DRO with whom?

rira

Hello, I would really like to proceed with a DRO, as would my husband.

1. Where should I go?
I would rather not go to CAB in Maidstone as the first time I rang, they seemed sort of unsure about it and not really knowledgeable . Since then, I have realised that someone I know (acquaintances, not friends) works there and frankly, I don't really like that person very much (friend of a friend, who is smug, rude and snide).

So, are Baines & Ernst still thought of as "quick" about it?

2. How do I split benefits and such?
Husband is FT student has no income other than ALG @ £30/week (when they remember to pay it anyway) and it falls 20p short of his Transportation (lol!)

I am self employed and make £150-£200 week (I was just about to start a shop when my husband was made redundant in Nov 2009 but obviously that did not happen), now I just do guidance work freelance to make sure we have the money we need, till he finishes college and gets a decent job. (about July in a year, and then he goes onto apprenticeship for a year, I think!)

We have 3 children (twin boys and a girl) who are under 5
I receive WTC, CTC and CB - and WE TOGETHER receive HB and CTB goes right to the council tax debt.

I have a car. 1996 Rover 600 Diesel thing.

We have under 15,000 debt each (probably under that between us, too - but I understand it is done separately).

We definitely have less than £50 disposable lol (and I even just switched to BT to try and tamp down my bills even more)
I haven't paid some of our creditors in MONTHS literally as I just can't.

I am WORRIED that we might sometimes be in NEGATIVE income because darn if I EVER spend some of the amounts on clothes I see on some of the SoAs here, ditto entertainment, haircuts (lol!), etc.
I also reckon is my husband has to SPLIT the expenses with me, he WILL be in negative income. He doesn't make anything as it is and ALG will stop over the Summer in a month. (but so will his train rides, so even-steven, there)

We have no assets except the small CTFs each of the kids have which aren't ours.

We also have water/sewage arrears (not much on the water, but the sewage - honestly we set up a DD several times, but it has NEVER worked - but we never purposely didn't pay that.

In addition to overdrawn bank accounts (the charges were small but they keep ratcheting up the charges), a small loan (wedding), some unsecured credit, we ALSO have big GAS arrears, council tax arrears, and I have some UNPAID parking fines (that I got because I just could not afford the parking pass over last year).

We haven't got any rent arrears or anything (we're private tenants) and I had them put in a gas meter (off which they take MORE THAN HALF of the money I put on it every time!), I keep my electric, insurance, kids' clothes, food, cleaning all that covered.

I just don't know how we got so much gas debt and I have still not bee able to wrestle all our past bills out of npower.

Our other debts were manageable when Jim worked - but with the bank charges mounted right up and other fees, it is just too much.

So, how do I do our two SoAs?

I could do one on June 6th and the other on the 8th - money-wise as I am finally being paid some back payments owing.

Thanks a lot in advance.

fatbelly

Hi

That's a long post and I might not hit every point but here goes:

You need to do your DROs through an Approved Intermediary who is linked to a Competent Authority. There are several CAs so, although CAB is the leader in this field, you still have a number of alternatives as in this link:

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/bankruptcy/DRO/auth.htm

There are good reports of B&E on the main DRO thread so you could certainly explore that route, even though they're not my favourite organisation.

It looks to me as if you both qualify. Let your AI guide you about the income expenditure split. The actual method is not prescribed so as long as it is logical you would be OK.

You do need the £90 x 2 ready in cash (do not let anyone suggest that you pay more) and if you can get Experian reports for each of you, that would speed things a bit.

All the debts you mention, including the parking fines, must go in.

But try to be more careful where you park in future....

And you will need your benefits and earned income to be going in to a bank account with someone not linked to your other debts. It should not be overdrawn when you apply, and not have more than £300 after regular payments go out.

rira

I was *careful where I parked* unfortunately by our house because all the townies park here instead of in the parking areas, our council just made a new parking fee for RESIDENTS passes (which I am) and then another fee for VISITOR'S passes - which is too darned expensive and leaves nowhere to park at all over the daytime even though there's plenty of room. It is useless anyway because when we have a problem is at night after working hours - when anyone can park anywhere!

