New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

"Wilf Stevenson is Chair of CCCS.

Yea, but another of them

Mike Fairey

Mike Fairey recently retired from his position of deputy group chief executive officer of Lloyds TSB Group PLC. Mike served in this position at Lloyds TSB Group since 1998, retiring at the end of June 2008. He originally joined Barclays Bank in 1967 and held a number of senior and general management appointments, including managing director of Barclays Direct Lending Services from 1990 to 1991.

Mike joined TSB Group in 1991 and held a number of senior and director positions as the banks merged and Lloyds TSB Group grew substantially, culminating in his position as deputy group chief executive.

[PlanB]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

Hello PlanB!
I just came across that bloke's website the other day, and the one about "Could you design me a poster for my lost cat?" had me laughing more than I've done for a very long time!
(Link to "Missing Missy" -- poster for a lost cat)

I've only read about four of them so there are a lot more to look forward to reading!

Dear Ms Pip,

Your negative attitude towards felines in distress causes me great concern. I am amazed that the tight screening process used by the Mods on this website has clearly failed if posters who laugh out loud at cats are to be accepted. I must reconsider my membership if this is to continue.

Yours,
Disgusted of AAD


P.S. But I'm thrilled to have located his Twitter page and won't be going to bed tonight until I've trawled through all of his tweets. Thank you so much for intoducing a ray of sunshine to this pauper. Welcome to the site.
Plan B xxxx

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

I must reconsider my membership if this is to continue.

The sarcasm is dripping tonight

[MattyA]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

Yup even more of a reason to consider a 13 year DMP @ £400/month insane!

They wanted £835 / month off me for 16 years 1month which would mean me living like a pauper up until retirement .......

It made me think seriously about BR - but i stumbled across this site and went the UE route ....and am still fighting.

They also recomended 'that I take my own lunch to work each day as it might be cheaper' FFS - my combined minimum payments were almost £5K each month !!

Anyways Pip - you are in the right place ,I echo everything that has been said - have a good think about what YOU want to do and what is right for YOU.
But like you say,UE may be worth a punt before going down the BR route if you have to.

That was my choice and I am still here fighting on thanks to the help of / on this site.

Good luck to you.

Matty

[billytommo]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

Pip

I just wish to echo the sentiments of all so far. I have done most things that you have been advised on here when I started my journey, ie. letters with envelope stapled to it with the date received on it & don't talk to them on the phone. There is one thing that I would have done on top of this. It is recommended that you change the telephone number they hold for you on their system for you. I tried to do this on a few and found that, depending how far down the line you are, they suspend access to your online account. The only way to reset it is to phone them up - obviously not going to do that I would recommend that you change the number on their system as soon as possible so that you can do it online.

Above all, just follow the advice given on here and you'll be fine.

Cheers

Billy

PS The link is brilliant. Sat in the living room crying and OH and DS are trying to watch telly

[pompeyfaith]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

And get one of niddy's numbers and give that to the harassers

http://forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/s...=niddy+numbers

Silence is golden!!!

[Pip]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

We all did it Pip. Struggled on, trying to be honest reasonable people but that is not how they think of you when you try to talk reasonably to them about your difficulties. They set the dogs loose on you and try to tear you to pieces.

Hello Garlok! My first and only experience of talking on the phone to them was in my wet-behind-the-ears days of speaking to one of the creditors (MBNA) about requesting a lowering of the minimum payments, before I defaulted. They went at me hammer and tongs and I thought Sod that for a lark and never attempted to speak to them by phone again.

First conversation with sols told us not to get involved with DMPs, IVAs Tomlin Orders or anything like that as most schemes collapsed leaving the debtor further in trouble than when they had started out. At worst case they expected to negotiate a F & F down to 10% if the very worst came to the worst.

That's really interesting -- particularly in light of what has been revealed further on on this thread about CCCS's directors -- with CCCS pushing DMPs and IVAs above all. It's all a confidence game. Most schemes collapse -- indeed!

[Pip]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

There is one thing that I would have done on top of this. It is recommended that you change the telephone number they hold for you on their system for you. I tried to do this on a few and found that, depending how far down the line you are, they suspend access to your online account. The only way to reset it is to phone them up - obviously not going to do that I would recommend that you change the number on their system as soon as possible so that you can do it online.

Hello Billy!

