Creating a Debt Management Plan with CAP

When we prepare a budget for you, we start by looking at your income and then your expenditure (this is the money you need to spend to cover your living costs). On the Debt Management Plan (DMP), your budget will include essential payments like rent or mortgage, utility bills, living expenses and leisure.

Once your living costs are covered, we’ll work out what you have spare to offer your creditors. Your Debt Management Plan will therefore also include payments towards your priority and non-priority debts. These payments will be arranged depending on what you can afford and following negotiations with your creditors.

We’ll also ask your creditors to stop interest and charges, and it’s up to them whether they agree to this or not.

We’ll also give you an estimate of how long it will take to repay your debts. This is what we call your repayment term — please bear in mind this can change if your situation changes.

Your CAP Plan Schedule shows you how much you need to pay in each month, and the date that you’ve chosen to pay in. The schedule shows how we will use the money you pay into your CAP Plan: who we will process payments to and how much we’ll send to them.

We’ll go through this with you and you can ask us any questions. It’s really important you understand your CAP Plan Schedule and let us know if any changes are required.

It’s important that you pay into your CAP Plan on the day that we have agreed with you. Paying in by standing order will make sure that your monthly payments reach us on time.

A standing order is different to a Direct Debit: with a standing order you are always in control of the payment that your bank sends to us. Once set up, you can change the amount or date by contacting your bank (online or via telephone). If you need to do this, please also let us know.

To keep your CAP Plan working effectively, you’ll need to pay in the agreed amount every month. You’ll also need to let us know of any changes in your circumstances, and respond to any requests for information as quickly as you can.

Not paying into your CAP Plan as agreed could make your debt situation worse as we won’t be able to pay your creditors. This means they could add interest and charges onto the debt balance, even if previously this has been stopped, and they might start chasing you again.

However, if at any point you find your budget is no longer affordable please let us know. It can be changed and amended in line with your needs.

Once a year, we’ll review your CAP Plan to check it’s still manageable for you. We will update it in line with any changes (for example, if your gas and electricity bills go up).

We can do this as a chat over the phone but we might need you to send us some up-to-date paperwork too. Don’t forget we provide Freepost envelopes so it won’t cost you a penny.

This is what we are all aiming for through your Debt Management Plan – you becoming debt free! We’ll give you a call to confirm this and then all that’s left is to celebrate.