DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

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  • Sorry Deleted_User I don't meant to jump in on your post but my question is similar to yours. Good luck with cancelling your DD's :)
  • A few questions to help people think about an answer for you ;)
    1. How long since you contacted the creditor or they contacted you.
    2. How long since any payment was made on this debt
    3. Have they made any settlement offers yet?
    4. If they have, have the settlement offers been gradually improving in your favour?
    5. If you feel comfortable saying - which creditor / DCA is this with?

    Sorry, in a rush, will be back later. Thanks for your help, as always:T:A

    Just to add (as I don't think I made it clear before) that it's AAD that have checked and told me it's UE, not the creditor who sent the CCA stuff with a letter saying it was compliant.

    I'm paying them token £1 a month ever since I received their CCA stuff and the 'hold' period ended (as I am with all my creditors). The latest payment went out to them on 1st of this month. So yes, I'm in contact but neither party has mentioned the UE word yet. No settlement offers made by either party yet either. I'm just about to dip my toe in the water with the F&Fs. Scared about messing it up:o
  • sourcrates
    sourcrates Posts: 28,717
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    Sorry, in a rush, will be back later. Thanks for your help, as always:T:A

    Just to add (as I don't think I made it clear before) that it's AAD that have checked and told me it's UE, not the creditor who sent the CCA stuff with a letter saying it was compliant.

    I'm paying them token £1 a month ever since I received their CCA stuff and the 'hold' period ended (as I am with all my creditors). The latest payment went out to them on 1st of this month. So yes, I'm in contact but neither party has mentioned the UE word yet. No settlement offers made by either party yet either. I'm just about to dip my toe in the water with the F&Fs. Scared about messing it up:o


    Hi CBC,


    Best thing to do where issues such as this are concerned is to keep things simple, you only have opinion on the enforcability or otherwise of your agreement, only a court can decide this once and for all, so until that happens, if it happens, you are still dealing with opinion, nothing more.


    Creditors usually only take low settlement offers under certain circumstances, either the debt is old, maybe unenforceable, the debtor is ill, unable to work, or there is some other good reason that makes the offer look attractive to them.


    Even if the creditor themselves admit a debt is unenforcable, they don`t always play ball, some would rather write the debt off against tax, or sell it on again, instead of accepting your paltry settlement offer.


    It depends on the creditor, and the circumstances at the time, but if you are going to go for the low offer because of non compliant paperwork, i would suggest you stick to that strategy otherwise once you start muddying the waters, it can lead to all kinds of unforeseen complications.
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Debt free wannabe, Credit file and ratings, and Bankruptcy and living with it boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.For free non-judgemental debt advice, contact either Stepchange, National Debtline, or CitizensAdviceBureaux.Link to SOA Calculator- https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php The "provit letter" is here-https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247/letter-when-you-know-nothing-about-about-the-debt-aka-prove-it-letter
  • sourcrates wrote: »
    Hi CBC,


    Best thing to do where issues such as this are concerned is to keep things simple, you only have opinion on the enforcability or otherwise of your agreement, only a court can decide this once and for all, so until that happens, if it happens, you are still dealing with opinion, nothing more.


    Creditors usually only take low settlement offers under certain circumstances, either the debt is old, maybe unenforceable, the debtor is ill, unable to work, or there is some other good reason that makes the offer look attractive to them.


    Even if the creditor themselves admit a debt is unenforcable, they don`t always play ball, some would rather write the debt off against tax, or sell it on again, instead of accepting your paltry settlement offer.


    It depends on the creditor, and the circumstances at the time, but if you are going to go for the low offer because of non compliant paperwork, i would suggest you stick to that strategy otherwise once you start muddying the waters, it can lead to all kinds of unforeseen complications.

    Thanks a million, sourcrates, for a very clear and comprehensive answer:T. Your help and advice is always appreciated:A
  • Loobylou07 wrote: »

    Also, does anyone know if we can continue payments to family? I really don't want to have to stop these or tell them that we are struggling. They are all in their mid 70's and have their own health related issues going on.
    I'm not sure if I have seen that these are classed as priority debts?

    Loobylou07.

    Hi Loobylou, I am not sure if anyone has answered this part of your question but when we started our DMP back in 2014 we (and still do) owe a large sum of money to family members for the deposit for our property. We started our DMP with StepChange and this was included as one of our creditors and they suggested an amount we should pay each month. We are now self-managed through the NEDCAB site but I am only making token payments so it isn't an issue at the moment.

    Hope that helps xx
  • Suseka97
    Suseka97 Posts: 1,562
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    I have just looked on my bank and I am able to cancel the direct debit due tomorrow as it asks if I would still like them to pay the one requested tomorrow or cancel this payment aswell. My only concern is that I have not received a reply from tesco bank from my original letter which was sent about a week ago. I requested that any communication is done in writing but I am guessing I will still receive loads of calls tomorrow. My other credit card payment due tomorrow with mbna I usually just log in and pay so I could just avoid doing this but as with tesco bank I have not yet recieved a reply. Should I still avoid paying these? Barclaycard were very quick and replied within a couple of days saying they have put whole on my account and gave me an email address to send my payment offers to. Thanks for the help guys.

    I think this advice will have come too late - but what is usually advised is to cancel all non-priority debt immediately. It doesn't matter if creditors are aware at that point of your financial circumstances or are and have yet to 'accept' the DMP arrangement (some never actually send anything in writing to that effect, they just collect the monthly payment).

