How we work out what each debt is paid
It is our job to make sure that each debt included in your DMP is paid a fair amount of your monthly payment.
To do this, we look at the contractual payment of each debt and what type of debt it is.
While making payments to your DMP, you might notice a couple of things:
- The amount of time you agreed to repay a debt in is reflected in your DMP: A debt with a term of five years will be paid off before a debt with a term of 10 years
- Some debts will be paid off before others: These debts will drop off your DMP when they are paid in full. This frees up more of your DMP payment to be paid to the other remaining debts
- The lowest amount we pay to a debt is £5: None of your creditors will get a payment lower than this
Why don't StepChange pay off my smallest debts first?
It is important that we treat each of your creditors fairly. If we paid off your smallest debts first, your other creditors could see this as favouritism.
When we treat your creditors fairly, they are more likely to:
- Agree to your DMP
- Accept lower payments
- Consider stopping interest and charges
Think about it as a process of working towards paying off all your debts in one go, rather than focussing on one at a time. Keep in mind that being debt free is the goal.