contact you by email, you can also tell them that they may not contact you by telephone at all. Do bear in mind though that there are some documents they will have to send you by post, so you cannot completely exclude hard copy communications. 

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury

EssexHebridean said:

In terms of the impulse spending what happens if the money is not in the bank to spend - is it straight to the credit cards or what? Interested to know how things play out for you because remember that going forwards there will be no credit cards, and you need to be sure that your priority bills will be covered, so a good plan of attack is going to be needed!

Also - have you checked that you are getting all benefits you may be entitled to? 

Hi!  Thank you for your response.  SOA above

regarding the impulse spending, it’s really a combination of
a) thinking “oh I can take £30 out of my food budget and get this”

 b) forgetting I’ve done that. And 

c) realising I’ve no money for a bill or for food then putting that on a credit card.  Normally in complete despair ordering something off uber eats will follow.

Sadly I am getting all the benefits my disability entitles me to.

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury

Rob5342 said:

You dont negotiate anything with your creditors, you tell them what you will be paying them and they can like it or lump it. There's no need to provide them with bank statements or bills. I used this site when I started managing mine, it generates the letters and SOA for you to send off. The SOA you send creditors doesn't have to be completely accurate, just something that arrives at the amount you will be paying so they can tick the "we've checked this is affordable" box (the SOA you provide as a reply here should be 100% accurate so we can give 

That site is great thank you

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury

fatbelly said:

Yes, with a self managed dmp you can do what you want. What is the apr on the loan you want to exclude?

Why not share your soa with us first to see if all this is realistic?

The APR on the Tesco loan is 12.73% and it’s a fixed £99 a month cost

ManyWays

You can leave a debt out of a self managed DMP, but there is very little advantage in doing this and it will make little difference to your credit rating.

Your camera equipment is safe, unless you do a total ostrich act you will never see a bailiff.

Stepchange and Payplan dont charge for DMPs and with them you only make a single payment a month to your debts and they divide it between the creditors. If you have memory and budgeting problems, a DMP really is very simplifying and it may be a good idea to consider it.

Are you self-employed now, and how large are the bounceback loan repayments?

fatbelly

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury said:

fatbelly said:

Yes, with a self managed dmp you can do what you want. What is the apr on the loan you want to exclude?

Why not share your soa with us first to see if all this is realistic?

The APR on the Tesco loan is 12.73% and it’s a fixed £99 a month cost

Yeah, but it's not particularly low interest. I can't see the point in giving them preferential treatment.

Let's have a closer look at that soa

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury

ManyWays said:

You can leave a debt out of a self managed DMP, but there is very little advantage in doing this and it will make little difference to your credit rating.

Your camera equipment is safe, unless you do a total ostrich act you will never see a bailiff.

Stepchange and Payplan dont charge for DMPs and with them you only make a single payment a month to your debts and they divide it between the creditors. If you have memory and budgeting problems, a DMP really is very simplifying and it may be a good idea to consider it.

Are you self-employed now, and how large are the bounceback loan repayments?

I’m unemployed - completely incapable of effectively running the business at that moment. The LLC continues to exist for the sole purpose of paying off the bounce back loan from COVID.  ay it back.  

the bounce back loan repayments are made by my LLC and I believe don’t count as being my debt but rather the company’s?  In any event, the repayments are £35 a month and pants I didn’t put that in my SOA

i have considered StepChange and payplan but unfortunately I could not tolerate the way they work.  Insofar as the combination of autism and ADHD -for me at least-makes a reduction or a perceived reduction in my autonomy a sure fire way to precipitate a massive breakdown.  I can’t really afford to battle the suicidal thoughts that would come with that, so managing the DMP myself is the safest way for me to go.

i know that might be hard to understand when or if you have a neurotypical mind.  Just imagine crippling existential dread overwhelming you without a break whilst you’re awake.  That’s what it would be like for me.

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury

fatbelly said:

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury said:

fatbelly said:

Yes, with a self managed dmp you can do what you want. What is the apr on the loan you want to exclude?

