Preparing for a DMP – A Few Questions & Seeking Advice

husnu1

Hi Everyone,

I’m in the process of setting up a DMP and currently working through my Income and Expenditure on the StepChange website. I struggle with anxiety, and I’m feeling quite panicked about making a mistake while completing the online form. However, reading through this forum and seeing your support to others has been reassuring.

I'll post my Statement of Affairs here for advice and guidance once I’ve finished it. In the meantime, I have a couple of questions:

1/ Can I modify and adjust my online income and expenditure details on Stepchange as much as I need to, or will it raise any concerns? I’m worried they might think I’m just playing around with the figures. Stepchange has assigned me a case number, but I haven’t contacted them yet. 

2/ My extended car warranty, which is £90 per month on a 12-month contract, is due for renewal tomorrow. Given that my car is costly to repair, I feel this is an essential expense, but I’m concerned that StepChange or my creditors might see it as a luxury and ask me to cancel it.

• Has anyone had a similar experience?
• Would I be able to include this as a necessary expense, or is it likely to be challenged?
• Could creditors demand that I put this money toward repayments instead?

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences from those who have been through this process.

Thanks in advance.

Brie

1 it is quite normal to correct figures as you go along.  you might say that you have food costs of £200 but then realise you need to include the extra milk you buy twice a week or similar.  So the number goes up.  You put in your salary and then realise they deduct X% for pension etc so that number goes down.  

2 £90 a month seem a lot to me - you might want to check if there is a cheaper but still effective alternative by posting on the motoring board.  Meanwhile - lump that in with general motoring costs.  I might drive 10 miles a week and so my petrol costs are low.  Or I might drive 1000 miles a week and my costs will be high.

Creditors will not be making any demands.  You will be telling them what they can afford.  They may not be happy about it but ultimately they would rather get a little rather than nothing.  Some may come back and say £10 a month is not enough we want £50 but if you are treating all the creditors equally they really have no basis for a complaint.  It won't stop them from passing your debt on to another company to manage if they want to but that's their prerogative

Well done for getting this sorted - it's a big step for a lot of us to face up to debts and try to resolve the problem.  

sourcrates

Debt management is an informal debt solution, you call the shots not your creditors.

What you choose to spend money on is of no concern to anyone but you, only in insolvency do the creditors have a say in your budgeting, in debt management you are in charge.

You can add the expense under any heading you choose, car warranty can be mental health therapy, if you want it to be, keep in mind they have no recourse to challenge anything you spend money on at all, so your mind set has to change first off.

Creditors do not make demands of you, they will be glad to get anything back from the fictitious money they originally lent you under the fractional reserve banking scam they all operate.

Lots of us have been through this process, so we can tell you how things really work.

husnu1

Brie said:

1 it is quite normal to correct figures as you go along.  you might say that you have food costs of £200 but then realise you need to include the extra milk you buy twice a week or similar.  So the number goes up.  You put in your salary and then realise they deduct X% for pension etc so that number goes down.  

2 £90 a month seem a lot to me - you might want to check if there is a cheaper but still effective alternative by posting on the motoring board.  Meanwhile - lump that in with general motoring costs.  I might drive 10 miles a week and so my petrol costs are low.  Or I might drive 1000 miles a week and my costs will be high.

Creditors will not be making any demands.  You will be telling them what they can afford.  They may not be happy about it but ultimately they would rather get a little rather than nothing.  Some may come back and say £10 a month is not enough we want £50 but if you are treating all the creditors equally they really have no basis for a complaint.  It won't stop them from passing your debt on to another company to manage if they want to but that's their prerogative

Well done for getting this sorted - it's a big step for a lot of us to face up to debts and try to resolve the problem.  

Thanks for the great advice. I did find cheaper alternatives from third party for around £66 but I prefer to get it from the main dealer for a peace of mind as I don't trust many of these third parties.
It's nice to know that the creditors won't be making any demands but what about Stepchange when I speak to them?

husnu1

sourcrates said:

Debt management is an informal debt solution, you call the shots not your creditors.

What you choose to spend money on is of no concern to anyone but you, only in insolvency do the creditors have a say in your budgeting, in debt management you are in charge.

You can add the expense under any heading you choose, car warranty can be mental health therapy, if you want it to be, keep in mind they have no recourse to challenge anything you spend money on at all, so your mind set has to change first off.

Creditors do not make demands of you, they will be glad to get anything back from the fictitious money they originally lent you under the fractional reserve banking scam they all operate.

Lots of us have been through this process, so we can tell you how things really work.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease. I worry about every little detail when I am doing the income/expenditure. For example I am putting my grocery much less then I am spending in real life. For example I spend roughly £800 a month on grocery but I put £600 on the expenses sheet on Stepchange thinking that they and the creditors will see it as too high and push meto reduce it. I have 4 people in my household including me.

RAS

£3,400+ per month for groceries is on the high side for 4 people. 

husnu1

RAS said:

£3,400+ per month for groceries is on the high side for 4 people. 

Sorry that was a mistake. It is £800 a month. But I  am scared to put this on the SOA thinking that it is too high. I have also edited my post. Thanks for noticing it. 

ManyWays

Go back to Stepchange and say you have added up what you actually spend, and it's £800 a month. If that includes toiletries and cleaning stuff it will probably be under the "SFS limit" and creditors won't query it.

husnu1

ManyWays said:

Go back to Stepchange and say you have added up what you actually spend, and it's £800 a month. If that includes toiletries and cleaning stuff it will probably be under the "SFS limit" and creditors won't query it.

I have not spoken to Stepchange yet. I have just completed the online forms. I've been told I can change the form as much as I  want until I speak to them. 

sourcrates

The problem is, if you underestimate your costs, you will end up with no money left for your essentials, and be back at square one again.

The whole idea of debt management is to pay what is affordable, and only what is affordable, that`s the only way you get out of debt, so put down exactly what you spend, if that only leaves £5 for credit repayments, then £5 is what they get, its pointless if you don`t budget correctly.

RAS

You got into a mess by misunderstanding your family's financial requirements. Now the time to be realistic about what they are. Put those in your SOA.

And them learn to make small savings on each category and save a decent emergency fund?