DRO help

Moral of the story on this and other threads seems to be don't apply for a DRO with StepChange, and certainly do not rely on a faceless online debt remedy tool to give you advice. I am still shocked that the FCA did not get them to shut that facility down permanently.

sourcrates wrote: »

I think as a nation debt charity, stepchange cannot afford to give out incorrect information, is it just a case of certain individuals mis-interpreting the rules, or is it endemic within the company.

I will contact stepchange and ask them to comment on this matter.

I personally don't think it's as black and white as that, but maybe because i know a few people that work in the DRO team there i can understand where the confusion is coming (along with a lack of common sense by the inidividual who OP spoke to).

We all know what intermediaries would do with the budget and apply the common sense, but people wont speak to an intermediary until they have been referred by an earlier advisor who has made the error.

My advice to OP would be to firstly go elsewhere, so that we're not all banging our head against the wall in frustration, but file a complaint with StepChange, they might then give the OP some explanation as to why they have done what they have...

sarahl1904 wrote: »

Thank you all for your comments.
So do I include the ccj cos my mum pays it or not include it and let my mum continue to pay it

Sorry, sarah, I've been away for a few days.

The ccj is a debt in your name so it goes into the DRO and you are not allowed to make payments to it.

Technically, your mum would be allowed to, but it makes no sense for her to do so. She can help you to pay the £90 DRO fee.

Either way, payments to the ccj are not an allowable expense so you must have less than £50 per month surplus, ignoring all debts.