Adding a signatory with a DMP

Marcon

elsien said:

I was wondering about the interview stage, because if this was such an integral part of the job you have expected it to come up during the recruitment process. 

...and given the increased spotlight on governance following recent unhappy events in the charity sector, the charity should have done a credit check as a matter of course before offering (or at least before confirming) a job offer in their finance department. If this didn't come up at all during the interview process - and it sounds as if they've only just decided to add this bit to the role -  it's really tough on OP being put through this period of what is quite obviously acute anxiety.

OP, as others have already said, talking to your employer as soon as possible is vital. There may be a simple solution, especially if the charity's recruitment process was as flawed as it sounds and they have the decency to recognise that.

1stTimer

Jude57 said:

1stTimer said:

M_CP said:

Devongardener said:

M_CP said:

Devongardener said:

Will you actually be a signatory?  Your company can give you online access to view the bank account and approve payments with needing credit checks by the bank.  

I believe so, that’s what my manager said 

I’d be inclined to get clarification from your manager,  it’s unusual to have a legal signatory who has only been employed for a short while.  Signatories are generally owners and or directors.    

So the organisation is a charity so I don’t know if that makes any difference. I work for the finance department and I’ll need access to the bank to approve payments that junior members of staff process. In my last role, I was added to the bank as a user that wasn’t a problem (it was hsbc) so it didn’t even cross my mind that it would be a problem. Now I’m so stressed that I’ll lose my job 😕 I was made redundant whilst on maternity 2 years ago, this made me seek help through a DMP. I still got about a year left of my DMP before it’s over

Unfortunately a DMP stays on the record for 6 years even if you pay it off before then.

youre best bet is to be open with them now, was this explained to you at all during the interview stage etc?

No, it doesn't. A DMP is an informal agreement between debtor at creditor to repay debts at an affordable rate over a period of time. If a debtor has received an official debt marker such as a default, that will stay in the debtor's credit record for six years from the date of issue as is the case with formal debt solutions such as Bankruptcy, DROs and IVAs. With a DMP, depending on the length of it and the monthly amount being repaid, a debtor can even get to the point where their repayments are in excess of minimum payments for credit cards and can begin to rebuild their credit rating even before the DMP is completed. So if a DMP lasts, say 8 years, by the last two years, if the debtor hasn't taken on any additional debt, they would have a spotless record for credit purposes.

To the OP, be honest with your employer. Tell them that you experienced a credit shock when you were unexpectedly made redundant and took the responsibility of addressing your debts by seeking professional support (hopefully from StepChange or another free provider) and have maintained your regular DMP payments ever since. Tell them you are within just a year of being debt free. I'd hope, as a charity, they'll understand that we all sometimes need help and that it shows determination on your part to deal with your debts properly.

I suspect if they haven’t received defaults then they would have received AP markers at least, you can not go into a DMP without some form of credit file hit.

i should have worded it better but strongly suggest OP checks their file to see what exactly has registered and when.

M_CP

1stTimer said:

Jude57 said:

1stTimer said:

M_CP said:

Devongardener said:

M_CP said:

Devongardener said:

Will you actually be a signatory?  Your company can give you online access to view the bank account and approve payments with needing credit checks by the bank.  

I believe so, that’s what my manager said 

I’d be inclined to get clarification from your manager,  it’s unusual to have a legal signatory who has only been employed for a short while.  Signatories are generally owners and or directors.    

So the organisation is a charity so I don’t know if that makes any difference. I work for the finance department and I’ll need access to the bank to approve payments that junior members of staff process. In my last role, I was added to the bank as a user that wasn’t a problem (it was hsbc) so it didn’t even cross my mind that it would be a problem. Now I’m so stressed that I’ll lose my job 😕 I was made redundant whilst on maternity 2 years ago, this made me seek help through a DMP. I still got about a year left of my DMP before it’s over

Unfortunately a DMP stays on the record for 6 years even if you pay it off before then.

youre best bet is to be open with them now, was this explained to you at all during the interview stage etc?

No, it doesn't. A DMP is an informal agreement between debtor at creditor to repay debts at an affordable rate over a period of time. If a debtor has received an official debt marker such as a default, that will stay in the debtor's credit record for six years from the date of issue as is the case with formal debt solutions such as Bankruptcy, DROs and IVAs. With a DMP, depending on the length of it and the monthly amount being repaid, a debtor can even get to the point where their repayments are in excess of minimum payments for credit cards and can begin to rebuild their credit rating even before the DMP is completed. So if a DMP lasts, say 8 years, by the last two years, if the debtor hasn't taken on any additional debt, they would have a spotless record for credit purposes.

To the OP, be honest with your employer. Tell them that you experienced a credit shock when you were unexpectedly made redundant and took the responsibility of addressing your debts by seeking professional support (hopefully from StepChange or another free provider) and have maintained your regular DMP payments ever since. Tell them you are within just a year of being debt free. I'd hope, as a charity, they'll understand that we all sometimes need help and that it shows determination on your part to deal with your debts properly.

I suspect if they haven’t received defaults then they would have received AP markers at least, you can not go into a DMP without some form of credit file hit.

i should have worded it better but strongly suggest OP checks their file to see what exactly has registered and when.

Thank you both for replying! I have called our bank to ask this very same question. Can I be added as signatory to an existing account if I’m on a DMP? they said I can. 

I’m going to take their answer as face value and hope it goes smoothly! 

M_CP

Marcon said:

elsien said:

I was wondering about the interview stage, because if this was such an integral part of the job you have expected it to come up during the recruitment process. 

...and given the increased spotlight on governance following recent unhappy events in the charity sector, the charity should have done a credit check as a matter of course before offering (or at least before confirming) a job offer in their finance department. If this didn't come up at all during the interview process - and it sounds as if they've only just decided to add this bit to the role -  it's really tough on OP being put through this period of what is quite obviously acute anxiety.

OP, as others have already said, talking to your employer as soon as possible is vital. There may be a simple solution, especially if the charity's recruitment process was as flawed as it sounds and they have the decency to recognise that.

Marcon said:

elsien said:

I was wondering about the interview stage, because if this was such an integral part of the job you have expected it to come up during the recruitment process. 

...and given the increased spotlight on governance following recent unhappy events in the charity sector, the charity should have done a credit check as a matter of course before offering (or at least before confirming) a job offer in their finance department. If this didn't come up at all during the interview process - and it sounds as if they've only just decided to add this bit to the role -  it's really tough on OP being put through this period of what is quite obviously acute anxiety.

OP, as others have already said, talking to your employer as soon as possible is vital. There may be a simple solution, especially if the charity's recruitment process was as flawed as it sounds and they have the decency to recognise that.

Marcon said:

elsien said:

I was wondering about the interview stage, because if this was such an integral part of the job you have expected it to come up during the recruitment process. 

...and given the increased spotlight on governance following recent unhappy events in the charity sector, the charity should have done a credit check as a matter of course before offering (or at least before confirming) a job offer in their finance department. If this didn't come up at all during the interview process - and it sounds as if they've only just decided to add this bit to the role -  it's really tough on OP being put through this period of what is quite obviously acute anxiety.

OP, as others have already said, talking to your employer as soon as possible is vital. There may be a simple solution, especially if the charity's recruitment process was as flawed as it sounds and they have the decency to recognise that.

Thank you, it wasn’t actually brought up during the interview process. That’s why I didn’t think of it as a problem until now.

like I said, I was an authorised user at my last job. I was able to view balances and make payments to our suppliers (dual authority) so I was never just making payments by myself. Someone else needed to set them up or approve them.