beneficiary interest and DRO

Morning All

Any help welcome.
I have just come of the phone to stepchange who are sending the paperwork for a debt relief order. I was originally going with NDL But there waitong time is 9 weeks.

Anyway stepchange advisor said after my budget im left with less tbat 50 a month surplus, dont own a car or house, but she wasnt sure if the dro people will think i have a beneficial interest in my partners mortgaged property (positive equity).
Im really worried now, never paid mortgage deposit repairs etc and i contibute by paying water and tv license which is 58 a month, i pay around 70% of the shopping 60 a week for 3 of us, and that's it.

Anyone gone for a DRO and their partner owns the house?

we have lives here just under 3 years and not married.
Stepchange advisor said fill the form pay the 90 fee and if the official receiver believes i jave a beneficial interest in the property it will be rejected and i lose the fee, which is fine i just dont want the dro to go through and months down the line being told i have to pay the debts with the house.

My debts are 13k

Thanks
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Comments

  • National_Debtline
    National_Debtline Posts: 7,998
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    Organisation Representative
    Hello


    I'm happy to hear that you have been able to get the wheels in motion on your DRO more quickly as a result of contacting Stepchange. It is standard practice for the intermediary handling your application to make you aware of any possible grounds for rejection of the DRO before they submit your application, however unlikely they might be.


    What you have said above about not paying towards the deposit or the mortgage itself will all support the argument that you do not have a beneficial interest in the property. Your marital status makes no difference in the matter. The intermediary has presumably requested bank statements from you - do you and your partner bank jointly (this can make it a little more complicated to determine exactly who pays what) or using separate sole accounts?


    More to the point, even if a DRO were rejected it does not then have any direct consequences on the house - it simply means that you go back to where you were before the DRO began and you then review the options available to you.


    Dennis
    @natdebtline
    We work as money advisers for National Debtline and have specific permission from MSE to post to try to help those in debt. Read more information on National Debtline in MSE's Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help guide. If you find you're struggling with debt and need further help try our online advice tool My Money Steps
  • Thankyou so much Dennis

    No we dont have a joint account. He isnt aware of my debts but i can get a mortgage statement showing the money come from his bank if needed, just cant get his bank statement.

    Stepchange never asked for bank statements.

    To add more stress i have just gone on my experience credit report and to my horror i see a HP agreement showing 11k i am a gurantor for my mum and told it would not go on my credit file. Will this be considered an asset also if its added to my DrO it takes the total debt to 23k.

    My mum has a years worth of proof of payment car in her name etc i was just a gurantor when i was in a better financial situatuon.
    Is this going to affect me even if i get evidence i do not own the car, or will this be seen as a asset and take my debt over 20k?
  • Bad news just received advice that a dro will not be considered due to them seeing me as having a beneficial interest in the property "on the grounds i looked after my faughter for 5 months in the house" i genuinely have no way out of this debt and absolutly nothing to pay for it!
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 20,380
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    Forumite
    This crops up regularly as an issue for stepchange. It's a misinterpretation of the guidance by their general advice team. But I doubt you will get anywhere by attempting to educate them.

    As I think I said in your other thread, the bottom line is that you've been found eligible by NDL for a £90 scheme that will release you from your debts. It's worth sticking with the process
  • Nobody gets anywhere by trying to educate SC, I can only echo the advice given to stick with NDL, or alternatively check to see if your local CAB has a drop in facility.

    As a DRO Approved Intermediary, I can assure you that I have put forward multiple DRO applications in similar circumstances and to date not one has been rejected. Perhaps others may feel you should follow a different path, a DMP for example, but from your posts so far it looks like a DRO is definitely favourite.
  • Thankyou Doris thats so re-assuring.

    Im literally having a mental breakdown had to take days off work as i cannot function anymore really is starting to affect my everyday life, plus the stress of pregnancy.

    I was on a DMP but as a temp worker it ended and my income reduced allot! Cant see it going up anytime in the next year due to another child.

    I will keep at it thanks for your reply
  • To add more stress i have just gone on my experience credit report and to my horror i see a HP agreement showing 11k i am a gurantor for my mum and told it would not go on my credit file. Will this be considered an asset also if its added to my DrO it takes the total debt to 23k.

    If this is showing under your name as a guarantor on your credit report I think this is the most likely reason for it being declined as your debt level is over £20K. As a guarantor you're liable for the debt as well so goes towards your debt limit.

    It's not an asset because it is on HP and it doesn't matter if your mum is paying it - you are jointly liable. You could try to get the HP company to put it all in your mum's name as she hasn't missed a payment.

    As other posters have said try another agency they've all got slightly different ways of doing it - SC want to have a low percentage of declined DRO's so will err on the side of caution - it isn't up to them its up to the Insolvency service but hey ho try NDL
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 20,380
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    edited 22 July 2017 at 6:27AM
    To add more stress i have just gone on my experience credit report and to my horror i see a HP agreement showing 11k i am a gurantor for my mum and told it would not go on my credit file. Will this be considered an asset also if its added to my DrO it takes the total debt to 23k.

    My mum has a years worth of proof of payment car in her name etc i was just a gurantor when i was in a better financial situatuon.
    Is this going to affect me even if i get evidence i do not own the car, or will this be seen as a asset and take my debt over 20k?

    I completely failed to spot this earlier. However it's OK.
    Where there are no arrears, the balance of the debt to the finance company is still a qualifying debt but it is a debt which the debtor can elect to exclude from the application. In such a case the debt would not be a specified qualifying debt, not a debt from which the debtor is released and one for which the creditor retains a remedy in the event that the debtor defaults

    The car is not your asset. It is owned by the finance company. When the hp completes it becomes your mum's asset.
  • Hi

    Yes i had confirmation from stepchange and NDL this isnt an issue as on HP all payments upto date from my mum.

    Still no answer regarding beneficial interest, really is a dark area, different companies advise differently which i thing is strange. Just feel its unfair on people who genuinely cannot afford to pay their debts (my own fault yes lesson learnt) but become ineligible for a dro because their partner owns the house, that i moved into 3 months after he purchased. I wasnt even asked if my partner owns the house i advised them. Wish i kept my mouth shut!!

    Anyway feeling allot better 13k unsecures debt is not the end of the world, far worse things happen to people in life i suppose its how you deal with it :cool:
  • fatbelly
    fatbelly Posts: 20,380
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    Forumite
    OK, while I've got the guidance open, here is what it says re beneficial interest:
    Ownership of a home includes an established beneficial interest of freehold or leasehold property, whether solely or jointly owned, and whether the property is mortgaged or otherwise.

    The key word is 'established'.
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