A debt management plan (DMP) is a good debt solution for many people. If you are trying to decide whether you need one, you may want to know how bad the effect will be on your credit file, and how long it will be before your credit rating recovers. There isn’t a simple answer however:
- DMPs are used in a lot of different situations;
- because they are “informal” arrangements creditors don’t all have to respond in the same way;
- each future lender does their own credit assessment and these may give different weights to parts of your credit history.
This post looks at what may be recorded on your credit file in a DMP, how lenders tend to view these and some scenarios so you can see which bits are likely to matter most for you. At the end I look at whether any of the alternatives to a DMP might be better for your credit rating.
How important is your credit rating?
On one level, not very! If you need a DMP, you can’t manage the normal debt repayments and there is no debt solution that will let you pay less and keep a good credit record.
Finding the right debt option for you and your family so you can clear your debts is the key to your financial future and your credit rating is only a very small piece of this bigger picture. However it’s good to know the facts.
How missed payments affect your credit record
You may think if you miss a loan payment or pay less than the minimum on your credit card this is a “default”, but this is not how it is described on your credit report at the start.
Six years of payments are shown on your credit record, with the most recent first. When you first miss a payment, the current month’s payment is marked as being one month late. Then if you miss the next month, the first month is shown as being two months late and the recent month is shown as being one month late.
A Default is a special marker that your creditor adds to your debt record. It is usually added when the account is between 3 and 6 months in arrears.
What difference does a DMP make?
In a DMP you (or the firm organising your DMP) offer a reduced payment to each creditor and ask them to freeze interest and charges. Creditors do not have to accept this offer – they are more likely to do so if you say why you have financial problems and send them details of your Income & Expenditure to show you can’t afford the usual payments.
A creditor often accepts a DMP offer, to be reviewed after six months or a year. Here, even though your creditor has accepted your offer, it is expected that the debt will revert back to the original terms at some point. Arrears are calculated against the original terms however, so your credit record will continue to show that you are getting behind with the agreement, even if you are making these agreed lower payments. It will also show that an Arrangement to Pay (AP) is in place.
If you keep up with the agreed reduced payments your account may not be defaulted, but if you miss a payment or if the arrears get to be large it may be. So you can get a default if you are more than 3 months in arrears compared to what your original payments were, but some lenders will just carry on with AP markers.
Defaults fall off after 6 years
A debt marked as Defaulted will drop off your credit history six years after the date of the Default. It doesn’t matter if you have repaid the debt, are still paying it or have stopped making any payments, the debt will still disappear.
After a defaulted debts falls off, it will never come back. However it still exists, see Must I pay a debt that’s not on my credit file? for details.
How do future lenders view DMPs?
It’s hard to generalise as each lender has their own method of credit scoring, but most people would agree with the following:
- creditors don’t like Defaults. They would prefer to see an Arrangement to Pay (AP) in your history rather than a Default. This post on a MoneySavingExpert forum has detailed examples that show one person’s experience of the ways different creditors and different credit reference agencies report and react to APs.
- creditors care more about recent events. Anything which has happened in the last year or two is much more important than four or five years ago. Whatever is wrong with your credit history, time is a great healer.
- the amount of debt you have is also important – if you owe too much you won’t get offered more debt even with a great credit record! So a DMP that helps you pay down your debt is in the long-term going to be a good thing.
Some DMP scenarios
Those generalisations may not seem much help to you. So let’s look at some possible scenarios:
(A) temporary DMP with a Default
Perhaps you were without any income for a year because of redundancy or sickness. During this time you set up a DMP making token payments but at least one of your creditors Defaulted your account. At the end of the DMP you go back to making the usual payments. Here your credit rating will start to improve, but the Default is going to put a lot of creditors off. You can add a note to your credit file explaining the cause of the default, but you may struggle to get a mortgage at a good rate until the default has dropped off after 6 years.
(B) DMP completed after four years
This could occur if you were making significant payments to your debts, but not the full amount. Your creditors accepted your offer, froze interest and didn’t Default your accounts. After 4 years, your debts will be marked as Settled and from here your credit report starts to improve but the payments history will still show the DMP for 6 years from when it was completed.
You probably aren’t going to get a mortgage offer for two or three years, but after that it should be fine (assuming of course that you have a good deposit and sufficient income for what you want to borrow). even if you have defaults on your credit record, if the default date is over 3 years ago and the debt is now repaid, you will probably be able to get a mortgage.
(C) Eight years into a DMP, four still to go
Sometimes DMPs can drag on for ages – at the start you were making reasonable payments, but had to reduce these when your pay was frozen for a few years and your bills kept going up, then your child tax credits were cut etc. Many of your debts were probably marked as Defaulted and already they will have dropped off, but if some weren’t they will show until the end of your DMP when the debts are settled and then for six years afterwards. However, you may be able to improve this by asking your creditors to add back-dated defaults, see What should the default date for a debt be? for details about how to do this.
DMP alternatives and credit reports
Would any of the alternatives to a DMP have been better from the credit rating point of view? Debt Relief Orders, IVAs and Bankruptcy are forms of insolvency and all have the same effect on your credit rating: a notice is placed on your credit record and all debts that haven’t previously defaulted will have a default date of the start of your insolvency, dropping off after six years. After the defaults have dropped off, most people who have chosen one of these three options then struggle to rebuild their credit record for several years, often finding it difficult to open bank accounts and having to get bad-credit cards such as Vanquis to try to rebuild a good credit rating.
Going for one of these insolvency options would not have been a sensible alternative to the temporary DMP in scenario (A). One of three would almost certainly have been better than the long DMP in scenario (C), although here the credit rating problem is just a minor side-effect of being stuck with unmanageable debt for far too long.
