DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 4)

rayday2

MurrayMint wrote: »

Well the phone calls have started... Just 2, but both this morning within about 5 minutes of each other. Virgin called my on a work number :mad:. I refused to give my d-o-b but the woman was being quite insistent. I told her to call my home number tonight. Unfortunately I work in an office with 4 others, who have known me forever, we can hear each others conversations and we're all quite nosey, so they will notice if I start getting lots of these types of phone calls! The call actually came through on a helpdesk line, rather than my direct line - it was just chance that I picked it up this time. They will especially notice if I get lots of calls from foreign accents, as we only deal with UK and Germany....

The other call was on my mobile, so I diverted it to the voicemail and pretended that they'd hung up when I answered. I googled the number and am pretty sure it was RBS debt recovery for Tesco. My phone is now on silent!

On the upside though, most of my token payment cheques have been paid out, so they've got my letter. Our MBNA & A&L accounts online show as being suspended and have got a debt recovery letter from a company working for MBNA saying as a valued customer we're sure you'll clear the overdue amount etc, etc

I'm really fretting about too many phone calls to work though! I have been into as many of the online accounts as I can and deleted out all but my home phone number. But some I couldn't...

Boo Hoo......

P.S. RayDay, I think you're doing the right thing about work for your situation. X

You could use the template letter for no phone calls and mention that you could face disciplinary if you take personal calls at work and they should be ok with that.

andytwonames

yellowmonkey wrote: »

I thought that you all had a right to know the true me and I suppose you could call this my true LBM and , perhaps , the first one was only on a dimmer switch.

Maybe the first light bulb was an energy saving one!

No need to apologise, you have done nobody any harm here. You have to start now from where you are.

First thing is to get a 'safe' bank account before you do anything else. Then get benefits/salary sent to that. Only once you have done this should you tell Halifax your plans.

If creditors don't like it, they can lump it.

yellowmonkey

Thanks Ray/Andy

I am prepared for the Halifax so I have already opened a Nat West step account that I have my wages paid into for when they call the ODraft facility in.

rayday2

What do you get with a Natwest step account? We need to find another account as we have GE Money as a creditor and A&L and Cahoot for banking.

Sorry off topic there, well done you will be old hand at this!

yellowmonkey

Another question :rolleyes:

Do you think I should cancel my DMP with Payplan sooner rather than later. I am kidding myself I suppose that everything is going OK at the moment and I do not want to upset the Status Quo.

Halix are still paying my DD's at the moment but if they were to call the O/D in I would be scuppered. I suppose I am thinking at the moment if it is not broke dont fix it

Forget the question I think I have answered it myself

yellowmonkey

rayday2 wrote: »

What do you get with a Natwest step account? We need to find another account as we have GE Money as a creditor and A&L and Cahoot for banking.

Sorry off topic there, well done you will be old hand at this!

Step account I have got a debit card ( Solo/Maestro) but no OD or cheque book. I believe it is an account recommended on the bankruptcy board ( Last resort)

rayday2

You have me wondering here not sure if its possible but you could get away with it for a while. If you are not over your overdraft facility could you just keep the account open and send payments to it each month (worked out on your DMP budget template from National Debtline) and not tell them they are part of a DMP?

Obviously you would need strength of charcter not to continue using the account only you know if you can that but if you could it could save some charges. Obviously if they call it in then you would have to formarly send them the DMP letters.

As to stopping payplan that would depend on whether the companies have had there money or not this month. If August payment has been taken then I would cancel it and ask Payplan for the information they have to take over the plan. Or you could brave it and ask them to include the new stuff.

newlywed

yellowmonkey wrote: »

Step account I have got a debit card ( Solo/Maestro) but no OD or cheque book. I believe it is an account recommended on the bankruptcy board ( Last resort)

HI YM - did you see my post on the bankruptcy board on Monday? You're not the only one to struggle . Hope you get things sorted.

If you don't really want to do the DMP yourself, have you thought about ringing CCCS instead? Might be able to swap companies and have a new start that way? Or ring Payplan and say "sorry but..." and see whether they will still let you carry on?

I am certain you're not the first or the last in that situation (I just borrow off family instead )

yellowmonkey

Cheers Ray you have me thinking now.I have a few days off at the end of the month so will try to get it all sorted then when the DD's are back to school and I have time to think:D

Got to do lunch now and get ready for work but I feel better just by fessing up

Catch up later

ym

WhoopieDoodle

YM, please don't beat yourself up over this. It appears to me, after reading your post, that you have had your light bulb moment now, 100% and from this you will finally start to sort your debts out.

I believe many people over stretch themselves when they originally enter a DMP - at that time all you can think about is paying the debts regardless.

However, I have always been a supporter of paying what you can easily afford. Okay, this may not be as much as you would like, but if things get tricky later on down the line (and they will, with ever increasing price rises and the dreaded gremlins finding their way into your central heating system, car, washing machine, etc) you will either have to drop your payments or take out more credit. So it makes sense to start on the lesser amount, freeing up some money for emergencies and price rises.

We could pay more than we do, but we do not want to find ourselves in a mess if we need money for an emergency.

We will increase our payments, but only a small amount at a time and the creditors will have to accept this. After all, we are learning to live without credit and it's not easy to start with.

You will get through this. Think of it as starting afresh.

BTW, we have left Payplan and nothing untoward has happened. In fact, I feel invigorated at the thought of having full control over the situation.

PS, your honesty is much appreciated and it was a brave move to open up to us.