Debt Arrangement Scheme

[bubblebar1317]

Hi everyone,

Looking for some non judgemental advice! Has anyone had Debt Arrangement Scheme to help manage debts?

I have around £18000 worth of debt and paying out £550 a month alongside all my other outgoings I’m not left with a lot to actually spend.

Has anyone had this what was it like? I’m concerned about the adverse effect on my credit rating for another mortgage in the future.

Thanks!!!

 

[klarakluckbag]

Hi there. Any debt arrangement plan which means that you pay off your debts at a reduced rate, almost always has an impact on your credit file, usually for at least 6 years.

Have you sought advice from a debt charity? Stepchange is a good one, and their advice is absolutely free, as are their debt management plans (DMP) You should never pay for debt advice, nor should you pay a fee for anyone to "manage" your plan for you, although a quick google tells me that there is an administration charge for a debt arrangement plan, but this is not added to your debt, and you won't pay more than you owe.

Another really good resource is the Moneysavingexpert website. There is lots of helpful and non-judgemental advice on there, although if you do post, let them know if you're not in England as the advice, and the consumer laws, may be different.

Good luck with dealing with your debts. I've been there and it's not fun, but you will feel much better when you get to grips with your spending, and start tackling this!

 

[bubblebar1317]

Thank you so much for replying! I had a look into stepchange and identified that a debt management plan is definitely best to get my payments down whilst also getting it paid off in 4 years! Just waiting to hopefully get accepted

 

[Begborrowsteal]

I have a DMP and it took SO much pressure off!

 

[Rose28454]

Best of luck I was there about 13 years am now debt free no mortgage and retired. It can be done abs I would have never have got there without the money saving expert site. Martin lewis for prime minister !

 

[oddsock17]

Follow Stacey's World Rocks on Telegram. She does 1:1 and group zooms on how to claim back your sovereignty and stop paying back debts and claim back payments already made. People have claimed back thousands from tv licence, council tax, gas and leccy, credit cards loans etc

 

[bubblebar1317]

I have a DMP and it took SO much pressure off!

This is my main hope! It is creeping into my personal life as I’m always worried and my partner can tell and it then creates tension.

I’m nearly £600 a month paying the minimum amount & can’t make it through the month without then accessing the payment
I’ve paid for that month I just feel totally trapped in a cycle of debt.

i think my biggest worry was a mortgage in the future again, I had one previously but then left my old home with my ex and haven’t bought again. I was worried about my credit score but tbh that is constantly going down because of my useage!

 

[Brunetteem]

Absolutely recommend stepchange for getting you back on track and pressure off. I used them until I was able to pay everything off in full, was on a plan for a couple of years before being lucky enough to pay it back. Really helpful, non judgy people on the phone, and you update yearly so if a bill went up and you felt squeezed, your payment would go down, or vice versa if you had extra money.

 

[Begborrowsteal]

This is my main hope! It is creeping into my personal life as I’m always worried and my partner can tell and it then creates tension.

I’m nearly £600 a month paying the minimum amount & can’t make it through the month without then accessing the payment
I’ve paid for that month I just feel totally trapped in a cycle of debt.

i think my biggest worry was a mortgage in the future again, I had one previously but then left my old home with my ex and haven’t bought again. I was worried about my credit score but tbh that is constantly going down because of my useage!

You'll be surprised how quickly the credit score creeps back up! X

 

[LennyBriscoe]

Hi everyone,

Looking for some non judgemental advice! Has anyone had Debt Arrangement Scheme to help manage debts?

I have around £18000 worth of debt and paying out £550 a month alongside all my other outgoings I’m not left with a lot to actually spend.

Has anyone had this what was it like? I’m concerned about the adverse effect on my credit rating for another mortgage in the future.

Thanks!!!

Yes - best thing I ever did. I paid what I could afford and after 4 years, the debt was gone. The relief was huge. It worked in my favour that I couldn’t get credit for 7 years in total because I was working on other issues and when that came around, the overwhelming need to buy things was gone.

I’m in Scotland and I know we have a different way of working up here but it 100% did the trick for me and I have had a consistently decent credit score for about 6/7 years now.

 

[bubblebar1317]

Yes - best thing I ever did. I paid what I could afford and after 4 years, the debt was gone. The relief was huge. It worked in my favour that I couldn’t get credit for 7 years in total because I was working on other issues and when that came around, the overwhelming need to buy things was gone.

I’m in Scotland and I know we have a different way of working up here but it 100% did the trick for me and I have had a consistently decent credit score for about 6/7 years now.

thank you so much! I’m Scotland too and have contacted Stepchange. I was in the same boat, bad feelings and ended up spending so much

Thank you so much for everyone’s replies, even sharing that feels a weight has been lifted and I’m glad so many can relate to how I feel.

