DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

Loobylou07 · 10 October 2018 at 10:16AM

Hi all,

Just a quick update. We have started the process of our DMP self managed. The NedCab website is my best friend at the moment!
So, we have opened a clean bank account and hopefully salaries will go into that 14th and 27th of this month.
I've cancelled the creditors direct debits - needed my big girl pants for this!
I've sent the holding letters to creditors - another pair of big girl pants...!!

So now just waiting for the phone calls and letters to start arriving.

I've also set up a savings account with the new bank and my plan is to build this up a bit for the EF over the 3 months. I plan to start making payments to creditors in January. That's the scary bit, can I hold them off for that long??

Christmas in the middle of all this is an inconvenience, but we plan to have a frugal one, the kids know this and are 'accepting'.
They are really lucky to have generous grandparents who will soften the blow.

OH is stressing more than me. Because it's me that does the research and the actual logistics of this plan, he isn't as informed as me. I'm a great believer in knowledge is power!

Feeling a bit stressed today, had a huge row with DS (13) this morning. I had to ground him for three days (nights) due to him lying to us about where he'd been last night (playing in an area he's not allowed) and I was told. So he went off to school, slamming the door and crying..... he's such a good kid, and I really hate arguing with him, but I had to do it. So the next three evenings will be fun!!

I've also just accepted a new job. Slightly better pay but definitely better working conditions, annual leave, flexi working etc, guaranteed pay rises for the next 5 years (Which will help with the DMP). I love my current job but the company (a charity) are not brilliant. A 1% pay rise in 5 years, and no prospects. So I've been lured back to Local Government.
It's taken a lot of deep thought to accept the other job so i've had this on my mind too, along with our debt situation.

It's going to be a beautiful day today, and I have alot of driving to do, sunglasses on and music up!

I hope everyone here can enjoy some of the sunshine.

Thank you all again for an amazing, supportive thread.

Loobylou.

January2015 · 10 October 2018 at 12:16PM

Barbie61 wrote: »

Hi everyone, my DMP is going strong and I've just passed 18 months now with it - only 14 years to go unless things improve drastically. Anyway a couple of the debts have been sold and I've updated Stepchange who are absolutely amazing - they have helped me and my stress levels so much BUT - Next are charging interest again which is 1.5 times the monthly payment they are receiving. I spoke to them and they said the year 1 plan had ended and I had to speak to them and agree another plan but I didn't want to do this without consulting Stepchange who told me that with payments continuing to them that this shouldn't be necessary. They sent out a statement/budget pack to all the creditors again and advised me that this would do the trick, but three months on Next are still adding the interest. I just wondered if anyone else had this problem and what they did about it, obviously I can't agree to anything that will render the DMP null and void so I'm a little confused as to what to do next. This is the smallest amount I owe as well so I didn't expect it. Any help gratefully received, thank you.

I have no experience with Next, but just write to them and request they default the acount - and back the default to the start of your DMP. Make it clear your circumstances are unlikely to improve and therefore unless they support you with defaulting the account and removing interest you will never clear this debt. Let them know you other creditors have fully supported the difficult decision you made to enter a DMP and have defaulted and stopped interest. Tell them you feel they are treating you less favourably than someone who had been irresponsible and walked away from pay the debt completely. If you had done that they would already have defaulted, stopped interest and looked to selling the debt on to a debt collection agency. Tell them you feel you are being penalised for being responsible and seeking support from a debt charity to deal with your debts.

It may not work, but hopefully they will see sense and behave as they should have in the first place.

jools1985 · 11 October 2018 at 8:16PM

My DMP is now all ready to start in December. The direct debit is showing in my online bank account and I'm feeling a lot more settled.

I had 2 letters from MBNA today (I have 2 cards with them). Both say they have accepted the amounts Step Change have proposed which is great. Another letter today was from NAtionwide and they have also accepted the proposed payment from December.

I've also had a Default Notice from RBS. The notice states if I do not bring my account up to date by 26/10/18 the agreement may be terminated and the outstanding balance will become payable. I don't fully understand this. Is this the actual default or is it a warning of an impending default? I also received my RBS statement today. They have not charged interest or late payment fees which they did last month.

