Yet another DRO advice request!

CornishWildFlower

Hello all,

Well, it's finally come to this, I sat down to do what I, laughingly, call our finances the other day and found that after paying bills we were left with £198 for the following 4 weeks. This doesn't even cover the petrol, let alone groceries etc, so have been reading around the excellent information provided on this site and think that I would qualify for a DRO.

Where I am having difficulty is in separating my finances from my husbands and also the fact that we are both paid 4 weekly so it's hard to come up with a monthly expense sheet. Should I just come up with an annual I&E sheet then divide by 13? (number of paydates a year)

Am about to write letters offering token payments until I can sort myself out, however, one of my debts is a managed loan with HSBC whom I also bank with. I have been in slavery to this loan for the last 6 years and have barely halved it. I'm guessing I should find myself another bank account before addressing them in any way, shape, or form.

I have a few small questions though such as, my landlord wouldn't be informed would he? Also, if my husband gets the opportunity for some overtime at work he would be free to take it wouldn't he? The £50 surplus limit being my alone (I think) Would Baines and Ernst be a good company to go with? I get the impression that NDL and CCCS are grossly oversubscribed.

I'm sorry that it's come to this, we've worked all our lives and paid our way for everything with an entitlement to nothing and this is the end result. Nothing to show for it except ritual humiliation but, I have two children to consider and so must take my medicine!

Any advice or direction you could give me would be much appreciated.

wba31

CornishWildFlower wrote: »

Hello all,

Well, it's finally come to this, I sat down to do what I, laughingly, call our finances the other day and found that after paying bills we were left with £198 for the following 4 weeks. This doesn't even cover the petrol, let alone groceries etc, so have been reading around the excellent information provided on this site and think that I would qualify for a DRO.

Where I am having difficulty is in separating my finances from my husbands and also the fact that we are both paid 4 weekly so it's hard to come up with a monthly expense sheet. Should I just come up with an annual I&E sheet then divide by 13? (number of paydates a year)

Am about to write letters offering token payments until I can sort myself out, however, one of my debts is a managed loan with HSBC whom I also bank with. I have been in slavery to this loan for the last 6 years and have barely halved it. I'm guessing I should find myself another bank account before addressing them in any way, shape, or form.

I have a few small questions though such as, my landlord wouldn't be informed would he? Also, if my husband gets the opportunity for some overtime at work he would be free to take it wouldn't he? The £50 surplus limit being my alone (I think) Would Baines and Ernst be a good company to go with? I get the impression that NDL and CCCS are grossly oversubscribed.

I'm sorry that it's come to this, we've worked all our lives and paid our way for everything with an entitlement to nothing and this is the end result. Nothing to show for it except ritual humiliation but, I have two children to consider and so must take my medicine!

Any advice or direction you could give me would be much appreciated.

CCCS and NDL are both free, i dont think either are over subscribed? i know baines and ernst charge for repayment plans, i dont know if they can for other options. I have heard they arent very particular in their checks prior to DRO's, whereas i know CCCS and NDL will definately make sure it should be ok for you to minimise the risk of it being revoked, which would lose your £90 fee.

This £180 a month left over, im guessing this is after you've paid creditors too?

If you are paid 4 weekly you will need to work out your total for a year, then divide by 12, so that will create a calendar monthly budget which is how most advisors work. do not worry about splitting your budget if you actually join everything, the DRO intermediary who completes your DRO will do that for you. once you are in the DRO your husband's income will not be considered, so if any overtime is available for him it should not affect you.

fatbelly

It's a little known fact that there are more DROs per 1000 population in Cornwall than any other county. Part of that may be because the low debt/low income/cheap car/rented accommodation model fits that part of the country quite well.

The other reason is that Cornwall CAB is well organised and has more than a dozen Approved Intermediaries scattered through the county. I can give you further details by pm (tell me your nearest big town) or you can ring 08444 994188 if you want to explore that option.

Not touting for business - just giving the options. CCCS/Payplan/NDL are good too!

P.S. Landlord only informed if he's a creditor, i.e. you have rent arrears.

CornishWildFlower

Hi Wba31 & Fatbelly, thanks both for your replies. Yes, the £198 mentioned is after paying all bills but, before paying for petrol approx. £250 a month and groceries.

Interesting statistics about Cornwall, if not wholly surprising, it's hard to think of many places with such glaring disparity between the haves and the have nots. However, it's such a beautiful place it makes up for it, in its own way. Landlord is not a creditor (thank Christ!), just the usual suspects, credit card and bank loan.

I think I am going to have to go through with this, have just got home after working all night and really wonder what its all about. Everything is going through the roof but, petrol has been a major blow in the last year.

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to reply and give me a steer, I appreciate it.

PM on its way Fatbelly.