We received our DMP welcome pack yesterday. The covering letter explained that we could setup the payment via Direct Debit and I just had to give the CCCS a call to let them have my bank details.
The first payment will need to be made via Trans Cash at a post office (this is standard for all DMP's setup via CCCS) so I'm going off to the post office shortly.
Included were details of my creditors and how much they would be paid under the DMP. Our DMP is due to be £549 per month.
I also realised that we haven't sent the letter to our mortgage provider (Northernrock) who are also one of our credtiors as we have the Together mortgage product which allows for a unsecured personal loan.
I need to write to them to instruct them to take any payments from us and and assign them to our mortgage/secured loans and that they will receive a separate payment via the CCCS.
I hope everyone had a good christmas? Ours was ok although we were very restricted on spending this year so most family got photo's of our children as presents - a good cheap present!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Pre-Christmas update
Just an update before the crimbo period.
I've had calls from 3 of my creditors now (Barclaycard, Lloyds TSB and CitiCard) and my wife has had a call for her from Barclaycard. Explained to each of them that had contacted the CCCS and gave them the reference number. They said they would stop any further calls for 30 days but I don't think they're stopping any charges or interest :(
We finally got proof of earnings for my wife so have now sent everything off to the CCCS - I shall call them in a couple of days to see if it's been received.
Anyways, hope you all have a greate christmas and that 2010 is a better year than 2009!
I've had calls from 3 of my creditors now (Barclaycard, Lloyds TSB and CitiCard) and my wife has had a call for her from Barclaycard. Explained to each of them that had contacted the CCCS and gave them the reference number. They said they would stop any further calls for 30 days but I don't think they're stopping any charges or interest :(
We finally got proof of earnings for my wife so have now sent everything off to the CCCS - I shall call them in a couple of days to see if it's been received.
Anyways, hope you all have a greate christmas and that 2010 is a better year than 2009!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The calls have started!
So far only had calls from 2 of our creditors.
First was from Barclaycard who have changed me £12 late payment fee (I sent them a £1 token payment). They basically employed an automated dialling service which kept ringing all day with a message of "We have an important message for Mr [insert name]. If you are [insert name] press 1". I eventually was at home at a time when they rang and I got through to someone to speak to. I told them I was having financial difficulties and that I had spoken with the CCCS. The lady asked for a reference number and said she would put a note on my file so that the ring-backs stopped for 30 days.
I've now had a few calls from Lloyds TSB but haven't been able to talk to them yet. They left me a voicemail with a number to call back but it was obviously from an Indian call centre and the ladies accent was so strong that I couldn't understand the last 4 digits of the number to call back!
They rang again today at my home and luckily my wife was home so she wrote the number down. They are open until 9pm so I shall ring them when I get home and explain the situation to them.
...and there I was hoping for a quite Christmas!
First was from Barclaycard who have changed me £12 late payment fee (I sent them a £1 token payment). They basically employed an automated dialling service which kept ringing all day with a message of "We have an important message for Mr [insert name]. If you are [insert name] press 1". I eventually was at home at a time when they rang and I got through to someone to speak to. I told them I was having financial difficulties and that I had spoken with the CCCS. The lady asked for a reference number and said she would put a note on my file so that the ring-backs stopped for 30 days.
I've now had a few calls from Lloyds TSB but haven't been able to talk to them yet. They left me a voicemail with a number to call back but it was obviously from an Indian call centre and the ladies accent was so strong that I couldn't understand the last 4 digits of the number to call back!
They rang again today at my home and luckily my wife was home so she wrote the number down. They are open until 9pm so I shall ring them when I get home and explain the situation to them.
...and there I was hoping for a quite Christmas!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
it never rains, it pours...
A little off topic but I thought I'd mention this as it does have some important points to consider with a DMP.
With a DMP you have to submit a monthly budget which will be used by your debt management company (in our case the CCCS) to work out what you can afford to offer your creditors.
You are allowed to put aside the costs of running a car (such as tax, insurance, servicing etc).
I was concerned that by doing this and starting out on a DMP with no saving we'd be left high and dry if anything happened in the first 6 months as we wouldn't have had time to build up any of these 'savings' towards such things.
