Stepchange DMP

JamieWM1976

Hi all,

Totally new on here so apologies in advance if these questions have been answered elsewhere!

I entered into a DMP last August with Stepchange after getting into debt following losing my job.

The questions I wanted to ask are as follows:

1. Was it a good idea to enter into a DMP or should I have managed it myself - At the time I felt like I had no other choice - My debt with 4 different creditors amounts to around £30k

2. On my DMP is says that my debt will be paid in about 30 years!! - Does this mean it will remain on my credit file all of this time or will it drop off after 6 years?

3. I was contacted by a company called TMS Legal regarding an 'Irresponsible Lending Claim' which I did consider, has anybody got any information on this and would it be worth doing??

Many thanks in advance.

Grumpelstiltskin

Quick answers, have your debts defaulted or did  you jump into the DMP too soon?

You can easily do unaffordability claims yourself for free ignore anyone you contacts you.

sourcrates

Do not use a CMC to make affordability complaints, use the resources at Debt Camel for free:

How to get refunds from catalogues and credit cards · Debt Camel

JamieWM1976

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Quick answers, have your debts defaulted or did  you jump into the DMP too soon?

You can easily do unaffordability claims yourself for free ignore anyone you contacts you.

I had already defaulted on them, they have now all been passed on to Debt Recovery companies such as Moorcroft.

JamieWM1976

@sourcrates If I were to do this would it have any effect on my DMP????

sourcrates

JamieWM1976 said:

@sourcrates If I were to do this would it have any effect on my DMP????

Well yes, if you win, your balances would be reduced, possibly by a refund of interest.

That would be up to the lender to organise, it would all come out in the wash.

JamieWM1976

@sourcrates What I mean is would my DMP remain in place, I get that the balances would be reduced which would be my motivation to do it. More worried that the DMP would be cancelled or something like that. Do you know anything about my other question on my credit file?

Grumpelstiltskin

Why are you worried that your DMP would be cancelled?

DMPs are informal solutions if you finish with Stepchange you can go somewhere else, self managed is easy.

sourcrates

JamieWM1976 said:

@sourcrates What I mean is would my DMP remain in place, I get that the balances would be reduced which would be my motivation to do it. More worried that the DMP would be cancelled or something like that. Do you know anything about my other question on my credit file?

Debt management is something you control, no one else, no your DMP won`t be cancelled, why would it????

If it was, you just do it yourself, self managed, its simple.

Defaulted debts fall off your credit file after 6 years regardless of what you do, paid or unpaid, regardless of debt solution used.

Debts with "arrangement to pay markers" (AP) will show on your file for  6 years AFTER the debt is repaid, so very important to get defaults, rather than AP markers.

JamieWM1976

@sourcrates Many thanks for clearing this up, I have never been in this situation before. 

sourcrates

JamieWM1976 said:

@sourcrates Many thanks for clearing this up, I have never been in this situation before. 

Its new to a lot of people currently, if you are happy to continue with stepchange then that`s fine, your debts should all default in time, and if they don`t complain to the lenders that they should have been.

I would urge you to make affordability complaints if applicable, follow the easy guide on Debt Camel (she is a solicitor so she knows what she`s talking about).

Any questions, come back to this thread.