The interesting case is (B) where the DMP lasted 4 years but the footprint remains on the credit file for a further 6 years – is this aging trace of a DMP more or less damaging than having gone insolvent? I think most people would say that the DMP is preferable from the credit rating point of view.
The other possible alternative to a DMP is selling assets, usually a house with equity. From the credit record point of view this leaves you with a great rating! If you do have assets and are looking at a lengthy DMP, it may be better to take the tough decision to sell the house.
What about getting a mortgage?
Your credit record matters when you are applying for a mortgage, but so does having debts – see Can I get a mortgage in a DMP? for more details.
Conclusion
If your DMP is going to be temporary and you expect to be able to start making the usual monthly payments to your debts, or if you will be able to clear all your debts in a DMP within a reasonable number of years, then you shouldn’t worry about the effect the DMP has on your credit rating – it won’t be great but there aren’t any better alternatives.
If your DMP is going to be very prolonged, then you should probably be looking at the alternatives. Not only will they let your credit file recover more quickly, but they will give greater certainty over the process.
An overview of possible debt solutions
What should the default date be for a debt?
Credit score problems and questions
Hayley @ A Disease Called Debt says
My husband is currently in a debt management plan and when we first arranged this, his credit rating (and the knock on affect of mine) was one thing that we debated about for some time. However, our credit rating was actually the least of our problems! I totally agree that on one level, it was not all that important. Now we are in a better position, we are starting to think about credit ratings again. For us, we weren’t in the right place to borrow money so our credit rating was neither here nor there. I’m sure that we can rebuild this going forwards although it will obviously take some time.
Debt Camel says
Hi Hayley, I think that is so typical. Almost everyone who needs a DMP will be worried about their credit rating because they have probably been focussed on it for years … so it’s not helpful for debt advisors to say “oh that doesn’t matter” – adults deserve a proper explanation.
You are quite right that credit ratings can be rebuilt. Funnily enough they tend to get better fastest just at the point where you realise you don’t actually need to borrow any money, but that’s life.
Fi says
I’ve been in a DMP for nearly 2 years and its hard going and the co wants me to do an iva but they are so pushy they are putting me off. They say dmp will last for another 7 years do you think I should switch?
Debt Camel says
Have you said that you are finding the DMP payments hard to manage? Is this a company that is charging you fees each month? If it is, I suggest you contact Stepchange – they are a charity that will run a DMP for you and not charge you anything, so it should be quicker. They could also talk you through what you would pay in an IVA and they shouldn’t be so pushy…
Debt Camel says
hi Marie – one month to go, you must be crossing off the days! That’s great. DMPs aren’t good for everyone, but it sounds like it was the perfect solution for you.
Vanquis lowering your credit limit – that is a new one on me! Creditors usually close an account in a DMP. But the Vanquis are used to dealing with people with bad credit! I think you are going to have to contact them and ask… Wait until the DMP has finished and then phone and say “I haven’t used this account fro years and I am unsure if it is still open” perhaps?
Phillip says
Hi, Following family illness, the crash of 2007 and a business I relied on going bust, I had no alternative but to face facts, go into a DMP in 2010 & the relief was incredible. The alternative was lets just say, irreversable… The problem I had was that my job meant I couldn’t do an IVA or Bankruptcy. 3 years on, (and 2 years from the defaults appeared) my company is making a profit again and I’m just about to start paying lumps off my 56k debt.
My question is… Should I consider F&F or full repayments. Looking at other’s comments, even if I fully settle, my score will still be affected by my history so I think why not save 20k by offering less than the full amounts. It would take me most of the next 5 years to fully repay or I can prob settle the 25k in the next 2 years …
Many thanks, Phillip
Debt Camel says
Hi Phillip, I have written an article on full & final settlements and credit ratings That you should read. Basically if your debts have already been marked as defaulted, a F&F isn’t going to make your credit history any worse.
vicky warren says
I’ve had a nightmare with a debt management company – my credit score is far worse than when I started and I could have done all they did myself and not been in the situation I am now..my only advice would be go to your creditors directly in all cases – a debt management company does nothing you can’t do yourself other than often charge you fees and delay the process.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Vicky – the “DIY” approach often works very well! I’ve looked at what you need to do here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-much-work-dmp/
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Mac, when the default goes, the borrowing associated with it disappears at the same time. BUT I’m not sure why the total borrowing is still so high. Are you are paying little to your DMP? After this many years, the balance on your accounts should be falling. Have all your creditors frozen interest? If not, there is a letter here you could write: https://debtcamel.co.uk/creditor-wont-freeze-interest/. Long term DMPs are not a great idea – your creditors can still take enforcement action (CCJs, then bailiffs or charges over a house) even once the defaults drop off your file. Have a look at https://debtcamel.co.uk/trapped-dmp/. Have you looked at reclaiming PPI? It’s worth investigating even if you “know” you didnt have any or you don’t think it was missold, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/reclaim-ppi-dmp/ – any money you get back could be used to make full & final settlements and so really speed up your DMP.
jason says
Hi, I’ve been on a debt management plan for two years, with approximately 8 years to go. Just wondering, can I offer the creditors a lower amount to settle the debt?
Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
hi Jason, yes you can and it may be a very good idea. There are some details here about how to do this: https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/full-final/
Dom says
Hi
I have been in a DMP for 1 year now, I keep an eye on my credit report to make sure my estimated debt is accurate. However only one of my creditor as actually added a default to my account and all the others just say late payment, why is this? Are they likely to default at a later date once further in arrears maybe?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Dom, Yes it may depend on the level of your arrears. A default should be added if the account is 3-6 months in arrears. There is more about it here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/
LEE says
Hi, I took out a DMP in my first year of a four year degree due to not being able to support myself and pay off my debts. I completed my degree and have now got a full time teaching job. I want to pay my debts off as fast as possible, and unsure if i should stay with my DMP and increase my monthly payment or come from the DMP and pay direct? I need my credit to increase as it has taken a hammering over the last four years. Hope you can help :)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Lee, is your DMP with a firm that charges you fees? Then it would go faster if you paid direct or transferred to a DMP provider such as StepChange that doesn’t charge fees. If you defaulted 4 years ago, your credit rating will improve after 6 years no matter what you do now. The other option you might want to consider is whether you could make a full and final settlement offer to clear some of your debts, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/full-final/.
