reasonable housekeeping figures DRO

Depth_Charge

National_Debtline wrote: »

I think this is a really useful point. Just yesterday we had a client who was being urged to take an IVA by an advice agency (not Stepchange, by the way) as they had £50 per month spare and debts of around £13k. Whilst, of course, there are people where IVAs are absolutely the right way to go for their situation - That certainly wasn't the case with this individual.

Best wishes,

David

Hi David

Interesting

If you don't mind me asking - Have you any comments to make on the other points I have made and the example cases quoted previously in this thread?

We are seeing a steady flow of interesting cases where people are struggling in Debt Management Plans where the disposable income has been calculated around the £100 per month mark including a number where more is being paid in fees that what actually goes to creditors.

Thanks for responding by the way:)

Anyone else looking in - please feel free to comment

DC

National_Debtline

Hello again,

Similarly to IVAs, I think DMPs play a really important role in debt advice. We often have callers that, for one reason or another, are unable to directly deal with their creditors - and would prefer a helping hand. Most people reading this thread are likely to know that we do not have an in-house DMP facility - as such we refer half our DMP clients to Payplan and half to Stepchange. We encourage every caller to complete a financial statement with our advisers, all statements adhere to CFS.

National Debtline prides itself in providing our callers with 'holistic' advice. This means that we will always make our callers aware of all options available to them, and of course this includes self-negotiating (we're up to version twenty of our self-help guide, Dealing with your Debts http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/pdf/self-help-pack/self-help-pack-full.pdf). When anyone in debt is considering what option to consider, they should think about how long it will take to become debt-free with each one. Of course they need to consider the pros and cons of each route too. From a personal perspective, I don't enjoy the idea of people being a slave to a DMP for years and years - unless, of course, it is absolutely the choice of the individual. As you already know, the vast majority of people fall in to debt due to an unforeseen change in their personal circumstances - as such the ability to make a fresh start is paramount in my eyes.

If there are people under a DMP paying in the region of £100 it may be worth them going through a CFS-complaint financial statement to see if their current arrangement is actually sustainable. I've had plenty of callers who have been struggling under DMPs (generally fee-charging) when their new budget actually reflects no spare surplus money for creditors at all - sometimes quite hefty deficits. Financial statements are organic in nature, and things do change. I actually like the way that the CFS groups the figures into the major sections as it gives people a little more flexibility in what they list - so long as the overall budget is reasonable.

For the record, much of what I've written is based upon my own thoughts and experiences with the callers I've spoken to over the years (nearly 20,000!).

Best wishes,

David.

Depth_Charge

wba31 wrote: »

Isn't that the total cfs figure for housekeeping? Step Change break it all down into food, clothing, tobacco and I think that they have a school/work meals section from what I recall

Hi

Isn't there a section in the CFS separate to housekeeping for other expenditure?

DC

fatbelly

I don't have a copy on my home computer but they produce figures for

Housekeeping
Telephones
Travel
Other

wba31

Depth_Charge wrote: »

Hi

Isn't there a section in the CFS separate to housekeeping for other expenditure?

DC

yeh, the CFS sheet on my desk - if a client is struggling to know what goes where says
Housekeeping: this would include food, cleaning products, newspapers, cigarettes, alcohol, nappies and pet food. Laundry and clothing would be included too.

Other is for hairdressing, cable/satellite, pocket money, hobbies, christmas, vets bills. schools meals/meals at work and health costs (dentists and prescriptions) can be included too.


not sure who put these together, be it the CFS or one of my managers. It's what i use to help a client figure out what goes where...

National_Debtline

It sounds like the standard form. You start by completing the full budget (you can see an example here: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/pdf/personal-budget-sheet/your-personal-budget-sheet.pdf). You then transfer the figures into the summary, which is the condensed version that is sent to the creditors (http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/pdf/personal-budget-sheet/budget-summary-for-creditors.pdf).

Hope this helps.

David.

longtermplanner

National_Debtline wrote: »

For the record, much of what I've written is based upon my own thoughts and experiences with the callers I've spoken to over the years (nearly 20,000!).

That leave me feeling just speechless. 20,000. wow.

National_Debtline

longtermplanner wrote: »

That leave me feeling just speechless. 20,000. wow.

I've been here for many years. And no two cases have ever been the same. Some of our guys have been here since the very start (1987).

Depth_Charge

National_Debtline wrote: »

I've been here for many years. And no two cases have ever been the same. Some of our guys have been here since the very start (1987).

Hi David

I was just wondering, are these 20,000 all telephone enquiries:)

DC

Depth_Charge

wba31 wrote: »

yeh, the CFS sheet on my desk - if a client is struggling to know what goes where says
Housekeeping: this would include food, cleaning products, newspapers, cigarettes, alcohol, nappies and pet food. Laundry and clothing would be included too.

Other is for hairdressing, cable/satellite, pocket money, hobbies, christmas, vets bills. schools meals/meals at work and health costs (dentists and prescriptions) can be included too.


not sure who put these together, be it the CFS or one of my managers. It's what i use to help a client figure out what goes where...

Hi

Thanks for the reply

I am a little confused

Are they CFS figures or the Stepchange ones or a maybe mixture of both.

Apologies if I am missing the obvious

DC