Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

wardie2437

well the only things of value I have is a settee and an armchair and a pine bed. But what I'm trying to clarify is - if you exclude inexpensive TV's PC's Laptops etc - I'm sure if I add up all thing I have, like my DVD collection and other bit of furniture and ornaments, none of which are expensive on their own, but when added together will surely come to more than £300.

scarlet55

wardie2437 wrote: »

well the only things of value I have is a settee and an armchair and a pine bed. But what I'm trying to clarify is - if you exclude inexpensive TV's PC's Laptops etc - I'm sure if I add up all thing I have, like my DVD collection and other bit of furniture and ornaments, none of which are expensive on their own, but when added together will surely come to more than £300.

none of these things will count...its only if u have one item that is worth more than £300...they dont include things like freezers beds sofas ect...and they wont be interested in ur dvd collection..

SouthCoast

and they wont be interested in ur dvd collection..

The OR would have to arrange for somebody to come and collect your DVD's, pay for insurance and storage, and them put them up for auction.
Net proceeds of sale after all costs................£3.00.

immoral_angeluk

SouthCoast wrote: »

The OR would have to arrange for somebody to come and collect your DVD's, pay for insurance and storage, and them put them up for auction.
Net proceeds of sale after all costs................£3.00.

Not even that is they used musicmagpie

immoral_angeluk

wardie2437 wrote: »

well the only things of value I have is a settee and an armchair and a pine bed. But what I'm trying to clarify is - if you exclude inexpensive TV's PC's Laptops etc - I'm sure if I add up all thing I have, like my DVD collection and other bit of furniture and ornaments, none of which are expensive on their own, but when added together will surely come to more than £300.

The entire contents of your house are bound to come to over £300, but the fact is that it would cost far too much for them to seize the goods and sell them, and even then things needed for your basic living needs are exempt anyway. They can't take your cooker and let you starve to death, otherwise the equality and human rights commission would have a field day!
Household goods are exempt, and you have a responsibility to declare anything of high *resale value* as an asset. So 32inch tv? Not a problem as you'd get little for it (you can buy them NEW for less than £300 anyways..), 60 inch LED with glowy lights, 3D, inbuilt HD/voice recognition/gold plated remote? That would be an asset... :P

yeslek

sorry for all the questions guys, but I'm at work and unable to contact anyone via phone in the eve's and want as much info as I can get. thanks in advance.

broken_spirit wrote: »

Hi, I'll admit I'm no expert on this yet, as I'm currently waiting to hear if my DRO will be accepted with NDL. I've sent them my SOA, proof of income, bank accounts, pension etc. I'm just wondering what information you gave cccs for them to work out your assets as £800. Like you, I don't own a car, I just possess general household goods. No huge plasma tvs etc. I do know that until NDLs AI has looked at my submitted papers & informed me were there to be any issues regarding it, I don't pay anything. Once I've been informed that everything is ok, then I get my barcode & have to go & make my £90 payment. I would imagine that the same process applies with cccs, but if they are saying you have assets of £800, then they wouldn't submit your form, I would imagine as the £300 asset threshold is one of the criteria. Perhaps it's worth talking to them again

thats what I'm wondering as I have do a laptop, mobile, an iPod and PS3 but the are the only items I own that are of any value an I'm not sure if they count.
Perhaps its my savings as I have a regular saver that used to cover car insurance (I save a small amount each month and in July it pays for car tax and insurance for the year) and thats at £330. I no longer have a car so this year it would go on debts and xmas. least that was the plan.

btw, I'm sorry but NDL? AI?

fatbelly wrote: »

In most cases applications are declined because

you have more than 15k debt or
you have more than £300 assets or
you own your home or
you have more than £50 per month surplus income or
your car is worth more than £1000

In other words, you failed to meet the basic criteria and so shouldn't have applied anyway.

For 'conduct' issues, the DRO tends to get accepted, then revoked after investigation.

I think it's still around 1% that get declined/revoked. As long as you're careful you should be fine - most are OK.

thanks for that.
Think the issue may be my savings, which I unfortunately am not allowed to touch until July so couldnt put it toward any existing debt until then anyway.

the 1% thing has definitely eased my mind. I was reading stuff that made me think the refusal rate was much higher.

scarlet55 wrote: »

firstly, they wont count things like tvs or laptops...unless they were really expensive and would now fetch £300 at resale value...what assets are they talking about ? you MUST make sure that ur debts dont total over £15000 wen ur dro is submitted..

I'm 110% not over the 15k threshold.

