Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

Smart_Mart

Slightly off topic considering the thread title but for those who have given me advice re bailiffs on here...

Quick recap. I owe two lots of council tax (one for £700+ and one for £87) to two different councils, having lived in two different areas. They've both gone to bailiffs and both have been hassling. One of them, the smaller amount, has a levy "illegally" on a set of golf clubs I owe even though they don't have walking possession or peaceful entry.

Anyway the larger amount is being dealt with by Rossendales and they've been holding out for the original instalment amount of £141 a month. Considering my budget shows a surplus of around £40-£50 a month tops, I was always going to struggle which I have explained to them in letters, phone calls and doorstep visits.

Yesterday I received a letter from them stating they are prepared to accept £40 a month from this month onwards. Yes it will be tight but yes, I should be able to afford it, certainly more than 3.5 times that amount.

Just a short note to say "Don't give up, stand your ground, don't lose heart (or your temper) and keep going."

CCCS_Sarah

maroon_jelly wrote: »

Would it be any use contacting my local MP to complain about the pension limit for DRO's?

Iv never contributed to my pension but my employer put some money in when it started, I don't know if its increased any but im only 21 so dont have access to it for a VERY long time but it could stop my DRO going through if its above £500.

Personally, I think they should be able to ingore pensions if you can't access it for the next 10 years or so.

I know one letter to my local MP wont change laws, but if enough people express their opinion, they might have a rethink.

Belows a link for emailing local MP's if anyones interested...
http://www.writetothem.com/

The more people that raise this issue the better, as it would make a stronger argument. CCCS and some other advice organisations have been listing examples of when people fit the criteria but are excluded due to their pensions.

Even though the Insolvency Service is aware, the more support we can get for this means the more people that can be helped in the future.

Sarah

fieryleo1984

Right, i spoke to nationaldebtline who said that i couldt go for a DRO as i have some money left over from an inheritance (£500) and it was best that I considered Bankruptcy. Im scared though and a DRO sounds alot better than being bankrupt. However i wanted to be sensible and try and use it on some full and final settlements and also my daughter needs a new carseat. This would then bring me under the £300 threshold, but would this be seen as fraud? as i have been spending the money to get under £300? It seems like I cant win.. Ive tried to keep afloat and after paying a DMP for nearly 5 years and the prospect of another 10 im finally ready to crack. I know i am going to be frowned upon regarding the inheritance. At the time (2.5 years ago), i wrote to all my creditors with full and final, only one accepted the rest wanted full payments of which i couldnt afford. So i paid the one f & f, the rest was spent on moving house and my baby.

Em x

fatbelly

fieryleo1984 wrote: »

Right, i spoke to nationaldebtline who said that i couldt go for a DRO as i have some money left over from an inheritance (£500) and it was best that I considered Bankruptcy.
Em x

Having £500 in an account doesn't neccessarily mean that you have assets exceeding £300. This is what the guidance says:

Cash at bank or building society refers to free capital and would not include funds that are due to be paid out for living expenses, in the normal course of events.

So if it includes money that will be paid out for rent or essential items before your next income payment then it is not an asset.

And don't forget, your £90 has to come from somewhere...

The preferential treatment of one creditor 2.5 years ago shouldn't matter as the question is about preferential treatment in the past two years.

fieryleo1984

thankyou for the advice, sorry i Didnt even say hello but i had my 7 month old daughter on my lap and was very stressed. I go back to work in 9 weeks due to my maternity leave running out, its silly but i am going to actually have even less money as i will then be paying parking and more fuel costs but i cant afford not to work as the house bills need paying! So im going to battle through the next two months and do a new SOA when i know exactly how much my pay will be pro-rata as im only going back part-time ( again cant afford full-time childcare) then contact the CCCS about the DRO instead of bankruptcy.

Em

redapples_2

elfieb wrote: »

At the time of your DRO, all creditors listed on your DRO should show up as defaults on your credit report, and they should remain that way for the duration on the moratorium period, unless the DRO is revoked in the mean time.

Upon completion of the moratorium period (after 12 months), the creditors should then list all debts as settled on your credit file, but in reality they will probably need a little pushing to do this .

It wont change the fact that the DRO remains on your credit file for 6 years, but it does tidy it up for when the 6 years are up.......it also officially shows that the debts were written off upon completion of moratorium.

thanks for that info, I would never have thought to 'prod' them a bit to get them to do it. SO you would write to the credit reference agencies to get them to remove the default or would you get the creditor to list it as settled? (thus having the default removed.)
I don't hold out much hope for one of mine as it was with Lloyds, they never want to make life easy for anyone.

elfieb

redapples wrote: »

thanks for that info, I would never have thought to 'prod' them a bit to get them to do it. SO you would write to the credit reference agencies to get them to remove the default or would you get the creditor to list it as settled? (thus having the default removed.)
I don't hold out much hope for one of mine as it was with Lloyds, they never want to make life easy for anyone.

Im following the cleaning up your credit file thread posted by fermi at the top of the main page.........its mainly used for bankrupts, but the principle is the same for DROs.

The original default should be replaced with settled once moratorium has ceased.

redapples_2

elfieb wrote: »

Im following the cleaning up your credit file thread posted by fermi at the top of the main page.........its mainly used for bankrupts, but the principle is the same for DROs.

The original default should be replaced with settled once moratorium has ceased.

ok, thanks for that elfieb, appreciate the help. i'll work my way through the clean up thread..
:T

bobbykitty

:mad: Hi everyone,

Just wondered if anyone could help me with my situation,
basiclly i lost my job at the end of january this year, i signed on and looked high and low for a job, after no luck and running my dads bussiness for the last few years i decided to try open my own business. Money was a major issue after applying for bussiness loans and even grants i got turned down and didnt succeed so i turned to my family for help. as i was on the dole my debts started spiraling out of control, i rang all the usual debt lines but my circumstances changed because i did manage to open a little shop purely with the help of my family so i thought things would get better...little did i know i am now worse off than when i was on benifits, i dont take a wage at all, i am at a loss, i cant ask any more of my family. my debts are getting seriously out of control i cant pay them a penny sometimes i cant afford to eat, ive read about a debt relief order it sounds perfect for me, i have credit cards loans all the usual. the trouble is if i applied for a debt relief order to clear my debts would i still be able to carry on with my business as none of my debts surround my business, they are all personal, i am trying to get through to cab, just wonderd if anyone has been in the same sitiation that may have some advice for me, thanks so much!!

Smart_Mart

Hi Bobbykitty,

Welcome to the thread. First of all, don't panic, there are some good people on this thread who know what they're talking about (and then there's me as well!)...:D

Until an expert comes along, I'll give you my ten bob's worth. You should be able to carry on in business after the DRO is granted but I would imagine that the same rules as after bankruptcy apply; that is that you cannot be a company director for a set period of time and that you would have to tell potential creditors if you were going to borrow more than £500.

Like I said, I'm no expert but I think I'm fairly close to the mark there.