What is a Debt Management Plan?

A debt management plan (“DMP”) is a debt solution that, for many, may be ideal for their financial circumstances. We’ve put together a guide to managing your debts, to help you decide whether a DMP is right for you.

What is a debt management plan?

A DMP is an informal debt solution which may help you to organise the payments to your creditors into an affordable monthly payment. These may be reduced payments compared to what you are currently being asked to pay, depending on your financial circumstances and what you can afford.
This may be a good option for you if you can afford to pay a monthly payment to your creditors, but you’re struggling repaying your debt to different creditors currently.

Do I qualify for a debt management plan?

There is no specific required amount of debt that you need to be eligible for a DMP, you are likely to qualify if:

• Your debts are non-priority
• You can’t afford to pay the contractual amounts to your non-priority debts but you would be able to make reduced payments every month
• It’s possible for you to clear these debts in a reasonable time frame

If you think a DMP may be right for your circumstances, or you want to double check whether you qualify, click the link below to find out if a DMP is suitable for you.

Do I qualify?

Debt management plan pros and cons

Like with any debt solution, there are pros and cons. Whether or not a DMP is right for you depends on your circumstances and financial goals. We’ve rounded up the advantages and disadvantages so that you can see at a glance whether a DMP is something you’d like to consider.

Advantages:

In most cases, interest and charges may be frozen by creditors. For many people this can help them to focus on repaying their debts, rather than added costs;

• It’s more private than bankruptcy or an IVA – with a DMP, you won’t be added to the insolvency register (a public database that anyone could search);
• If creditors agree to the DMP, the amount of contact should decrease significantly.

Disadvantages:

• It only covers non-priority debts , for example credit card debt. If you have debts such as utility bills, and council taxes, then an alternative debt solution such as an IVAmay work better for you;
• It isn’t legally binding. This means creditors aren’t legally required to freeze interest and charges;
• Your credit score will be impacted. Bad credit may impact your ability to get credit in the short-term and possibly the long-term.

If you’d like to find out more about the debt management advantages and disadvantages for your particular personal circumstances, then you can ask to receive a no-obligation consultation with one of our experienced advisors – they can help you work out whether a DMP could help you.

Could a debt management plan help you manage your debts?

Although a DMP has both pros and cons, many people may find that it can help them to pay back their debts in an affordable way which may help to get control of their finances in the long-term.

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