Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

wba31

Orville wrote: »

It' 1k on cars. Do a parkers valuation and use the poor condition quote for your cars valuation.

unless your car is in good condition, then you should use the good condition valuation...

wba31

emweaver wrote: »

Car is 2001 so parkers wont value it for free, dont suppose thers a free site out there?

If it doesnt provide a free valuation on parkers then have a look round autotrader, just double check your car isnt selling for £2k. If they are around the £1000 mark you should be fine as the IS only use the free parker's valuations

wba31

astra_man wrote: »

mine is an 04 plate, doubt that will lose much value soon.

How bad do my debts have to be to be in a DRO, like defaulted etc?

What car do you have exactly? (make, model, spec, engine size, 3/5 door, manual/auto?) i would guess at an astra? you may be surprised with how parker's works...

debts dont have to be defaulted for you to do the dro, some people wont have been in trouble for long, some will have many CCJ's etc, as long as you meet the budget, assets and debt criteria the DRO should be fine

astra_man

I have a vauxhall Astra, 1.6SXI 5d, 2004 04 plate. Manual.

wba31

astra_man wrote: »

I have a vauxhall Astra, 1.6SXI 5d, 2004 04 plate. Manual.

This is the valuation I have found for your vehicle (I would look at private good and private poor - and a fair condition vehicle I would put halfway between the 2 figures.)

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/used-prices/Valuation.aspx?deriv=21996&plate=75#amount=3000&years=3

You may find you need to wait for the car valuation to fall under £1000, or if your debt is close to £15000 consider bankruptcy

forever710

I was just browsing for related forum posts for my project research and I happened to discover yours. Thanks for the excellent information!

Just_Peachy

How old do debts needs to be for a DRO? I have just found out that I am pregnant and there is no way I am going to be able to afford to pay back my debts when i go on mat leave as I will only be getting £125 a week.

Currently I have a loan with Natwest that is around 2 years old, so I am sure that will not be a problem, But I have just taken out 2 credit cards with them (about 2 weeks ago). Obviously i know i cannot apply for a DRO until my mat leave kicks in as that is when my finances will changes and that will not be until Mid Seotember so the credit cards will be 7 months old then - but will these debts be classed as too 'new' to be included in a DRO?

I also need to take out a new card due as i really need to balance transfer an old card as the interest is sky high and costing me a fortune. If i apply for a card today and do a balance transfer within the next week or so, would this debts be classed as too new when i come to applying for the DRO?

I hope that makes sense - i am sick with worry about all this.
Thanks

Orville

Just_Peachy wrote: »

How old do debts needs to be for a DRO? I have just found out that I am pregnant and there is no way I am going to be able to afford to pay back my debts when i go on mat leave as I will only be getting £125 a week.

Currently I have a loan with Natwest that is around 2 years old, so I am sure that will not be a problem, But I have just taken out 2 credit cards with them (about 2 weeks ago). Obviously i know i cannot apply for a DRO until my mat leave kicks in as that is when my finances will changes and that will not be until Mid Seotember so the credit cards will be 7 months old then - but will these debts be classed as too 'new' to be included in a DRO?

I also need to take out a new card due as i really need to balance transfer an old card as the interest is sky high and costing me a fortune. If i apply for a card today and do a balance transfer within the next week or so, would this debts be classed as too new when i come to applying for the DRO?

I hope that makes sense - i am sick with worry about all this.
Thanks

Sounds to me like you are trying to play the system.

If you take out a card now knowing you are going to enter a DRO to me that smells like fraud as you have obtained or will obtain this card with the intention of never paying it back. If you don't get a new card and keep things as they are (even if it means paying more interest on this card till Sept) i would suggest you should be ok for a DRO on all counts. You may even qualify if you do get a different card. But if you do get found out, the penalties i would have thought would be severe.

Just_Peachy

Orville wrote: »

Sounds to me like you are trying to play the system.

If you take out a card now knowing you are going to enter a DRO to me that smells like fraud as you have obtained or will obtain this card with the intention of never paying it back.

I am not trying to play the system at all, I took the 2 new cards out with natwest around 3 weeks ago and this was before I had any idea I was pregnant (i only found out yesterday)

I mentioned getting the new card because I am paying really high interest on a debt on an old card, i will just have to keep the debt on that card and include that on the DRO as I have held this card for well over a year.
I do not appreciate you insinuating that I am going to participate in fraud, I was simply asking for advice, I already have the debt and have done for many years, so it's not like I am going to obtain a new card, go on a mad spending spree then not pay it back. I would only be obtaining a new card to do a balance transfer of existing debt.

I am currently paying £626 a month a repaying my debt so i am trying my hardest to get it cleared but once my pay drops by almost 60% i am not going to be able to meet my repayments and am trying to plan for the future as i quite clearly have important things coming up.

wba31

Just_Peachy wrote: »

I am not trying to play the system at all, I took the 2 new cards out with natwest around 3 weeks ago and this was before I had any idea I was pregnant (i only found out yesterday)

I mentioned getting the new card because I am paying really high interest on a debt on an old card, i will just have to keep the debt on that card and include that on the DRO as I have held this card for well over a year.
I do not appreciate you insinuating that I am going to participate in fraud, I was simply asking for advice, I already have the debt and have done for many years, so it's not like I am going to obtain a new card, go on a mad spending spree then not pay it back. I would only be obtaining a new card to do a balance transfer of existing debt.

I am currently paying £626 a month a repaying my debt so i am trying my hardest to get it cleared but once my pay drops by almost 60% i am not going to be able to meet my repayments and am trying to plan for the future as i quite clearly have important things coming up.

Firstly, i would not recommend the balance transfer. In a DRO it asks if you have made any preferential payments within the last 2 years. Although you may not see this as a preferential payment to the current creditor, transferring the balance would clear the debt on the old card and could be seen as paying it off with a preferential payment, especially as your other debts would not be receiving an equivalent payment.

With regards to taking out the recent credit cards, you took them out with full intention to pay them back im sure? and obviously today's big news (congratulations by the way!) was not on your agenda when you took the cards out. When a DRO is submitted the creditors do have 30 days in which to object, if they believe that you took the credit out knowing you couldnt pay it, they may object, but the Insolvency Service would look into it. The key thing is that you are still earning your normal amount, and the credit wasnt taken out after this reduces, so as far as facts are concerned (date taking out credit and date of pay reduction) i think it might be difficult for the creditors to have a leg to stand on.

I would advise you once your pay reduces to get some help from someone like CCCS, NDL or CAB (someone who won't charge you) and they will look into the DRO option for you and if it is the best option for you should you be eligible. You need to apply for a DRO through an approved intermediary, which each of those charities have, and should refer you to