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First off - a quick summary on my financial situation.. I lived stupidly for many years, and racked up ~$118k in unsecured debt. I started getting serious about paying down the debt in 2008, and since then have paid down the unsecured debt to $86k, plus ~$10k that has been bundled into a 401k loan and a vehicle refinance (yeah, stupid move, but it moved a ~19% interest rate credit card to a 4.4% 48-mo fixed-everything loan..) In any case, I've never missed a payment or paid less than the minimum, have a good job with good income, but just want to get this debt paid off quicker. I've called my creditors, and none of them are interested in negotiating with me.. a few reps have even straight-out said that if I stopped paying for a few months, they'd be happy to help, but that they can't do anything if I am current. Annoying!
In any case, down to some questions:
1) My primary bank is Wells Fargo, and I have two accounts with them totalling ~$28k that would go into the DMP. I also have my checking, savings, and mortgage with them.. will entering a DMP damage any of the other accounts? Should I move my checking elsewhere first?
1a) I also have a credit card with Wells Fargo that I use for everyday expenses at places that don't accept Amex.. it is paid in full each month. Will I need to close that?
2) I have three cards with Amex right now - two charge cards (one for everyday expenses, and one for business expenses) that are both paid in full each month, and then an old Blue Cash card with a ~$10k balance on it. If I enter the Blue Cash card into the DMP, will I be able to keep the other accounts open? Or will Amex see "DMP" and automatically close everything else out on me?
3) The only things I could possibly need credit for in the DMP period would be a mortgage or auto loan.. my understanding is that both of those are doable, as long as everything besides the DMP status is good. Has that been the experience that people have had?
Appreciate any thoughts/opinions/etc!
You will most likely get conflicting answers.
Some have had no issues with a DMP, while others have had nothing but issues.
Amex is in there own world in my opinion, you really just never know how they will react. Any other CC's you have may also react to a DMP.
Car loans, Mortgage loans, are installment loans and at the same time different types of installment loans.
When you apply for a Car loan their requirements are no where as strict as a Mortgage loan. While you feel a DMP is not an issue when applying for either of them I can tell you that it is based on the requirements of the Lender issuing the loan.
Appreciate the reply! Yeah, sure does seem to be a mixed bag of results out there.. sheesh! I'll have to ask the DMP companies some detailed questions too.. looks like I've got two local to me that have a good reputation at least.
Just got a car loan through ford, no question on the DMP. With NFCU, it was an issue. They wanted a letter from DMP agreeing to the car loan, which was provided with no problem.
The dmp I use is just awesome. Come June, since I'm 75% finished, I will take over the balance myself. Every payment is reporting correctly on the cra's. Happy with the process. Send me a pm if you want their name. I'm close to paying off 5 of the accounts since they're now so small.
As far as AMEX, YMMV, I've heard of them shutting the other card down.
@fishbjc thanks for the response; DM'd!
Please send me the name of your DMP.
Thanks in advance
I did the DMP thing about 3 years ago and it worked out great. The only thing is that not all your creditors may approve of it. Also, know that once you enter into a program like this, all of your credit cards will be closed down by the creditors and it took my about a year and half to get a new credit card.
A few years ago I had used a DMP and it worked out great. I have had 0 issues since then getting credit. Even CCCs who I had a card in DMP with send me offers.
On getting new credit while in DMP - forget it if you have a BofA product in the program. That lead to my only major derog which lasted 7 years on my CR.
I am very interested in knowing what DMP you went with, I'm in a situation where I can't handle my cards any more. Up to this point I've been on time with all of my payments, but that wont last much longer. How much lower (%) were they able to lower your payments? Thank you for your help.
I ended up getting a decent raise, and then was able to get a personal loan at a reasonable rate which moved the bulk of my payments to a fixed-rate fixed-term loan. So, I didn't end up going the DMP route.
Best of luck with whatever you choose!