Don't blinker yourself to follow one track. If the interest is not frozen, think of what the debt will be in 12 months time.

If you are adamant about just doing the DMP, you need to write to all creditors asking them to cancel the interest being applied, as otherwise you face being forced down the bankruptcy route. If you are facing any hardship issues then advise these Banks, so they understand your situation better.

Keep looking into bankrupcy, DRO to fully understand how these work. I don't think one car of low value that is essential would be at risk.

I appreciate what you and Ford are trying to tell me, I will take all this onboard.

My wife doesn't want me to take the bankrupt route or the DRO and rather that I try and extend the payment plan till at least Sept next year where she is almost certain she will be in work.

She is in her final year teacher training to work in her local college they have stated that in 99% of cases they employ those they have trained and there is a new unit being built specifically for her role which will be ready next year.

I'm going to try my hardest first with these creditors to get something working with the DMP but if things do really get that bad I might consider looking at going down the DRO route.

I wonder if writing to my MP might help if they are being persistant with interest?

you said in yr post #19 that things are now at 24k, having increased despite being on the dmp.

if your payments dont go to the capital enough then you won't be eligible for DRO (20k limit)

you need to get all that interest stopped (partic any that have defaulted, Zopa?), or at least reduced (non defaulters).

Unless they can get creditors to remove interest, which might reduce debts below £20k or if not the OP manages at some point to bring debt down to make a DRO an option.

I do think that unless the OP can get creditors to be more helpful, that they will be faced with decision they don't want to take i.e bankruptcy.

These debts are unfortunately very recent, so more difficult to avoid, unless there is an issue about the lending not being suitable. Was the OP dealt with properly, when they applied for loans ?

are Zopa taking the P and taking interest despite having defaulted (even whilst in a dmp?) (post #10)?

Yeah Zopa defaulted me then took the default back off looking at what the letter says I don't have a chance at the min but will take a screen shot of it when I get the chance

is there a recorded default on your credit file?

Hi guys, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

I've spoken with Stepchange in great detail.

After looking at my account I've now reduced my £269 a month payments to £61 a month across 6 creditors.

He stated that it would take something like 32 years to pay it back at this rate and looked at other alternatives.

I stated that my wife should but not 100% have a job by september next year with a 26k starting wage and I was hoping that I could stretch that £61 payment out for at least another 9 months or so to wait and see if she has employment by then.

His suggestion was

1. Keep to the DMP in its current form but as low as the payments are he couldn't say whether the creditors would accept that amount and not take it further CCJ's

2. Go Bankrupt, there is a Fee of about £680 which can be paid in installements, He said Bailliffs don't get involved these days and I would probably have my bank account frozen for a few days while the reciever looked at my accounts.

3. Go though and IVA (he didn't go into that much on the phone but has emailed me everything I need to know about my options.

I've decided just for now while I think about it that I will be doing the DMP to such a time that the creditors get funny about it. I will probably at this point go through one of the options from 2/3

I've also looked at clear score and the accounts with my creditors on there don't tally up with what is on their own site. So next week I will be writing to them all for a break down of current amounts asking for Interest to be stopped as Stepchange don't deal with things like this.

dump them

you don't need any type of DMP, BK, DRO iva or whatever.

you start again and do it yourself.

it them put YOU in control NOt the creditors nor any DMP provider...

look in the debt collection section of our library top tool bar.

send each creditor the letter that offers £XX for xxMTS

IF they freeze interest & penalty charges.

for any that refuse

you send the other letter that says..sorry you rejected my offer

but all you will get now is £1PCM till I die.

dx

What is to stop them from going to court with such low payments and getting a CCJ?

I'd be pretty buggered then wouldn't I?

not been reading around..

you'll see OC's never do court...

Sorry you'll have to forgive me stupidity what's an OC?

Original Creditor

all your debts are with them still

so .....

That is one thing I have never understood is why don't Banks take court actions themselves in regard to personal debts ?

It is left to debt buyers to take court actions often years later.

