DRO help please.

eltringham19

Hi this question is for an experienced debt advisor on here can someone help me please.. I spoke to someone at my local cab office today and I have my dro meeting on Tuesday they asked me today do I claim tax credits and I said no and she advised I should claim.. I didn't explain why though I don't though as the meeting today was very brief.. my ex husband and I have joint custody of our children and he claims the tax credits which works out better for me as he has the kids every weekend I'm working and I am on more money than him and if I claimed the tax credits he says he would have to work weekends as he wouldn't be able to afford his home this would mean that I would be paying an extra £180 per week for weekend childcare and I sometimes work till 11 pm at night. I would be far worse off if I claimed as I wouldn't get as much and childcare costs would be astronomical and if I could even get childcare to cover my weekend hours all that on top of the fact that tax credits go down this year. My question is this... would I be made to apply for tax credits as this would be seen as extra income to pay creditors etc? Even though I'd be a lot worse off. Or would it be acceptable for the kids father to carry on claiming them.. hope this makes sense. Thanks

fatbelly

eltringham19 wrote: »

Hi this question is for an experienced debt advisor on here can someone help me please.. I spoke to someone at my local cab office today and I have my dro meeting on Tuesday they asked me today do I claim tax credits and I said no and she advised I should claim.. I didn't explain why though I don't though as the meeting today was very brief.. my ex husband and I have joint custody of our children and he claims the tax credits which works out better for me as he has the kids every weekend I'm working and I am on more money than him and if I claimed the tax credits he says he would have to work weekends as he wouldn't be able to afford his home this would mean that I would be paying an extra £180 per week for weekend childcare and I sometimes work till 11 pm at night. I would be far worse off if I claimed as I wouldn't get as much and childcare costs would be astronomical and if I could even get childcare to cover my weekend hours all that on top of the fact that tax credits go down this year. My question is this... would I be made to apply for tax credits as this would be seen as extra income to pay creditors etc? Even though I'd be a lot worse off. Or would it be acceptable for the kids father to carry on claiming them.. hope this makes sense. Thanks

Hi

You'd need to be a benefits specialist to advise whether what you are doing is the best for you. I don't claim to be one.

Certainly I can answer your question from a debt specialist point of view. No-one will force you to claim anything that you are not already claiming. The income and expenditure statement in a DRO is based on what you are actually currently receiving and what you are actually currently spending, with a £50 per month maximum surplus marking the criterion for acceptance.

As long as you stay within the criteria for the full 12 months of the moratorium, your debts are cleared at the end of that period.

Also - you did well to get through to the CAB on New Year's Eve - my office is closed till 4 Jan

eltringham19

Lol.. away thanks for replying on new years eve fatbelly my friend was right.. you are a star!!! The office was open from 9-4 today which was great happy new year to you and keep up the great work you do. Myself and I'm sure many others appreciate it very much