LEE says
Hi, thanks for quick reply…it is with step change. Is it best to stay with them until i become debt free, or try and pay the people i owe first hand? I have a mortgage and never missed a payment, but would like to purchase a larger property in next two years. So i need to get my credit rating back to a good level. Thanks.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It won’t make much difference either way, Lee, it’s just a question of how fast you can repay the debts. If interest is frozen at the moment, I would probably stick with StepChange. You may find this helpful about thinking about a larger mortgage https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-with-debts/.
JAMES says
Hi
I have read through your very helpful site, but I could still do with some clarification. I have been in a DMP for approx 3 years. Three of my five accounts are still defaulting my account each month. Is there anything I can do about this? And does the 6 year drop off period commence from the first default or the last default on each account?
Thanks in advance!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi James, No there isn’t anything you can do unless you can get the account settled or partially settled. But the 6 year drop off period starts from the first default, so the others don’t really matter that much.
JAMES says
Thanks for getting back to me Sara and thank you for confirming this. I will hopefully be in a position where I can settle some of my debts off early with a lump sum. All of them have multiple years left at current repayments. Would it be ridiculous to offer 50% of current values?!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi James, not ridiculous at all! If there are a lot of years left, you could even start lower at say 25%
sIMON says
I am 3 years into a 4-5 year DMP. I am paying interest only on my mortgage and would like to pay off capital and start this up again asap. The point is that I could, in theory, get a mortgage to include the remaining amount I owe on the DMP and then pay off the mortgage in 12 years, with the payments being slightly less than I am paying at the moment, which would then be quicker than me paying 2 years on the DMP, then getting a mortgage for 12 years. Is there any companies which would offer me a mortgage, I have approx. 20% equity left in the house after this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Simon, I suspect your calculations would only work if you can get a mortgage at a low interest rate. That I am afraid is very unlikely – if you could remortgage at all it would not be at a good rate. Getting to the end of your DMP seems like a better option I am afraid.
sIMON says
Hi Sara,
Thought so but thanks for confirming this, how long after the end of the DMP would I generally have to wait to get the credit rating for acceptance on a mortgage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As soon as your DMP is paid off you can start overpaying your mortgage with the money you are currently paying to the DMP, so your equity will be increasing. There isn’t really much point in me making predictions about what the mortgage market will be like in the future, but I would have thought it would be worth talking to a broker after a couple of years. This other article might help: https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-with-debts/
sarah says
I am about to enter into financial management plan but i am worried about what will happen when my mortgage is reviewed at the end of this year. I have always overpaid on my mortgage and never defaulted on any of my accounts but I am finding it impossible to get debt free unless i take some sort of action. should i be worried about my mortgage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Sarah, yes you should be worried. If you start a DMP now, it will make it much more difficult for you to get a new mortgage fix at a good rate the end of the year. Could you refix your mortgage now? Or delay the DMP until next year? If you are overpaying the mortgage, then you are overpaying what is probably your lowest interest rate – you should reconsider if it wouldn’t be better to start overpaying your unsecured debt instead so they get cleared faster. If you did this perhaps you wouldn’t need the DMP? Also consider if you could get a good 0% balance transfer that would speed up repaying your unsecured debt.
Craig says
Hi guys,
I have got myself into around £25k of debt through 3 x credit cards, an overdraft, 1 x Payday loan, and a loan. It’s at the stage where I am getting nowhere with my payments due to the interest being charged. I have got into discussions with a DMP company and this definitely seems the way to go. The plan would be to pay £700 a month towards my plan which would last 3 years. I am quite happy with that if I am honest, given the struggles I have had. There is a charge of £30 a month, which would have to all be paid up front so I would make a payment of near £900. Again, this isn’t an issue for me, but I am reading here there are companies which do this free of charge?
They mentioned that I should miss all payments due this month – is this correct? What would happen if I missed payments, they went to my creditors with the offer, and my creditors rejected the offer? Where would that leave me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Craig, give StepChange a call http://www.stepchange.org/ – there is no good reason to use a commercial company that will charge you a fee, especially if the fee is charged up front, when you don’t even know if your creditors will agree to freeze interest. If you don’t pay that fee, your DMP will finish 6 months or so earlier!
Missing payments – the idea here is to give your creditors the feeling that they may as well accept your DMP as you are obviously in trouble. The downside is that with your DMP finishing so quickly, if it is possible to avoid doing this, you may just get “arrangements to pay” markers on your credit file and no defaults, which is better in the long term. I suggest you talk about this with StepChange and see what they suggest.
Rob says
I have been on a DMP for the past 5 years during which I have reduced the monthly amount once due to rising household costs all of my creditors have frozen the interest and I redo my budget with stepchange every year I think I have about 8 years left but it works for me . In 6 years time my mortage is finished and I plane on increasing my DMP to reduce the timescale. prior to seeting up the DMP I was struggling to pay everything so as mentioned it works for me the IVA does not sound like a suitable alternative in my opinion I have reduced the debit by about 7k so in my eyes the DMP works
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Rob, being happy with your option is the important thing. And with a lot of equity an IVA probably isn’t an alternative at all for you!