Soo, normally I move my car 4 blocks from my house over the day - however sometimes I have not been able to find an unregulated space even 4 blocks away - so I got a ticket. (We do not have pay and display - it's a yearly pass)

It's not like I am parking up in pay and display and not paying, if only I could do that.

So thanks for the caution - but it's not like you think.

fatbelly

OK - understand the background to that now.

Actually I wasn't taking the ****. In a DRO, applicants have (by definition) a tight budget with little room for 'extras'. Although you can dump all the current parking fines in a DRO, you won't be allowed to get another DRO for six years.

So you do need to develop a strategy for not getting fined.

Did you have any comments on the rest of my post?

rira

Hi FB: Yes, I have saved for this year's pass and have the cheque written and sitting in an envelope to post Tuesday whereupon they will write back and tell me they need something else (proof of address, proof of insurance other nonsense, lol) and then I'll send those back and then providing they can sort out how to use an envelope, I reckon I'll get my pass. (This stemming from what went down last time I bought a pass - nightmare)

I also know I cannot get tickets like that anymore too.

As to the rest of your post:
No, I don't think so - it was all pretty straight forward.

I would like to know: What happens in the case of my husband who makes £0? He does not get JSA or IS as he's a student.
So how do we sort him?

I just need to somehow find out how much we owe whom because I actually don't even know (most our debts are with DCAs) so I am trying to get a credit report which reflects both my maiden and married names.

I suppose I am just wondering which DCS would be the fastest - because I just need to get this done before we get sidetracked again. (Husband has ADD, and it is a chore sort of keeping him on point with his coursework and the 3 kids on track - so I need to get things done and dusted as soon as, as I haven't loads of free time to pore over the internet and paperwork)

debt_doctor

Hi,
As I have suggested in the PM I sent you, I suggested splitting your income and expenditure. This is due to the latest 'intermediary guidance'. Personally, (this is where I agree with Fatbelly's post) when I submit applications I do the income and expenditure as I think is appropriate (I might split the income, I might not) as this is I feel my area of expertise and it is not second guessed or looked at by the IS. All I need to show is that I acted in good faith.
The latest guidance (which I often ignore at my convenience!) is that seperate income / expenditure should be used and as we are 'sending you' to an unknown (potentially 'a jobs worth!' Intermediary) then that is what I think you should do.

Bye the way - I assume that all your parking penalties were issued by the local authority and didn't go through the magistrates court?

DD

rira

Hello,

debt_doctor wrote: »

Hi,
As I have suggested in the PM I sent you, I suggested splitting your income and expenditure......then that is what I think you should do.

(respectully snipped)

Thank you so much again for all your help - as I think I also said in our PMs, I will give the CAB another go. I mean, last time I spoke with them was awhile ago - so I will try again. I can "deal" with the possible embarrassment of someone we know working there. I just would have rather not had to have done.

I suppose I just hope that whoever I get will be as savvy with regard to guidance and best course of reasonable action as FB, I_A and you seem to be!

debt_doctor wrote: »

Bye the way - I assume that all your parking penalties were issued by the local authority and didn't go through the magistrates court?

As far as I understand, yes.

Also just read this elsewhere:

Penalty Charge Notices (frequently referred to as “fines”)
Fixed penalty notices or penalty charge notices issued on behalf of a local authority, including those in relation to the London congestion charge, are not fines for the purpose of section 150 of the Magistrates Act 1980. They should be treated as qualifying debts and will be released at the end of the moratorium period. This is applicable to the majority of parking fines.

So that's a relief, I guess?

Anyway, I would have done this already last January, if I was not so put off by our own CAB - but I will give them another go tomorrow when they are open.

Finally, should I, for EACH of us, get a credit report from all 3 agencies? Or just experian? I have ordered the £2 one for each of us already from experian, thanks to PMs from DD.

:T Thanks again to the forum IAs who take their time to help us.

If any of you need any PC help or graphic/web help - please PM me! I would be glad to help you out, too!

fatbelly

rira wrote: »

Finally, should I, for EACH of us, get a credit report from all 3 agencies? Or just experian? I have ordered the £2 one for each of us already from experian, thanks to PMs from DD.

Experian is the one the DRO Unit checks your application against but if you are unsure what you oweto who then it is just possible that the others might list a debt that Experian does not.