DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part Three)

geoffmr1

suexxx wrote: »

Thanks Sam,
all those are up to date,thank god !

can i ask another question
will it go against me being behind with payments ,i mean will creditors want any arears paid before they even consider accepting a DMP ?

Also,one of the creditors has issued a default notice,i don't understand this and what affect will it have on my DMP ?
sorry for all the questions !

The arrears are just part of the overall debt & nothing to worry about in itself.

The default notice is standard procedure when you haven't made the correct payments over a period of time (each company is different to how long they take to issue a default & in some cases you may never see one), but it doesn't affect your DMP at all. CCCS told me to expect default notices when I started my DMP.

loopylu36

suexxx wrote: »

Thanks Sam,
all those are up to date,thank god !

can i ask another question
will it go against me being behind with payments ,i mean will creditors want any arears paid before they even consider accepting a DMP ?

Also,one of the creditors has issued a default notice,i don't understand this and what affect will it have on my DMP ?
sorry for all the questions !

Hi Sue

The fact that you are behind with payments will not go against you in respect of your DMP. As you say, that is why are you doing it! The default notice has been issued because you have not kept to the original agreement (ie not making the monthly repayment) and so the original agreement has been terminated by the lender and they are no doubt asking for the total sum to be repaid. Obvioulsy you can't do this, so let Payplan (or CCCS) know that you have received this and they will advise you as to your next step. The default will now be recorded on your credit file (but don't suppose you're too bothered about that at this stage!)

Hope this helps x

geoffmr1

Janey51 wrote: »

Hi carlos we have had a few "reviews of our situation" by creditors (we are with CCCS) and they have continued to accept our DMP payments although a couple (Goldfish and HFC) applied charges for a month before agreeing again. Goldfish have now passed us to Cabots so I guess they realise we're a lost cause!

Hi Janey51,

How have you found Cabots so far?? I had an agreement with Goldfish which I was keeping to but then I got a default notice & then another letter saying I hadn't dealt with the default (I even called them when I received the default & was told its standard procedure, nothing to worry about & that the agreement was all still in place). I phoned them again on receiving this other letter & was told they had sold the debt on to Cabots (the guy was extremely arrogant at this point & refused to answer why they had sold it when I had kept to the agreement I had with them, which I have in writing). This was all around 3 weeks ago & I haven't heard from Cabots yet, but reading up on them in some different forums apparently this seems to be a trick of theirs. They don't contact you & then the first thing that happens is you get a County Court Claim Form with them saying you have ignored their attempts to contact you. So if you have had any dealings with them I'd be interested to know how you have found them!!

suexxx

Thanks Loopy
you've been a great help again !

suexxx

geoffmr1 wrote: »

The arrears are just part of the overall debt & nothing to worry about in itself.

The default notice is standard procedure when you haven't made the correct payments over a period of time (each company is different to how long they take to issue a default & in some cases you may never see one), but it doesn't affect your DMP at all. CCCS told me to expect default notices when I started my DMP.

Thanks geoff x

loopylu36

Hi Rayday

as per my post on the other thread - do you manage your own DMP? I'm wondering whether to do this myself rather than through CCCS? What is your advice? The only reason for this is that I feel I will be more in control and if one creditor in particular gets really nasty (I'm thinking NRock or LLoyds) I could then choose to pay them extra as I really can't face the prospect of someone trying to bankrupt me (and it is possible that in those circumstances I could borrow money from family to settle) But if I was with CCCS wouldn't they say that this was unfair on other creditors? It may well be but I'm more concerned with what's unfair to me!

rayday2

I do manage my own and for my sins I have 3 accounts with Lloyds one credit card in my name one in my husbands and an overdraft that went over to a debt. Never dealt with Northern Rock but there name is coming up time and time again.