Can anyone shed any light on what this all means?

Thanks n anticipation....

sourcrates · 11 October 2018 at 11:56PM

jools1985 wrote: »

My DMP is now all ready to start in December. The direct debit is showing in my online bank account and I'm feeling a lot more settled.

I had 2 letters from MBNA today (I have 2 cards with them). Both say they have accepted the amounts Step Change have proposed which is great. Another letter today was from NAtionwide and they have also accepted the proposed payment from December.

I've also had a Default Notice from RBS. The notice states if I do not bring my account up to date by 26/10/18 the agreement may be terminated and the outstanding balance will become payable. I don't fully understand this. Is this the actual default or is it a warning of an impending default? I also received my RBS statement today. They have not charged interest or late payment fees which they did last month.

Can anyone shed any light on what this all means?

Thanks n anticipation....

Hi,

It is what it says it is.

A default notice requires you to bring your account up to date within a certain timeframe, if you don’t, then a default will be placed on your credit file.

This is a statutory notice that creditors are legally required to send to you, it is simply a requirement they must comply with, and does not take your impending DMP into account.

You can safely ignore it, and all will progress smoothly.

January2015 · 12 October 2018 at 7:17AM

jools1985 wrote: »

My DMP is now all ready to start in December. The direct debit is showing in my online bank account and I'm feeling a lot more settled.

I had 2 letters from MBNA today (I have 2 cards with them). Both say they have accepted the amounts Step Change have proposed which is great. Another letter today was from NAtionwide and they have also accepted the proposed payment from December.

I've also had a Default Notice from RBS. The notice states if I do not bring my account up to date by 26/10/18 the agreement may be terminated and the outstanding balance will become payable. I don't fully understand this. Is this the actual default or is it a warning of an impending default? I also received my RBS statement today. They have not charged interest or late payment fees which they did last month.

Can anyone shed any light on what this all means?

Thanks n anticipation....

Exactly as Sourcrates has advised you above - it is exactly what it says. Creditors have to send you these letters in order that they are compliant when moving towards defaulting your account.

Just thought I would point out that for people entering a DMP, defaults are a good step in the process. In reality the sooner each creditor defaults you the better. The reason for this is that the debt will only remain on your credit file for six years from the date of default REGARDLESS of whether you have cleared the debt or not. If the debt is not defaulted it will stay on your credit file for six after the last payment is made to clear the debt. When you are on a DMP and have no default marker, your debt will likely be marked AP (arrangement to pay) which is not a positive marker on your credit file. So the difference between a default and an AP marker on your file would be, for example...

Debt owed £5000 as at Oct 2018

Monthly DMP payment of £50

Time to clear will be 8 years 4 months

With a default registered, let's say in January 2019, this debt will disappear from your credit file six years later in January 2025. You still owe the money, and you still need to pay it off even though it is not reported on your credit files (unless it's unenforceable, or you negotiate to settle it for a reduce amount.... but you will learn about those possibilities as you go through your DMP)

If default NOT registered and AP marker left on your file, the debt will disappear six years after last payment, so 8 years 4 months PLUS 6 years = 14 years 6 months.... which means it will remain as a poor credit history on credit reference agency files until....... February 2032 :eek::eek::eek:

These letters are computer generated and sent out by creditors as standard. They have not had a human being look over them and think.... oh yes, we know this person is on a DMP, let's not send this letter, or let's send them a nicer letter :rotfl:

Another thing to be aware of is that some creditors send lots of 'be warned we will default you if you don't pay' letters before ever sorting themselves out to default the account. Some are far more efficient and may only send one or two warning letters. Some :mad::mad::mad: never get round to defaulting accounts with being chased and argued with.

Lucylou7 · 12 October 2018 at 7:41AM

Hi

I started my DMP with step change earlier this year and on the whole it has helped a lot. I no longer worry about having a heart attack due to the stress and I can sleep ok most nights. However I am having trouble with Yorkshire Bank. I owe them a lot of money and they are charging 4.12% interest a year. This means that every month my balance is actually going up. Step Change has estimated my debt free date to be 20 something years in the future, which is bad enough . But with my largest debt increasing every month the situation feels hopeless. All the letters / statements from Yorkshire Bank say I agreed to interest rate and it will continue for the life of my loan.