    So, generally you would cancel the payment then write to tell them that you are experiencing financial difficulties and working with/or contacting a debt charity to come up with a workable solution. Even if you plan to self-manage from the outset you say pretty much the same, just say you're seeking advice. This then gives you some breathing space and allows you to set aside some money towards your emergency fund if needs be.
  • Slytherin
    Slytherin Posts: 57 Forumite
    I’ve been in discussions with Payplan about setting up a new DMP. They are really pushing me towards bankruptcy which I don’t want to do. They’ve said that because I can’t afford £500 per month that a DMP is not right for me (I want to start paying back what I can afford - £300).

    Has anyone experienced this sort of reply from one of the charities? I didn’t want to go self managed but I’m going to have to now.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    edited 9 October 2018 at 1:56AM
    Slytherin wrote: »
    I’ve been in discussions with Payplan about setting up a new DMP. They are really pushing me towards bankruptcy which I don’t want to do. They’ve said that because I can’t afford £500 per month that a DMP is not right for me (I want to start paying back what I can afford - £300).

    Has anyone experienced this sort of reply from one of the charities? I didn’t want to go self managed but I’m going to have to now.

    Hi, Slytherin

    I'm sorry I can't answer your question except to say that it may be because at the rate you have offered to pay it will take what Payplan consider to be an excessive amount of time before the debt is paid off. DMP companies, the free-to-use charities anyway, don't like DMPs to go on for decades. May I ask how big your starting debt is, please? £300 a month seems a very reasonable amount to repay IMO, unless your debt is massive.


    If you really don't want to self-manage at the start of your DMP I'd suggest contacting Stepchange, that's another free charity that a lot of us on here are/have been with. They may give you completely different advice to that given by Payplan. I'm assuming you haven't already signed up with Payplan. Doesn't matter if you have really as people cancel or leave all the time.

    As for self-managing, it's easy to do and some people feel confident enough to do it right from the start. Others, like me, need the reassurance of someone like Stepchange taking control in the early stages. There's a lot to get your head round at the beginning and it was good to have Stepchange holding my hand. When I gained in confidence and read posters on here's experiences of self-managing I decided to bite the bullet and go for it myself. It took me over 4 years before I felt ready to do it:o but I've never looked back since.


    Good luck whatever you decide to do:beer:. Please come back and let us know how you get on and to ask about anything that's worrying you.
  • Slytherin
    Slytherin Posts: 57 Forumite
    Thanks for the reply, Carboot. My total debt is 26k and I do understand that paying that off at £300 per month will take time. However, I’ve overcome quite a lot in the past year already and I feel I can work towards a larger figure in the next 6 months. I’m still young, with very realistic chances of a promotion and I don’t honestly believe I’ll be paying just £300 for too long - but that’s what I can afford at this moment in time.

    I replied back to PayPlan to see thanks and cheerio and they’ve basically replied again saying I can proceed but they just want to know why I’d opt for a longer plan over the other options. I don’t feel massively happy about the interrogation or the fact that I’m only clear I can proceed with them because I told them I was off to self manage, which I suppose they might view as less ‘managed’ and possibly less reliable.

    Best get my thinking cap on.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
    edited 9 October 2018 at 7:27AM
    Slytherin wrote: »
    Thanks for the reply, Carboot. My total debt is 26k and I do understand that paying that off at £300 per month will take time. However, I’ve overcome quite a lot in the past year already and I feel I can work towards a larger figure in the next 6 months. I’m still young, with very realistic chances of a promotion and I don’t honestly believe I’ll be paying just £300 for too long - but that’s what I can afford at this moment in time.

    I replied back to PayPlan to see thanks and cheerio and they’ve basically replied again saying I can proceed but they just want to know why I’d opt for a longer plan over the other options. I don’t feel massively happy about the interrogation or the fact that I’m only clear I can proceed with them because I told them I was off to self manage, which I suppose they might view as less ‘managed’ and possibly less reliable.

    Best get my thinking cap on.

    Thanks for the reply, Slytherin:T

    Don't worry too much about the size of your debt. £26k isn't particularly big in the scale of things. I expect very many people who post on here started off owing much more. As you say, you have time on your side and the possibility of earning more and repaying more per month in the future. I started with just under £57k and time definitely isn't on my side:(. I was already retired when I started my DMP with Stepchange in 2013 and they never questioned the fact that a DMP was the right choice for me. They just mentioned bankruptcy and the other options so I would be aware of what solutions were out there but they certainly didn't push anything as far as I recall. Like you, I wouldn't have opted for them anyway, I wanted to repay what I owed via a DMP.


    If you feel that your relationship with Payplan has got off to a shaky start and you're already feeling less than happy with them why not put them 'on hold' for the time being and give Stepchange a call? No commitment involved at this stage. Don't mention to them that you've already been talking to Payplan, just ring them as a DMP virgin as it were, have a chat and see what they have to say. Just like getting a second opinion from the Doctor really;). It might set your mind at rest anyway.


    Also, just a word of caution about deciding what you can afford to pay each month. Whatever you do, don't over-commit to paying too much at the expense of a reasonable life. Make sure you have enough 'slack' in your budget to cover everything that you need to pay to cover reasonable living expenses. You can even be economical with the truth when you complete the 'outgoings' section of your budget form as many on here have done;). Also, lots of people forget or don't like to claim for certain things like hobbies, birthdays etc and find life becomes a real struggle and pretty miserable very quickly. Don't forget, you won't have access to credit once your DMP starts so make sure you're going to be able to cope on what 'real' money you're going to have. DMPs fail, because people make life miserable for themselves. There are lots of things that can happen during the life of a DMP to let you 'up' your payments further down the line, such as earning more. Don't start off too keen to pay every last penny you have each month. That's the voice of experience talking:o


    Good luck:beer:
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