Derek W says
We are currently on a DMP with Payplan with approx 3 years to go
I have secured a job where I may need a company credit card for bussiness will I be accepted for this
Sara Williams says
Hi Derek, if it is the company applying for the card, then Yes because the lender is lending to the company not you.
Stephen B says
So even if I’m still paying off the DMP or have cleared it the thing will disappear from my credit file after 6 years? How soon after the 6 years will it go? As I wanted to apply for a mortgage but I’m guessing it’s best to wait 6 weeks or so after the date to allow it to be updated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Stephen, the debts dropping off your credit file isn’t the only problem with getting a mortgage if you are in a DMP – see this other article https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/
Helen Baker says
Hi
I am in a bit of a struggle. myself and partner want to apply for a mortgage, one advisor has said that i wont be able to be included becuase of my debt history, i just wanted to query this.
i missed payments on a bank loan and a credit card i then set up monthly payments i could afford (minimal) 3/ 4 months agao i paid off all my debt. will this still stay on my credit score and stop me getting a mortgage?
Many Thanks
Helen
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Helen, I’ve written a couple of other articles more specifically about mortgages that you may find useful: https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/ and https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-with-debts/. In your case if the debts are now cleared, it’s going to depend how long ago the defaults were and if they are still showing on your credit records – if you haven’t yet looked at your credit record you need to do this. It will also depend on how large a deposit you have.
Paul says
Hi I’ve been paying back a defaulted loan since 2011 to a company called Westcott, who took over the loan from the original lender. Having looked at my credit report all it says is that the original loan is “default” no markers such as AP or anything on there just that every month is a defaulted payment and the account holder status is “gone away”. Is this right? I have no other issues and settled all other debts a few years ago yet still have a ridiculously low score.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Paul, If you are still repaying the loan, your payments can’t be large and”default” not AP is probably correct.
“gone away” means the lender says you no longer live at the address given. If this is wrong, you should try to get it corrected, see http://www.experian.co.uk/consumer/faq/CA1.html.
Paul says
Will it improve anything if changed to AP. If so how would I go I out changing this? Or will just drop off at the 6 year point regardless and I continue paying off the loan. And rebuild credit score from the 6 year mark.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It is highly unlikely that the lender will agree to remove the default and substitute an AP. And you probably shouldn’t want this to happen anyway as the default will drop off after 6 years but an AP will remain until 6 years after the loan is paid off. If this is your only remaining debt, have you considered if you could make a full & final settlement offer? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/full-final/
Ell W says
Hi Wonder if anyone can help, I have been in a DMP arrangement for 10 years which is in my maiden name. I have paid roughly about 12k which i only owed about 14k but they wouldnt freeze my interest. I have since married and have a good experian report score in my married name nothing on my credit score associates me with the DMP. My question is the DMP is going to finish in 2062 with all the added interest which is ridiculous. If i stop paying the DMP will this affect my current credit score can they issue a default this late on.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Ell, Why have your creditors refused to freeze interest? There is a letter here you could use: https://debtcamel.co.uk/creditor-wont-freeze-interest/
Could you increase the payments to your DMP? Or, even better, offer a full and final settlement? See https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/full-final/
If you stop paying, defaults won’t reappear on your credit score, But the creditor could take you to court for a CCJ, which would be even worse than a default, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/paying-old-debt/ for more info.
Mark says
Hi, After coming out of my teaching job in 2009, I had trouble meeting the repayments on my Barclaycard, consequently went into arrears. I moved to Qatar in the middle east to start a teaching job there in Sept 2011 finances improved greatly. Unfortunately, it was too late for the Barclaycard. It was handed over to Link Financial and the interest was frozen. We made an arrangement to pay 20 pounds per month in Dec 2011, which I increased to 50 per month in November 2012. I have since kept up payments without fail. But on the credit report from Equifax it states 6 missed payments continuously up until Feb 2015 when it was changed to AP (arrangement to pay), I have stated to them that the arrangement to pay should have come into force in Dec 2011, not out the blue in Feb of this year. My question is, what is better to have on the credit report, 6 missed payments or arrangement to pay?
Any help much appreciated, Mark
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Mark, it sounds to me as though the best thing would actually be a default marker in 2009 or 2010, because this will mean the whole record drops off your file 6 years after the default date. Read this https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/ and ask for a default date to be added!
Lisa says
Hi, are you able to answer a question. My husband has got in to a lot of debt, he has took out a loan on a very high interest. He had a meeting with the Loan company which has advised him to take a DMPlan, but will not do it with him unless I am in the plan and to take my owes in to consideration. Can you do a DMPLAN by himself? Or do I have to do it with him. The debt is in his name. Thank you for any help you can give. Lisa
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Lisa, you may find this article about how a DMP affects your partner helpful: https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-affect-my-partner/. Also I have emailed you.
hilary says
Hi
I have 6 months left on my DMP and I know my credit rating is rubbish. Will my rating improve once this is paid off?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Hilary, this is a complicated question to answer as it depends on a lot of factors, so I’ve written a whole article in reply! here it is: https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-end-will-credit-improve/
Kelly says
Hi. I’ve been paying back a substantial loan through a debt management company since 2005 and am due to finish payments in Feb 2018. The company has now offered me a partial settlement for half the balance remaining on my account. I am unsure of what to do for the best as I have been slowly rebuilding my credit profile and am not 100% certain that a partial settlement will not affect my credit rating even though the default was well over 6 years ago. Will this show on my profile 6 years after the debt is settled? (either part or full) Also I have heard that in some cases where a partial settlement has been accepted the debt management company either comes after you at a later date for the remainder or sells this to a different debt management company. Is this possible and if so how can I protect myself against this? Thank You for your time.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Kelly, 2 good questions!
If the debt was defaulted over years ago and doesn’t show on your record any more, it will not reappear whatever happens. I would grab the 50% offer if you can afford it!
