Thinking of a DMP

Tracy205

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105529#Comment_82105529

Thank you you have put my mind at rest a little. The thought of another company purchasing my debt makes me think of the bailiff programme and the thought of them knocking my door is scary. So, cancel the Novuna DDs even though I am on a 6 month payment plan and submit the affordability complaints straight away?

sourcrates

Those bailiff programs are heavily edited, and such companies are used to collect private debts, not consumer credit act debts, what you see there is not going to happen to you, please try and stop overthinking everything bad you have ever seen about debt collection.

In order for a bailiff to ever become involved, the process is quite a long one, the debt must first default, then you have to be taken to court, and if a CCJ is granted, you then have to default on that payment, most CCJ`s for consumer credit debt never get enforced, those that do usually get an attachment to your earnings if you work, the use of a bailiff is a very last resort, and if it were to happen, it would only be the county court bailiff, an employee of the court, not the HCEO`s you see on the telly.

In fact the chances of having a bailiff knock on your door chasing a consumer credit act debt is about 2 out of 100.

It happens so rarely its just not an option for most people.

Debt buyers act just the same as an original creditor would, except they are more prone to doing cheaper settlement deals as they buy the debts for a fraction of their face value, enforcement action of any kind can only happen after a debt defaults, so non payment before default has zero consequences in that regard, you must understand the law, and statutory acts you are dealing with, once you do, you will see all this worry was unnecessary.

Affordability complaints info here, same applies to credit cards:

Affordability refunds from loans · Debt Camel

RAS

Bailiffs do not engage well managed consumer debt. Maybe a utility bill which is not paid after a CCJ, and even then, they'll just go away if you don't answer the door. But you get a lot of warning. So please put that behind you.

The important debts are the mortgage and CT. Keep them tidy and you'll survive.

A couple of small things.

Your water rates are double what most properties pay across England and Wales. Any particular reason? You might also want to consider if you can reduce the satellite/cable TV subscriptions.

I hesitate to cut either pet insurance or life insurance, but both might benefit from review, depending on any benefits from work and pensions etc.

Rob5342

A debt being sold to a debt collector sounds like a very scary concept, but it's nothing to worry about at all really. They buy them as investment at a fraction of their with the intention of making some money in the easiest way possible which is usually just letting your payments roll in. The first contact is usually a friendly sounding letter saying they want to help you manage your debt, as long as you engage and pay them something that's usually as far as it goes.

Tracy205

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105645#Comment_82105645

Hi thanks for your reply. We live in the South West where water/sewage charges are way too high. We are on a meter and do a reading every 3 months. The satellite cost includes phone line and Internet for me to work mostly from home.

Tracy205

That's really helpful thank you.

Tracy205

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105603#Comment_82105603

That's really helpful thank you.thank you again. So I cancel DDs, send the affordability letters, wait for the debt to default. Then do I offer a small monthly payment to Novuna after default or wait for the debt buyer to make contact and then offer something?

sourcrates

As said earlier, the collection process can take some time, many months in most cases, even years on some occasions, despite what you might have read, things move pretty slowly most of the time.

So if you intend to do this yourself, the process goes a bit like this, you stop all non essential payments, and you make the affordability complaints, then, you get yourself a "safe" basic bank account, with a bank you don`t owe any money too, any DD payments you make for essential bills, swap over to the new account, likewise get your wages/benefits etc paid there as well, its most important to have a secure financial base to move forward with.

Then its a question of simply waiting, you will get collection phone calls/letters/texts/emails as well, as obviously your lenders don`t know why you have stopped paying, you can write and tell them your in financial difficulty if you wish, it will cut down on the collection activity, but you should not accept temporary payment arrangements that they might offer, you want your debts to default, and the best way is to say nothing, and do nothing until that happens.

This is a process best taken one step at a time, as with each stage comes multiple variable ways things can go, so for now, wait on the defaults, anything you don`t understand, come back and ask, but never respond in panic to any message a lender may send you, ask here first, and we will guide you through this.

Myself, fatbelly, manyways, grumple, RAS and Rob, are all regulars to this forum, amongst many others, I check the forum every day, among those names are at least two debt advisors, so you are in good hands here, as these guys know what they are talking about, someone will be able to answer your questions 24-7 and leave you a message, so we can help you through this.

fatbelly

In round figures there is 100k of debt and £1500 a month to service it. That is as I suspected going to make a long dmp at around 66 months but so be it.

SWW is expensive for water but even to me £134 per month seems high. Not that that is going to affect things in a big way but that is a lot.

Tracy205

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105796#Comment_82105796

Thank you so much. You have all been ao helpful and supportive.