 

[Clairer86]

I havent read all the replies yet so i am sorry if the advice i give has already been said.

You should check out 'Christians Against Poverty'. They are a brilliant charity, and they can really help. They are so kind, and understanding, and they will do everything they can to help.

I have used them and they were absolutely brilliant. They will help you go through everything, and will help you decide what is the best route for you to take (ie) a debt relief order, IVA and so forth.

 

[Bleurghgram]

I entered a DMP with Stepchange in 2013 and paid it off by 2017. They dealt with everything and no one was able to contact me in that time. It’s completely changed my spending habits now, I can’t believe I ever got into the position but it’s so easily done.

I built my credit back up with a low limit credit card that I put my petrol on every month, it’s shot up so much quicker than I expected so it’s totally possible to come back from. Now I’m buying a house and managed to secure a mortgage through a high street lender with decent rates - something I didn’t think would ever be possible.

Best of luck with everything, it’ll feel like such a relief x

 

[Fintonagirl]

Best of luck I was there about 13 years am now debt free no mortgage and retired. It can be done abs I would have never have got there without the money saving expert site. Martin lewis for prime minister !

His website is amazing! He doesn’t get enough credit for it! He knows his stuff

 

[BettyCrockerr]

Hi everyone,

Looking for some non judgemental advice! Has anyone had Debt Arrangement Scheme to help manage debts?

I have around £18000 worth of debt and paying out £550 a month alongside all my other outgoings I’m not left with a lot to actually spend.

Has anyone had this what was it like? I’m concerned about the adverse effect on my credit rating for another mortgage in the future.

Thanks!!!

Yes, had one years ago. Best thing I ever did!

They will look at your income and all your outgoings and will decide on a mutually agreeable affordable monthly repayment amount - it will be far far far less than what you are paying out at the moment on debt. They will deal with all creditors so you won’t have to actually deal with any of the arrangements and usually it freezes the debt and no more fees are added on and you shouldn’t get any further communications from creditors after everything is set up. It takes so much stress away. Yes, it obviously has an adverse effect on your credit file but frankly you can’t help that now - you aren’t in a position to do anything else to get out of this now so you just have to accept the hit on your credit file and move on. You wouldn’t get a mortgage with outstanding debt and in your financial position as it stands now anyway so you need to take steps to sorting the debt now.


Make the call, get the ball rolling, you’ll feel so much better!

 

[bubblebar1317]

Yes, had one years ago. Best thing I ever did!

They will look at your income and all your outgoings and will decide on a mutually agreeable affordable monthly repayment amount - it will be far far far less than what you are paying out at the moment on debt. They will deal with all creditors so you won’t have to actually deal with any of the arrangements and usually it freezes the debt and no more fees are added on and you shouldn’t get any further communications from creditors after everything is set up. It takes so much stress away. Yes, it obviously has an adverse effect on your credit file but frankly you can’t help that now - you aren’t in a position to do anything else to get out of this now so you just have to accept the hit on your credit file and move on. You wouldn’t get a mortgage with outstanding debt and in your financial position as it stands now anyway so you need to take steps to sorting the debt now.


Make the call, get the ball rolling, you’ll feel so much better!

You’re so right! I’ve submitted all my docs and payslips etc just waiting on word back from Step Change.

i was so worried about the adverse affect but tbh it takes an absolute battering every month because I use any payment I make on credit cards again because I’m so stuck!!!

 

[Fizzwhizz2020]

It would be better to get a debt management plan like you say and pay it off in smaller amounts and actually pay off the debt, rather than just the interest. In terms of getting a mortgage down the line, if you have that amount of debt, that will also impact your credit score and your affordability for a mortgage will be less, so either way there will be an impact. But, a few months of paying it off, you’ll see your credit score rise again x

 

[Be More Pacific]

You've had some great advice but I would just say to anyone please, please don't worry about your credit "score" with credit reference agencies.

Lenders generally have their own credit scoring system made up of lots of different factors that matter to them. On application, all your personal information is inputted into their system and you press a button. A check will then be run with credit reference agencies, depending on who they use, which will assess the accounts they hold for you - so any loans, credit cards, store cards etc etc - and the system will come up with basically a pass or a fail based on all of that information combined.

Credit "scores" from credit references agencies are a huge money making scam in my opinion. And I'm an ex-mortgage underwriter. Been out of the game a while but, I can tell you from experience, that I have NEVER used someone's credit score number to help me determine whether I would give them a mortgage or not. Even when I was manually underwriting, I would never see it - just individual credit records - unless an applicant provided it with their paperwork, which I would then promptly ignore!

 

[bubblebar1317]

Thank you for that insight!!

 

[Sallycinnamon_]

I’m currently paying into a DMP with stepchange. They have been incredibly helpful and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Should be debt free by 2024