Ask for the creditor to confirm in writing that they are accepting £x in full and final settlement of the debt, that they will not ask you to pay any more towards the debt or try to enforce it in any way and that they will not sell the remainder of the debt to a different company.
rece says
hi im in a DMP plan which is up to date . but I want to pay all debts off .I have two defaults on my credit report if I do a partial settlement will it affect my credit score .iv got two years left before the six years are up. thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Rece, if you make a full settlement, your credit rating will be a bit better than a partial one, but the difference isn’t huge and obviously it costs less to make a partial settlement!
For defaulted debts, they will disappear after six years, undefaulted ones will remain for 6 years from the settlement date.
Jerome Williams says
Hi, Brilliant Article. I’m an unusual case. I entered a DMP in Oct 2012 for around 14k with one creditor on 3 separate products (credit card, overdraft and loan). In Mar 2015 my partners parents paid off the outstanding balance of what was owed in FULL, no offers but IN FULL. Leaving me debt free. From my awareness I have one default registered on my credit report with a number of missed payments. My credit score on Experian is extremely low at 562 (May 2015 report). The plus side is my partner’s parents (again) have told us they will give us a decent deposit for a property (first time buying). I also have a job with an annual income of £49,000. Being involved with a DMP and low credit rating, would I stand a chance in a mortgage application? (Partner’s not working)
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Nice out laws! You might find this other article useful: https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/>
If applying for a mortgage is at least 6 months away, you need to start the process of repairing your credit score by getting a “bad credit” card such as Vanquis. A lot is going to depend on how much you want to borrow and how large a deposit you will have.
Else Jones says
Mark, I actually had a good experience with Barclaycard. I was on a Arrangement to Pay and wrote to them saying that I felt it should have been a default instead and asked them to backdate this to 2009 (which would remove it from record due to the 6 years), they were incredibly helpful, called me the day after they got my letter and agreed with me that it should have been defaulted and in 2009. They updated my records and within a month it was gone. Not only that they wiped the outstanding amount (granted it wasn’t much after paying it off for 5 years but still nice).
I’m so pleased that it was sorted cause it would have been on my record for years to come otherwise
Chris says
Good Morning
I was on a debt management program for approx 3 years. now it is over and done with i am looking to improve my credit score. while looking in to this i noticed on one of my previous accounts it is marked DM (Debt Management) and some have gone down as DF (Default) what is the difference between these when it comes to your credit score? if DM is better for me can I get it changed to improve? i have found that improving my credit score is near impossible and cant get out of the red.
Thank you in advance
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As this article explains, it’s not clear if a default is better than a DM/AP marker. A default is usually viewed by the lender as worse, but it will disappear from your credit record after 6 years from the default date. But AP/DM markers will be there for 6 years after the account was closed, which will be later.
Whether your accounts should have been marked DM or Default will depend on whether you were ever 3 months in arrears based on what the payments to the debt should have been.
With all your debts now closed, your credit score will slowly improve. You can help speed it up a bit by getting a bad credit card such as Vanquis, using it every month and repaying it in full every month, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/bad-credit-cards/ for things to be careful of if you do this.
RVT says
Good Evening,
1.Iam in DMP with Payplan for about 6 years now, and projection it says will be completed in another 2years. I have never failed during this time on DMP in my repayments, however I see I have had defaulted on my accounts with creditors. But Barclay Card on my credit file it says payment arranged through DMP and it shows as “AP” everymonth since then, but now it shows only in Green colour on credit file and no AP or any other status. I have still to repay them , but Iam in confusion now – how my report will be after I close this account ( after I pay them fully) then they will do a Default on my account? or it will be shown as Settled?, if default they should have it done when I entered into DMP? Pls advice how to handle this, Iam struggling already since recession and Iam ensuring so far all my debts are repayed in time to what I have committed, but I dont want to see atlast I stay on default after I close it for another 6 years or so on my file showing a Default.
2. Also one of the creditor Iam still repaying though the default date looks like to come off before I repay the full amount, if so what happens on credit report? as it should be taken away after six years , how that will be shown on credit file as still Iam repaying them as they sold it to some other creditor in these years.
3. Iam on a mortgage and Can I get a remortgage when Iam in this DMP?, I have never failed on mortgage repayments though. These credit card agreements will also affect on mortgage – my understanding to date is it is totally a different type of lending and should not affect on our living? Pls help me here to understand.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1. I am guessing here, but it sounds as though with only 2 years to go, your monthly payments are now equal to what the normal repayments would be. If this is correct, when you settle the accoputn it will just show as closed with AP markers back 2+ years in the past.
2. the defaulted debt will disappear and not reappear at any point in the future, even if it has been sold to a debt collector.
3. unlikely, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/
RVT says
Thanks for your reply
1. Yes regarding the Barclay card , it says currently on my credit file as up-to-date and credit statement reflecting like normal repayments(showing in Green in month boxes from last 5 months), until then it was showing at “AP” in Red.
So as you mentioned when I close this account It will show as “S”. Also will there be any negative affect down the line as this will still show once settled accounts until next 6 years on file “AP” status for past years for me in future once I build the credit back?
Instead of this as in above on april-4-2016 post Else Jones-Should I contact them to backdate it to defaulted ? , pls advice.
2. Also I have received an offer for a reduced settlement for one of the accounts which currently it doesn’t show on my file any default status or any info, ” they sent me offer that to pay reduced amount to settle and they are saying they will update my record ” Partially Settled” or “nil” balance outstanding. it also states “this will indicate account has been cleared but with a lesser amount than the balance”. After final payment is made I will get letter account has been cleared.
But My question is “if this credit is not appearing anymore on my file”, even If I settle how this will appear on my file?as today it is not appearing, actual lender has sold to another lender and I got this information from this lender.