When I moved house a couple of years ago, I made a point of digging out an old mobile phone (even older than my 6-year-old Nokia) and buying a £10 unregistered SIM card for it, and giving that number out to credit card companies. I then set it to give out a single, feeble little bleat when it "rings" or when a text arrives, which thankfully doesn't happen very often these days. My sympathies would go out to anyone who's given the gits their landline or usual mobile number. I expect it to start seeing a bit of action again shortly once the stopped payments register on their robot letter printing/telephoning systems.

I wonder what you mean though about doing things with the credit card companies online [via their own online systems, I'm assuming]? What sort of things ..?

PS The link is brilliant. Sat in the living room crying and OH and DS are trying to watch telly

There are so many others, and I've only read a few -- but "Missing Missy" about the lost cat had me incapacitated last night!

[blueforyou]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

Hello Pip,

Well, I think everybody has said it all - but welcome anyway. I have been through the UE route on behalf of my wife, and am now pursuing for myself. Reading your post - together with all the replies - has re-affirmed my intent to deal with the Financial Sector as they have dealt with us, ie with disdain

I tried to deal maturely with these thieving gits, but since they can't understand common sense and basic maths, (and English language on occasion!), then they get a hard time from me.

Good luck!

[billytommo]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

Ha Ha, yea the links are brill. Had me in stitches - I could look at them all night!

The thing about doing things online is that most of them allow you to administer your account online, i.e. contact details, amongst other things. However, you seem to have that side sorted with your old PAYG sim - you lucky so-and-so However, others might not be in such a position, like me. I updated one with a Niddy special free number but tried another and it refused me access saying that I had to call to reactivate my account Like I'm gonna do that I've unplugged the landline anyway and just ignore any unknown calls on my mobile. A bit inconvenient as I use it for work and have had it years so loads of people know it so it would be *really* inconvenient to change it. If I'd done what I suggested myself it would have made life easier. For me though, it's still not as bad as I would have thought when I started. Still a long way to go, mind you. Just over 5 years

[Pip]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

They wanted £835 / month off me for 16 years 1month which would mean me living like a pauper up until retirement .......

It made me think seriously about BR - but i stumbled across this site and went the UE route ....and am still fighting.

They also recomended 'that I take my own lunch to work each day as it might be cheaper' FFS - my combined minimum payments were almost £5K each month !!

Thanks Matty, and again to everyone else, for the responses. It all fills me with confidence that while it's not going to be a walk in the park, it's got to be better than the current/very recent situation of bequeathing all the fruits of my labour to these parasitic private companies for over a decade, with some CCCS sanctioned crumbs for me to exist on.

After reading all of the above about CCCS it's quite an eye-opener. I can thank them though for having been there in my initial ignorant Aaagh! What the hell can I do?!!! stage, but then they were still pretty much on the side of the banks, as in: "They're under no obligation to stop interest or charges". I so wish I knew three years ago what I know now (don't we all) -- but even if someone came to this forum as their first port of call when on the brink of being unable to keep covering minimum payments, they would still need time (and gain experience and check other avenues and make mistakes) before they would be able to recognise and understand UE as a feasible (and pretty much the most sensible) option to go for ...

[oldyboy]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

After reading all of the above about CCCS it's quite an eye-opener. I can thank them though for having been there in my initial ignorant Aaagh! What the hell can I do?!!! stage, but then they were still pretty much on the side of the banks, as in: "They're under no obligation to stop interest or charges". I so wish I knew three years ago what I know now (don't we all) -- but even if someone came to this forum as their first port of call when on the brink of being unable to keep covering minimum payments, they would still need time (and gain experience and check other avenues and make mistakes) before they would be able to recognise and understand UE as a feasible (and pretty much the most sensible) option to go for ...

Good morning Pip,
I went to CCCS to start with and your comments above echo the same experience I had. My DMP initially started to run over 30 years! I still have the BR option running as a last resort in case the UE route doesn't go as I hope, but it is a final one! I've come to realise why the banks fund these people, and others, as it gives the impression they're prepared to help, while keeping control. If you're paying a DMP, IVA or whatever at the very least it stops the statute barred clock ticking.

I think the greatest thing that has to be overcome when running into problems such as ours is the fear that it invokes at the start. UE is a great way of taking back control from those that think they can walk all over you.

[LooLoo]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

I had seen that website you were all laughing about a while back - it is soooooooo funny........... he sounds like a complete nutcase!!!

