DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 4)

Jvic28

lulaloo wrote: »

1)how much should these token payments be and should they be distributed as a percentage of what I owe (e.g. if 50% of my credit is with one lender, should i send 50% of the money I have spare to that lender as a token payment?)

There is no black and white rule here. Most people just send out £1 to each creditor or something small such as £5. It depends what you can afford. If you've not quite started the DMP it's a good idea to keep a little back and only send out small token payments i think. It's only to let them know you haven't forgotten about them.

lulaloo wrote: »

2) one of my creditors is the bank i have held a current account with for the last 7 years. I have opened a basic bank account with another bank, but do not get a cheque book with my new account - how can I send the token payments?

You can do this by postal order or by taking along paying in slips along with cash to the bank or post office. Postal Orders are normally a good idea as you can accompany them with a letter restating your situation. If they've taken the £1 off you balance they can't argue they didn't get the letter can they?

lulaloo

Jvic28 wrote: »

There is no black and white rule here. Most people just send out £1 to each creditor or something small such as £5. It depends what you can afford. If you've not quite started the DMP it's a good idea to keep a little back and only send out small token payments i think. It's only to let them know you haven't forgotten about them.
You can do this by postal order or by taking along paying in slips along with cash to the bank or post office. Postal Orders are normally a good idea as you can accompany them with a letter restating your situation. If they've taken the £1 off you balance they can't argue they didn't get the letter can they?

Thanks Jvic28 you've been really helpful.

Lula

Jvic28

lulaloo wrote: »

Thanks Jvic28 you've been really helpful.

Lula

No worries. It's been the best thing I've ever done entering the DMP and I wish I'd done it years ago. By now I'd be out of debt.

lulaloo

Jvic28 wrote: »

No worries. It's been the best thing I've ever done entering the DMP and I wish I'd done it years ago. By now I'd be out of debt.

I know, I'm so glad now i've finally started - for me it was the fear of going to the CCCS and people judging me for my debt. I now know that I was completely wrong to think that.
I've also been suprised by the amount of people on MSE who are willing to help each other out with support and kind words.

Best wishes with your DMP and thanks again for your help

Lula

debt_daisy

Jvic28 wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, just tell them when you get passed to the original creditor to a DCA. You can always ask them to send out you I+E etc again if it's been a while, but I wouldn't worry about the letters. They are sent out to try and scare you into paying more.

Thanks Jvic!

Another quick question (sorry my head is full of them at the moment :rotfl:) CCCS spotted that my tax code was wrong as went from being a student into full time work and was being taxed BR for around 4-5 months, this was partly my fault as I forgot to hand in my p45 but i handed this in and this month I have had my payslip and I have had some of the money refunded which is a nice difference as i think with this money i should be able to get a few more xmas bits etc. Now obviously this won't be the case every month as I think my overall salary will only go up by around £60 extra (a figure from the cccs) and they have told me to tell them when this happens- so you can probably guess what I am going to ask...do i tell cccs about the extra money I have recived this month or just let them know when my wages have increased altogether and are more stable?

Thanks, DD x

Jvic28

I would just let them know you avaerage wage when it's more stable. Put this money to one side, I'm sure it'll be usefull for emergencies (especially at this time of year). There's a thread called "ask a cccs counsellor a question" on here so you could check with them, at least that way they don't know who you are.

MurrayMint

Dizzie77 wrote: »

.....has DH done his phoning yet??

Yes!! It only took a FULL 24 hours and at least 6 separate requests, including handing him a statement, with the phone number circled and telling him what to say (he said "God, you're like a dog with a bone!" - I'll be like a dog chewing on his leg if he likes!)

They have agreed to stop charging us the late payment fee as of November and will put us on a reduced interest rate of 0.49%, which I assume is monthly, so I work that out to be 5.88% APR. :beer: At the moment we only pay them £5 on a £1,300 debt, so it doesn't quite cover the interest, but in a few months we should increase their payment to £9 upwards The balance will come down

Feeling really bad for simbalou now though Hope you get some joy with them soon?!?!?

I *think* that's all my creditors playing ball now, but I will wait for the next round of statements and do a thorough check though. I will report back

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice :A. It came be damn hard to keep on the positive through this process

MM

candygirl

I've finally bit the bullet and rung CCCS today, as I have 3 credit cards totalling about 8k which due to the no work situation and really struggling to pay off now.I have been paying minimum payments since I last worked in July but can no longer afford to:(
I have a telephone appointment with CCCS in a couple of weeks, but in the meantime they have advised me to cancel my DD's to the CC companies.I feel guilty doing this but have tried to ask for help from them and have been told there's nothing they can do till my account is in arrears.
I'm not sure if I'll be advised to get a DMP, and no idea how much I will have to pay per month, as am on benefits and also have to pay towards my mortgage as income support don't pay it all:o

nixxy07

I have had my DMP accepted by PayPlan and am nervously awaiting responses from my creditors. Two agreed to hold interest and accept reduced payments before PayPlan got involved but I need the other 5 to agree. So anxious!

What kind of reponses have people had? Do creditors generally agree? What about overdraft debts?

It feels so good to know that other people are in the same boat.

I'm still deeply worried about the long term effects on my credit rating as I'm still renting and will want to consider a mortgage at some point. Anyone got any wisdom to share?

ianmak

nixxy07 wrote: »

I have had my DMP accepted by PayPlan and am nervously awaiting responses from my creditors. Two agreed to hold interest and accept reduced payments before PayPlan got involved but I need the other 5 to agree. So anxious!

What kind of reponses have people had? Do creditors generally agree? What about overdraft debts?

It feels so good to know that other people are in the same boat.

I'm still deeply worried about the long term effects on my credit rating as I'm still renting and will want to consider a mortgage at some point. Anyone got any wisdom to share?

Well, your credit rating (providing you default) will be shot for 6 years from when you default. So the sooner the better. You may still get a mortgage, but the rate would probably be rather high.

As to how creditors react, just take a look through the last few pages of this thread, people often post how they have acted. Most of mine have been good, the overdraft debts have been difficult, I think because of the low(er) amount owed?

A few of the creditors refused to acknowlege the DMP contact from DMP, so you have to badger PP to ensure that the creditor get the message.

Today Northern Rock phoned to accept my plan for 6 months. They're my biggest debt, and the ones I were most worried about (I'm a home owner, and was a bit concerned about charging orders.

Oh, and finally, if you have provided phone numbers, be prepared for lots of phone calls!