Its entirely up to you the decision, maybe if I briefly say what I did and what I use you can then investigate see if you are up to it or not (I don't mean that personally - its just some people like to have someone behind them others don't like losing control)

I use the National debt helpline a lot or I did in the early days. There template letters and budget calculator (still use the budget). I went on to their site and asked for by post a copy of their debt guide you can download it but it is huge and its nice to have a hard copy to thumb through should you ever need it.

Have to say at this point I didn't even realise I was doing a DMP not until I found this site did I realise thats what I was doing! And I handled everything OK with what their website offered.

I have a complicated filing system (or so my hubby says) I have a lever arch file with dividers which I put every letter I get into and all the letters I send out. Then on my pc each debt has a folder with copies of all the letters I send out and a spreadsheet for each. Every time I make a payment I adjust my spreadsheets. I also have an overall spreadsheet which I do once a month which has them all on to see how much I owe in total.

I changed my phone number so only deal in writing.

Slightly naughty I don't do orangised reviews if they are quiet and accept payments then I just them (standing orders or cheque payments only - no direct debits!) if I do get a letter then I re-do a budget sheet see if there is anymore in the pot. Of course it would be up to you if you do a review or not my theory is I like to see which ones are the noisest and if they shout louder then I pay them more and get rid of them quicker.

As a morale booster I do tend to chisel away at smaller ones as its nice to see the overall number I owe to drop.

Not sure if I covered things there or probably gave you too much information - apologies if that is the case.

loopylu36

rayday2 wrote: »

I do manage my own and for my sins I have 3 accounts with Lloyds one credit card in my name one in my husbands and an overdraft that went over to a debt. Never dealt with Northern Rock but there name is coming up time and time again.

Its entirely up to you the decision, maybe if I briefly say what I did and what I use you can then investigate see if you are up to it or not (I don't mean that personally - its just some people like to have someone behind them others don't like losing control)

I use the National debt helpline a lot or I did in the early days. There template letters and budget calculator (still use the budget). I went on to their site and asked for by post a copy of their debt guide you can download it but it is huge and its nice to have a hard copy to thumb through should you ever need it.

Have to say at this point I didn't even realise I was doing a DMP not until I found this site did I realise thats what I was doing! And I handled everything OK with what their website offered.

I have a complicated filing system (or so my hubby says) I have a lever arch file with dividers which I put every letter I get into and all the letters I send out. Then on my pc each debt has a folder with copies of all the letters I send out and a spreadsheet for each. Every time I make a payment I adjust my spreadsheets. I also have an overall spreadsheet which I do once a month which has them all on to see how much I owe in total.

I changed my phone number so only deal in writing.

Slightly naughty I don't do orangised reviews if they are quiet and accept payments then I just them (standing orders or cheque payments only - no direct debits!) if I do get a letter then I re-do a budget sheet see if there is anymore in the pot. Of course it would be up to you if you do a review or not my theory is I like to see which ones are the noisest and if they shout louder then I pay them more and get rid of them quicker.

As a morale booster I do tend to chisel away at smaller ones as its nice to see the overall number I owe to drop.

Not sure if I covered things there or probably gave you too much information - apologies if that is the case.

Thanks that is really helpful and pretty much answers my questions. I too am inclined to change my phone no (although actually only changed it last year to bt, and don't think many creditors have it anyway )

I do like to be in control and i'm not easily intimidated (unless someone threatens to b/r me then i'll panic!!)

Also, like you say, I want to be in the position where i can decide who i pay money to (ie; those that shout the loudest and threaten the worst!)

BTW, we have two loans, two cc (one with only £700 on it tho the other with £13k) and o/d with Lloyds - were they particularly difficult to deal with?

I have to say NR are who worry me most and my contracted payment to them is £280 which i can afford so i am minded to keep that payment going and cut back on others, which I won;t be able to do on a "formal" DMP I know.

