Just starting Stepchange with almost £200k debt ….

beetlewoman67

…. so firstly - don’t worry - most people won’t be in as much debt as me! Help is out there, and the law and FCA rules exist to help you take control of the situation so don’t ignore it. Go to Stepchange or Citizens Advice or wherever. I know you’re not sleeping, potentially lying to your family and worried about consequences. Don’t be!

I’m happy to document my ‘journey’ here if folks are interested, and if you won’t judge or insult me, and want some mutual counselling!

Status to date :-

• Submitted details online to Stepchange almost 2 weeks ago. All online. No uncomfortable discussion and EVERYTHING online. I felt very anxious doing it. It took me 3 weeks to hit submit. Apart from an acknowledgment of receipt I have not heard back yet and no Direct Debit setup yet. They recommended a Debt Management Plan and I have an amount available every month which means my debt will take about 12 years to fix. It’s coming from reserves / pension though so I need a job!
• Have setup a new basic account with Co-op - easy. That’s where the DMP will come from.
• I wasn’t in debt to my main banker Starling so don’t expect to lose this excellent bank
• I am not in arrears or default with any of my 8 creditors but only because I’ve been using my savings to pay them since redundancy last year. I have a perfect credit file (until next week)
• Spent the day speaking to all my creditors about breathing space. I didn’t need to (could have left to Stepchange) but it made me feel better and less guilty. All were fantastic and non-judgemental. I suspect they don’t want to fall foul of FCA rules. NatWest, Virgin and Barclaycard were excellent. Zopa, AMEX and MBNA efficient but all online.
• Cancelled all of my direct debits and felt very bad but what’s the point? My credit file is least of my worries.
  

Ask away - hope this helps others. More than happy to keep this going.

ManyWays

I suggest NOT taking any money out of your pension to pay a DMP!

Have you looked at affordability complaints? It's getting harder to go back more than 6 years s do not delay; this will not harm the DMP. Zopa, Amex, MBNA, Barclaycard, a lot of the usual suspects there.

SpireCaptain

Welcome to the DFW Board. Will be following your journey with interest. I will say don't rush into things, debt collection is a long, slow and drawn out affair. Make sure you're secure in housing, future income/pensions before paying unsecured debts.

People will no doubt ask to see a Statement of Affairs to advise further and discern if any debts are Secured and pose a risk or the rest are unsecured.

Good luck, this board is the best, less judgemental and more informed than some others online I surf between. I'm at the same point as you cancelled direct debits, safe bank with starling, Monzo and co op are up. 2 months of missed payments on £80k and only a few letters and emails so far.

fatbelly

12 years is a long time for a debt solution. What were the reasons you rejected (1) bankruptcy and (2) IVA?

sourcrates

12 years is a very long time, a lot of things can change in that length of time.

Are you a homeowner?

I`m guessing you had good reason to reject bankruptcy?

beetlewoman67

Hi, Stepchange confirmed DMP today - all with zero human contact. I do have assets in the property (and a marriage) to protect. It’s not quite as long as 12 years now.

fatbelly

Just to point out that IVAs are regularly missold. They are really designed for people who have large debts, an asset to protect, and some surplus income. Typically in an IVA you would repay 25% of your debts but the range could be 1 to 100+%

Grumpelstiltskin

I think you are jumping in too soon without doing everything you can before you start a DMP.

You have been asked for a SOA on here that gives us the full details of your circumstances and then we can advise you what to do and in what order.

Jumping in too soon is a big mistake, nothing moves fast in debt collecting and the more you know in the beginning the better outcome you will have.

beetlewoman67

Thanks everyone. I haven’t rushed into it, am a former CAB advisor (volunteer) and am aware there will be multiple opportunities to refine/reduce/eliminate the contributions over this long period. There will also be some life events that might make a negotiated early and reduced payment possible at some point. My intention is not to be anywhere near the nearly 12 year term. Bankruptcy is not an attractive option due to Land Registry flags and difficulties remaining as a Director of my (very) small business! IVA not so good due to notifications to joint property owner (and remortgage in year 5 probably unlikely due to age). Thanks everyone.

RAS

The new protocol IVAs do not require re-mortgaging, but do require year six payments. That may not change your decision but it's worth updating in case.