Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

wba31

Smart_Mart wrote: »

Thanks again IA and WBA... :T

The golf clubs are worth £20-£30 maximum so they're welcome to them - the blooming things aren't my main set anyway, they are secreted elsewhere. I'm still bemused how they ended up on a levy anyway; thought they actually had to come in to list the stuff and he saw them from the front door and merely asked what make they were...:o

One final question. On the last letter from British Gas, it says "You should also note that any attempt to switch to another supplier if you have not paid all you owe will be blocked by us". Sounds like it's gone too far to switch, doesn't it?

I dont know for sure whether they can do that or not. Once a DRO is in place and your debt is included within that, they should allow to simply set up a payment to cover your usage from DRO onwards, so if you cant change, the arrears still get included.

dancingfairy

You may well find that your council tax levy is invalid from your description. It might be worth posting on the debt free wannabe board regarding the validity of the levy. You preferably need someone like Hallowitch or RAS to take a look for you. Some bailiffs have a habit of charging unlawful fees and attempting unlawful levies. If they did not come in to your house at all then as far as I understand it the levy is invalid.
From what IA said this is likely to make life easier for you.
df

immoral_angeluk

Smart_Mart wrote: »

Thanks again IA and WBA... :T

The golf clubs are worth £20-£30 maximum so they're welcome to them - the blooming things aren't my main set anyway, they are secreted elsewhere. I'm still bemused how they ended up on a levy anyway; thought they actually had to come in to list the stuff and he saw them from the front door and merely asked what make they were...:o

One final question. On the last letter from British Gas, it says "You should also note that any attempt to switch to another supplier if you have not paid all you owe will be blocked by us". Sounds like it's gone too far to switch, doesn't it?

Tell the bailiffs to come round and take them, it's likely that they will then withdraw the walking possession agreement with it being an 'insufficient levy'. So long as you then get that in writing you'll be set for the DRO.

Smart_Mart

Thanks all.

The last letter from the bailiffs (which was posted, not dropped through the letterbox as usual) said...

The above debt remains unpaid. I will be visiting your property during the week commencing 30th May to remove your goods. Whilst the law allows me to remove your possessions in your absence, I would prefer you were present so that we can agree the list of items to be removed.

It then goes on to give me a phone number to which I can pay in full. The whole letter is headed notice before entry and references a liability order dated 23rd April 2010.

charlie5787

hello,

i am considering applying for a DRO, but am needing some advice on whether i'm likely to be accepted.

i am currently full time employed.
i owe £11500 on credit cards, loans and overdraft. paying back min each month.
no assets at all.

i seem to qualify for a DRO, but am a bit confused as to what is considered disposable income? does this basically mean any money leftover for recreation?

i have checked through past bank statements and have figured out that I spend about £40/month on bits like, cinema dvds cd. would this be my disposable income?

at the end of the month, I have -£500 in my bank. my logic is that I actually have no disposable income as i'm constantly in the red once all my payments for cc/loan and bills have come out...

can anyone shed a bit of light on this?

many thanks!!

wba31

charlie5787 wrote: »

hello,

i am considering applying for a DRO, but am needing some advice on whether i'm likely to be accepted.

i am currently full time employed.
i owe £11500 on credit cards, loans and overdraft. paying back min each month.
no assets at all.

i seem to qualify for a DRO, but am a bit confused as to what is considered disposable income? does this basically mean any money leftover for recreation?

i have checked through past bank statements and have figured out that I spend about £40/month on bits like, cinema dvds cd. would this be my disposable income?

at the end of the month, I have -£500 in my bank. my logic is that I actually have no disposable income as i'm constantly in the red once all my payments for cc/loan and bills have come out...

can anyone shed a bit of light on this?

many thanks!!

Your disposable income, this £50 you're allowed, is what is left over after everything has been budgeted for. So obviously you have
rent, council tax, gas electric and water, and contents insurance.

telephone, tv licence, broadband?

travel costs (either all car costs or for public transport)

food, tobacco, clothing

then dentists/prescriptions hairdressing, going out, etc.

once all that is considered, it's then the figure left over. You may draw up a budget and find you have £150 spare for example, but then you may speak to a qualified advisor who says "well you dont spend enough on food, and you can budget more for this..."
Or sometimes people say "i have nothing left" and a trained advisor says "is £100 ski-ing lessons a month really a necessity prior to repaying your debts?" so you need to be sensible.

I would advise you to get your figures together, all income and work out how much you're spending, and get in touch with someone to help you draw up a budget. National Debtline and CCCS can be contacted on the telephone, CCCS have an online service through their website (which i believe enables you to talk to an advisor if necessary) and CAB offer face to face consultation.

If they feel you are suitable for a DRO, i believe all of them would be able to facilitate that for you

scarlet55

well im 8 weeks into my dro and i recieved 2 letters from.......surprise surprise...lloyds tsb......the first one saying ive not payed anything into my account for several weeks but i am still using my overdraft facility.......no....THEY are still putting charges on......the second letter goes....despite our previous letters your account is still in arrears and you have made no arrangement.....it would appear that this account is currently a low priority to you......you must make a payment immediately AND contact us on the above telephone number....at which time we expect an explanation of your account conduct to date......please be assured that the consequences of not giving this matter you urgent attention could be severe..blah blah blah......now i know that lloyds must have been informed of my dro because none of my other creditors are writing to me....i would normaly just ignore it but this letter has made me really angry so im going to send them a copy of my dro but i would really like to send them a strong letter....are there any template letters i can send....iff so could one of you experts please put the link up for me.....thanx...:)

rira

Quick q re docs to send in: As I have a lot of papers to send in. so I send the ENTIRE award notice (6 pages!!), or just the 2 pages concerning weekly payments and money stuff?

rira

Also, I am thinking of waiting to renew tax credits till this is done - nothing will change really but I don't want to have to wait on them to do my next years award (based on this year's income anyway) to get my DRO done, if you see what I mean.

immoral_angeluk

rira wrote: »

Also, I am thinking of waiting to renew tax credits till this is done - nothing will change really but I don't want to have to wait on them to do my next years award (based on this year's income anyway) to get my DRO done, if you see what I mean.

Be careful, you MUST renew your tax credits by the deadline or they will be stopped!