SOA changes

alltaken

Does the OR check that the amounts granted as reasonable expenditure on the SOA are true and correct each month?

If for example landline costs are higher than they actually are, but that figure is accepted when the SOA was made, would it need to be changed?

I'm just a bit worried that some figures are lower than has been granted.

HappyMJ

You need to put the highest figure you think the bills will be.

As far phone is concerned get a package with unlimited calls. Most providers charge £5 per month extra for the pack. BT charges £7 per month. I'd put the cost of the BT pack down whether you pay BT or not. BT line rental is now £18 per month for line rental plus £7 per month for the calls plus whatever broadband pack you are on costs. Unlimited BT ADSL costs £15 per month. I'd put down £40 per month for landline and broadband.

For mobile calls you can get a SIM only pack including unlimited calls or at the very least a lot of them. My OH has a package costing £12 which gives her unlimited calls, unlimited text messages and unlimited mobile data. She can never go over the limits. You could pay £10 per month and get quite a good pack. £15 a month will get quite a good PAYG plan. I'd put down £20 a month for a mobile.

Dialling premium rate numbers will not be allowed to be budgeted for in your bankruptcy SOA....so don't dial them.

alltaken

thanks, but does staying under these amounts each month cause issues? Can I utilise the money saved or should I let the OR know I've spent less?

alltaken

HappyMJ wrote: »

You need to put the highest figure you think the bills will be.

As far phone is concerned get a package with unlimited calls. Most providers charge £5 per month extra for the pack. BT charges £7 per month. I'd put the cost of the BT pack down whether you pay BT or not. BT line rental is now £18 per month for line rental plus £7 per month for the calls plus whatever broadband pack you are on costs. Unlimited BT ADSL costs £15 per month. I'd put down £40 per month for landline and broadband.

For mobile calls you can get a SIM only pack including unlimited calls or at the very least a lot of them. My OH has a package costing £12 which gives her unlimited calls, unlimited text messages and unlimited mobile data. She can never go over the limits. You could pay £10 per month and get quite a good pack. £15 a month will get quite a good PAYG plan. I'd put down £20 a month for a mobile.

Dialling premium rate numbers will not be allowed to be budgeted for in your bankruptcy SOA....so don't dial them.

Any idea on energy costs. If average for my household is £120 but I use £90 each month?

National_Debtline

alltaken wrote: »

thanks, but does staying under these amounts each month cause issues? Can I utilise the money saved or should I let the OR know I've spent less?

Hi alltaken


If the OR has granted you a particular figure for phone/energy costs and you manage to undercut it, there's no need to declare it as such. Such bills may fluctuate over the year in any case, so whatever you save in one month may be needed as a buffer in another.


The same principle applies to your grocery costs and pretty much any other aspect of your household expenditure, for that matter.


Dennis
@natdebtline

HappyMJ

alltaken wrote: »

Any idea on energy costs. If average for my household is £120 but I use £90 each month?

£90 is a bit low for a 3 bedroom semi detached house with 4 occupants. I'm assuming that is the size of your house and household for that amount.

Is it that low because of the area you live (maybe south east England) maybe you pay by direct debit or you have an fixed rate tariff? If you find savings can be made on bills by shopping around you can keep those savings for other parts of your budget. I'd put the £120 figure down.

The groceries figure allows you to shop in your corner store daily paying exorbitant prices for everything...you aren't required to shop at Lidl/Aldi but if you choose to you could throw a bottle of wine in the shopping and still be within budget. You can keep the change for other things.

alltaken

thank you so much. Does the same stuff apply to a DRO? If money is saved it can be used elsewhere? What happens to the £50 rule, so long as it is agreed expenditure that is what is looked at? Not that you saved money by going to aldi?

HappyMJ

alltaken wrote: »

thank you so much. Does the same stuff apply to a DRO? If money is saved it can be used elsewhere? What happens to the £50 rule, so long as it is agreed expenditure that is what is looked at? Not that you saved money by going to aldi?

A DRO is a mini bankruptcy with less scrutiny. You can only have a DRO if you have less than £50 a month surplus. Most working people wouldn't qualify. They wouldn't qualify as so many expenses that you would have paid for previously is now written off. One big example is council tax. Miss a payment the whole year becomes due and able to be included in the DRO. You can't then use council tax as an expense as you aren't paying it.