DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part Three)

gonna_be

thanks for the great welcome and the positive replies Big di Yeah I can’t remember the last time we paid cash for weekly shop and your sooooo right about having cash in your purse all I can say I feel in control now even though I have CCCS to lean on.Ald65 we are not so far apart in the dept stakes its one of the things I learned from this site we are not alone good luck to you too. Both me and my dh are lucky in the fact that we can work full time so can afford to pay just over 1,000 a month to our creditors (1 month down 89 to go plus interest!!!!)Mumzyof2 it is hard going at first but when you make that 1st payment it feels grrrrreeeaaaatttt. Cancel you dd asap cos the bank will charge you if there isn’t sufficient funds to cover. I did mine on line. Good luck try not to worry it will be fine By the way I am not advising to do this but I didn’t send token payments to any of my creditors just the normal template letter without that bit in. I didn’t want to throw money away on postal orders.(listen to me not throwing money away must have definitely seen the light.) Rayday2 meeee sounding positive !!!! would have said that if you had heard me beg of feb snivelling wreck. And if there is anything on here that has given me hope its reading your posts you have been such a help on inspiration thanks rayday2I know it wont be an smooth ride but it will be alot easier than it was. good luck all on the long winding road.

gerri1963

moneydesperate_x wrote: »

Please can I join too?
I started my DMP this month with CCCS, first payment made! Im in for the long haul, most probably 10 years

Do not worry, I think mine may be that long. I have been e mailing CCcs with my debts prior to them sending me further details. I thought on my loan I only owed 10k turns ou tnear 16k. My total debts are 46k. I did not think they were that high. However I am hoping that CCCS can assist. I have now cut up my cards to start with. I also have opened a new bank acccount as one of my loans is with my bank and so is the overdraft.

I am not too worried as such, and am looking for part time work in addition to my main job.

However I do not know how I would have coped if CCCS did not exist!

I am also going to look for a job paying at least 5k more if I can.

franny

Morning all

Further to my posts yesterday where I was considering leaving the DMP I have been in discussion with my mum about the possibility of putting all my CC debts onto one card or loan that she will take out.

I know that this is technically consolidation and it could all go tits up but I am unable to get any more credit due to my credit rating and the cards I do have are all closed. I would be physically unable to get any more credit.

I am looking at a low interest loan to pay off my CC's, then I will chase them for charges and clear them all of my credit rating.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this plan, I am probably in a position to be able to meet minimum payments on the CCs now so is there any need to still be in a DMP?

cloudnine_2

I don't think anyone on here can tell you 'definitely' what to do. At the end of the day, we all, ultimately, have to make these kind of decisions ourselves. I guess I want to play the devils's advocate, and have you ask yourself some key questions. Then decide. I hope I don't offend. The debt is yours, not someone elses, and as such, is there a solution 'you' can take without involving her, and shifting the responsibility? Heres the key question:If you retain this debt, can you pay the minimum monthly repayments and have money to spare each month? If the answer is no, then welcome to our world. In that case, you probably need to receive advice from an organisation like Payplan or the CCCS. Avoid the profiteering debt advice organisations. They will advise you whether a DMP is the way forward, or not. I wish you every success.

WhoopieDoodle

Good morning everyone. Just thought I would pop my head in and say hello.

How a rotten day yesterday - the reality of all the debt hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt very depressed. However, had a reasonable night's sleep and feel more positive again today.

Do people find they have up and down days?

It didn't help that we received a particularly nasty phone call from Barclaycard at 9pm! But OH dealt with it in a very calm manner so I'm proud of him.

Anyway, have a good day

Marru

HI,

Yes today is my bad day. Lloyds got me off guard. Normally I can stop them before going through the security questions but today I don't know what happened. Anyway I lost my temper when this guy told me that they don't offer interest free plans anymore but they can offer reduced interest. I told him to put that in writing and send to me and then he said if I could write to them and I said but I have written to you twice and sent you one fax and you don't have the courtesy to reply to my correspondence. So in the end I said that I will hung up now and wished him a pleasant rest of the day. I managed to get him to remove my mobile number from the file thou.

I am so ashamed that it upset me so much that I considered going to the court and filing for a bankruptcy. If I didn't have my "business asset" (my 8000 invetory of books that I am selling) and if I wasn't accountant as trade I would file for it and get this mess off my back. SOOOO tired and only in the very beginning of this journey as only paid one month token payments and hoping that can start "proper" DMP in the beginning of May.

Hope everybody else have had a better start to the day.

Marru

WhoopieDoodle

Marru, your day today sounds like mine yesterday! If that makes sense!

I think tiredness is a huge contributor to not feeling able to cope so well. OH and I are shattered as we are working long hours, plus having the constant worry wears you out too.

You did well to end the phone call on a pleasant note - this is very difficult when they make you so cross! I would draw a line under that experience and move on.

We too have considered bankruptcy, but we know we can clear the debt before the official DFD given to us by Payplan (which is 37 years, but we should do it in 5 years!)

Once your DMP starts properly, you will feel better. The early days are very difficult.

rayday2

Don't let one idiot get you down Marru - I know its easy for me to say but you know that Lloyds do do that - you see people in here saying so - he is a liar. And why should a liar impact your life for as long as a bankrupcy will? He does not deserve that power over your life.

How can Lloyds not offer interest free plans when they sponsor all these debt charities that offer them?

I am nagging now!

But you do get up and down days. Even when you don't hear from creditors you can still have up and down days. I suppose thats the human side of us.

franny

Cloudnine

I know what you mean, it is ultimately my decision but I am just so confused with it all i'm got a permanent knot in my stomach.

I have been on the DMP with CCCS for a year and it has enabled me to grown in confidence and meet my debts head on no matter what the creditors throw at me. My new job now pays enough that I believe I can cover my minimum payments and still have enough to live on afterwards, I am very fortunate to be able to say that. What I now need to think is that once I start paying minimum payments the interest on the CCs will return and I am eager to lower that interest as much as possible.

I know that I am then paying money to my mum and not the cards but will be paying the loan repayment to her which although more than payments to my CCS, will ultimately lead to the debt being paid off quicker.

I am probably talking myself more into the idea but I fear I might be blinkered in my views hence my visit today.

cloudnine_2

Its interesting how these phone calls from the creditors seem to come in waves. Nothing happens for a few days then, the phone rings, usually when you're off guard and at a low ebb. The truth is, what we all really want is for all our creditors to accept zero interest charges and never contact us ever again! Its not going to happen. Its the waiting for the calls that is disconcerting. I'm trying a 'Plan B'. I've created a script with the usual questions and answers: ie: "can you pay more?"..."No, I'm with CCCS, look at my income/expenditure breakdown." etc... I simply read the relevant answer to the creditors question over the phone. Sure, I feel like I'm a dalek, but, its keeps me cool and, my responses are factual and to the point, and, not bolshy. The other thing I do, is allocate two hours each week when I tell creditors they can call me. Take last night, MBNA phoned,so I told them to ring between 1000-1200 Friday. Its then up to them if they want to talk or not. And..on Friday morning, I'm ready for them! with script in hand. Just my way of coping. Because, its when they come out of the blue and catch you off guard that things / you..get wobbly !!!