DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part Three)

jadeyp19

Hello i am new to this so not sure if I have posted in the right place! Basically I have reached my " I am in real trouble moment" I contacted pay plan to enquire about a debt management plan. I owe around 22k and payplan have advised me to go into an IVA not debt management. I am really concerned about this option and was wondering if anyone could give me advise. I do not own any property so thats not a concern, payplan have estimated i can afford 183 per month but this includes amounts for things like a pet which I do not have so am I better just upping the payment I can make and do a debt management plan? The main reason they suggest I do an IVA is because at 183 a month it would take 10 years to pay back in a dmp. Sorry if i seem like i am rambling but really want to make the right decision.

rayday2

My DMP is well over 10 years to pay back, it is only advice they are offering if you were to go back to them and say I appreciate an IVA looks better on paper but I feel more comfortable initially trying a DMP and if that does not work then think about an IVA. See what there response is if that makes you feel better.

If you search this site for IVA then Martin has done an impartial guide for them. I don't have personal experience of them but I know they are more damaging to credit ratings than DMP and that they are less flexible and your payments can go up.

simbalou

Hi Jadeyp19,

I can't offer any advice but thought I'd let you know our situation, we owe about £27,000 through CCCS and they have accepted us with a monthly payment of £146. It may take 16 years to pay off but we are going to review our payment every 6 months to see if we can afford more to lower the amount of time we will pay it off.

I was never advised to do an IVA with them, I dont know whether thats due to having 2 children and our own house but CCCS seemed happy to accept our payment.

I hope that helps in anyway, I know its always reassuring to hear other peoples stories because it helps to make up your own mind what to do.

jadeyp19

Hello, i really appreciate your replies simbalou and rayday 2. It has taken me a few months to get the courage to phone payplan kept on thinking i can struggle on for a few more months and things will get better lol, so i was feeling a little crappy when payplan suggested the IVA. I have just been on cccs website and entered all my details they came up with a reypayment of 265 which I can afford easily and 7 years to pay off and suggested a DMP so feeling alot better now, another question though, how do you find CCCS I was only going through payplan as a friend recommended.

rayday2

I think most people with a managed DMP go with CCCS there are several on here with Payplan but I think CCCS have a bigger capacity and are more well known so they are one of the first ports of call.

I run my own DMP so never dealt with any companies but from what I have read there is not a lot to choose from on quality of service between the two.

newlywed

Hi jadey - I am with CCCS and they have been really good, very understanding. I chose them over payplan simply because I could do most of it online without having to speak to someone on the phone

simbalou

I'm with newlywed on this one, I chose CCCS purely because I could do the first bit online, I felt apprehensive calling a company to ask them to help so it was just easier to see what a company may do before I spoke to someone (if that makes sense!)

I struggled for about 18 months, knowing the time was coming that I needed help and feel proud that I'd kept us afloat for so long yet annoyed that I'd waited so long to seek help. We were only late on a couple of payments but I am now glad that alot of the responsiblity has been taken off me and I can get on with life again.

It's scary and exciting knowing that we will never ever use credit again but I look forward to the day when I buy something and know that it's mine and paid for with our own money.

Another thing is that I am becoming addicted to this site now, is that normal?!!!!

Just_Me_4

We got the first lot of correspondence today - letters from LLoyds TSB Loans asking why they couldn't collect the direct debit.:eek:

DH is now panicking because the address he was given over the phone to send correspondence to is very slightly different (different PO Box number by one digit) than what was on the letters we received. Should we be worried about this? I assume the letters will find their way to the right place - they have our token payments enclosed.

rayday2

Tell him not to worry at all Lloyds have no idea what they are doing they have so many addresses but amazingly payments always seem to get through to them.

Also they have a computer system that seems to spit lots of random letters that bare no resemblance to what you have written. I should imagine thats a random letter and the address he was given was the one where possibly a person reads them and sends them out.

simbalou

Hi Just me,

I got my first email from egg today asking to reinstate my direct debit and it scared me too, I suppose it's because things are happening now and it all seems too real.

I wouldn't worry too much about the address being slightly different, alot of my correspondence was sent to head offices and I'm sure they will get it in the end. The only other thing you could do is send another letter off to the address that you have got today. That way in your own mind you know you have covered all options.