Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

immoral_angeluk

fermi wrote: »

That soon?

That's good going for a normal civil service IT [STRIKE]cockup[/STRIKE] upgrade.

When I did stuff with the MoD, I had a laptop they were going to put some extra RAM in.

Didn't get it back for about 9 months.

Well.. it says they'll have worked through the backlog by next week..
I wouldn't get your hopes up anyone

fuzzyduck2

Hi there,
I'm new to this forum, having joined it with the hope of gaining some advice from "informed people" (you seem a friendly bunch... )

I am currently unemployed (through no fault of my own), and have just under £15k worth of debts in the form of 3 credit cards, 2 unsecured loans and a current account overdraft. I am trying (unsuccessfully) to survive on £65 p/w and am getting further and further into a financial mess

I have looked at various options on the internet (mainly the CAB website) and am now thinking that a debt relief order may be my best option..

I have read many of your posts on here and gained a lot of very useful information, but I still have a couple of queries if that's ok?

I think the main one is, if I'm thinking of going down this route, what do I need to do in preparation? I notice someone said to change bank accounts - will I be able to get a new bank account as usually they want to see your last 3 months bank statement of your current bank account and mine has been continuously over my overdraft. I don't think another bank would want to touch me... :S

Also, with regards to assets, I have a car. When you look at Parkers price guide it comes back with Private good £1400, private poor £805 and Part exchange £965, Average mileage 80k. It only has 70k miles on but I wouldn't say it was in excellent condition... Which valuation do they normally go off?

The other thing is (and this is a little complicated) I did have another vehicle but although it was registered in my name my father had bought it outright (I can prove this if needs be). When I lost my job last month, I transferred the vehicle into my dad's name. Would they be able to find out about this? I can see it might look a bit dodgy, but its the honest truth. It was only put into my name as I would be the only person driving it :S

I think that's it for now...

Thank you in advance for your help - what a stressful situation

Orville

fuzzyduck2 wrote: »

Hi there,
I'm new to this forum, having joined it with the hope of gaining some advice from "informed people" (you seem a friendly bunch... )

I am currently unemployed (through no fault of my own), and have just under £15k worth of debts in the form of 3 credit cards, 2 unsecured loans and a current account overdraft. I am trying (unsuccessfully) to survive on £65 p/w and am getting further and further into a financial mess

I have looked at various options on the internet (mainly the CAB website) and am now thinking that a debt relief order may be my best option..

I have read many of your posts on here and gained a lot of very useful information, but I still have a couple of queries if that's ok?

I think the main one is, if I'm thinking of going down this route, what do I need to do in preparation? I notice someone said to change bank accounts - will I be able to get a new bank account as usually they want to see your last 3 months bank statement of your current bank account and mine has been continuously over my overdraft. I don't think another bank would want to touch me... :S

Also, with regards to assets, I have a car. When you look at Parkers price guide it comes back with Private good £1400, private poor £805 and Part exchange £965, Average mileage 80k. It only has 70k miles on but I wouldn't say it was in excellent condition... Which valuation do they normally go off?

The other thing is (and this is a little complicated) I did have another vehicle but although it was registered in my name my father had bought it outright (I can prove this if needs be). When I lost my job last month, I transferred the vehicle into my dad's name. Would they be able to find out about this? I can see it might look a bit dodgy, but its the honest truth. It was only put into my name as I would be the only person driving it :S

I think that's it for now...

Thank you in advance for your help - what a stressful situation

Hi.

You need to get a different bank account. Do it now while your accounts are in fairly good order. I joined Alliance + Leicester from the Halifax over the net and had no problems. Co-op and I think Barclays do basic accounts that you should have no problem opening. I trust you will be including your overdraft in your DRO..? That is the main reason to get another account because the moment the bank are notified your account is under a DRO it will get frozen. This could put you into all sorts of trouble if your benefit gets paid in.

The car bit. I was asked by the lady at the CAB what condition mine was in, so i just said poor which is the lowest. She never looked at the car herself to check the condition if that's what you are worried about and never asked mileage etc. To be honest she didn't even ask any questions, just took a quick look at the parkers guide valuation sheet i printed up, saw that the poor condition figure was under £1k and didn't say a word.

As for the bit with your dad, i don't think they have any link to the dvla and would have no way of knowing your dad now is the registered keeper of your old car. So i can't see that being a problem. As i said though i am not sure on that one so i would just wait till fatbelly or immoral come along as they are more specialised in DRO's.

wba31

Orville wrote: »

Hi.

You need to get a different bank account. Do it now while your accounts are in fairly good order. I joined Alliance + Leicester from the Halifax over the net and had no problems. Co-op and I think Barclays do basic accounts that you should have no problem opening. I trust you will be including your overdraft in your DRO..? That is the main reason to get another account because the moment the bank are notified your account is under a DRO it will get frozen. This could put you into all sorts of trouble if your benefit gets paid in.

The car bit. I was asked by the lady at the CAB what condition mine was in, so i just said poor which is the lowest. She never looked at the car herself to check the condition if that's what you are worried about and never asked mileage etc. To be honest she didn't even ask any questions, just took a quick look at the parkers guide valuation sheet i printed up, saw that the poor condition figure was under £1k and didn't say a word.

