Some advice would be much appreciated - DMP or not? Self-managed or not. Significant debt

sourcrates

auburnheart said:

Hi All,
I've recently noticed that Sainsburys Bank (the only creditor I have that don't have any facility only to ring), have sent me a statement showing the full amount is now payable. I was under the impressions that I was on a payment plan (to which I spoke to them about and they said they accepted). I can see that they added interest to my statement prior to this one however, told me no interest and charges are applicable.
Anyway, I've noticed on my Clear Score report this morning, that a company called "TDX Group (for Sainsburys Bank)" has made a soft search on my credit report. I've googled them but it just says they're an Equifax company not directly involved with Sainsbury's Bank. Sainsbury's Bank is currently being taken over by NatWest Bank therefore is it something to do with this do you think?

TDX appear to be a "jack of all trades" but I think there core business is what you might call a "fixer" a tracing and advice agent to business.

Looking on their website they have their fingers in lots of different pies, mostly in the sale and purchase of debts and advice on debt solutions to various clients.

auburnheart

sourcrates said:

auburnheart said:

Hi All,
I've recently noticed that Sainsburys Bank (the only creditor I have that don't have any facility only to ring), have sent me a statement showing the full amount is now payable. I was under the impressions that I was on a payment plan (to which I spoke to them about and they said they accepted). I can see that they added interest to my statement prior to this one however, told me no interest and charges are applicable.
Anyway, I've noticed on my Clear Score report this morning, that a company called "TDX Group (for Sainsburys Bank)" has made a soft search on my credit report. I've googled them but it just says they're an Equifax company not directly involved with Sainsbury's Bank. Sainsbury's Bank is currently being taken over by NatWest Bank therefore is it something to do with this do you think?

TDX appear to be a "jack of all trades" but I think there core business is what you might call a "fixer" a tracing and advice agent to business.

Looking on their website they have their fingers in lots of different pies, mostly in the sale and purchase of debts and advice on debt solutions to various clients.

Would you say this is something for me to worry about? Sainsbury's sent through a default for some arrears amounts back in January 2025. This is when I last spoke to them when they confirmed my repayments would be okay. 

sourcrates

"Default sums in arrears" by any chance?

Just a late payment charge, not an account default, when your debt defaults, you will get a statutory notice under sec 87(1) consumer credit act, giving you 14 days to rectify the breach, after which, if not acted upon, your account will default.

Nothing to worry about, all standard stuff, they appear to be gearing up to either default you, then sell your account or possibly pass it to a collection company to manage, whatever they decide, you will be written too.

The agents you deal with on the phone etc are not privy to the commercial decisions taken with bad debt accounts, and what they tell you should not be taken as what will actually happen, those decisions are made well above their pay grade, so you may be told, "yes well keep accepting your reduced payments", when in fact they intend to "wash their hands" of it and sell it on.

auburnheart

sourcrates said:

"Default sums in arrears" by any chance?

Just a late payment charge, not an account default, when your debt defaults, you will get a statutory notice under sec 87(1) consumer credit act, giving you 14 days to rectify the breach, after which, if not acted upon, your account will default.

Nothing to worry about, all standard stuff, they appear to be gearing up to either default you, then sell your account or possibly pass it to a collection company to manage, whatever they decide, you will be written too.

The agents you deal with on the phone etc are not privy to the commercial decisions taken with bad debt accounts, and what they tell you should not be taken as what will actually happen, those decisions are made well above their pay grade, so you may be told, "yes well keep accepting your reduced payments", when in fact they intend to "wash their hands" of it and sell it on.

Ive checked my paperwork. I do have a default notice under section 87(1) which was dated 31 January 2025. I have been making my payments since in terms of my own DMP. 
It states on the letter, that if the arrears is not paid by 28/02/25 further action may be taken against you. 
I took this as a standard default and have been waiting for it to appear on my credit report. 
But nothing, and they applied interest to one of my statements after the date which makes me really nervous about what's going on. 
Do you recommend I ring them? 

sourcrates

Sometimes, only very occasionally, default notices are not followed through with.

You could ring them, but the call handler will have scant information, and will not be privy to what will happen next with your account, those decisions are made on a commercial basis and are not passed on to call handlers.

No harm in writing through, usually that gets a response from the right department.

auburnheart

sourcrates said:

Sometimes, only very occasionally, default notices are not followed through with.

You could ring them, but the call handler will have scant information, and will not be privy to what will happen next with your account, those decisions are made on a commercial basis and are not passed on to call handlers.

No harm in writing through, usually that gets a response from the right department.