Is there any way we can still find whether account is defaulted or not even if it is not appearing on our credit file?
Sorry to bother you, but kindly help me to understand on this. Thanks for addressing on other two points.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
1) this is close to scenario B described in this article – a DMP with AP markers for years. This isn’t a clear cut case. You could ask for it to be corrected, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/
2) I suggest you need to check your credit records with all three credit reference agencies, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/experian-or-equifax-which-is-best/ to see if the debt appears on one of the others.
Paul says
Hi Sara,
I hope you can advise me as I am in a bit of a panic at the moment.
I started a 10 year DMP in 2008, which is due to finish in 2 years. All the defaults I have received are due to finish next year meaning that I would have no defaults on finishing the DMP.
However, Lloyds with whom I had a current account, have recently said that they can no longer keep the account in the Collections department, where it has been since 2010, and will be very shortly passing the account to their Recoveries department, and a default will be applied.
I have received several of these letters over the last couple of years or so, but in the past when I have called they have agreed to extend keeping it in the Collections department. However, this time they seem insistent that I either pay off the debt in full, which I cannot afford, or it will go to Recoveries.
This means that the default will last until 2022, 4 years after my DMP finishes, and therefore 14 years after my DMP started.
To be honest I am not sure if they ever really accepted the DMP at any point as they have mentioned informal agreement on many occasions. But as the account has been with their Collections department since 2010, then can I insist that the default is backdated at 2010 so that it will effectively finish this year (even by 2018 would be ok).
If so, is there anything specific I should say in the letter.
Thank you very much
Paul
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you say that this sounds unfair as your DMP has only 2 more years until it finishes. Either they should not default it but let it complete in Collections, or they should pass it to recoveries and backdate the default date to 2009.
Jo says
Hi,
I was in a DMP from late 2009 until April 2014 when I paid it off in full.
I am now in a place where I would like to consider a mortgage. I currently have 2 x credit cards, 1 with a £2k on an interest free basis (direct debit in place to clear before and interest starts) and the other with around £100 (paid in full each month). We have no other debt.
I have a monthly default from March 13 where a debt was sold on, this is there until October 13.
I have AR with Barclaycard until April 14.
I have DM with Moor gate until April 14.
My credit shows as 2/5 (554) with Noddle and 393/700 on clear score.
The mortgage we are looking at would cost less than our existing rent. Do you think we stand a chance or should I wait until a later date?
Many thanks, Jo
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You may find this useful background reading: https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/.
With your only default being more than 3 years ago and all your defaults and AP/DM debts being paid off more than 2 years ago you mya be able to find a mortgage lender now. Talk to a broker about this, don’t apply direct to a high street bank.
It might be a good idea to pay off more of this 0% credit card debt though first. You could also do the maths on the defaulted debt – was that default date correct? You need to compare what you were paying to the debt with what the minimum payments were to see at what point you were 6 months “in arrears”, because if that was earlier than March 13, you could ask for the default date to be moved earlier. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/
Clare says
Hi Sara, I wonder if you can help me? I entered into a DMP in mid 2009 after a couple of defaults, which have now been cleared off my credit file. During the course of my DMP ( in early 2014), one of my debts was sold on to a debt collection company and then a couple of months later the company running my DMP was bought out by another. The new company running my DMP reassessed all the payments to my creditors and changed the amounts, however due to the amount being paid to them changing, the debt owner then marked me down as having late payments, as they say I was not meeting the contractual agreed payments any more. This debt was settled in full at the start 2015, but there are 8 months of late payments showing on my credit report until the end of 2014.
I have rung the company to ask why and they informed me it was because although I was making a payment it was not the contractual payment on the account, and that I should speak to my dmp company, to ask them to contact the debt owner and see what they could do about it.. I raised it with the DMP company as a complaint as I was never informed that these amended payments would affect my credit file like this, as far as I was concerned it was just a change in my arrangement to pay and would carry on as normal. I’ve not heard back from them yet as they are investigating my complaint, but not sure what action they can take?
Is there anything I can do about this record on my credit file? All my debts are now paid off and I have no defaults showing any more as they are all over 6 years, so this is the only thing on my report that does not look good. I have just got a bad credit card which I intend to use monthly and pay off in full each month to try to repair my credit report, is it just worth waiting it out till this goes off my file? I was hoping to apply for a mortgage in Spring 2018.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Clare, it may be that the best thing to do is to put in a complaint that the creditor should have added a default to this debt back in 2009 or early 2010. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/ which has a template letter.
You may want to to do this with other debts that are currently showing as Arrangement to Pay. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/.
In practice by Spring 2018 the late payment markers and arrangement to pay markers will all be over 3 years old, so you should still be able to get a mortgage, but it would be easier without any problems at all on your credit file. Go through a broker, not direct to high street lender.
Tom says
Hello, my DMP was 6 months long and finished in 2014, I’m debt free and now trying to get a mortgage, but I’ve been told by my broker that I won’t be accepted because my DMP needs to have been 6 years ago, and although it doesn’t appear on my credit score lenders ‘have ways of finding out about a DMP’. Does this sound right? I’d appreciate your help. Thanks, Tom
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A 6 month long DMP sounds unusual – how did you manage to repay all your debts in 6 months, did you inherit some money? I am asking because it is relevant to a mortgage application.
How were the debts in your DMP marked on your credit record? Were they shown as defaulted? Or late payments? Or Arrangement to Pay?
Tom says
Hi Sara, thanks for the reply! My DMP was for about £5k, I was gifted this which enabled me to pay everything off.
On my credit file the debts are labelled as ‘satisfied’, in the period before my DMP there are lots of defaults and missed payments.
Does this help?
