Debt Relief Order Help

lucieland

Can anyone help me.
I am in a fair amount of debt and have kind of being burying my head in the sand because of mental health problems. I know I need to deal with this and just wanted to get Christmas out of the way first.
I am on income based ESA and full DLA although the mobility component goes towards my car. I have filled in all the budgeting forms and it makes it out according to what they recommend and it looks like I have way more money than I actually do have. Because of being disabled and other health things, some things cost more than maybe they would for a 'normal' person. Can anyone help with the budgeting forms or recommend somewhere to go to other than CAB as last time I went they were less than helpful. Thanks in advance

sourcrates

Hi,


The most common mistake people make when entering any debt solution is that they fail to budget correctly.
You need to account for every little thing you spend money on, always err on the side of caution, always add slightly more than your actual spend, because prices fluctuate all the time.


Its quite easy to add £10 here, £10 there, make sure you have an emergency fund, call it what you like "newspapers" or whatever.


The idea is to make the budget fit the requirements, if its at all possible.


Stepchange have a debt remedy tool on there website which allows you to enter your budget etc, then gives you a debt solution, try experimenting with the budget tool a bit, until you reach acceptable figures for your DRO application.

fatbelly

DLA counts as an 'in' and an 'out' for DRO applications so it does not count towards your surplus. This is set out explicitly in the guidelines

In the case of these benefits payable to disabled people for their care, supervision or mobility needs, it is acceptable to record the same amount as expenditure.

It's unlikely you would have more than £50 per month surplus on ESA.

If you don't want to use CAB, try Stepchange.

absolutereturn

lucieland wrote: »

Can anyone help me.
I am in a fair amount of debt and have kind of being burying my head in the sand because of mental health problems. I know I need to deal with this and just wanted to get Christmas out of the way first.
I am on income based ESA and full DLA although the mobility component goes towards my car. I have filled in all the budgeting forms and it makes it out according to what they recommend and it looks like I have way more money than I actually do have. Because of being disabled and other health things, some things cost more than maybe they would for a 'normal' person. Can anyone help with the budgeting forms or recommend somewhere to go to other than CAB as last time I went they were less than helpful. Thanks in advance

You can only apply for a DRO through an intermediary and the CABs are just one of the approved intermediaries that can handle them, the Insolvency Service has a list of competent authorities here: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/bankruptcy/DRO/auth.htm

If you want help with your forms you may want to post your details up here, copy and paste your items of I&E or scan or take a picture of your forms.

vlad

My MIL used CAB for her DRO and they were brilliant.

fatbelly

Up to date list of competent authorities here

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/getting-a-debt-relief-order/getting-a-debt-relief-order#find-a-debt-adviser

CAB still do the majority.

National_Debtline

Hi Lucieland,


In order to qualify for a DRO you will need to have less than £20,000 worth of debt, less than £50per month to pay towards that debt and less than £1000 worth of assets (plus you are also allowed a car worth up to £1000).


You should complete your budget based on how you live and not guidelines, if you need extra expenses for health reasons that is what your DLA is for and that would be accounted for in your budget. It is normally best to call an intermediary service and discuss the budget plan to see if you qualify. If you don't qualify then they should also discuss other options with you (possibly bankruptcy). I hope that helps.

Laura
@natdebtline