I am hoping my earning will go up over time and I will be able to pay them more each month, but that is a long way off.

What should I do? Is it enough to call them and beg for them to reduce the interest?

[Deleted User] · 12 October 2018 at 8:55AM

Lucylou7 wrote: »

Hi

I started my DMP with step change earlier this year and on the whole it has helped a lot. I no longer worry about having a heart attack due to the stress and I can sleep ok most nights. However I am having trouble with Yorkshire Bank. I owe them a lot of money and they are charging 4.12% interest a year. This means that every month my balance is actually going up. Step Change has estimated my debt free date to be 20 something years in the future, which is bad enough . But with my largest debt increasing every month the situation feels hopeless. All the letters / statements from Yorkshire Bank say I agreed to interest rate and it will continue for the life of my loan.

I am hoping my earning will go up over time and I will be able to pay them more each month, but that is a long way off.

What should I do? Is it enough to call them and beg for them to reduce the interest?

I'm so sorry Yorkshire Bank are causing problems especially as it looks as if embarking on a DMP has been a very positive move for you. I still remember that lovely feeling when the stress began to lessen, even after slightly over 5 years since I took my tentative first step into DMPland.

Have you let Stepchange know about the YB situation? Maybe a phone call to them would be a good idea . You know that SC are helpful, unlike YB who obviously aren't. They will have seen this sort of thing many times before from one bank or other and I'm sure they could advise on your best way forward.

Good Luck:beer:

January2015 · 12 October 2018 at 12:51PM

Lucylou7 wrote: »

Hi

I started my DMP with step change earlier this year and on the whole it has helped a lot. I no longer worry about having a heart attack due to the stress and I can sleep ok most nights. However I am having trouble with Yorkshire Bank. I owe them a lot of money and they are charging 4.12% interest a year. This means that every month my balance is actually going up. Step Change has estimated my debt free date to be 20 something years in the future, which is bad enough . But with my largest debt increasing every month the situation feels hopeless. All the letters / statements from Yorkshire Bank say I agreed to interest rate and it will continue for the life of my loan.

I am hoping my earning will go up over time and I will be able to pay them more each month, but that is a long way off.

What should I do? Is it enough to call them and beg for them to reduce the interest?

I wrote the post below to another forum member recently - who is also having trouble with interest being charged. Write to Yorkshire Bank with the same argument I have set out below. It worked for me with Halifax.

January2015 wrote: »

I have no experience with Next, but just write to them and formally request they default the acount - and back the default to the start of your DMP. Make it clear your circumstances are unlikely to improve and therefore unless they support you with defaulting the account and removing interest you will never clear this debt. Let them know you other creditors have fully supported the difficult decision you made to enter a DMP and have defaulted and stopped interest. Tell them you feel they are treating you less favourably than someone who had been irresponsible and walked away from pay the debt completely. If you had done that they would already have defaulted, stopped interest and looked to selling the debt on to a debt collection agency. Tell them you feel you are being penalised for being responsible and seeking support from a debt charity to deal with your debts.

It may not work, but hopefully they will see sense and behave as they should have in the first place.

sourcrates · 12 October 2018 at 12:57PM

Lucylou7 wrote: »

What should I do? Is it enough to call them and beg for them to reduce the interest?

Hi,

Maybe you could instead take charge of the situation, stop paying them, force the debt to default, eventually they will sell the debt on, interest and charges will stop for good then, and you can deal with it on your own terms.

If the creditor has refused all reasonable requests to stop interest etc, then little else is left open to you.

You need to alter your perspective, the bank is not in charge of this situation, you are........alternatively would insolvency, such as an IVA be possible ?

January2015 · 12 October 2018 at 2:19PM

sourcrates wrote: »

Or you could stop paying them, let the debt default, allow them to sell the debt on, and interest will stop for good then, just a thought.

Despite what I said in my post above about writing and arguing they are treating you less favourly than someone who stopped paying altogether - I think Sourcrates is right.

Stop paying them.
They will default the account.

Don't worry about letters etc. Nothing bad will happen. Force them to default the account and then make arrangements to pay it off with your DMP.

DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

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