Thanks,
Tom
Lee says
Hello,
I had a loan from Natwest and had to go into a DMP, I noticed the date that my credit score said it went into default was actually three years wrong (it was supposed to be 2010 but it was 2013). I spoke to Natwest they agreed there was a problem and apparently “removed” my default, I did query that this would be worse for me but assured me it was not.
This was about 3 weeks ago, my new credit report from Noddle has just gone up and low and behold my credit score is worse and I have 6 years worth of agreed arrangement, surely Natwest should have to put the default on my account from 2010 which now would mean the loan and its history would be off my credit score, I will obviously still honor my DMP either way.
Am I right? What should I do next?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Go back to them and say you wanted the default corrected to 2010, not removed. say you will go to the ICO if this isn’t sorted.
Lee says
Hello,
Quick update apparently Natwest disagree with me and after some hassle will now give me 28 days to settle the account or put a default on my account from April 2011, which is 12 months after entering the agreement.
Do I just admit defeat and deal with what will be now 4 months until its off my credit file.
They did mention its 12 months later since I’d entered a CFS or something agreement? I may have heard wrong, should receive it all in writing tomorrow or so.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Well see what tomorrow’s letter says – any factual errors, go back to NatWest. Otherwise it’s up to you if you can bothered to go to the ICO given the default will be gone soon anyway.
Steve says
Hi our mortgage is due for renewal in 12 months. We are starting thinking about starting a DMP now what would happen to our mortgage when it comes up for renewal?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When you say renewal, do you mean there is a fixed rate that is ending? Or that you have an interest only mortgage that is ending? Who is your current lender?
A DMP – how large are your total debts? Can you pay the minimums but everything is very tight or are this months bills going to be impossible?
Benjamin says
Hi, My wife and I seem to be in a situation similar to B. We had a DMP from July 2011, fully paid with final payment in May 2016. We have since applied for bad credit cards and have been using these and paying off each statement on a monthly basis for the last few months – no arrears! We have been looking into our credit rating and closed account details and found errors with the default dates for Nat West bank account and Mint credit card. I have written to the companies concerned and I am hopeful that they will amend the default dates to when the accounts actually went into default, this being some 15 months and 5 months earlier respectively. What we have also discovered is that my wife’s Barclaycard account has not been defaulted and is showing as: June 2011 – early arrears (there was no payment made) July 2011 – arrangement to pay (this runs to October 2015 – DMP in operation) November 2015 – debt management program (this runs to March 2016) Account end date given as 11/4/16. From what I have read this means the arrangement to pay – AP – notification will remain on our credit report until April 2022.
I understand that a default is not noted for periods of no payment/arrears of less than 3 months. In the case of Barclaycard there was only one month (June 2011) while the DMP was being set up when no payment was made. Is there any point in writing to Barclaycard and asking them to register a default in line with the other creditors? If Mint are able to register a default in the same circumstances, albeit some months after the start of our DMP (no payments missed of DMP), am I being naive or unreasonable to expect Barclaycard to do the same thing?
This matters to us because we have just been asked by our long term mortgage provider to furnish evidence of our endowment policy, that in theory will pay off the interest only half of our mortgage. Whilst that used to exist it hasn’t for some time. We have life insurance to cover death etc. to the point at which the mortgage has to be repaid in 6 years time and there is a lump sum to come from a pension in 15 months time, and an annual pension that will cover what the endowment policy would have, if it had still been in effect. We have to respond to our mortgage provider in the very near future and we are now concerned that this will have a very adverse effect on any discussion we will have with the mortgage provider.
Please could you give some guidance as to how to proceed.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
re Baclaycard – every month you pay less than the minimum payments you are getting into arrears, not just when you make no payment. So yes, you should ask Barclaycard to add a default, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/.
re your interest only mortgage. Explain your plans for repaying your mortgage to the lender. If you are going to need a new mortgage at the end of this one, then you should be aiming to clear your DMP well before then, at least 6 months. Even if your credit rating is clean, you will still not be able to get a mortgage if you are in debt management, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/dmp-mortgage/.
Benjamin says
Hi Sara, Thank you for your reply. With regard to our DMP that has now finished (May 2016) and we have repaid in full, so that should not be a barrier to any future mortgage. The fly in the ointment is the fact that Barclaycard have not applied a default notice at any time. If I understand you correctly payments to Barclaycard under the DMP would not have met their normal minimum payment terms and my wife was in arrears from the month when no payment was made (June 2011) and every subsequent month once the DMP was in operation (July 2011 – May 2016).
If I understand the guidance concerning default the credit card company/bank should apply this from three to six months from the initial failure to meet the repayment terms, which in our case is June 2011. Am I correct that this would mean that Barclaycard should have applied a default sometime between August 2011 and November 2011?
Can Barclaycard refuse to apply a default? If they do, is there any action that we can be take to make them apply a default?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If the DMP payments were low compared to the contractual minimum payment then Aug-Nov sounds right. But if you were paying about half the minimum, then you only get half a month into arrears each month so it would take 6-12 months to get 3-6 months into arrears. I wouldn’t get to worried about calculating this exactly, I would just ask them to add a default in Aug and see what they reply.
They may refuse, if they do take your complaint to the ICO, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-default-date/
Carly says
Hi there,
We are currently in a joint DMP with approx 20k outstanding.
We are looking at moving and with some of the equity within the property, we would like to pay off and close our DMP.
Do you think we would be able to get a mortgage offer? DMP has been running since 2012 with some reduced and missed payments.
Don’t want to agree to a sale and then find we arexpect unable to get a mortgage. Really worried about what to do for the best.
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So your mortgage will stay the same or reduce? Can you keep the length the same? If Yes and Yes, is your mortgage “portable”? If it is, then you need to talk to your current lender about whether they will give you a new mortgage on the same terms. Because of the DMP they may not want to do this but it is your best hope. No one else is likely to give you a mortgage.