They do take court actions in regard to business debts.

don't want bad publicity...

dx

I'm here looking for advice,

I got into some debt a few years ago after trying to manage money with different CC cards, a loan for 14k etc and wife lost her job putting us in around 24k debt. I went to stepchange I paid back around 4.5k over 3 years it currently stands at £19,700

however Stepchange DMP was crippling us financially on the little things you put down on a  DMP and I wasn't managing the money very well either to the point we had 2 catalugues while on a DMP and a store card with argos I didn't declare and we have just ended up borrowing on these. it got so bad I even took out a £1600 loan at christmas high interest £3500 to be paid back to pay off some of theses existing bills.

Adding onto this exisitng debt it's now going to be 29k I've managed to rack up another 10k ontop of my existing DMP which these companies don't know yet but soon I won't be able to pay them. So my total debt will be 29k come August/September.

It all started my wife losing her job, then doing uni for 2 years which is when I managed to pay back the 4.5k.

After she finished the course spec said they would more then likley got a job with the college as that would be the only place she could work with this degree.

This would have brought in 29k a year...

long story short we ended up borrowing from catalogues for things like my daughters birthday and Christmas presents.

The TV broke so had to replace it but it was all BNPL which has doubled the cost because we literally had no income for these things.

but this job never happened there was one space and they said she didnt score enough points in the interview.

This left us with no income to the point I spoke to stepchange and they reduced the DMP to £61 a month and suggested I went bankrupt but my wife wouldn't let me do this so we struggled on.

She got a call at christmas to say a job at come up for her to start end of January

I got this loan high interest £1600 that managed to cover some BNPL stuff.

This was £72 a month for 5 years however this job she was told was temp till August this year but not to worry as it will probably go permenant .

She got told 3 weeks ago that the local council have pulled funding and they won't be able to let her go permenant now and her contract will end 31 August this year.

it's just been one thing after another and we are totally drowning in debt and not handling money well at all.

ontop of this I have a 11k debt with childsupport and it was this that started the whole ball rolliing in crippling us while on the DMP.

I've told stepchange I will be stopping my DMP with them as I feel so ashamed to tell them we racked up more debt while on a DMP and I know you shouldn't do that.

I spoke to the wife yesterday and told her I can't do this anymore trying to keep up the payments she wanted to keep them in the first place with having no money in case something broke down and we couldn't replace them and it's just gone out of control.

I've told her I'm stopping all payments to stepchange inc the existing creditors I am with now so I have nothing on credit at all and starting again with my own DMP plan.

We need some serious help  we aren't managing money well at all and I don't even know where to start doing a DMP and looks simple on paper but using that in real life has been difficult. I've told the wife it's getting to the point if this carried on I wouldn't be coming home from work one day because all the debts are in my name.

I've told her no more credit it stops here I've stopped everything I've put myself in a position I can't get anymore credit and I don't want anymore I never ever used to live like this.

I really need some help I'm scared that ballifs will come take the door down one day when I'm at work and clear the house out if these companies go for a CCJ.

What do I do?

no bailiffs cant do anything on consumer debt other than wave their arms

and they can NEVER get involved until you LOSE a court case and fail to arrange something within 28 days.

please list ALL your debts

original creditor

type of credit

when taken out

outstanding balance

is this on your/her credit file

what is the defaulted date

last payment date

if now with a DCA name them please

Yup, you may very well find that most of this stuff is unenforceable.

Currently have credit with (not defaulted yet) This will probably happen in the next couple of months

Argos £850

Very £1000

Littlewoods £3,800 (half of that is BNPL) so if they took the interest off it would be £1900

Likely Loans £1,600 (£3559) with interest (took this loan out in December 18)

On clearscore it shows them as closed accounts (2017) and the amount as of today is:-

Cabot £10,995

Cabot £2,424

Intrum UK £1,156

PRA £1,108

PRA £2,427

Link Financial £1,597

Total debt will then be around £28,800 (£39,800) inc 11k child support arrears

Once the wife loses her job her final pay will be mid August if she hasn't managed to secure another job my September my income will be taken up on just general bills.

My current bills are

Rent £355

Child support £300 (inc paying back a debt of 11k)

CT £94

Mobiles x2 £64

Dental plan £11.50

General bills £360

This can be house inurance, car tax, VM (£84) looking to switch to sky for (£54)

£1200 is roughly what we pay out.

I earn around £1,350 a month (we get a small amount of TC £40 month plues Child benefit £80 month)

Leaving me with £270 to pay towards Debts and buy food as not taken food into account

I'm not going back with stepchange I'm going to try and do this myself writing to them.

