Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

pliusas

Hi, seems I was too late to inform I get extra money (bad health, this covid situation etc I always though I have enough time to do it) and my DRO was discharged. I informed them and get info my DRO is ended  (as not native speaker I did understand they cancelled it), now I see it was ended because 1 year limit and I see is "discharged" but not revoked.  Do i need to do anything else? 
 

fatbelly

pliusas said:

Hi, seems I was too late to inform I get extra money (bad health, this covid situation etc I always though I have enough time to do it) and my DRO was discharged. I informed them and get info my DRO is ended  (as not native speaker I did understand they cancelled it), now I see it was ended because 1 year limit and I see is "discharged" but not revoked.  Do i need to do anything else? 
 

It looks like your DRO completed satisfactorily. You don't need to do anything, except maybe print off a copy for your records as it only stays on the website for 3 months after discharge

Debtishorrible

Hi Fatbelly, Sourcrates and anyone else that can help

 I am very happy that my DRO has been granted on the 10th June 2020 however I am now very worried! The person I was living with has decided to leave the house we share at the end of the next month ( September ) and dropped my right in it. I am not allowed to continue living here as the landlord's son is taking it over and also I could not afford the rent on my own. Recently over the last few months I have had to claim universal credit as my work has slowed up considerably and have had a caronavirus grant. Some months I got something, some months I got £0 .I am due another grant shortly so £0 UC this month I imagine. With my first grant I spent nearly all of it building a studio at home so I can work  doing  professional online music lessons at home ( Refurb PC, Microphone, Monitors, Speakers , Webcam etc). I have been a self employed music teacher for 12 years. I have found another place to live which is cheaper rent ( £200 a month ) plus all utilities etc as before. They won't change much at all really but my expenses will go up as I have animals now to look after solely and cannot dream of letting them go (Dog, Cat, Chickens and that is about a £1 a day for each). The internet is quite slow there too as it is very rural and so may have to hire a room elsewhere to work online in my local town as I do online zoom guitar lessons but not sure yet then there would be travel costs etc but that is not a given yet.  I need to move first to find out!  I recently lost my driving license for 3 years and I paid off my £270 fine with some savings so I did not have bailiffs appearing in new house and upsetting new landlady just in case. Can that be an expense still as only paid it a couple of days ago? I will not be moving till the end of September and getting deeply worried and not sleeping! I would be distraught if it got revoked because I am in no position to pay anything back whatsoever. I would rather stop UC altogether and live like a pauper for the next 9 months to see the DRO go through if that is the best way to go? At least I have my health and not having to find hundreds of pounds every month to pay my credit cards and OD back.

 Can you please advise me on what I should do next? Do I have to inform the OR of me moving? Do I have to inform the OR of claiming UC (sometimes as not regular as my earnings have been lower) My earnings are very erratic at the moment, August is always a terrible month as people are on holiday and with Caronavirus people are tightening their belts and I seem to be one of the first to cancel. I thought I would post here first before I emailed my DRO intermediary....

 If there is any way you could help me I would deeply appreciate it as I just don't know what to do?

Do I have to contact the OR or could my DRO intermediary do it on my behalf?

 I do not yet have a tenancy agreement for new property, I doubt I will get it till I move in

Are DRO intermediary people totally impartial and confidential ?

I am deeply worried so any help or clarity in my situation would help my mental health greatly, this is the worst year of my life by far.

fatbelly

You are clearly in a bit of turmoil at the moment. The DRO will continue, so for now concentrate on getting your new accommodation sorted out. Unless you are just living as a lodger, you do want a written tenancy agreement and that may be more of an issue for your UC housing costs than the DRO.

So also get your UC sorted.

When this settles down so that you can see what your regular income will be and what your regular outgoings will be, that is the time to contact the DRO Team and let them know. I've met a few of them at the Plymouth office and they all seem understanding people as long as you are honest with them. I guess they're all working from home now.

