Benefits Guide - Woman looking at papers

Struggling To Pay Your Debt Management Plan (DMP)?

If you’re on a debt management plan but have had a loss of earrings you did not anticipate, it can be worrying to make the agreed payment. But, it’s important to remember that a debt management plan is a flexible solution and you can communicate with us so we can support you.

Why Are You Struggling to Pay?

There are many reasons why you could be struggling to pay your debt management plan payment:

You’ve lost your job and no longer have any income

You have been working reduced hours

You have changed jobs and your payday has changed

You have been off sick and it has affected your income temporarily or more long-term

You’ve had an emergency bill you had to pay, like repairs to your home

You’ve taken on other debts since starting your debt management plan

What Happens When You Miss a Payment?

Missing a payment can mean the arrangements we have in place with the people you owe money to can be compromised. When this happens they may contact you directly if we are unable to provide the information why you have missed a payment to them. That’s why it’s important you communicate with us straight away to tell us why you are unable to pay.

Can I Reduce My Debt Management Plan Payment?

Yes, a debt management plan is an informal solution so the payment doesn’t have to be set in stone. If you’re struggling to make the payments each month, speak to the team. Remember that offering lower payments will mean it will take longer to pay off your debts.

Bear in mind that if your payments are reduced, your debt may take even longer to pay off.

What Can You Do if You Have Loss of Earnings?

Check you are getting all the benefits you’re entitled to using our Benefits Calculator.

Get in touch with your broadband, TV and mobile phone providers to see if you’re still in contract. You could switch to another provider and save money, just use a price comparison site before making the switch.

Review your subscriptions such as Spotify, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, how often are you using them and ask yourself do you really need them?

Check when pet, car, home and life insurance is due and mark it on your calendar. Auto renew can mean you end up paying more for convenience. Shop around at least three weeks before for a better price to avoid auto-renewing.

Change your habits to cut down on bills. Turn off your heating and wear more layers or only heat the room that you’re in. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth and time your showers if you’re worried about your water bill. You can also swap supermarkets to a lower priced one, or shop at a different time to grab yellow sticker bargains.

Create a budget to ensure you know what’s happening with your money. Our budgeting guide can help you, or you can get in touch with the team for us to support you with it.

Consider if a partial payment is affordable. If you are able to make a lower payment as a one-off it would be more favourable to do this rather than completely miss your monthly instalment. This will show willingness to maintain the agreement with your creditors and will go towards helping the balance reduce.

Call us on 01925 599400 to let us know you have missed a payment or are due to miss a payment. We can discuss your options and help support you if we need to do a review of your debt management plan.