DMP Mutual Support Thread (Part 4)

scarletpippit

Hello, i have recently spoken to Payplan about my situation and i will soon have the pack through telling me what to do.The option given to me has been token payments.
My concern is that i work for one of the creditors which i owe a large amount to which has meant i may need to look for another job.My wages have to be paid into an account with my creditor but they can dip into it!!
i have been told by some advisors that i could carry on paying my workplace the minimum payments to keep my job secure but do token payments to all other creditors.
i feel that this may be classed as favouring a creditor and other creditors i owe to might not accept my token payments due to this.
has anyone else come across a similar case or have any views on this situation.
i have tried to speak to people within the workplace as a customer but because i am a member of staff they keep telling me i have to refer to my line manager who will have to deal with it for me.Not even my works union can help me!!
The pay and working hours are ideal but i feel i may have to leave so that it doesnt get nasty.i hear how they talk about other customers in debt and i know my situation will get spread through colleagues eveb though its supposed to be confidential!!

another question is how long does it usually take before a creditor passes you on to a collection agency?

and one last one is how likely is it that a creditor will take you to court?

i am very anxious as i havent even started any payments yet and i am currently up to date with no arears(never have been) but my partners income has dropped drastically and household bills have risen so the only option we have is to offer token payments.

scarletpippit

another question (sorry after my other long post )is..
we have worked out our income not including bonus because it is unreliable, if we get a bonus payment what do we do with it?
do we keep it aside ready to pay a creditor a large amount such as a full and final settlement or do we need to tell our creditors each month what our bonus is so that it can be distributed pro-rata.
i would prefer to keep it aside to pay off creditors in a large sum if we get a bonus but would we get into trouble if we were seen as saving money towards this?i also dont want to be changing my token payments every month due to a changing income.

anyone have any suggestions?

scarletpippit

Hi pucked im new too and feel the same!!!

ikkle87

Hi Scarlet, I think because your bonus isn't guaranteed it works like overtime where as you get to keep it but I'm not sure cos i am quite new, but am sure someone will be able to help you.

Pucked, I was nervous too and although six years is a long time in six years time you will have the rest of your life not having to worry about creditors and court cases and bailiffs and phonecalls from DCA. You will get through it hun.

Tigert

Hi Scarletpippet

Welcome to the forum.

You'll need to make Payplan aware of the situation with your job. You are right in that it would be favouring your employer to make different payments. But it's a very different situaltion when your job depends on it. Although technically it's an unsecured loan, it's kind of secured on your job, but I'm not sure how it would be seen by Payplan.

Regarding the collection agency question - That's an easy one to answer. You will find out over the next few months how inconsistent creditors are. Sometimes even the same creditor will treat 2 people completely differently. There really is no rule about whether they will or won't pass you to a DCA and how long it will take. I've now been on my DMP 5 months and 5 of my 15 debts have been passed on, 10 haven't.

As regards court again it depends, none of my creditors have made any noises about court yet (Lot's of computer generated threat letters, but no actual action). In my case I have no property so it wouldn't be worthwhile for them as they can't get a charging order. All they would achieve is a CCJ for the same amount I'm currently paying - I can't pay what I haven't got. 2 of the creditors I've spoken to say court action is unlikely so long as payments are made on time and are reviewed regularly.

As for bonuses - A DMP is based on your regular income. I was told to save bonuses for unexpected emergencies or for Full and Final Settlements. It was good advice, my car needed some work and I didn't have to reduce my DMP payments to pay, which I would have had to otherwise.

Hope this helps. I was very worried at the start, but my DMP is currently ticking along nicely. I can afford to live without using credit and my debts are reducing. The first 3 months are the worst with letters and calls, but most people on hear will tell you that it will quieten down and it really does.

pucked

Thanks for your thoughts WhoopieDoodle - its much appreciated.

Its a relief to know that probably everyone here who has been in DMP appear to be more relaxed about their situation.

I guess I just need to keep my head down over the next few months and hold tight whilst the storm does what it has to.

I'm so grateful for this forum - lots of good advice and experience - thanks

scarletpippit

Thanks Tigert and ikkle87 for advising about the bonus situation.i have been hopeing that it was something i can put aside towards a full and final.:beer:

With regards to my job i think i might just continue looking for another job to avoid embarrasment with my work colleagues and risk having my money taken off me the moment it was paid resulting in no payments to other creditors.i spoke to someone in the customer support unit and they advised a note could be put on my account stopping payments from being taken but i dont know whether to trust them.

i think my plan will be to pay token payments and then offer a F&F

My only concern now is what does it mean when you say a charging order because we own a property and we have two babies so dont want to risk our house. What happens when this is threatened?

pucked

Hi Scarletpippet,

Its good to know that you can post your questions and someone has been through the same situation.

I can't offer much advise except that Payplan seem to have at a suggestion to pretty much all scenarios.

Would it be possible for your employer to deduct your minimum payment plus a little more direct from your paypacket? That way there is less for your other creditors to ask for since your salary will show the lesser amount.

Good luck

pucked

Hi Scarletpipet - Regarding Charging orders I just found this link since I am also worried about this area.

http://www.debtquestions.co.uk/legal_chargingorders.php

Hope this helps

scarletpippit

Thats right , pucked.Payplan have been great!!
they did suggest deducting from my wage and the token payment but when talking to work they would only keep adding interest and charges which would be offset against my wages therefore all of it would be taken up! i only work three days a week being a mom aswell, so its not much. i dont think theyll be nice to me either cus i work for them. may even get a disciplinary if i stay there!!
just means my job hunt is going to be hard because not many companies are looking for part time workers!!

best of luck for your plan too!