As a result (and because money is tight at the moment anyhow) I decided to send our DMP Notification letters out to our creditors a month before the DMP was due to start and make token payments of £1. My intention was then to put away the money that we would normally pay them to act as a buffer in case of anything. This may or may not be frowned upon by my creditors (or even the CCCS) however consider what would happen if you didn't do this and then the second month into a DMP you have to shell out £££ on a repair to your car - it's only going to affect your DMP anyhow.
Anyhow, it's a good job I did this! Our family car (currently our only car) decided to start playing up yesterday. The cambelt snapped on the car 3 months ago and we had to pay over £1000 to have a second-hand engine fitted. Since we had it back the termostat has never been 100% but I parted on bad terms with the garage who did the work (due to the bill which was more than I was quoted!) so I never went back to get it looked at.
Anyhow, after calling the AA yesterday I found out that the O2 sensor needed replacing. I'd had this done on the car previously and it can cost anything between £160 - £250 depending on whether you use a small local garage or a main dealer.
Due to my relationship with the local garage I decided I'd have a go at replacing it myself (and also because we HAVE to have a car at the moment for getting to work and just getting about; we live in a small village with no public transport so a car is vital).
I sourced an O2 sensor for £82 + VAT and I fitted it myself in under 10minutes! The car now runs again however the temp guage is still wrong so I have now booked it in with another garage local to my place of work who have quoted £104 total for fitting a new thermostat which should resolve the temp gauge issue and also stop the new O2 sensor from being fouled up.
The point to this long-winded post is that if you are considering a DMP, make sure you are aware of the implications of anything you may not have considered in the short-term and take appropriate advice/action to protect yourself and also your DMP.
With a DMP you have to submit a monthly budget which will be used by your debt management company (in our case the CCCS) to work out what you can afford to offer your creditors.
You are allowed to put aside the costs of running a car (such as tax, insurance, servicing etc).
I was concerned that by doing this and starting out on a DMP with no saving we'd be left high and dry if anything happened in the first 6 months as we wouldn't have had time to build up any of these 'savings' towards such things.
As a result (and because money is tight at the moment anyhow) I decided to send our DMP Notification letters out to our creditors a month before the DMP was due to start and make token payments of £1. My intention was then to put away the money that we would normally pay them to act as a buffer in case of anything. This may or may not be frowned upon by my creditors (or even the CCCS) however consider what would happen if you didn't do this and then the second month into a DMP you have to shell out £££ on a repair to your car - it's only going to affect your DMP anyhow.
Anyhow, it's a good job I did this! Our family car (currently our only car) decided to start playing up yesterday. The cambelt snapped on the car 3 months ago and we had to pay over £1000 to have a second-hand engine fitted. Since we had it back the termostat has never been 100% but I parted on bad terms with the garage who did the work (due to the bill which was more than I was quoted!) so I never went back to get it looked at.
Anyhow, after calling the AA yesterday I found out that the O2 sensor needed replacing. I'd had this done on the car previously and it can cost anything between £160 - £250 depending on whether you use a small local garage or a main dealer.
Due to my relationship with the local garage I decided I'd have a go at replacing it myself (and also because we HAVE to have a car at the moment for getting to work and just getting about; we live in a small village with no public transport so a car is vital).
I sourced an O2 sensor for £82 + VAT and I fitted it myself in under 10minutes! The car now runs again however the temp guage is still wrong so I have now booked it in with another garage local to my place of work who have quoted £104 total for fitting a new thermostat which should resolve the temp gauge issue and also stop the new O2 sensor from being fouled up.
The point to this long-winded post is that if you are considering a DMP, make sure you are aware of the implications of anything you may not have considered in the short-term and take appropriate advice/action to protect yourself and also your DMP.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
The start of our journey...
After much pondering and worrying about our options I decided to complete a Debt Remedy on the CCCS website. This requires you to supply some pretty basic financial information such as how much you have coming in and how much you have going out each month along with the balances of your debts.
From this, the site works out your options and presents you with them. We had the choice of an IVA or a DMP.