On the other hand, if NR accepted DMP i would be able to repay them in 5 years as opposed to 20 if i carry on with the contracted payments and interest! If someone could guarantee me that they'd just accept DMP and go away, I'd def go for it, but life's not that simple is it? And I got myself into this mess, so I suppose I shouldn't expect the road out to be too easy? ALTHOUGH it does annoy me that these lenders make such a song and dance about DMP's - they have your budget and can see what you can afford, so what is the point of stressing everyone out and wasting their time and ours?

rayday2

I can't say Lloyds were difficult they were to be honest just stupid which meant it was sort of difficult. Biggest cc hubbys they accepted payment straight away- brill! Mine was a smaller balance think I offered something like £4.76 and they said no they could only accept £5 - well I thought its the price of stamp so if I pay via standing order not using post I can put that into my payment so wrote saying OK I will pay £5 and included the payment. They went on to charge interest for another 3 months - so I wrote a letter of complaint and got it all refunded (the interest) and accepted payments for a year (that was a while ago is all I am saying )

The overdraft again I had letters coming from all over, accusing me of not responding, kept charging interest. So again another letter of complaint I listed all the letters I had sent and payments and all the letters they had sent and got all my interest back, accepted payments for a year, and a case of wine - oh and a payment book which believe me is like gold dust! It did go on for 9 months though.

But I can't honestly say it was difficult as much as an annoyance and frustration. I would say though with Lloyds seeing as I have three accounts I will be treating those three equal and not chisel any of those smaller ones away. My long term plan is to save quite a bit and make offers. Or if they refer to different credit agencies etc then I can deal with accordingly.

Another golden rule for a self managed DMP if ever they ask for proof of bills etc, wages, or ask you to fill in their expenditure form - don't they are not entitled to it just enclose another budget sheet from the national debt helpline. Also amongst all the letters of complaint I wrote I did throw back in their face that I was using natonal debt helpline and that they sponsored them so why weren't they letting me follow the advice of that charity!

I have no idea with NR I did see a news report that it would look bad for the government if NR were to start repossessing houses etc being government run - but on the other hand the government like losing our data etc so that arguement does not fill me with confidence! All I would say is take each day as it comes and fight fire with fire - you do get quite feisty running your own DMP or maybe that was just me that got hacked off and not scared of writing boring letters!

loopylu36

rayday2 wrote: »

I can't say Lloyds were difficult they were to be honest just stupid which meant it was sort of difficult. Biggest cc hubbys they accepted payment straight away- brill! Mine was a smaller balance think I offered something like £4.76 and they said no they could only accept £5 - well I thought its the price of stamp so if I pay via standing order not using post I can put that into my payment so wrote saying OK I will pay £5 and included the payment. They went on to charge interest for another 3 months - so I wrote a letter of complaint and got it all refunded (the interest) and accepted payments for a year (that was a while ago is all I am saying )

The overdraft again I had letters coming from all over, accusing me of not responding, kept charging interest. So again another letter of complaint I listed all the letters I had sent and payments and all the letters they had sent and got all my interest back, accepted payments for a year, and a case of wine - oh and a payment book which believe me is like gold dust! It did go on for 9 months though.

But I can't honestly say it was difficult as much as an annoyance and frustration. I would say though with Lloyds seeing as I have three accounts I will be treating those three equal and not chisel any of those smaller ones away. My long term plan is to save quite a bit and make offers. Or if they refer to different credit agencies etc then I can deal with accordingly.

Another golden rule for a self managed DMP if ever they ask for proof of bills etc, wages, or ask you to fill in their expenditure form - don't they are not entitled to it just enclose another budget sheet from the national debt helpline. Also amongst all the letters of complaint I wrote I did throw back in their face that I was using natonal debt helpline and that they sponsored them so why weren't they letting me follow the advice of that charity!

I have no idea with NR I did see a news report that it would look bad for the government if NR were to start repossessing houses etc being government run - but on the other hand the government like losing our data etc so that arguement does not fill me with confidence! All I would say is take each day as it comes and fight fire with fire - you do get quite feisty running your own DMP or maybe that was just me that got hacked off and not scared of writing boring letters!

Thanks (again) - it seems like we are on the same wavelength!