DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part Three)

rugby6ft8

At the end of my conversation to the lady from Payplan she offered me 2 insurance protection thingys. The first was free and then the other was £5 a month for 20k's worth of life cover or something.

What are peoples opinions on these? I think 'free' sounds amazing as paying for crappy insurances policies has just added to my debt in the past.

Any thoughts? Has anyone taken up the offers of the policies?

10past6

rugby6ft8 wrote: »

Thanks everyone - I'll be around for a long while yet !!!

Hello rugby

I just want to give you a few tips:

Create a spreadsheet with "Date" "Time" "Sent" "Spoke to" on it.

Once you've created the spreadsheet, within it enter everything you do, who you speak to, what documents you've sent, regarding creditors / Payplan.

Doing it this way will be easier to refer to as and when any information is required.

Scan and save every piece of documention you receive from any creditors prior to sending them on to Payplan, create and save everything under a folder within "My Documents" you'll be surprised how easy and stress free this process is, once you get into the routine it will become second nature, and so much easier to refer to instead of trawling through mountains of paperwork.

10past6

rugby6ft8 wrote: »

At the end of my conversation to the lady from Payplan she offered me 2 insurance protection thingys. The first was free and then the other was £5 a month for 20k's worth of life cover or something.

What are peoples opinions on these? I think 'free' sounds amazing as paying for crappy insurances policies has just added to my debt in the past.

Any thoughts? Has anyone taken up the offers of the policies?

Do be very careful about taking out any insurance policies, Payplan are no different to any other company when it comes to selling insurance policies, the difficulty comes within the small print.

I always find when taking out insurance policies, it’s always best to ask what’s NOT covered, rather than what’s covered.

10past6

Gutted wrote: »

Hi all.

If they accept the DMP will that mean they will stop calling/sending letters or will that continue? I know I should've asked these questions earlier but I was so upset/relieved to be speaking about it that I didn't really think.

Any advice/information any of you can give me about what to expect will be appreciated x

Hi Gutted

It all depends on who the debt is with, right now your creditors may decide to agree to a DMP, however, if any one of them decide to sell the debt on, then once again you will start to receive new correspondence from the new creditor.

That's not as bad as it sounds; just inform the new creditors of your DMP number and which company is dealing with it.

andytwonames

loopylu36 wrote: »

I'm not saying Andy is right to want to max his cards out, but I know a lot of people on this form have had to borrow cash on their ccs, to see them through the month prior to a DMP. If he hasn't signed his agreement with CCCS yet, technically he isn't breaching it by taking out more credit. Have you spoken to CCCS Andy and explained the situation to them? CCCS Sarah, if you are about, what is your view on this?

Looks like egg has maxed the cards out for me by putting on this months interest. So, whether I should or not makes no difference, the money that wasn't mine to take isn't there anyway.

Ho hum... onwards and upwards.

I heard a great quote on the TV the other day from a failed childrens entertainer.... "I started out with nothing and I've got most of it left".

rugby6ft8

Thanks 10past6 for the information. I think I will say no to the £5/month insurance policy as it'll just add to the debt in the long term. The free policy I will have a look at and see whats included.
Thanks also for the advice in dealing with the creditors, I will do that straight away. I'm creating a spreadsheet of expenditure for my Payplan budget, so I know whats coming in and going out. I've never once done it in my life and it feels quite good to have some input into my own finances. Before all i'd do is just spend spend spend and hand over a credit card without thinking of the growing debt - now i am fully aware of my salary, what it can buy a month and I intend to never go over budget again.

Already, even without my DMP in place fully with creditors i've really cut down. We've knocked £20 off the weekly shopping bill by buying own brand and 'basic' brands, which are quite agreeable to the palate lol!!!
My biggest change has been with my driving style - My car is a 2litre diesel and before the DMP I would get on average 32MPG, so my tank would have a range of about 480miles and last 2 and a bit weeks (it costs £75 to fill!!!) Now i've set the dash to show me constantly my MPG, rather than the outside temp, and I've really stuck to the speed limits (to the annoyance of lots of Cardiff commuters), but the MPG has jumped up to 43MPG!! The computer shows a range of over 600miles so one tank of diesel should now last a whole month. The funny thing is, driving slowly has meant that i'm so much calmer behind the wheel and i notice so much more out of the window, but and its really bizarre, it still takes me the same amount of time to get to work as before!!!
We planted loads of vegetables last week so hopefully in a few months we will cut down our shopping bill too. I did joke about getting some chickens in but I think that may be going a bit too far - what do you think?