An IVA is very strict and can last from 2 - 5 years and is a legally binding agreement. A DMP is an informal agreement between you and your creditors which can last until the debt is repaid (although normally not more than 10 years).
In a DMP your creditors are not legally required to accept your DMP or to stop/reduce interest and charges on your account however a lot of them do. For more information look at the CCCS website (a link can be seen in the Useful Links section to the side).
I had my Debt Remedy filled in and simply clicked on the button to proceed with the DMP plan. This wasn't the first time that I had completed the Debt Remedy only to decide that I could sort my debt out myself - I was wrong.
After a few days I recieved some paperwork from the CCCS in the form of a DMP agreement form to complete and send back with various supporting documents to prove my wifes and my earnings and also copies of statements from our creditors. The CCCS had calculated that we could afford to repay £547 towards our DMP each month and that the DMP would take a minimum of 9yrs and 7 months to complete.
One of our creditors is a bank who we also use for our current account and so it is recommended to open a new basic account with a bank to whom you have no financial connections - this is so the bank can't suddenly take all of the money out of your account to cover the debt you owe.
Because of this I had to wait for a week while I got another account set up.
I opted to go with The Co-Operative Bank. Most basic accounts are the same (no overdraft and no cheque book or cheque guarantee card) however quite a few only provide you with a Solo or Electron card which isn't accepted in a lot of places. The Co-Operative Bank offer a Visa Debit card (this is NOT a credit card) and so this swung it for us.
I now have my bank account open and am just waiting on a Direct Debit/Standing Order switching form to allow me to move my direct debits from my existing bank to my new bank. It's worth noting that when you start a DMP the CCCS recommend that you cancel all existing direct debits with your creditors - see the CCCS webiste for more information.
Today I have cancelled my creditors direct debits and posted of my Notification Of Debt Management Plan letters.
I'm now just waiting on my wife to get her hands on proof of earnings from her employer and I can send of the DMP agreement form to the CCCS; My DMP is due to start on January 1st 2010.
Further update as and when they happen so please bookmark this page and check back regularly :)
From this, the site works out your options and presents you with them. We had the choice of an IVA or a DMP.
An IVA is very strict and can last from 2 - 5 years and is a legally binding agreement. A DMP is an informal agreement between you and your creditors which can last until the debt is repaid (although normally not more than 10 years).
In a DMP your creditors are not legally required to accept your DMP or to stop/reduce interest and charges on your account however a lot of them do. For more information look at the CCCS website (a link can be seen in the Useful Links section to the side).
I had my Debt Remedy filled in and simply clicked on the button to proceed with the DMP plan. This wasn't the first time that I had completed the Debt Remedy only to decide that I could sort my debt out myself - I was wrong.
After a few days I recieved some paperwork from the CCCS in the form of a DMP agreement form to complete and send back with various supporting documents to prove my wifes and my earnings and also copies of statements from our creditors. The CCCS had calculated that we could afford to repay £547 towards our DMP each month and that the DMP would take a minimum of 9yrs and 7 months to complete.
One of our creditors is a bank who we also use for our current account and so it is recommended to open a new basic account with a bank to whom you have no financial connections - this is so the bank can't suddenly take all of the money out of your account to cover the debt you owe.
Because of this I had to wait for a week while I got another account set up.
I opted to go with The Co-Operative Bank. Most basic accounts are the same (no overdraft and no cheque book or cheque guarantee card) however quite a few only provide you with a Solo or Electron card which isn't accepted in a lot of places. The Co-Operative Bank offer a Visa Debit card (this is NOT a credit card) and so this swung it for us.
I now have my bank account open and am just waiting on a Direct Debit/Standing Order switching form to allow me to move my direct debits from my existing bank to my new bank. It's worth noting that when you start a DMP the CCCS recommend that you cancel all existing direct debits with your creditors - see the CCCS webiste for more information.
Today I have cancelled my creditors direct debits and posted of my Notification Of Debt Management Plan letters.
I'm now just waiting on my wife to get her hands on proof of earnings from her employer and I can send of the DMP agreement form to the CCCS; My DMP is due to start on January 1st 2010.
Further update as and when they happen so please bookmark this page and check back regularly :)
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