Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

wba31

hear_me_roar wrote: »

According to the lady I chatted with at StepChange on LiveChat it is classed as future income for the duration the backdated money was awarded for... so now I'm confused because you are saying otherwise.

The rule has changed in recent months, you need to speak to someone in their DRO department who will know...

hear_me_roar

Yes, I will be seeking advise from StepChange in a manner which will give me greater clarification, just as I said, in the mean time I'm trying to find out what I can. It isn't straight forward, I cannot use a telephone and neither have friends nor family who can do it on my behalf. So It will be a case of having my support worker ring on my behalf which won't be till later in the week. As I can see many people on this forum work on issuing DRO applications to the insolvency service, so was just trying to gain greater insight.

If I used the backdated benefits to pay for essential household items, such as a bed/matresss (I'm currently still sleeping on a mattress on the floor with broken springs and have been since last November), a washer, a dryer and a microwave. Also used £90 for the DRO as I've been advised by yourself and stepchange I can do. This would leave me under the £300 threshold for assets(All I have is an old TV worth around £20 second hand and to access the internet I have a broken laptop from 2005 with no screen, the CD/DVD missing, half the keys missing. So would be worth only £20/30 for parts). Would that be an acceptable use for the money considering it benefits my health more than anything else and they are essential household items I've been having to do without since I moved in November last year.

wba31

hear_me_roar wrote: »

Yes, I will be seeking advise from StepChange in a manner which will give me greater clarification, just as I said, in the mean time I'm trying to find out what I can. It isn't straight forward, I cannot use a telephone and neither have friends nor family who can do it on my behalf. So It will be a case of having my support worker ring on my behalf which won't be till later in the week. As I can see many people on this forum work on issuing DRO applications to the insolvency service, so was just trying to gain greater insight.

If I used the backdated benefits to pay for essential household items, such as a bed/matresss (I'm currently still sleeping on a mattress on the floor with broken springs and have been since last November), a washer, a dryer and a microwave. Also used £90 for the DRO as I've been advised by yourself and stepchange I can do. This would leave me under the £300 threshold for assets(All I have is an old TV worth around £20 second hand and to access the internet I have a broken laptop from 2005 with no screen, the CD/DVD missing, half the keys missing. So would be worth only £20/30 for parts). Would that be an acceptable use for the money considering it benefits my health more than anything else and they are essential household items I've been having to do without since I moved in November last year.

those items are all allowable, so keep evidence of purchase (receipts) which I'm sure you will anyway, and if ever the DRO Unit require evidence of what the funds were used for you can provide the receipts

[Deleted User]

I've feel stupid and have a question - if anyone can help

I'm a year from when the moratorium period for a DRO finished and predict I'll need to prove this with being asked some strange questions of late - I've been stupid in that the exclusive you must print certificate just before expiry proving the release got damaged and I disposed of it in a different state of mind, now regretting this so learn everyone else! so wondered where I go from here, will it cause hassle?

Is it a case of if my name can't be found on the Insolvency register this goes some way to proving it?

I still have the original DRO Debt Notification from when it commenced in 2012 from the I/S just nothing to prove release of the moratorium period per se, will the debt relief order unit still accept queries as I'm now outside the moratorium period?

merlin68

can you sell a car before a dro?

fatbelly

merlin68 wrote: »

can you sell a car before a dro?

Yes, but you have to declare that you have not sold anything for less than its true value, and you have treated your creditors equally (in the last 2 years). As you can only have assets of £300, if the car was worth more than this you would have been expected to divide the excess pro-rata amongst your creditors.

There's no equivalent to the bankruptcy question 'have you sold or disposed of any car in the past 12 months' but this is something that could still be investigated should they choose to, even though it's unlikely.

merlin68

that's whats bothering me as I have had to pay hmrc for the tax bill and the fixed sum loan agreement. as I thought the car was on hp it was only when I rang up to hand it back and he advised me to sell it myself. Would this class as preferential treatment the other debts haven't been paid since hubby lost his job in April I was trying to keep up with main creditors on benefits but cant do it any more.

National_Debtline

Hi Merlin

merlin68 wrote: »

that's whats bothering me as I have had to pay hmrc for the tax bill and the fixed sum loan agreement. as I thought the car was on hp it was only when I rang up to hand it back and he advised me to sell it myself. Would this class as preferential treatment the other debts haven't been paid since hubby lost his job in April I was trying to keep up with main creditors on benefits but cant do it any more.

Out of those two debts, paying off the fixed sum loan agreement is much more likely to be classed as a preference.

It would have to be listed as such on a DRO application. It would not definitely be rejected by the Insolvency Service (they may give the benefit of the doubt if they felt you genuinely believed you had to pay off the car loan with the sale proceeds) but there certainly a risk of that - in which event, you would lose your £90 fee.

Regards

Dennis
@natdebtline

Aloofdragon

My hubby is waiting on paperwork from Payplan to put forward an IVA meeting to creditors he owes in total around £10k, is there a certain percentage that fail or does something drastic have to be wrong for the creditors to refuse it going through, wits end and pessimism is taking over now sorry god this life thing is damn hard work eh, but at least it turns you off credit for life, our biggest worry is £6k out of the £10/11k is with Barcleeees we have been advised that £88 a month is what their going to offer. Anyone have any idea how likely this is to go through.. x

merlin68

I haven't paid of the car loan with the money used it to fund the deposit on motability car as needed car big enough to fit wheelchair in boot etc and the balance it to be prorated when I see debt specialist and get him to work that out for me what ive been paying is the monthly payments.