DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

Onebrokelady · 14 December 2018 at 10:02PM

I'm another who owes a lot to this forum ,I came here back in January and finally got my DMP up and running by the beginning of March,it is without doubt the best financial decision I have ever made
It was last Christmas and the resulting credit card bill that pushed me over the edge, luckily I found this place and since then although I have had ups and downs over the year I have been steadily paying off my debt while budgeting carefully and I have paid for absolutely everything with cash,I haven't and nor will I ever touch a credit card again
This Christmas is so different to last year, last year I went on a spending bender and just had no budget and most of it went on my card,this year I set up a savings account and paid money in every month, I set a reaslistic budget for presents and I have stuck to it
I started getting a hold of my finances just in time because this year I have had to cut my hours due to a chronic illness and I would have been in even more trouble had I not come here
Thankyou to everyone on here who takes the time to patiently answer questions and reassure us newbies, I couldnt have done it without this place

sourcrates · 16 December 2018 at 11:55PM

Hi all,

Are things plodding along nicely in DMP land ? hope the festive period provides some respite from the monotony, another year nearly over, and a year closer to been debt free.

Your all doing stupendously well, keep it up, all the best from me to you.

missnat81 · 17 December 2018 at 1:14AM

Hello

I have recently started a DMP through SC which I will do for a couple of months but I have been reading through previous comments and i have no emergency funds and I'm interested in doing the pay a token amount to build up emergency funds and f & f in an attempt to maybe pay some off quicker, how would I go about doing that or am I better off just sticking to the SC DMP that would be paid in about 5 years time?

sourcrates · 17 December 2018 at 1:26AM

missnat81 wrote: »

Hello

I have recently started a DMP through SC which I will do for a couple of months but I have been reading through previous comments and i have no emergency funds and I'm interested in doing the pay a token amount to build up emergency funds and f & f in an attempt to maybe pay some off quicker, how would I go about doing that or am I better off just sticking to the SC DMP that would be paid in about 5 years time?

Hi,

It’s a bit difficult now you have started paying, the usual advice is to hold off for a few months at the beginning and build that fund up, all I can suggest is if any extra money comes your way from whatever source, try and put that to one side.

If you find yourself struggling you could reduce your payments for a while, stepchange are fairly flexible in this respect.

[Deleted User] · 17 December 2018 at 7:19AM

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi all,

Are things plodding along nicely in DMP land ? hope the festive period provides some respite from the monotony, another year nearly over, and a year closer to been debt free.

Your all doing stupendously well, keep it up, all the best from me to you.

And I'm sure everyone will be wishing you 'all the best' too, sourcrates. I certainly am:T

Thanks for all the help and advice you give whenever anyone needs it and for your good humour and patience when having to give the same information over and over again to different posters:T:beer:

ash28 · 17 December 2018 at 8:13AM

Hi,
I sent holding letters to my creditors last Monday and today is the day the first direct debit doesn't get paid......feeling as wound up as a coiled spring and sick.
I decided to go self managed with the DMP and beginning to wish I hadn't.

Just noticed my debt free badge....just goes to show how things can change in a few years!!!

Afreshstart · 17 December 2018 at 10:42AM

Hi Ash28
I am just over a year ahead of you having gone self managed from day one.I know exactly how you are feeling.For many months I wondered if I had done the right thing & in hindsight should I have used stepchange or similar.One year on & things are relatively quiet now just had another original debt sold to a DCA.I did speak to a few creditors on the phone & back it up with letters.Generally it will progress as explained by the many wonderful posters here.I also delayed making my full payment for a few months.A couple of creditors wanted further explanations as the I&E form showed I could pay more than the 3 month offer but once I explained my situation they either extended the 30 days again or set up a temporary plan based on the token payment.Everything will be on hold anyway if you sent CCA requests.Don't worry (you still will I know) once all the initial calls & letters have been sent & you start your regular payments you will feel a whole lot happier.

ash28 · 17 December 2018 at 11:31AM

Afreshstart wrote: »

Hi Ash28
I am just over a year ahead of you having gone self managed from day one.I know exactly how you are feeling.For many months I wondered if I had done the right thing & in hindsight should I have used stepchange or similar.One year on & things are relatively quiet now just had another original debt sold to a DCA.I did speak to a few creditors on the phone & back it up with letters.Generally it will progress as explained by the many wonderful posters here.I also delayed making my full payment for a few months.A couple of creditors wanted further explanations as the I&E form showed I could pay more than the 3 month offer but once I explained my situation they either extended the 30 days again or set up a temporary plan based on the token payment.Everything will be on hold anyway if you sent CCA requests.Don't worry (you still will I know) once all the initial calls & letters have been sent & you start your regular payments you will feel a whole lot happier.