Anyway..... Pip - when my debt became out of control I first looked at BR - and then I started my own DMP as CCCS said they could not help me and PayPlan were just terrible - apparently I wasn't allowed to include pet insurance...... so if one of my pets became ill how could I pay for treatment...! So unhelpful! I think someone else mentioned about taking your own luch to work - yep they told i could spend a £1 a day on lunch. So that is why I did my own......... now I kinda think I wasted a year o this and wish I had gone down the UE route a lot sooner............

As everyone has said this route is not right for everyone and it does have UPS and DOWNS but the main thing is you will have so much help and support from here and on days when you feel down you know where you can come and vent or just moan - as I said before the good thing is that nearly all of us have sat where you are now.

LL
x

[samsmum]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

Good morning Pip,
I went to CCCS to start with and your comments above echo the same experience I had. My DMP initially started to run over 30 years! I still have the BR option running as a last resort in case the UE route doesn't go as I hope, but it is a final one! I've come to realise why the banks fund these people, and others, as it gives the impression they're prepared to help, while keeping control. If you're paying a DMP, IVA or whatever at the very least it stops the statute barred clock ticking.

I think the greatest thing that has to be overcome when running into problems such as ours is the fear that it invokes at the start. UE is a great way of taking back control from those that think they can walk all over you.

Welcome to the forum Pip. Think a few of us had similar experiences with DMP's. I always thought they were our debts accrued through our own stupidity so it was our duty to repay them. We owed £30,000+ and if i'm honest i haven't got a clue where it went cos we've got nothing to show for it. Started with a credit card application filled in at the airport on our way to honeymoon(paid for by family),ran a debt up on that, couldn't pay it,got a loan and the rest is history. We went on the dmp with CCCS in 2003 and did 8 years of our 18 year sentence,and that's only with good behaviour, without missing a payment. Circumstances changed due to ill health and we thought BR was our only option. Like you a pm directed us over here and so far it,s the best thing we've ever done. Long way to go but enjoying the journey. GOOD LUCK

[Pip]

Re: New user Pip saying "Hello!" and with overview of my situation before setting up diary

In reality UE should be the FIRST thing to consider, i.e. first find out what sort of paperwork your creditors have, in some cases they have NOTHING AT ALL!

Indeed. Yet it's only by luck (including the luck of someone guiding them here ) that many people found this site! There's a lot of propaganda whenever debt is discussed in newspapers and on the now ghastly BBC ...

Just to think I could have carried on paying MBNA at least £200/mth over the past couple of years, that would have been nearly £5k literally flushed down the toilet as they were charging 36% interest! Balance wouldn't have gone down at all!!!

Tell me about it. Enough of this shoving money down the toilet. I've paid over £1000 in the past year to @*#$! Lloyds TSB, and lo and behold, the balance has gone UP by about £1000, despite having been in a DMP with CCCS. It's all la-la land figures now, and it's TIME TO STOP PAYING THE ****S! [pick your own rude word]

That's why I'm sooooo against the crap 'advice' being dished out these days, intended to keep lining the pockets of those who got us all in this me$$ in the first place at the expense of the little guys who apparently shouldn't have holidays, insure their pets or eat at lunchtime! While the fat cats get fatter and fatter with their bonu$e$!

Good grief, that really puts it in perspective. You can have half a bag of crisps and a Mars Bar for lunch while they dine at Claridge's. Like I mentioned before, it's like a casino (it IS a casino) where the profits are private but if they make a loss, WE all pay. It all seems strangely coordinated and choreographed that suddenly all of Europe and North America have to make massive cuts in public spending, all at the same time. I'm digressing though ...

I think you, Flowerpower, must be one of the rare gutsy ones who saw through the smoke and mirrors right from the start and didn't let fear and panic cloud your judgement (like I did). It really is smoke and mirrors -- very much like the TV licence where they force compliance through threats and bluster. When you hear people say "You took the money, you pay it back", it's not like the money actually existed -- the bank magicked it into existence through numbers on their computers, and then they charge 36% interest on what in reality is bugger-all, but people's lives and health -- mental or otherwise -- suffer terribly from the whole stinking game.

Time to stop paying and pursue UE -- you've all given me such a lot of encouragement (tempered with words of caution) to give this a go. The light-hearted, friendly, supportive atmosphere on this forum is also very rare and quite wonderful!