Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

National_Debtline

drumfreak wrote: »

Hi all, I applied for a DRO earlier on in the year and am currently in the 12 month 'moratorium' period. My question is: what exactly happens when you get to the end of the 12 month period? Do they go through all your accounts and transactions with a fine tooth comb? Do they have access to my Paypal account statement? The reason I ask is that I have found it necessary to use my Paypal account to buy and sell items of varying amounts (not thousands) to raise extra cash for unforeseen expenses such as my kids birthdays, school trips, xmas etc etc. I am losing sleep thinking that I may be in trouble when the 'moratorium' period ends in the new year. I don't feel I have been dishonest, just trying to keep my head above water and doing what I can for my family. Any help on this would be massively appreciated! Many thanks.

Hello there.

They wouldn't have access to your Paypal account. At any one time how much money may have been in the account?

Best wishes,

David @ NDL.

Tomtomtom

Hi,

My mrs got herself into debt when she was younger by buying things from studio and next and not having money to pay bills.

The overall debt wasn't a great amount but the interest added on top made it rise loads.

I'm not sure the exact figures yet but estimated between 5 - 10k.

For the last year or so she has been with gregory penning tons. She currently pays £100 per month.

Her sister is in the process of setting up a DRO and my mrs is interested also.

Am I right in understanding that all debts will be cleared and she just has to pay £90?

After the year or is it 6 years her credit file will be ok and able to get credit again or will it be ruined forever?

If she stays with gp paying off the debts slowly it may take a while but not sure how it affects credit file?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

fatbelly

Do your reading so that you understand how they work. National debtline has a factsheet and there is the official guide.

Factsheet Debt relief orders

'Guide to Debt Relief Orders' - latest version on http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/Publications - many organisations are still linking to out of date versions of this.

Gregory Pennington can do DROs but have probably not mentioned them because (a) there's no money in it for them and (b) she can pay £100 per month, which is outside the criteria.

That doesn't mean that a DRO Intermediary (with another organisation?) would come up with the same surplus. For instance, she might be getting a disability benefit - for a DRO we can show this as an 'in' and an 'out' on the income/expenditure. GP may also have been unrealistic in the allowance for food and housekeeping. So there is some flexibility in that qualifying criteria and I didn't mean to rule out DRO on those grounds.

brownm0435

wba31 wrote: »

The last I heard was that it is taking 2-3 weeks to turn it around once paperwork is received at the moment...

Hi, Just to let anyone else applying for a DRO at the moment that it will take a little bit longer than 2-3 weeks to go through. I sent my forms in 2 and a half weeks ago now, rang for an update today and was advised could take up to 5th Dec. Keeping fingers crossed till I hear back.

carlb89

Hello Everyone.

I'm considering a DRO but my vehicle, which I use to get to work is worth £1220 on WeBuyAnyCar.com

This is of course, an estimate. The vehicle itself is in dire need or repair, servicing etc which would bring any sale price down through the floor.

How if I was to then suggest on my DRO forms that the vehicle is worth £900 how would they go about checking this? Would they ask me to provide an independent valuation or would they do it themselves etc?

Thanks in advance guys.

fatbelly

carlb89 wrote: »

Hello Everyone.

I'm considering a DRO but my vehicle, which I use to get to work is worth £1220 on WeBuyAnyCar.com

This is of course, an estimate. The vehicle itself is in dire need or repair, servicing etc which would bring any sale price down through the floor.

How if I was to then suggest on my DRO forms that the vehicle is worth £900 how would they go about checking this? Would they ask me to provide an independent valuation or would they do it themselves etc?

Thanks in advance guys.

It would be best if you got an independent valuation and let your Intermediary have a copy of it. WBAC is not an acceptable valuation tool anyway.

National_Debtline

fatbelly wrote: »

It would be best if you got an independent valuation and let your Intermediary have a copy of it. WBAC is not an acceptable valuation tool anyway.

This is really important advice. We don't use WBAC as they can undervalue vehicles. Depending on the age we often start with the Parker's guide.

Hope you find this inforrmation useful!

David @ NDL.

Xaviera

Hello

Wondering if anyone can advise as I have contacted my dmp company about changing over to a DRO as my income has reduced so much.

I took voluntary redundancy to start a business 3 years ago but business has not gone so well and I don't earn enough to pay my £200 dmp agreed amount each month and haven't for the past year. I have been making token payments of £50 or £100 here and there just to keep the dmp off my back. I am now getting texts and calls and letters from Fredricksons

As a self-employed person my income fluctuates a bit, but generally I am not earning a lot at all after I take business expenses out. What figure do the intermediaries take for your income, would it be your previous tax year?

Also, as a sole trader do I have to tell my customers I am getting a DRO? And do the admins of the DRO come and check your assets?

National_Debtline

Xaviera wrote: »

Hello

Wondering if anyone can advise as I have contacted my dmp company about changing over to a DRO as my income has reduced so much.

I took voluntary redundancy to start a business 3 years ago but business has not gone so well and I don't earn enough to pay my £200 dmp agreed amount each month and haven't for the past year. I have been making token payments of £50 or £100 here and there just to keep the dmp off my back. I am now getting texts and calls and letters from Fredricksons

As a self-employed person my income fluctuates a bit, but generally I am not earning a lot at all after I take business expenses out. What figure do the intermediaries take for your income, would it be your previous tax year? We at National Debtline would ask you to run through your last 3 months of expenses/drawings with our colleagues at Business Debtline.

Also, as a sole trader do I have to tell my customers I am getting a DRO? No; your details will be publicly available on the same Insolvency Service register as for bankruptcies and IVAs. There is no need for you to specifically advertise the fact yourself. However, you cannot run a business in a different name without telling everyone you do business with the name you used for your DRO.

And do the admins of the DRO come and check your assets? There is no physical inventory carried out; you are expected to fully disclose your assets and their value as part of the application process. BUT SEE BELOW

Hi Xaviera

Have answered a couple of specific queries in bold above.

Who are you using for your DMP - fee charger or free provider?

If it's a fee charger they're not going to be interested in helping you go down DRO route instead - there's no money in that for them.

Key facts about the DRO process can be found here:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=37_debt_relief_orders


***IMPORTANT*** Bankruptcy is sometimes the "safer" of the two insolvency routes if you are a sole trader with tools/stock of value. The Official Receiver in bankruptcy can use their discretion to disregard the value of such items if they are essential for your trade and livelihood. In a DRO, there is no such provision for discretion, so the law of unintended consequences may apply.

Regards

Dennis @NDL

Former_MSE_Zorica

Hi Everyone,

Gregory Pennington have asked us to post the following on their behalf. MSE does not endorse anything posted for a company.

Hi Tomtomtom

My name is Sarah and I work for Gregory Pennington.

If a DRO is appropriate then we would always offer this solution to anyone who qualifies.

There are a number of criteria that need to be met in order qualify for a DRO, as fatbelly has already mentioned, one of them is a disposable income of £50 per month or less. Other criteria are that your partner's debts would have to be less than £15,000 of qualifying debt and she would need to have assets of less than £1,000 for a car and £300 for other items.


I hope this helps.

Sarah