Hi Afreshstart

Thanks for replying, when I sent the holding letters last Monday I asked them not to ring but communicate in writing, I'm just hoping that's what they do.

I sent CCA requests on Friday so they won't have them yet, I was going to wait until everything had settled down but was advised to send them soonest - so I did.

From what I've read the CCA requests can take quite a while to sort out and nothing will happen until that has happened. So I guess that means I don't make any payments at all until there is some sort of response to the CCA requests.

I just hope I settle down - my stress levels are through the roof....

Afreshstart · 17 December 2018 at 12:39PM

Hi Ash28
If you've asked for some time to assess your financial situation that will trigger in most cases a 30 days holding period.
At the end of that, the different departments may not be on the same page so to speak.They will then try to make contact with you by letter & phone.If you're lucky the request for no phone contact will have been noted but sometimes not.
Along side this you have requested CCA paperwork & until that filters through to your account there may be a period where the people chasing are unaware.
You can ignore calls & reply to letters appropiately or answer the calls.If you answer the calls just confirm you are assessing your situation & you will respond in writting only.You could then respond to any letters saying you are waiting for a responce to the CCA request & will be back in touch once that has happened.

It will settle down & you need to be a little organised.I assume you are working on your budget & intend to start the DMP at some point in the new year.Have you thought about how you will handle the CCA responses?

The purpose of doing it this way as i'm sure you know is to get sometime to sort yourself out financially,to have a budget & an emergency fund for the future.

The creditors will respond quite quickly once those payments stop but it's a process that they have to follow.I found some acknowledged my self managed plan some didn't.Some called & sent lots of letters others just sent the regulatory ones they have to.In the end I just called up 1 or 2 as I felt it needed some clarification.It was scary but they where actually ok about it & we just agreed a repayment based on what i'd already proposed.
I think some recognise stepchange but don't understand self managed.

I'm only mentioning what you can expect if you aren't already fully aware.

Try to relax it will soon all fall into place,honestly.

In 5 or 6 months you will be the one replying to people with this same info.

ash28 · 17 December 2018 at 1:51PM

Afreshstart wrote: »

Hi Ash28
If you've asked for some time to assess your financial situation that will trigger in most cases a 30 days holding period.
At the end of that, the different departments may not be on the same page so to speak.They will then try to make contact with you by letter & phone.If you're lucky the request for no phone contact will have been noted but sometimes not.
Along side this you have requested CCA paperwork & until that filters through to your account there may be a period where the people chasing are unaware.
You can ignore calls & reply to letters appropiately or answer the calls.If you answer the calls just confirm you are assessing your situation & you will respond in writting only.You could then respond to any letters saying you are waiting for a responce to the CCA request & will be back in touch once that has happened.

It will settle down & you need to be a little organised.I assume you are working on your budget & intend to start the DMP at some point in the new year.Have you thought about how you will handle the CCA responses?

The purpose of doing it this way as i'm sure you know is to get sometime to sort yourself out financially,to have a budget & an emergency fund for the future.

The creditors will respond quite quickly once those payments stop but it's a process that they have to follow.I found some acknowledged my self managed plan some didn't.Some called & sent lots of letters others just sent the regulatory ones they have to.In the end I just called up 1 or 2 as I felt it needed some clarification.It was scary but they where actually ok about it & we just agreed a repayment based on what i'd already proposed.
I think some recognise stepchange but don't understand self managed.

I'm only mentioning what you can expect if you aren't already fully aware.

Try to relax it will soon all fall into place,honestly.

In 5 or 6 months you will be the one replying to people with this same info.

Thanks again, I'm grateful for your response. I haven't heard anything yet, although I had an email from Capital One saying they had noticed the direct debit had been cancelled, today is the first day one of them won't have been paid the next on will be on Thursday. I will try and calm down.

I had planned on starting to make payments in March - sending an I & E in the New Year with an offer of payments - I've been using NEDCAB which has generated a reference number for the holding letters.

Should I hold off paying anything until I have heard about the CCAs or just start in March as planned?

Thanks

DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free