Anyone ever done a debt management plan?

[buzz for boys]

My hubby has just been told that instead of getting their yearly bonus this year they will all have to take a reduction in hours to keep their jobs!! The proposal starts next week and instead of working 45 hours a week he will be working just 30 !!
I know we are never in a million going to meet our reayments on unsecured debt and have straight away got advice from a dbt charity who has reccomended we do a debt management plan !! My problem is after reading through all the details they have sent it seems that the creditors dont have to accept my lower payments and they dont have to stop interest either so I could be paying this off till im 50???
As anyone evr done this and in practice was it ok ?? We cant do an IVA because we owe just Barclays bank so its unlikely to go through anyone !!
Any advice greatly recieved
Louisex

 

[1andrea]

Hello,

I work for a Credit Card company as a repayment advisor and the absolute best thing to do is contact the company/ companies you owe money too. They will then give you some options and hopefully one will suit your current situation. If none of them suit your situation then go to a non profit making debt management company such as CCCs and ask for their help.

If you only have the one creditor this shouldn't take you very long to sort out and then you can set your mind at ease.

Feel free to PM me if you need too.

 

[buzz for boys]

Thank you it is cccs that is advising me so at least I know that they are reputable within the financial sector.
I have huge concerns that the payment they are tlling me to make although better for me is a pitance compared to what we normally pay !!
I have a credit card who I have phoned but the davice is I have to miss a payment before anyone can help me if im up to date they are not interested ???
This is so stressful as ive never missed a payment in my life - thanks for ur advice !

 

[1andrea]

Thank you it is cccs that is advising me so at least I know that they are reputable within the financial sector.
I have huge concerns that the payment they are tlling me to make although better for me is a pitance compared to what we normally pay !!
I have a credit card who I have phoned but the davice is I have to miss a payment before anyone can help me if im up to date they are not interested ???
This is so stressful as ive never missed a payment in my life - thanks for ur advice !

Its really hard to advise you because each company have different policies of how much they will accept when you are in difficulties.

Can I ask who your credit card is with?

 

[Boss Hogg]

I would take the advice of the CCCS, and use them to deal on your behalf as it will have more credibility coming from them. Are they suggesting setting up the DMP for you?

I know that they are well respected by lenders and whilst I've not got a huge amount of in-depth knowledge of the way they operate, I have had some dealings with them in the past and I know that they will normally set up a sensible payment which will more than likely be accepted by your creditors and shouldn't crucify your monthly budget.

Having worked at Barclays in the past I would expect that they would also stop charging interest on the debt, but you will get defaults registered against you and they may well sell the debt off to a 3rd party. Suspect that they are simply obliged to give you the full information so whilst your creditor is not guaranteed to accept the lower payment, I would think it highly likely they will.

Surprised that the credit card company don't want to discuss some form of plan now, seems daft (albeit common sense and lenders don't always go hand in hand!).

I'd speak with CCCS again and air your concerns and they may be able to put your mind at rest, it is an unfortunate position, but, you're not the first and will not be the last and life does carry on, so I can only recommend to try and not let it get to you too much.

 

[1andrea]

Unfortunatly some companies do not stop interest and charges etc until an agreement is reached that is agreeable to them. So the CCCs is right in what they say.

 

[irongirlof12]

I would suggest that you make an appointment to see your local Citizens Advice Bureax, as they can act on your behalf. DO NOT pay for debt management, you can get his service free from CAB.

 

[Boss Hogg]

I would suggest that you make an appointment to see your local Citizens Advice Bureax, as they can act on your behalf. DO NOT pay for debt management, you can get his service free from CAB.

Quite right, CCCS is also free as it is a charitable organisation, ironically paid for by the lending industry I seem to remember.

 

[buzz for boys]

Thanks guys as usual you speak a lot of sense!!
The advice from Barclays was aslo to miss a payment as I was not on the right computer file until we had missed a payment - how barmy is that? Also within a few hours of my phone call saying we didnt have any money to buy food let alone pay off debts they offered me a bigger overdraft - what happened to responsible lending ??
Andrea the credit card I have is a Mint card which is an RBS group card. Dont know if thats good or bad though!

 

[wicket2005]

The main thing is you are talking to the people concerned. Some people hide from any problems and then everything gets worse. Citizen's Advice Bureau is the place to go for your debt plan.

 

[natalielongstaff]

Also within a few hours of my phone call saying we didnt have any money to buy food let alone pay off debts they offered me a bigger overdraft - what happened to responsible lending ??

thats terrible ! its no surprise that people get into such debt if thats the response from the lenders.

 

[jen_uk]

When I left uni a few years ago I got into debt and I used the National Debt Line who were really good, they worked out how much I could afford to pay back each month and then drafted letters for me. All of the companies were happy to take the reduced payments until I got myself sorted, getting help was the best thing I did, took all the worry away. Hope you have it sorted now