Other options:
– sell, repay your debts, rent for a year and then buy.
– speed up your DMP somehow, could you get a lodger? Look to reclaim any PPI?
– look at an IVA, but this would mean at least another 6 years before you could move and may not be a good idea if you have been struggling with the DMP payments.
Carly says
Hi,
Thank you for getting back to me.
Currently mortgage with nationwide is portable.
We can’t get a lodger as there isn’t any room. We are a family of 4 in a 2 bedroom house.
I have just gone through credit report with a fine toothed comb! I have found 5 account for anglia water all at different stages of arrears with different balances, so have sent an urgent query across to them.
if we do sell and repay debts in full. Would a year be sufficient to see a marked improvement in our credit files?
Thank you for your help and advice.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So are you hoping to get a bigger mortgage when you move?
Carly says
Hi,
We were hoping too but I am now unsure if this will be possible even with a poor credit mortgage advisor. I am also unsure if we will be able to port the mortgage as that requires credit checks.
There maybe a possibility of borrowing some money off of family to cover the gap in money.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Porting the mortgage isn’t going to work if you need to increase it. It may have been a possible option if the mortgage would have reduced or stayed the same but that’s not going to work for you.
I’m not keen on people borrowing large amounts of money from family. Unless it’s the sort of “have this money, doesn’t matter if you cant repay it, you just get less when we die” type loan from your parents, which is really more of a gift.
But If there is a chance of borrowing money from family, possibly the best way to use this would be to make a full and final settlement offer to your debts, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/full-final/. It may be that you settle all 20k for 5-7k. If you can do that now, then stay debt free for a year you will be in a much better position to get a mortgage.
If you have to move sooner than that, selling and renting may be your only option. A bad credit mortgage can be extremely expensive. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/hard-choices/sell-house/
Carly says
Hi Sara,
Thank you for your reply. We have decided to go into rented accommodation once the house has sold and use some of the equity to pay off the debts.
I just wanted to ask please, if we offer full and final settlements as per your reply above. Will the defaults be marked as partially satisfied? If so, will mortgage lenders be ok with that in the future?
Ideally, we would only want to be in rented accommodation for 12 – 18 months maximum.
Thank you so much for all of your advice, it is very much appreciated.
Lisa says
I had a default that was removed over a year ago. I am now looking to apply for a mortgage and have an appointment to get a decision in principle on Monday do I mention this if asked or do I not need to now?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
If ithe debt is repaid, no need to mention it. If it isn’t, Have you made any payments to this debt in the last 6 months? In the last year?
Lisa says
The debt was removed after the 6 years and that was two years ago?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry I am asking if the debt has been repaid in full. It would have dropped off even if it wasn’t repaid.
Lisa says
Sorry….no the debt wasn’t paid off but it was removed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So are you still making payments to it? If not, when was your last payment?
Lisa says
The last payment was around 4-5 years ago. Haven’t paid anything since and then it was removed.
Maggie says
Hi I have outstanding debts which are being paid back via an agreed payment plan. I am hopefully looking to drawdown a lump sum from my pension about 7k – will the outstanding debts prevent me from doing this as the advisor asked if I had been made bankrupt or was in a debt management plan?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am assuming you have a debt management plan. In that case this shouldn’t affect your plans to take money from your pension.
My guess is that the advisor you saw (who was this?) was asking if you were in an IVA – that is an arrangement with your creditors but it is a form of insolvency and that would affect your pension plans.
Maggie says
Thank you – it was prudential – he mentioned bankruptcy and debt management – I will be arranging to pay more off the arrangement but wanted to keep something back as well. Just worried that they would refuse to pay out to be honest.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK, well you can go back to him to double check – this is a lot of money and I can understand you wanting to be sure! But I *think* he is referring to an IVA. See this article (not about pensions) where some wording makes people think it means a DMP but it definitely doesn’t, it means an IVA: https://debtcamel.co.uk/right-buy-will-debts-stop/.
If you get the money out, you may want to think about using it to make full and final settlement offers to clear more of your debts.
Andrew says
I have been in a DMP since 2010 and understand from various online sources that this might well show up in a credit search. I’ve looked through my Experian credit report very carefully but can’t find any reference to the DMP. Can you explain how a credit search would show up a DMP?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The DMP itself doesn’t show. With your DMP starting in 2010, the following is possible for the debts in it:
– a default may have been added soon after the DMP started, in which case the debts will not have dropped off your credit record as the default would have been more than six years ago
– a default may have been added later so the debt will still be there showing as defaulted
– an AP (arrangement to pay) marker may show
– the debts may just be showing as 6 months in arrears.
How long until your DMP ends?
Andrew says
I think my DMP ends in around 110 years….. Yes, that’s right – 100 years…
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have a house with equity? How old are the debts in your DMP, how many of them and what do they add up to?
Andrew says
The debts are all unsecured, all defaulted in 2010, and they add up to approximately 60k. I’m not a homeowner. The DMP has run since 2010. I currently pay £100/month of which £38 is taken as a management fee. I’ve started receiving very generous discounts recently and intend saving up on a monthly basis in order to clear them one by one as and when I can.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK two things to speed this up. First ditch your DMP firm. You could transfer to a free DMP firm such as StepChange. Or take over running your DMP yourself – if you are going to be making full & final settlement offers, I suggest the latter – read https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-much-work-dmp/.
Second, read the section here https://debtcamel.co.uk/paying-old-debt/ on “the documentation may be missing”. Asking for a CCA agreement is well worth doing with all your debts that were loans or credit/store cards or catalogues (nb not overdrafts, not mobile debts). You should definitely do this before accepting any proposed partial settlements – no documentation means they can’t take you to court and you can simply stop paying them, save your money for the other debts!