BUT my laptop is a macbook pro that would probably fetch £300-£500 on ebay today. Mobile is a contract BB one that would probably fetch about £200 and the PS3 would probably also fetch about £200.
I rely on my mobile for work and as I dont have a land line I kinda rely on it more than a lot of people, plus its not really mine until the end of the contract, Sept 2011, so I couldn't really sell it for a downgrade until then anyway. Also the laptop would be no-go in terms of selling. I use it for unpaid work (trying to find a job/career more in line with my Music Degree that will hopefully lead to paid work in the future). The PS3 is a clear luxury I've had for years so I would sell it if I had to or if I knew it would make a big enough impact in clearing debts ie if a condition of the DRO was to sell it, fine. But £200 wouldnt even clear my smallest debt right now so I'd see it as a double loss and is why I've never thought of selling it before.

immoral_angeluk wrote: »

The entire contents of your house are bound to come to over £300, but the fact is that it would cost far too much for them to seize the goods and sell them, and even then things needed for your basic living needs are exempt anyway. They can't take your cooker and let you starve to death, otherwise the equality and human rights commission would have a field day!
Household goods are exempt, and you have a responsibility to declare anything of high *resale value* as an asset. So 32inch tv? Not a problem as you'd get little for it (you can buy them NEW for less than £300 anyways..), 60 inch LED with glowy lights, 3D, inbuilt HD/voice recognition/gold plated remote? That would be an asset... :P

in that case I'm still highly concerned with my laptop. Stuck in a dead end job and its my only link/hope to getting the job/career I want which leads back round to the debt problem as there are few work opportunities in the midlands, but if I could actually afford to pay rent and my debts each month I could move in with a friend further south where the jobs are more available

immoral_angeluk

yeslek wrote: »

BUT my laptop is a macbook pro that would probably fetch £300-£500 on ebay today. Mobile is a contract BB one that would probably fetch about £200 and the PS3 would probably also fetch about £200.
I rely on my mobile for work and as I dont have a land line I kinda rely on it more than a lot of people, plus its not really mine until the end of the contract, Sept 2011, so I couldn't really sell it for a downgrade until then anyway. Also the laptop would be no-go in terms of selling. I use it for unpaid work (trying to find a job/career more in line with my Music Degree that will hopefully lead to paid work in the future). The PS3 is a clear luxury I've had for years so I would sell it if I had to or if I knew it would make a big enough impact in clearing debts ie if a condition of the DRO was to sell it, fine. But £200 wouldnt even clear my smallest debt right now so I'd see it as a double loss and is why I've never thought of selling it before.



in that case I'm still highly concerned with my laptop. Stuck in a dead end job and its my only link/hope to getting the job/career I want which leads back round to the debt problem as there are few work opportunities in the midlands, but if I could actually afford to pay rent and my debts each month I could move in with a friend further south where the jobs are more available

They don't class household equipment as assets, and have certainly never come across games consoles or mobiles as assets or there being any problems with them. However the computer may be an issue so I would suggest that you find some valuations and take an average. Having assets over the £300 limit doesn't automatically exclude you, you can still apply and declare them, and I would recommend contacting the DRO unit as soon as it's submitted with evidence of value and why you believe it should be exempt if needed for future work etc. The OR can use their discretion *but* there is a risk of it being rejected/revoked. The only way of find out is to apply. If you can afford the £90 and don't mind the possibility of losing it, I'd suggest applying anyway.

I've seen clients with cars over £1000 in value be granted DROs. It took longer to go through as they had to do checks, but in the end it's the resale value after taking into account the time/cost to sell them that matters.

broken_spirit

btw, I'm sorry but NDL? AI?

Hi, apologies 4 the confusion. An AI is the approved intermediary who will help u apply 2 the Insolvency Service 4 a DRO. NDL = National Debt Line whom are helping me apply for mine.

I'm 110% not over the 15k threshold.

Just be aware that if u cannot apply 4 your DRO until your savings have been split 2 creditors in July that any interest acrued in the meantime doesn't end up pushing u over the 15K limit. I've only missed 1 mths payment 2 my creditors whilst dealing with my DRO application & my creditors have already started 2 hit me with daily interest charges, so it's important 2 keep a close eye on all your balances owing.
Btw, just read your sig, I take my hat off 2 u :T:T:T

wardie2437

Well I may not have any option - CrapQuest say in a letter they are "Preparing a Statutory Demand" against me - I really hope they do - then I can lump some other debts in it with it and I dont have to pay bankruptcy charges - somehow I think they may just be all !!!! and wind though :-)

scarlet55

wardie2437 wrote: »

Well I may not have any option - CrapQuest say in a letter they are "Preparing a Statutory Demand" against me - I really hope they do - then I can lump some other debts in it with it and I dont have to pay bankruptcy charges - somehow I think they may just be all !!!! and wind though :-)

well iff they do that then as you say you can put ur other debts with it and they will have to stump up the bancruptcy fee...:):)