Why not share your soa with us first to see if all this is realistic?

The APR on the Tesco loan is 12.73% and it’s a fixed £99 a month cost

Yeah, but it's not particularly low interest. I can't see the point in giving them preferential treatment.

Let's have a closer look at that soa

Yeah, I couldn’t imagine a financial benefit when I thought about it.

its the scale of change involved in having Barclays close my bank account that I’m trying to avoid.  

All my payments go in and out of that account and I’ve had it about 17 years.  The amount of changes I’d have to make are too much for me.  Again this is something probably deeply frustrating to hear if you’re neurotypical because you and most everyone you know can handle that and it doesn’t seem like a big issue.

For me it’s straight up danger.  That amount of change would be a bridge too far for my mental health.  Even just changing the bank account without doing anything else is just outside my capacity.

yeah.  I know.  Sounds dumb as hell.  But it can’t be helped.

born_again

AudADHDGuyWithABrainInjury said:

ManyWays said:

You can leave a debt out of a self managed DMP, but there is very little advantage in doing this and it will make little difference to your credit rating.

Your camera equipment is safe, unless you do a total ostrich act you will never see a bailiff.

Stepchange and Payplan dont charge for DMPs and with them you only make a single payment a month to your debts and they divide it between the creditors. If you have memory and budgeting problems, a DMP really is very simplifying and it may be a good idea to consider it.

Are you self-employed now, and how large are the bounceback loan repayments?

I’m unemployed - completely incapable of effectively running the business at that moment. The LLC continues to exist for the sole purpose of paying off the bounce back loan from COVID.  ay it back.  

the bounce back loan repayments are made by my LLC and I believe don’t count as being my debt but rather the company’s?  In any event, the repayments are £35 a month and pants I didn’t put that in my SOA

i have considered StepChange and payplan but unfortunately I could not tolerate the way they work.  Insofar as the combination of autism and ADHD -for me at least-makes a reduction or a perceived reduction in my autonomy a sure fire way to precipitate a massive breakdown.  I can’t really afford to battle the suicidal thoughts that would come with that, so managing the DMP myself is the safest way for me to go.

i know that might be hard to understand when or if you have a neurotypical mind.  Just imagine crippling existential dread overwhelming you without a break whilst you’re awake.  That’s what it would be like for me.

I heard a great description of this the other night, by someone with the same issues.

They compared it to a professional engineer on one side of the brain & a highly caffeinated toddler on the other, fighting it out & neither will win.

Brie

Have you considered getting a Mental Health and Debt Evidence form?  This is something that your doctor or  another medical professional dealing with your mental health can sign attesting to the fact that you have certain cognitive issues.  Some surgeries will tell you you have to pay to have this signed but I've been told that the British Medical Association has stated that there should be no charge as they recognise the close connection between mental health and debt and how badly debt can rebound and worse an individual's mental health issues.  

Here's some info from StepChange about it.

Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form. StepChange

Basically with this submitted to your creditors they may acknowledge that getting into debt is a symptom of your mental health issues rather than you simply overspending.  On this basis they will at the very least be much more cooperative and in some cases may write off some or all of the debt.  If it helps you even a little that would be a good thing.

Also - regarding the bounce back loan.  Is the business still operating?  If not and if you have not guaranteed the loan personally then if the business closes there is no way for the money to be paid back.  At least that's how I understand it.  Someone who is an accountant would likely be able to explain it better than myself but I have heard about this happening so that someone allows the company to be closed officially and can therefore no longer have to deal with any of the debts of the business.  Maybe one of the other experts here knows more???  Anyways - just a thought.

AND if you don't like StepChange or Paypal would another agency be easier to work with?  I believe NationalDebtline is much like StepChange.  But there is also Citizen's Advice who might help guide you through some of the set up of a DMP.  Likewise Community Money Advice (CMA) and Christians Against Poverty (CAP) might assist.  These 3 organisations tend to work face to face but don't actually handle the DMP itself.  They get you to the point where you can manage it yourself which is what you seem to want to do.