Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

scarlet55

helencalla wrote: »

Hi everyone,

I hope someone can help me with a few questions about a DRO.

I have no assets, my car is worth £250 max.

My debts are below £15,000. I have had my credit report from Call Credit Check, waiting for Experian and going to do Equifax this weekend. So I hope I won't miss any out.

It says on the NDL website that benefit overpayments can be included, does anyone know if this means tax credit overpayments as well?

Also currently I have doorstep collectors and brighthouse which I pay and then have to work out food after, sometimes ending up with £30 for the week (1 adult 4 kids). Should I work my budget out with what I actually spend or what I should spend? NDL website averages £426 a month for food for a family our size, I wish I could afford that on food a month.

Also, can I only include debts that I am being actively chased for? I have some debts that I get letters for and others I don't. Thanks x

hi, not sure about the tax credits, but yes you can include all debts as long as they dont take you over the £15,000, and when you do your soa you should put down what you SHOULD spend, and i think the amount you have been quoted sounds about right for the size of ur family.....actually it might even be a bit more...

fatbelly

helencalla wrote: »

Also, can I only include debts that I am being actively chased for? I have some debts that I get letters for and others I don't. Thanks x

You MUST include all debts. That includes many debts that will not appear on your credit reports:

council tax, water, rent arrears, local companies, old debts (even statute barred and other 'old' debts), electricity/gas arrears, social fund loans, benefit overpayments (incl tax credit overpayments)

Beki88

helencalla wrote: »

NDL website averages £426 a month for food for a family our size, I wish I could afford that on food a month.

Just wondering where on the website is that bit as I would like to work it out for my mums.
She has diabetes and is insulin dependant but also has brittle bones etc so she has to eat a lot of certain foods which can work out more expensive although as she is so skint she often doesnt bother so we didnt know what to put!

We've had a form from CCCS including one for experian but I printed out my mums credit report on the 20th april during her free trial will we still need to get another one from them?

Thanks

scarlet55

Beki88 wrote: »

Just wondering where on the website is that bit as I would like to work it out for my mums.
She has diabetes and is insulin dependant but also has brittle bones etc so she has to eat a lot of certain foods which can work out more expensive although as she is so skint she often doesnt bother so we didnt know what to put!

We've had a form from CCCS including one for experian but I printed out my mums credit report on the 20th april during her free trial will we still need to get another one from them?

Thanks

does ur mum live alone....when i did my dro my adviser put down £216 a month for housekeeping and i live alone and dont require a special diet...her adviser will juggle all this for her..when did you get ur credit report on-line, cuz even tho you have now probably cancelled it you can still access it till the 30 days are up...i did..

Beki88

scarlet55 wrote: »

does ur mum live alone....when i did my dro my adviser put down £216 a month for housekeeping and i live alone and dont require a special diet...her adviser will juggle all this for her..when did you get ur credit report on-line, cuz even tho you have now probably cancelled it you can still access it till the 30 days are up...i did..

My brother (21) lives with her even though he gets his own JSA he spends it on stupid crap so she buys food for him, when I did the online form for her we worked out she spends about £110 a month (roughly) and when I spoke with them in the phone they said that amount was fine.
I got an email on the 26th saying that it was now all closed down. I thought best to do it early with all the bank holidays etc.

scarlet55

Beki88 wrote: »

My brother (21) lives with her even though he gets his own JSA he spends it on stupid crap so she buys food for him, when I did the online form for her we worked out she spends about £110 a month (roughly) and when I spoke with them in the phone they said that amount was fine.
I got an email on the 26th saying that it was now all closed down. I thought best to do it early with all the bank holidays etc.

no no thats far 2 low, wen i did my soa i put down £150 and my adviser said it was 2 low and it was her that put £216 down..iff ur brother lives ther i would put at least £250, even then it only works out at about £62 a week which isnt much for 2 people....regarding the credit report all i can say is wen u come to submit the dro phone up the creditors and ask for an upto date balance...just tell them you are getting advice from the cab to pay the debts off and you will get back to them with an offer of payment...thats what i had to do cuz one of them wasnt on my credit report....dont tell them ur mum is getting a dro...

immoral_angeluk

If it helps, when I do my financial statements the minimum I tell people to put down for food for 1 person is £30-£50pw. £30 only if they're absolutely adamant that £50 is too high. You have to bear in mind that there's no flat rate you pay each week, it varies, so it's better to overestimate so you account for one offs etc.

Obviously advisers work in different ways so please don't read that as gospel, simply the method I use. If someone is on benefits (JSA etc) for example, I've found it fairly common for them to be spending 50% of that merely on housekeeping..

helencalla

Thanks guys, just waiting for my Experian CR which even though I selected to view it online they have to send out a pin by post so I might as well have had it sent to me! Then I shall be off to citizens advice and get started!!

JuicyLou

Hi. I had some very helpful advice here when I first applied for my DRO and I'm hoping you can all help me again.

My DRO application was accepted last June, so my year is almost up. The debt is an overdraft of around £1400 owed to Barclays.

My parents have recently offered to give me some money to pay this debt off, but they can't cover the full amount. I would hopefully be able to pay them back when my circumstances improve.

Is it worth offering a smaller amount to Barclays? I do feel responsible for the debt and I know that a DRO would screw up my credit file. It would be lovely to have the debt settled.

On the other hand, my credit file isn't the greatest anyway as I've had a couple of missed payments in the last few years and I have no idea if paying off some of the debt would even stop the DRO.

I also have no idea how much Barclays would be willing to accept, or if they would even take an offer. Has anyone else successfully offered less to their creditors in my position?

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

scarlet55

JuicyLou wrote: »

Hi. I had some very helpful advice here when I first applied for my DRO and I'm hoping you can all help me again.

My DRO application was accepted last June, so my year is almost up. The debt is an overdraft of atound £1400 owed to Barclays.

My parents have recently offered to give me some money to pay this debt off, but they can't cover the full amount. I would hopefully be able to pay them back when my circumstances improve.

Is it worth offering a smaller amount to Barclays? I do feel responsible for the debt and I know that a DRO would screw up my credit file. It would be lovely to have the debt settled.

On the other hand, my credit file isn't the greatest anyway as I've had a couple of missed payments in the last few years and I have no idea if paying off some of the debt would even stop the DRO.

I also have no idea how much Barclays would be willing to accept, or if they would even take an offer. Has anyone else successfully offered less to their creditors in my position?

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

i dont really understand what you are trying to say....are you saying that you now want to pay off a debt that was included in your dro...you are prohibited from making any payments once your dro has started, and iff your dro ends in june the debt will no longer exist....was the overdraft the only debt that was included...iff not and you attempt to pay off this debt then you will have all your other debts back too...i think you need more advice from one of the experts on here...