Be-ri - Debt Relief Order

beri_2

Hi all.

I currently have around ~£10,500 worth of debt. My situation is such that I've lost my part time job, and have had to leave my current University course. I'm now on Income Based Job Seekers Allowance - since March - and have my CCCS Counselling interview in....4 hours time (They will call me).

I'm going to see if they agree with my reasoning for the move towards a Debt Relief Order.

I'm hoping to start a DRO as soon as possible, because I'm 23 years old and feel I've wasted a lot of my life already. I can't move forward or leave my parents home because it would be financially unfeasible to do so right now, and I see no change in this circumstance. If I could heal the admittedly self-inflicted wound that is my current financial hindrance, then just maybe I can turn my life around and climb out of the pit.

I'll keep you updated, and hopefully people can provide me with some insight and advice along the way!

Be-ri.

skylight

Rules for a DRO are quite strict - no assets (including a car, pension pots etc) and no surplus of £50 or more (which you wont have due to the JSA anyway). But are your circumstances likely to stay that way for the year?

What student debt do you have? Some can not be included but bank accounts/overdrafts etc can.

Hope the interview goes AOK.

beri_2

Hey, my interviewer should be calling in the next few minutes so I'll aim to update in an hour.

My student debt is 16,000 tuitionfees+loans for the SLC, which I will obviously be disregarding - cannot wipe these debts and they also don't count towards DRO restrictions.

I do, however, have what's called a Student Grant that was overpaid one semester by £2,700, so that is something I MAY be able to add on a DRO (or bankruptcy if it is suggested). The reason being is that the SLC is able to send these grant type overpayment debts off to collectors - they are different from the loans.

If I can include that debt, I will have a total of £13,200 that would be DRO applicable. The 16,000 Student Debts are simply unavoidable, but manageable due to their 'repayment method'.

Regards,
Be-ri

P.s. Sorry for the rushed response. I'm expecting a call any minute.

beri_2

Okies. Had my interview with CCCS just now.

The lady said that DRO is something I would be able to go through with, but obviously if my situation changes during the 12 months such that my surplus income is over £50 it can be revoked.

However, I was also told that I could do one of the following and still carry on with the DRO.

1: Work Part Time and Study Part Time, so long as the income isn't over £50 surplus.
2: Go to Uni in Sept, and take out just the tuition fee loan, and also have a part time job, as the tuition fee loan is counted as outgoing education expenses. This would be ok so long as my income doesn't go over £50 surplus.

This is all wonderful news, almost too good to be true. It could allow me to sort out my finances and my education and future prospects all in one go.

She is sending me the forms and information necessary to go through with the DRO, and I will need to gather letters from each of my creditors about exactly how much I owe. It could take as little as 5-6 weeks to start the DRO, apparently.

The lady was mentioning that the bad thing about DRO is if I get a Job that eventually takes me over £50. I don't mean to sound bad, but, couldn't people just 'make sure' they don't go over £50 - i.e. by getting only a part time job and making sure the SOA is right? She kind of hinted at this, and also how you can include things like Holidays, Socialising and Entertainment on the Income/Expenditure forms. :eek:

I'll keep you posted.