DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 4)

rosenrot

I am not posting this to gloat.
I had a DMP with CCCS of £200 pm and made my final payment in August last year. It was the best feeling being able to telephone them and ask to close my file.

Taking the DMP was the way to go for myself and Mr R as we had gotten into a real mess by our selves and the help of CSA(previous marraige). We would not have gotten to where we are today without the CCCS and their help.

To all that that are just starting one - there is light at the end of the tunnel and dont worry. If any creditors bother you refer them straight to CCCS or chosen help.:j
Those that are about to finish -well done. :T

I would recommended it to anyone who cannot walk straight for running round in circles.

Jvic28

Yummy-mummy wrote: »

Does anyone else have this problem and if so, how do you keep calm and not let them stress you out????

I was recently getting calls from GE Money up to about 8 times a day even on a Sunday. When I'd answer they'd hang up. Apparantly they estimate (badly) how many operators they'll have available and if they haven't got enough, hang up on you. Eventually they got through to my boyfriend (the debt is in my name) he went mental and told them to stop calling and that I have written explaining the situation and they haven't called back since. It's Lush! But they did listen to him, even though it's not in his name.

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newlywed

yummy-mummy - GE were a pain with phone calls for me too. But it was only until the DMP was fully set up and agreed by them (which wasn't actually that long).

They rang me 3 times a day and when I finally got really annoyed at them I started answering! Told them my CCCS reference number and that I was on a DMP and they still rang me most days and I told them the same info, which they confirmed they had on the system. After getting really annoyed at them I was told the previous 4 people should have put a flag on the system to stop phone calls until CCCS have a chance to contact them- and he did that and all went quiet.

So if you do answer and tell them about the CCCS and the DMP they "should" stop the phone calls.

On the other hand the departments don't talk to each to other - they wrote me one letter to say they refused the DMP. Then after they had the first payment sent a letter to say they accepted CCCS proposal and would stop interest. Then two days later another department wrote to say they didn't accept and hadn't heard from CCCS :rolleyes:

So stick with them - they are a pain to start with but since they agreed the DMP they stopped all interest, and then passed it to a collection agent (in house I think) who have been really good and just say carry on and send me statements every month.

rosenrot

Its easy to say "dont get mad" when a creditor constantly phones morning noon and night. We used to get calls up until 10 at night. It got to the point we had to ask friends to ring twice, hang up and ring again so that we would answer the phone.
Even once the DMP was in place creditors still called and asked if we could pay something extra or say the amount was not enough.
The only thing I could say was "I m on a DMP with CCCS and cant afford to make extra payments but I will speak to CCCS". Thank you for your call". Then I would just hang up. I ended off work for a couple of weeks with stress at the very start. No point in lying it isnt easy and its not for a while.
Never ever give in to phone calls asking for extra payments and dont let the companies bully you. You to a point are now in control as you and CCCS have set new ground rules. Companies agree to them.
Constant phone calls from creditors(I think its more than 3) is classed as harrasment and you can tell them to stop other wise you can and will take action against them.
I did threaten one company(in writing) by saying I was going to give their name to national press because of their bullying tactics. It worked!!
Hang in there it is worth it.:cool:

rayday2

If you can't cope with phone calls I strongly recommend changing your phone number. I told family we were getting nuisance phone calls ( it was true! ) this had no impact on my DMP in fact sometimes I think they gave in quicker as they know if they get someone on the phone they could buckle and give them more hence the number they make.

rosenrot

Your telephone company can charge you to change your number. Thus giving you more debt worry.
I had enquired at the time to do that too. I was quoted £50 because it was not regarded as essential ie: advised to by police for instance.

All telephone providers work differently.

I bit the bullet and didnt change. When I thought about it I felt that by changing numbers my creditors were winning and the hassle of having to contact everyone letting them know of the change.

This is not my advice it is just a piece of my experience.
Everyones' situation and how they deal with it is wide and varied. What works for one may not work for an other.

Jvic28

I think as long as you are strong there, there is no need to change your number. Answer your calls and be firm. Tell them there is nothing more you can pay and refer them to CCCS. I know they can be harsh and it's easier said than done but don't take it to heart.

Once I had a phone call off one telling me to pay them £1 over the phone or they'll charge me an overlimit fee. I literally didn't have a penny in my bank account and when I told him that he practically laughed down the phone at me. Well stuff them. I'm doing my best and that will have to be good enough.

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loopylu36

Now then, it can't be very often that you get a letter from a creditor that makes you laugh, so I just thougt I'd share this with you - it may just be my sense of humour but it made me laugh out loud !

Received letter from HSBC this morning telling me that my CC account is "seriously out of order" . Why, what's it done?:rotfl: Is it generally being obnoxious, abusive, offensive, unhelpful, discourteous and downright rude? Not to mention too stupid for words! Oh hold on, I think they have my account confused with themselves!! :rotfl:

rayday2

I had a capquest letter agreeing to my DMP for a limited time and would be up for review in 2046!

BTW BT change your telephone number for free, its OK for some who can be firm if it is causing distress then change your number. There are solutions for everyone and you all personally know which works better for you.

Jvic28

rayday2 wrote: »

its OK for some who can be firm if it is causing distress then change your number. There are solutions for everyone and you all personally know which works better for you.

I hope you don't think I was being judgemental. I was just trying to instill a bit of confidence. I completely agree though. Not worth worrying about, if you want to change your number go ahead.

I've only made my first DMP payment 1st June and already my phone calls have stopped completely, so I'm not concerned at the moment. I was ignoring them for a long time though so know how people feel when you're terrified of answering the phone.

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