I understand. Been there and done that.
To thoroughly convince yourself to enroll in the debt management plan, read as many success stories of AKPK as possible. There are more success stories of AKPK or AKPK bloggers now if compared to last August when I submitted my application form.
And here is another success story that I would like to share with you. CEO, a man who is under RM200,000 credit card debt, has successfully applied for the AKPK debt management program recently.
You don’t have to hop over to my credit card debt blog to read his comment. I have decided to copy and paste the entire comment on this debt management program blog for easy reading.
First of all, A BIG THANK TO YOU FOR THIS BLOG. You are not only a woman of courage to reveal all that detail, but you have helped me tremendously.
I just got out from the AKPK office, and they proposed to reduce my monthly commitment from nearly RM10,000 to just RM2,000 per month.
I got into a heavy credit card debt 5 years ago when a friend asked me to join him in a business. Trusting him, I quit my job, funded the business with my credit cards, supported HIM with a supplementary credit card which he took only 1 month to swipe up RM20k, and lastly he just ran away, leaving me to pay everything.
Finally, the economy hit my career, and this month I had to accept a drastic paycut. It scared me at first, but I decided that maybe there was a silver lining.
I found your blog. I read and re-read it until 3 am.
I thought — maybe, if I go to AKPK, and they reduce my monthly repayment, I can actually start seeing some SURPLUS from my smaller income. Better to have a small income but with extra money, than having a big income but nothing to show for it. Of course, with my previous 5-figure salary, AKPK would just kick me out, but now I had the advantage of the situation.
Last Monday, I braved myself to go to AKPK. It was the hardest thing to do, to be SEEN walking into debt counseling. I have appeared in the media before, television, magazines and newspapers. Didn’t know where to hide my face. I arrived at 11.45, and was put immediately into the intro class.
I was surprised to see quite a few “corporate people” in the class, dressed in their office attire. I don’t know if they were as ‘embarrassed’ as I was to be there. I sat down for 1 1/2 hours, after which I immediately went to Bank Negara to collect my credit report.
I made the earliest possible appointment to see a credit counselor. In the meantime, I went to each bank and collected any missing statements.
I went to see the counselor this morning. She was polite, comforting and never did anything to make you feel small. She said she would try to negotiate it down to RM1,800 a month for the first 2 years then RM2,200+ thereafter. I said never mind, let’s make it RM2,000 flat. I’m sure by the time the economy rebounds, I will be able to afford the RM2,000 easily.
She even guided me to fill up the application form properly (to fill the correct figures so the application can be approved easier). In short, she was there to help, and I mean REALLY help.
I got close to RM300k at first, but over the years, paying slowly, I have managed to bring everything down to under RM200k (which makes your RM60k something to smile about, actually!).
I have been earning 5-figures every month from my salary, yet I never get to taste my own money. My children have to settle for cheap clothings like poor kids.
Every month, I pay pay pay pay… I try to keep myself motivated, but it is tiring to wake up every morning, thinking to yourself, “I am running every day, only to stand still.”
She asked for the first payment of RM2,000 to be deposited, which I will do next week as the banks are closed today. From there, processing will take approximately one month.
She says no need to pay the creditors, if they call I just need to tell them I have submitted an AKPK application and fax the deposit slip if necessary.
Fortunately I am not yet under any legal problems, and most of my loans are still current. If you are thinking about doing it, do it now. It is important to take action at THIS stage before the banks start harassing you.
I do not really care that I will not be able to get any new loans until the 10 years are up. I am selling my house and just live with the car. Maybe not now, but when the economy goes back up, and my salary climbs back to normal, I should be able to save up for a couple of years, and pay for a new budget-priced apartment in cash. The important thing is I will now have a positive income and room to breathe, and I HAVE YOU TO THANK.
God bless you. Please keep up the good work.
I am glad that I have successfully saved RM1,000 as emergency fund in my personal savings account.
Are you burdened with too much credit card debt that you are thinking of applying for Malaysia’s AKPK debt management programme (DMP)? But, you are also worried whether AKPK, the credit counseling and debt management agency set up by the Central Bank of Malaysia, is a scam or not, right?
