Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

pieapple

My dro application was submitted on Friday afternoon. All being well, should I expect my name to be on the insolvency register tomorrow? Is it usually late in the day or from morning?

ClioScott

Quick question regarding a DRO

Me and my wife are on Benefits at the moment with them all in her name and me named on the claim and i have around £16000 in unsecured loans & overdrafts.

Income Support - In wifes name with me named on claim
Child Tax Credit - In wifes name with me named on claim
Child Benefit - In wifes name
Carers Allowance - In wifes name
DLA for 10 year old stepdaughter - In wifes name (I think)

How does it work for my income if i don't receive any money it all goes to my wife?

Thanks
Scott

fatbelly

ClioScott wrote: »

Quick question regarding a DRO

Me and my wife are on Benefits at the moment with them all in her name and me named on the claim and i have around £16000 in unsecured loans & overdrafts.

Income Support - In wifes name with me named on claim
Child Tax Credit - In wifes name with me named on claim
Child Benefit - In wifes name
Carers Allowance - In wifes name
DLA for 10 year old stepdaughter - In wifes name (I think)

How does it work for my income if i don't receive any money it all goes to my wife?

Thanks
Scott

I don't particularly like doing this because it looks odd, but the DRO Unit appear to be OK with zero income, zero expenditure.

I did one like this a week or so back and it was accepted without question.

ClioScott

Thank You!

iceblink

Hey guys,

About to apply for a DRO and I think I meet all the requirements, the only thing that is worrying me is the whole "preference payments" thing.

I have in total differently sized debts with 6 creditors and I've never missed a payment on any. The thing is, over the past year or so I only paid the minimum payments on 5 whereas I always tried to pay some extra on one particularly nasty APR credit card which led me to being able to reduce the balance by £2000. All of the others have obviously only come down by a few hundred pounds in that time as I just paid their minimum payments. My remaining debt stands at around £11000 now.

Anyhow, my finances have now considerably worsened and I'm no longer in a position to pay anything. I'm still keeping up with my minimum payments on all bills somehow mostly at the expense of eating. I really need a DRO and I meet all the other criteria, I'm just worried that my previous year's financial history will count as "preference" when I was totally oblivious and just trying to fight my debt and get my monthly repayments down to their lowest level.

Can anyone tell me if it's even worth filling in an application form or is this an auto lose and I need to wait 2 years? (which isn't possible, I'm desperate for this now.)

Thanks!

fatbelly

iceblink wrote: »

Hey guys,

About to apply for a DRO and I think I meet all the requirements, the only thing that is worrying me is the whole "preference payments" thing.

I have in total differently sized debts with 6 creditors and I've never missed a payment on any. The thing is, over the past year or so I only paid the minimum payments on 5 whereas I always tried to pay some extra on one particularly nasty APR credit card which led me to being able to reduce the balance by £2000. All of the others have obviously only come down by a few hundred pounds in that time as I just paid their minimum payments. My remaining debt stands at around £11000 now.

Anyhow, my finances have now considerably worsened and I'm no longer in a position to pay anything. I'm still keeping up with my minimum payments on all bills somehow mostly at the expense of eating. I really need a DRO and I meet all the other criteria, I'm just worried that my previous year's financial history will count as "preference" when I was totally oblivious and just trying to fight my debt and get my monthly repayments down to their lowest level.

Can anyone tell me if it's even worth filling in an application form or is this an auto lose and I need to wait 2 years? (which isn't possible, I'm desperate for this now.)

Thanks!

Don't get too hung up on this. You need to be buying food. You do not need to be paying nonpriority creditors.

The question on a bankruptcy form sets out more clearly what is meant by preference: Have you, in the past x years, made a payment to a creditor with a view to improving the position of that creditor in case you became insolvent?

Now the guy who was going to take out further credit to repay his sister in full before he went into a DRO might have done that (actually my gut feeling is that no action would be taken even in that case) but you certainly haven't.

You need to find an intermediary and start the ball rolling.

iceblink

Thanks for the reply fatbelly,

The only honest preference I had was trying to pay off a 47% apr card before the 37% ones, is it wise to admit that? I don't even see the companies by their names any more, Aqua, Capital One, to me it's just debt and monthly repayments. I don't owe money to family or friends so I was hoping the preference rule was aimed more towards that, as that would make a lot more sense.

The only other problem I may have is the fact I last took out credit around 4 months ago. That seems too recent to me. I didn't spend the money, I just used it to try and consolidate other debts (credit card payments again) to try and keep my debts under control. Where the money went can clearly be seen on the balance sheet of my credit reports. I fully intended to pay this loan back at the time I took it because as like I say, I've been treading water with these debts and not missing any monthly payments since I started in 2010, my reasoning was paying for a few years on a fixed term loan would be better than doing the same on high minimum payment credit cards, and would help me get my debt reduced quicker.

That's all out the window now though, as my situation has worsened. I'm on ESA of £500? a month, debt repayments of £370 and living on the good graces of others which can't continue. I don't own a house, car, or have any assets to call my own except for a battered old laptop from 2008 and a PS3.

If the DRO option isn't a goer, I don't really see where I can go. Anyway, I have applied for my application form from StepChange so I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.

fatbelly

iceblink wrote: »

Thanks for the reply fatbelly,

The only honest preference I had was trying to pay off a 47% apr card before the 37% ones, is it wise to admit that? I don't even see the companies by their names any more, Aqua, Capital One, to me it's just debt and monthly repayments. I don't owe money to family or friends so I was hoping the preference rule was aimed more towards that, as that would make a lot more sense.

The only other problem I may have is the fact I last took out credit around 4 months ago. That seems too recent to me. I didn't spend the money, I just used it to try and consolidate other debts (credit card payments again) to try and keep my debts under control. Where the money went can clearly be seen on the balance sheet of my credit reports. I fully intended to pay this loan back at the time I took it because as like I say, I've been treading water with these debts and not missing any monthly payments since I started in 2010, my reasoning was paying for a few years on a fixed term loan would be better than doing the same on high minimum payment credit cards, and would help me get my debt reduced quicker.

That's all out the window now though, as my situation has worsened. I'm on ESA of £500? a month, debt repayments of £370 and living on the good graces of others which can't continue. I don't own a house, car, or have any assets to call my own except for a battered old laptop from 2008 and a PS3.

If the DRO option isn't a goer, I don't really see where I can go. Anyway, I have applied for my application form from StepChange so I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.

I don't think you have anything to worry about.

The answer to

Have you preferred any creditors over others in your payments in the last 2 years?

is no, as far as I can see.

iceblink

Thanks for that fatbelly, you've put my mind at ease.

I've gained some valuable information and insights while reading through this thread, I'll stick around and we'll see how it all pans out. Something strangely exciting but also terrifying in seeing a faint light at the end of the tunnel..

Here's hoping.

iceblink

Hey all,

I thought I'd ask about people's experiences with being chased and called by creditors after a DRO is passed. Does this usually happen? What was it like for you in the first few weeks or months?

I'm about to apply for one and I know creditors can't do anything if it sticks but, I'm just interested in the level of aggro to expect in the first few weeks. Did you get lots of calls or threats? Any experiences welcome!