The top 5 debt and money news stories for February 2017
With gloomy January out of the way, we take a look at...
5 of the most commonly asked DMP questions this year
Whether it’s reviewing payments, changes to your circumstances or helping with letters and forms, our dedicated team of advisors are here to help you manage your DMP.
We were curious to find out what the most commonly asked DMP questions were in 2015. Who better to ask than the advisors themselves? Take it away, guys!
5. How do you work out what my creditors are paid?
When you’re on a DMP we always make sure that each of your creditors gets paid a fair amount of your monthly payment you pay to us. But how do we do this and how do we know how much to pay each creditor?
Well, we work out what we pay to each of your debts based on the contractual payment amount we took down when you received your advice from us. The contractual payments are the original payments that you would’ve been asked to pay to your creditors before your DMP.
There’s more information on how we work out your DMP payments on our website.
4. Will my priority arrears be paid through my DMP?
Your priority arrears include your rent or mortgage, council tax, utility bills, TV licence or other household costs. Depending on your situation we might have included these in your DMP. If we have, they’ll be paid from the money you pay into your DMP. But you need to make sure you make your normal weekly or monthly payments directly to this priority creditor yourself.
For example, if your rent of £500 a month is in arrears and you’re starting a DMP at £200 a month. We’ll have contacted your landlord and offer them a share of your £200 DMP payment to clear the arrears. But you must keep paying the £500 monthly rent yourself to stop any further arrears building up.
3. I’ve received a CCJ
UPDATE October 2017: The rules around creditors sending court forms have changed. You should now receive a ‘letter of claim’ before any court action. Read more about the new Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.
In many cases it becomes less likely you’ll get a CCJ (County Court judgment) if you’re on a DMP, as it shows your creditors that you’re willing to make regular, affordable payments to your debts. However creditors are still allowed to take further action if they choose to.
If you receive forms for a CCJ, don’t panic. This is not usually as bad as it seems. As long as you deal with the forms promptly it’s a really straightforward process. The first thing you should do is read our guide on how to fill in your county court judgment (CCJ) forms which has a step-by-step guide to completing the forms.
2. My situation’s changed, what shall I do?
Times change, as do your circumstances. We know this, and we’re here to support you through these changes. It’s also the reason why we review your DMP at least once a year. This is to ensure you’re getting the best advice from us based on your current situation.
However there’s no need to wait until your annual review to get in touch about changes in your situation. Our dedicated team are here to help review your budget, talk about changes and help with any decisions you might need to make.
1. My debt’s been transferred, who do I notify?
First of all, try not to worry. Your debts could be transferred a few times throughout the course of your DMP. This is all part of the normal debt collection process and creditors often use outside agencies to collect debts. Legally the new debt collection agency has to write and explain this to you.
You should let us know what’s happening as soon as you get confirmation that a debt has been sold or passed on, so we can make sure your money gets sent to the right place. There’s three ways you can do this:
- Use our OnlineDMP service
- Call us
- Send us an email
If you want to find out more, we’ve written an article that explains about transferred debts.
If you have any other questions about your DMP visit the clients section of our website, our dedicated area for DMP clients, packed with lots of useful information!