If you can be sure of your figures you can contact them direct but that's where running things past your intermediary might be useful in case they can see any problem.

Paying the court fine was not an expense or any sort of problem - it's an excluded debt so had to be paid outside the DRO.

sourcrates

Hi,

Not really sure what your asking to be honest, is it about your erratic income ?

You don`t have an OR, its not bankrupcy, its the insolvency service that administers your DRO.

If one expence has decreased, and another one increased, do they not cancel each other out surely ?

You are not under scrutiny, expenditure changes all the time.

In order to qualify for a DRO with regard to your income, you must have £50 or less left at month end, do you ?

fatbelly

Yeah, there's a significant change of circumstances here (single person, new address, new inc & exp) so you do have to let them know. My suggestion is to get everything straight and then tell them.

Debtishorrible

Wow thank you for your quick replies, I will try to answer as best I can

Firstly I will be sharing a house with a friend of mine as a lodger, they will give me something to sign they have said and they are aware of my DRO and the fines etc which I have paid. I have been completely honest with them. They want to do that so they are covered by any bailliffs visits (which I am sure will not happen as paid fine and in a DRO)

Sorry I meant the Insolvency service not the OR..

Regarding UC can I still claim housing benefit if I am  a lodger , not a tenant? I have never claimed before till now recently (Carona forced me)  and know nothing.
I still have to pay utilities etc which will be the same as now I imagine, it is a similar sized property. My expenses will increase as I will have to rely on paid transport as I am in a very rural position. I am 4 miles from the nearest bus stop but not sure yet by how much.
The animals will cost approx £90 a month I imagine. £ 3 a day

Last month I earned £605 from my work, month before £705 It is not going to be much more than that for a while I reckon but I do not know as I am self employed. It could go down as well as up. UC have been paying me (not every month) £350 rent and £409 benefits depending on what my expenses and earnings are.. When I had the Carona grants I get nothing. 
My fixed costs on the budget at present (with £350 Rent) are £574 and flexible costs are £497.67
I am wondering whether to just quit UC and just live REALLY cheaply till June next year? I do not drink, smoke and could probably just cope depending on what I earn. I do not understand the system at all as never claimed before and really do not want to screw things up. If I quit UC I would def be under the threshhold but I may leave myself very short. If I claim I need to make sure I do not go over and do not know how to go about doing it as my earnings can change from month to month.. So sorry for the ramble but I am lost! I cannot thank you both enough for replying 

fatbelly

I think you should claim your new housing costs through UC - it's what it's there for. UC will need some evidence of your rent though. HB was the old benefit paid by your council. As you are already on UC, you can't go back to that. 

I doubt you'll have any problems getting under £50 surplus in your new circumstances, once it all settles.

sourcrates

You should take up smoking and drinking, not in reality of course, but include everything you are allowed to claim for in your budget expences, your pets for example, you say they cost £3 a day, i can`t see why that can`t be £4 a day, or more, prices rise quite often.

There is the food, flea treatment, worming, vets bills etc etc, i had two cats that cost almost £100 a month each to keep.

What i am trying to get over to you is that your budget will not be subject to massive scrutiny, as long as the figures are not excessive, they will not be questioned, its in no ones interest to have your DRO revoked, if you tell them you have more than £50 disposable income, it will be revoked, if its under £50, it won`t, its that simple.

Debtishorrible

Thank you Fatbelly and Sourcrates


 I have emailed my DRO intermediary today ( who was lovely on the phone when I spoke to her a few months ago) and I have been honest and mentioned what I have said to you. Was that a mistake? I hope not. I am just trying to do the right thing and get out of this mess. Will she be impartial ? I hope that I have the chance to talk or liase with her before she went to the Insolvency Service ? Would she try to help me first? I really do not know how these situations work but I needed to get the ball rolling and did not want to contact  the IS first directly..... I have not heard back from her yet. If my DRO fails can I register for bankruptcy? Many thanks again you two, I would be lost without you at the moment.