If she gets a job I could probably pay around £200 a month back split over 10 of them which would take 10 years to pay back.

Child support ended up being the nail in the coffin when it went to CMS

they saw a short fall in my payments over 10+ years

their fault they admitted I hadn't been paying enough and my ex told them she wanted the 11K back so they have just been increasing payments as and when they feel like it

which ended up me having to drop my debt payments from £286 a month down to £61

this is how I ended up getting into further debt borrowing on BNPL on stuff and loans etc.

I was thinking of offering them all £7 a month each £70 which will leave me with about £200 for food?

tell me more about these

On clearscore it shows them as closed accounts (2017) and the amount as of today is:-

Cabot £10,995

Cabot £2,424

Intrum UK £1,156

PRA £1,108

PRA £2,427

Link Financial £1,597

are/were you paying them thru PP?

if so send each one a CCA request.

as for the other consumer debts.

Argos £850

Very £1000

Littlewoods £3,800 (half of that is BNPL) so if they took the interest off it would be £1900

send them this:

offer them £5?PCM

as for

Likely Loans £1,600 (£3559) with interest (took this loan out in December 18)

start a new topic in the payday loan general section. [click create in the top red banner]

Thanks for helping out guys it's really appreciated.

I will be stopping my DD with stepchange next month after they have taken payment and will probably default on the remaining creditors I haven't with already by the start of August. Stepchange will write to them and let them know I have stopped using them.

Do I wait for them to contact me first and then shoot off recorded letters stating I am now taking control of the DMP myself and ask for a budget sheet to be sent to me or I can provide one and ask for Standing order forms?

They were paying £30 to the biggest debt at 10k and the other 5 were getting £5+ a month =£61

However as I said Very/Littlewoods/Argos and Likley loans will be my next ones to default on.

I can roughly afford £70 a month from September so I could split the payments up over the 10 creditors of £7 each until my wife finds a job.

Total debt will be around £29k or if the ones I defualt on took there interest off it would be £23,900 I will try and ask them to do this.

Should I ever speak to them on the phone? or should I just do everything in writing (recorded)

PRA group are already buying up a lot of the debts and started ringing my home phone a couple of times a day. I've blocked them at the moment.

I appreciate all the help

Do not engage under any circumstances on the phone, they are trained to trick you into agreeing to things.

If everything is done in writing by post, 

A. You are in control

B. There is a paper trail, postal receipts etc for you to defend yourself if they ever do go to court.

Rent, Council Tax etc should be the only thing you care about and the rest of your priority debts. Nothing will happen if you stop paying the one's that are with DCA's aside from a lot of idle threats coming through your letterbox

As above with the CCA's for the one's already sold off, highly likely they won't come up with the goods. One pound a month token payment, jobs 'a good 'un with the Original Creditors.

Everything else in your budget goes to food and emergencies, not the above bunch of vultures.

and don't waste money on recorded delivery!!

2nd class stamp is good enough.

if you wish to do a budget sheet that's upto you

but never fill out theirs.

and again if you want to send creditors that, its upto you

but you do not have to give them any of your pers financial info

NONE of their business esp a DCA!!

only a judge can demand that info.

Thank you guys this has really been helpfull

I've just gone onto my stepchange account ready to close it down with them and noticed they have DCA's down for payments that are different to my credit report which my credit report is upto date this month.

PRA for example are now the owners of 2 debts according to my credit file yet stepchange have westcote down for one of them.

Halifax CC debt has gone from westcot to Link Financial outsourcing yet until I got a statement today/looked at my credit report the other week I thought stepchange were upto date clearly they aren't so I'm not even sure at the moment who actually has some of these debts.

They'll know doubt write to me will these companies once stepchange stop paying them and I will setup a payment plan with them as they write to me.

Thanks again guys it's eased the stress a bit.

Wife has a job interview today so I'm hoping we'll know more later on once they call her

wetcloths don't buy debts they only chase for their stated client...the recipient of your CCA not wetcloths.

link ARE debt buyer so they get the CCA request on that debt now

you DO NOT blindly set up any payment plans to ANY fleecing DCA without a CCA return that proves enforceable here

yes you'll get a whole forest through your door

but that's the idea.

it will get YOU upto date with whom owns what debt

then we'll deal with each debt as the paperwork comes or not mores the case!!

dx