DRO - sold car, drive other & proof?

Bubbly85

Hi, I am looking for some advice on my situation and my suitability for a DRO.

Debt = £8,500 (credit cards, unsecured loans, payday loans, overdraft)
I am currently unemployed and on benefits
No savings
Do not own property

I sold my car last year to my sister for £1000 as I had to go part time and didn't have enough money to live on on a part time wage, will that some how look suspicious at all? I will require a car for work purposes eventually, so can I drive a friends car whilst on DRO?

My landlord has been kind enough to accept housing benefit whilst I've been unemployed (of £220 per month only), however once I become employed again I have to go back to paying what I did before my job contract ended (£320 rent plus bills & council tax = total = £420). Would the DRO accept this condition that I'm paying less rent now and that my rent would go up once I start employment?

Who should I use as an intermediary - CAB or CCCS?

How many months of bank statements do I need to show?

I hope to start a new job eventually this year and my income is likely to be £1100 after tax - do other people on here earn around this much or more and were still able to continue with the DRO? Most of my expenditure goes on travelling/petrol costs.

Whilst on DRO do they monitor my bank account and statements?

Thanks,
Bubs

wba31

Bubbly85 wrote: »

Hi, I am looking for some advice on my situation and my suitability for a DRO.

Debt = £8,500 (credit cards, unsecured loans, payday loans, overdraft)
I am currently unemployed and on benefits
No savings
Do not own property

I sold my car last year to my sister for £1000 as I had to go part time and didn't have enough money to live on on a part time wage, will that some how look suspicious at all? I will require a car for work purposes eventually, so can I drive a friends car whilst on DRO?

Key question is how much was your car worth? if it was worth £1000 then no problem. if it was worth more than that, then you will have sold an asset for less than it's true value, which can cause the DRO to be revoked (but not guarenteed). You would also be asked what the money was used for, if it was subsumed into maintaining your living costs for a few months, then i cant see it being a major issue.

My landlord has been kind enough to accept housing benefit whilst I've been unemployed (of £220 per month only), however once I become employed again I have to go back to paying what I did before my job contract ended (£320 rent plus bills & council tax = total = £420). Would the DRO accept this condition that I'm paying less rent now and that my rent would go up once I start employment?

Should your circumstances change the Insolvency Service will ask you to provide a new copy of your budget, which your intermediary would help you with.

Who should I use as an intermediary - CAB or CCCS?

Neither are more likely to get one approved or not. go with whichever is easiest for you. CCCS (Step Change now - they rebranded last year) do everything over phone/internet and through post. someone i know who works on their DRO team has confirmed for me this week that once they received the paperwork they need, they get the DRO turned around within a few days (it's then just a case of you getting the fee together and getting back to them to submit). All CAB's have different timescales, might be worth ringing them to see how quick they can do it.

How many months of bank statements do I need to show?

I would guess at one recent statement for each debt, and adequate proof of income (benefit award letter or 1 months bank statement

I hope to start a new job eventually this year and my income is likely to be £1100 after tax - do other people on here earn around this much or more and were still able to continue with the DRO? Most of my expenditure goes on travelling/petrol costs.

It's all relative to people's situations. If you were earning £1100 however, had rent/bills for £420, maybe £250 for fuel/insurance etc (im estimating), £300 for housekeeping (food, clothing, hairdressing (gotta look smart in a job) etc) and £130 for other expenditure, there you fir in again. Make sure you are honest and realistic however, I use those figures to show that it could fit.

Whilst on DRO do they monitor my bank account and statements?

Nothing it monitored, however this is a legal process, and you agree to notify the Insolvency Service of any changes. If you deliberately withhold any information you are liable to prosecution. But dont worry about changes, they may never happen. If they do, you intermediary (Step Change or CAB) will support you all the way through it

Thanks,
Bubs

Please see my answers above in red, I hope they answer your queries

Bubbly85

Thank you wba31, that helped me massively