Are your debts are large but it is the interest being added that is the real killer? So you are running to stay still? Debt management could be a good way forward for you.
Debt management could be right for you! This is also called a Debt Management Plan (DMP) or Making an arrangement with a creditor. They are all types of debt management.
How debt management works:
- your creditors get a lower monthly payment you can afford;
- most creditors stop adding interest and charges, so your debts start dropping a lot faster
- sometimes you talk to your creditors and pay them, sometimes you make one payment a month to a firm that deals with your creditors.
For an overview, read What is a DMP? Then this article is a more in-depth Guide to DMP, so you can decide if debt management is right for you and your family and see what happens in a DMP.
Guide to Debt Management – Contents
- How much will you pay each month?
- Do you have a better alternative? (looks at the worries you may have)
- How to set up a DMP
- What happens during a DMP (including credit ratings)
- Debt management in the news
How much will you pay each month?
This is a key question:
- How much should you cut back? Getting the balance here is important. Pay too much and you won’t be able to manage it; too little and your DMP may never end:
- Offering a token payment to a debt If things are very bad now but may get better, for example when you find another job, you can pay as little as £1 a month to a debt. The DMP won’t last forever because you can later increase this £1.
- What is a realistic payment for a £10,000 DMP? I often get asked this sort of thing!
- Would I have to sell my car in a DMP?
- Using disability benefits to pay a DMP
Remember that DMPs don’t tie you into a long-term formal contract. As your life changes, you can pay more or less.
Do you have a better alternative?
You may have lots of concerns about starting debt management. The main worries people have about debt management looks at these, including whether interest will be frozen, if you will get lots of calls from creditors and how it will affect your partner.
If you are wondering how you would cope with debt management look at the results of a big survey Living in a DMP – what is it really like?
Debt management is often a very good choice for temporary problems. You don’t have to sign a legal contract. That makes a DMP a perfect option if your situation will improve over the next year or two – don’t worry too much about it!
But if you aren’t expecting a big improvement soon, look at how long you may be in debt management. Make a good guess by assuming your creditors freeze interest, then divide your debt total by your monthly payment – and the answer is how many months to pay it all off. For example:
Total debts £7,400. Monthly DMP payment £100.
DMP length = 7400/100 = 74 months, so a bit over 6 years.
Your DMP could end up being longer, if things don’t go well, or shorter if your finances improve. Which is more likely?
If your DMP may only last a couple of years, have a think about whether it is really needed, see Can you manage without a DMP?
If your DMP sounds too long then one of the other debt solutions may be better, so look at these detailed comparisons:
- A long DMP or bankruptcy
- DMP or an IVA
- a Debt Relief Order a DRO could be your best option if you are renting and your debts are less than £20,000.
You don’t have to rush into a decision, but if your debts are getting larger every month, then don’t delay – or you will just have a bigger problem to solve.
How to set up a DMP
There are two options – you can do this yourself or you can use a DMP firm.
Set up your own DMP
Many people like this – it helps them feel in control and they don’t want to explain their finances to a DMP firm or to have annual reviews. It is surprisingly easy.
- if you only have one or two creditors, just phone or write to them to reach an agreement about lower monthly payments and freezing interest;
- if you have more creditors, you may find it helpful to use the free CABmoney facility which this generates letters and calculates payment offers then generates all the letters for you to send.
If you are worried this will be too complicated or take too much time, read How much work is it to run your own DMP?
Use a company to run your DMP
If you use a company to set up your DMP, this works as follows:
- you phone the firm and they talk through your debts and your income and expenditure;
- If the firm suggests you have any debt options which look better than a DMP – take these seriously!
- you agree on a monthly payment with the firm – this isn’t fixed, but make sure you think it’s affordable at the start;
- you set up a monthly payment for this amount to the firm;
- the firm writes to your creditors and every month divides up your monthly payment between them.
So you make one payment per month to the firm and the firm handles everything else.
Commercial debt management firms do exactly the same as free firms – except they charge you a fee each month so less goes to your debts. Fee-charging DMPs are not “better” than the free DMPs in any way – and they will take longer to pay off your debts, so really they are worse. See Choosing a Debt Management company for more details.
There are three major providers of free DMPs in Britain: StepChange, Payplan and CAP. If you go to one of these, all your monthly payment goes to pay off your debts.
What happens during a DMP (including credit ratings)
The routine bits of a DMP:
- you may continue to get letters and calls for a month or two at the start. These do stop! Keep telling them you are in a DMP;
- your DMP should be reviewed at least once a year. Some firms didn’t do this but in 2017 they all should – see Having an annual review which looks in detail at this;
- try to build up a small pot of savings. Although this may be difficult, once you have an emergency fund it will make every monthly less stressful. Have a look at apps that can help you save “without noticing”, see Chip and Plum for details;
- if you get a letter saying your debt has been sold to a debt collector, this doesn’t change your DMP. You just pay the debt collector the same amount you paid the previous creditor. Tell your DMP firm and they will organise this.
If your DMP isn’t going well:
- What to do if a creditor doesn’t freeze interest – you can complain. This isn’t guaranteed to work but it’s well worth trying!
- Can your DMP monthly payment be cut if it is too high? Your payment can be reduced. Debt management is flexible so if things don’t go well you have options, including changing your payments or stopping the DMP and choosing a different debt solution;
- Is your house at risk? Once you are in a DMP, Charging Orders are rare and Orders for Sale are VERY rare – find out the facts so you don’t worry about this!
More than a hundred fee-charging DMP firms have closed in the last couple of years. Find out what your options are if you get a letter saying your firm is going out of business and transferring you to a different firm:
Debt management and credit ratings:
- How a DMP affects your credit rating read this one if you are thinking of a DMP or are in the early stages.
- My DMP is ending – will my credit score improve? read this one if you are close to the end or have already finished your DMP, as it has ways to speed up the clean-up process.
- What should the default date for a debt be?
- Can you get a mortgage in a DMP?
One of the good things about a DMP is the possibility of making settlements with your creditors if you get a bonus, inherit money, reclaim PPI, take money from your pension etc:
- Full and Final Settlements
- Will ending my DMP with partial settlement hurt my chances of getting a mortgage?
- Your pension and your DMP – your pension doesn’t have to be used to pay your debts, but it gives you an extra option.
- PPI claims when you are in a DMP – yes, you can make a PPI claim and it is a great idea!
- What happens if you inherit money? The good news is that you can choose what to do with the money, but of course clearing debts is usually a good idea.