Thank you so much for replying. 
I have literally just contacted them. They have confirmed the account was defaulted on the 14/05/25 due to my payment plan arrangement not being followed. It was due to them having my date of payment incorrect. I explained that it was and they said there's was nothing they can do now. Which I do feel a little marked about. 
Either way, he said a DCA will most probably be in contact with me to make payments and let them know what I can afford. He did wipe some of the interest and feed they added which they shouldn't have so I'm presuming I just wait for the DCA now? I've not had any DCA contact me for any of my debt yet so I'm a little nervous now about this. 

sourcrates

Nothing to be nervous about, just another collection company, they will send a letter, and will most likely only be acting in a collection role in this instance, that means that they don`t own the debt, ownership will still rest with Sainsburys, so all they can do is ask you to pay, they cant enforce the debt at all.

The letter will give you payment options you can choose, all very easy.

Of course they may sell the debt, in which case the letter will confirm whether this is the case or not, doesn't really make any difference to how you handle things.

tigergambit

auburnheart said:

sourcrates said:

Sometimes, only very occasionally, default notices are not followed through with.

You could ring them, but the call handler will have scant information, and will not be privy to what will happen next with your account, those decisions are made on a commercial basis and are not passed on to call handlers.

No harm in writing through, usually that gets a response from the right department.

Thank you so much for replying. 
I have literally just contacted them. They have confirmed the account was defaulted on the 14/05/25 due to my payment plan arrangement not being followed. It was due to them having my date of payment incorrect. I explained that it was and they said there's was nothing they can do now. Which I do feel a little marked about. 
Either way, he said a DCA will most probably be in contact with me to make payments and let them know what I can afford. He did wipe some of the interest and feed they added which they shouldn't have so I'm presuming I just wait for the DCA now? I've not had any DCA contact me for any of my debt yet so I'm a little nervous now about this. 

Sainsbury's are hopeless. The DCA they used with me, Capital Resolve, were equally hopeless. Just sit tight until you hear from them or whoever Sainsbury's appoint. Don't be tempted to call them again - it's not your responsibility to chase them.

auburnheart

tigergambit said:

auburnheart said:

sourcrates said:

Sometimes, only very occasionally, default notices are not followed through with.

You could ring them, but the call handler will have scant information, and will not be privy to what will happen next with your account, those decisions are made on a commercial basis and are not passed on to call handlers.

No harm in writing through, usually that gets a response from the right department.

Thank you so much for replying. 
I have literally just contacted them. They have confirmed the account was defaulted on the 14/05/25 due to my payment plan arrangement not being followed. It was due to them having my date of payment incorrect. I explained that it was and they said there's was nothing they can do now. Which I do feel a little marked about. 
Either way, he said a DCA will most probably be in contact with me to make payments and let them know what I can afford. He did wipe some of the interest and feed they added which they shouldn't have so I'm presuming I just wait for the DCA now? I've not had any DCA contact me for any of my debt yet so I'm a little nervous now about this. 

Sainsbury's are hopeless. The DCA they used with me, Capital Resolve, were equally hopeless. Just sit tight until you hear from them or whoever Sainsbury's appoint. Don't be tempted to call them again - it's not your responsibility to chase them.

Hello,
Thanks for replying. 
Was Capital Resolve okay with you? Did it take long for them to contact you? 

Kauto5

auburnheart said:

Kauto5 said:

Hi @auburnheart Thank you for sharing your DMP journey on here, it's been really helpful and I hope everything is going well.

I am about to start a DMP and have a loan with the same credit union as you. How have they been with you, any different to other creditors? Have they defaulted your loan and been ok in agreeing lower repayments? I'm most nervous about my credit union loans as they sound like they're the strictest 

Hi @Kauto5
Currently they have defaulted me, starting paying less last August and defaulted me in January 2025, quickly following by a formal demand. They do want you to fill in an income and expenditure online to which I did (which mirrored my DMP details) and they accepted my repayments for 3 months. This ends the end of May 2025, therefore, will see how they are when I contact them at the end of this month. I've had to ring them a few times because emailing them is a massively backlog. I've tried sending letters but they just state they have them but not responded so ended up ringing them. 
I've been in a DMP about 10 years ago, and had a credit union on that DMP too (not the same one). They defaulted my account, and as I was with PayPlan the whole time, they accepted the repayments and that was it. So not sure about the strictest.

Thank you for this, I have not yet contacted them but my next monthly payment is due at the end of May so I'm going to get in touch next week and see if they'll accept a reduced payment for the time being.