As for the bit with your dad, i don't think they have any link to the dvla and would have no way of knowing your dad now is the registered keeper of your old car. So i can't see that being a problem. As i said though i am not sure on that one so i would just wait till fatbelly or immoral come along as they are more specialised in DRO's.

Just on the cars front, with your current vehicle it may help to get a written valuation done by a trader of some description, so if there is a query from the Intermediary you have that proof of the vehicle value.
With the previous vehicle the only issue could be if it was seen as giving away an asset in the last 2 years, but as long as you can provide proof your father paid for the car if it was ever queried then I imagine it should be fine.

Orville

wba31 wrote: »

Just on the cars front, with your current vehicle it may help to get a written valuation done by a trader of some description, so if there is a query from the Intermediary you have that proof of the vehicle value.
With the previous vehicle the only issue could be if it was seen as giving away an asset in the last 2 years, but as long as you can provide proof your father paid for the car if it was ever queried then I imagine it should be fine.

Does that ever happen..? When i did mine she said that they only go by Parkers valuation. She never queried it at all she just asked what the valuation was and the condition of my car. I mean if you did your DRO over the phone with CCCS say for example they will never see your car, so how could they know thw actual condition of it..? I am sure they take your word for it on that count.

sicko666

i am new to the board myself but when you change bank accounts i would make sure who actually owns them.I myself had opened a new account with Abbey National which then got took over by Santander (?) which also owns Asda credit card which i have a debt with (Which also owns Alliance & Lecister).In the end i have applied to Barclays and HSBC because all the others i owe money to the parent company, dam it gets confusing! Heres a link about who owns who, hope it helps some, helped me..( could be helpful to have the info on this site somewhere i did look )

Sorry cant add links as a newbie, just google "who owns the banks"

Orville thanks for your reply to my post above, the cooker has definitely had it believe me! I had been using just the grill for over a year because the actual oven part died then, but now even the grill has died on me so it dosent work at all!
I also advise people to have all info handie, as the CAB person i talked to last year wanted to see everything so a written statement about your cars worth might be a very good idea as its right on the edge of what they say is aloud but as above says its the experts here who really know not me....( lol...its definitely not me!!!! )

fuzzyduck2

Many thanks for all your replies

I doubt very much whether anyone would pay over £1k for my car (contrary to Parker's belief :P) but am going to look to getting an independent valuation as you have suggested just in case.

With regards to a new bank account, I currently have credit cards with Tesco (which I believe is RBOS), MBNA, and Debenhams (which I believe is GE Capital Bank) as well as an overdraft with Barclays and 2 loans with Northern Rock :S

With this in mind, which bank would I be best off going with? and will I only be able to open a very standard (cashcard) account or a one with a debit card and cheque book? I'm presuming I wouldn't be allowed an overdraft (but this is probably a good thing...) What sort of questions will the new bank ask me? and what should my answers be? (should I tell them what my plans are or not is what I'm getting at).

Is there anything else I need do before I go for the crunch? I think I read somewhere that I should get a copy of my credit report? What do you think?

And also, where is the quickest way I can apply for a DRO? I rang the CAB to make an appointment for some advice but the earliest they could see me is 18th November! I really need things sorting as soon as possible to be honest as getting lots of nasty letters through the post not to mention the phonecalls

Which company's would people on here recommend? (or not recommend as the case may be...)

Thanks once again for all your help... x

immoral_angeluk

You only need to change bank account if you have a debt with that bank such as an overdraft. If you don't then there is no need, however the bank may choose to close your account if they check your credit score and decide you don't qualify for a top notch current account anymore. DROs aren't like BR where you can only have a basic bank account. Your accounts are only affected if you have a debt with that bank and the OR has nothing to do with it, it's at the discretion of the bank.

Re the car, your assets will be anything you legally own, and from what you've said you're not the legal owner, your dad is. Use the parkers private poor valuation.

fatbelly

fuzzyduck2 wrote: »

Is there anything else I need do before I go for the crunch? I think I read somewhere that I should get a copy of my credit report? What do you think?

And also, where is the quickest way I can apply for a DRO? I rang the CAB to make an appointment for some advice but the earliest they could see me is 18th November! I really need things sorting as soon as possible to be honest as getting lots of nasty letters through the post not to mention the phonecalls

Yes, get a copy of your Experian report.

The reason you need to push things along is not the letters and phonecalls but the fact that you are near the 15k limit and probably still having charges applied!

The CAB are doing the majority of DROs at the moment and, as you have an appointment on 18 Nov, I wouldn't look elsewhere.

You might even find your Approved Intermediary is one of us

fuzzyduck2

Thanks for your replies guys - much appreciated

I will need to change my bank account as currently I'm with Barclays but am planning on including my overdraft as part of the DRO.

Given that I have to steer clear from RBOS, Northern Rock and Barclays (see earlier post) which bank should I now go for? and how do I go about opening a new account? My last 3 months bank statements show that I am virtually always exceeding my overdraft so am I going to find it difficult to find a bank that will take me on? :S

Thanks for your comments fatbelly - I have got my credit report from Experian. My credit is currently £14851 so I've not got much room to play with. My credit rating is now 312 (very poor) - am I still right in thinking that a DRO would be the best option?

Is there any way to speed things up at all? Do I have to go to the CAB to initiate things? How long does it usually take to sort out from when you first apply?