Going for DMP, Should i still pay the cards that are within the balance transfer promotion window?

Londonboy77

Hi All

Finally taking the plunge to sort out my debt, I'm looking to go in to a DMP, for now i stopped all credit card payments, my question is regarding 2 cards that i took out a balance transfer for zero interest and it is still within the promotion period so the monthly payment is around £100 each, can i stop these too? as i understand that will mean that the contract is breached and i will loose the zero interest, but does that matter if im anyway crashing all other cards and going for a DMP??

Tia

ManyWays

I think you should stop paying them too, because you want all the debts to default as soon as possible; carrying on paying these will delay that point.

Brie

Definitely stop so they default and can be included in whatever debt solution you go for. Do you know the DMP is the best for you? Have you considered other options??

This outlines things nicely - Debt solutions - what is your best option?

fatbelly

You are doing a dmp because you cannot afford the contractual payments. So stop paying, save an emergency fund, move banking to somewhere that you don't have debt and wait for the defaults

Rob5342

I agree, a dmp is a long term strategy to sort things once and for all. There's no point delaying some of them now only for them to become unaffordable in a year or twos time.

You'll be charged extra interest now, but once defaulted interest will be frozen. Longer term the debt is likely to be sold and at some point down the line you will be able to settle it for a much reduced amount which will outweigh any extra interest you pay now.

SpireCaptain

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6655951/going-for-dmp-should-i-still-pay-the-cards-that-are-within-the-balance-transfer-promotion-window

This is the predicament I'm in, should I wait til July/September when £42k of debt comes off 0% promotional and it really becomes unaffordable or stop now.

What I'm paying on the promotional cards, I'm using to pay council tax, water bills and food shopping or the boys lunch money etc so it doesn't feel like it's money wasted as it satisfies minimum payment and I can use it again interest free. That's why my Lightbulb Moment has arrived yet. Come the summer and it'll be just as bad if not worse for my anxiety.

Like the others have said, stop paying now if you've already stopped on others. You want to minimise the length of time defaults are on your credit file from now. (Obviously 6 years but 6 years from 3 months times rather than a year or 18 months from now)