On a different point, now that i've cancelled my DD to my creditors, will they all write to me and ask whats going on? I felt a bit uneasy this morning hence why i'm up early as i just felt like a cheat to these companies that I owe to.

Hope everyone is well, looks like we're in for a wet weekend!

Rugby6ft8

rugby6ft8

We planted loads of vegetables last week so hopefully in a few months we will cut down our shopping bill too. I did joke about getting some chickens in but I think that may be going a bit too far - what do you think?

I meant to say cut down our shopping bill further, not 'too'. Sorry guys.

loopylu36

rugby6ft8 wrote: »

We planted loads of vegetables last week so hopefully in a few months we will cut down our shopping bill too. I did joke about getting some chickens in but I think that may be going a bit too far - what do you think?

I meant to say cut down our shopping bill further, not 'too'. Sorry guys.

I have a peice at the bottom of my garden which is sectioned off from the main garden. Currently it's fall of crap but I am thinking I'd quite like a veg patch. I have also thought of chickens, but there are ALOT of cats in my neighbourhood (2 of my own one of which is a real hunter - pigeons, mice etc) so not sure if chickens would survive - could a cat kill a chicken?:eek:

Reformed_Shopaholic_2

rugby6ft8 wrote: »

I'm creating a spreadsheet of expenditure for my Payplan budget, so I know whats coming in and going out. I've never once done it in my life and it feels quite good to have some input into my own finances. Before all i'd do is just spend spend spend and hand over a credit card without thinking of the growing debt - now i am fully aware of my salary, what it can buy a month and I intend to never go over budget again.

On a different point, now that i've cancelled my DD to my creditors, will they all write to me and ask whats going on? I felt a bit uneasy this morning hence why i'm up early as i just felt like a cheat to these companies that I owe to.

Hope everyone is well, looks like we're in for a wet weekend!

Rugby6ft8

Hi Rugby I totally agree on the handing over a credit card bit, that's going to take some getting used to but it is great to feel a bit more in control _ I actually feel like a grown up..not sure how long that will last though:rotfl:

I've cancelled all my D.Debits to my creditors too - sent token payments out earlier this week and have already had phone calls from 1 of them...my OH answered the phone thankfully, I'm not feeling up to speaking to any of them yet...maybe not ever. I'm on tenterhooks waiting for the DMP payment agreement to come through - have had my initial letter and signed my DMP but won't be able to relax until I've got the forms to make my first payment so just hoping it comes next week_pale_ feeling a bit scared at the moment but this is balanced out by feeling like i've actually started to take responsibility for my money.

Have had a couple of letters so far this week - MBNA putting up my interest rate to 34.9%:eek: and another card reducing my credit limit, which as I never ever ever want to spend on credit cards again doesn't bother me at all.

Don't feel like a cheat Rugby, you are doing really well and trying to take control back of your money and are making the right steps to paying them back -that's the way I see it anyway...I'm sure they'd rather I did this now than got myself even deeper in debt at their expense and then couldn't pay them anything back..

I have a question:question: hope one of the CCCS people or someone who is on a DMP can help...I need to renew my car insurance and would like to go with a cheaper company but 1) I'm wondering if I need to contact CCCS first - it's due in the next week or so but the DMP agreement states "I will not enter into any new credit agreement while this DMP agreement is in force without the prior approval of CCCS"...I can't pay my car insurance in one go so inevitably it will be a monthly payment - so new credit agreement? This will be paid from my bank but just wonder if I have to ok it with CCCS first...

2) Am I likely to be refused Car insurance on a monthly payment - I know they'll do a credit check so wondered if anyone has had a problem with getting their renewal/changing company for the best deal after signing up for a DMP.

Thanks for any advice and well done everyone at getting control of your debts.

:T

loopylu36

Hi

I'm fairly certain that insurances paid for monthly don't constitute credit in the usual sense,so don't think it will affect your DMP or that you have to advise CCCS. If the figure is different you can deal with in your review. Not sure about the credit check tho - I think that if you fail it maybe they ask you for a bigger payment up front? Sorry, can't really help more than that.

Do you think it's wrong to feel a little "superior" in dealing with our debts? I mean, all those "other" people out there who are just blindy spending and thinking "it will be fine" are so in denial! And we know, cos were those people until we saw the light (blimey i'm beginnin to sound a little cultish!) But do you know what I mean. People come on here desperate about their debt, get advice, go off and talk to CCCS or whoever, and then come back with a new lease of life! I think that's brilliant!

There's a few us DMP newbies just starting out so it will be good to support each other and share our experiences.