Urgent- DRO REVOKED from personal injury settlement ?

Blouseortrousers

Firstly, I want to thank you all for your replies on here. I've literally been awake all night anxiously going over it all and trying to google examples of this.

Just rang Payplan who set up my DRO, they told me that because of my shortfall of income because of getting SSP (over 3 months pay / didn't claim any benefits) I can use this money to cover the rent arrears I'm now in, and to purchase a car ( my current car is not mine I've just borrowed it but relative who's the owner needs it back).

They told me however (and confirmed with another intermediary) that I shouldn't contact the DRO unit now but only when I receive the actual funds in the form of cheque or bacs payment. He said he doesn't think the DRO would be revoked mainly because of my shortfall in income recently (lucky in some ways I guess) and because of needing to purchase a new car.

I double checked I wouldn't be in trouble if I don't call the DRO unit now and he said no only call them when I receive the money, as that's when the asset is in my possession.

Blouseortrousers

Part of me still wonders if it's better to ring the DRO unit anyway. I don't want to be accused of withholding. Or should I take pay plans advice and wait

CKhalvashi

Blouseortrousers wrote: »

Part of me still wonders if it's better to ring the DRO unit anyway. I don't want to be accused of withholding. Or should I take pay plans advice and wait

I'd say it's your best bet.

If you're completely honest, noone can come back later and bite you for it.

Blouseortrousers

So I decided to call Payplan and speak to someone different. It does seem a matter of personal opinion with intermediaries, as this advisor believes it will definitely be revoked because 'the insolvency service don't let you choose where the windfall goes'

She did say however that it would be silly to tell them now because I actually don't have the funds. My solicitor has confirmed it can sometimes be weeks or months before the 3rd party sends funds (she has a case settled in March where funds are still being chased). Essentially what Payplan are saying is that I haven't actually had a windfall as of yet so no point risking revocation of my DRO when I could be waiting weeks or months for payment.

Payplan insinuated that if a cheque was sent from my solicitor and 'I didn't receive it' or 'it was lost in the post', then I would probably have already completed my DRO by the time the money is accessible.

HappyMJ

Blouseortrousers wrote: »

So I decided to call Payplan and speak to someone different. It does seem a matter of personal opinion with intermediaries, as this advisor believes it will definitely be revoked because 'the insolvency service don't let you choose where the windfall goes'

She did say however that it would be silly to tell them now because I actually don't have the funds. My solicitor has confirmed it can sometimes be weeks or months before the 3rd party sends funds (she has a case settled in March where funds are still being chased). Essentially what Payplan are saying is that I haven't actually had a windfall as of yet so no point risking revocation of my DRO when I could be waiting weeks or months for payment.

Payplan insinuated that if a cheque was sent from my solicitor and 'I didn't receive it' or 'it was lost in the post', then I would probably have already completed my DRO by the time the money is accessible.

In that case I wouldn't say anything until you've got the cheque in your hands, paid off your arrears, paid for your next month of living expenses and if what you have left is in excess of £1,000 then I'd talk to them about it then.

debt_doctor

If it is all for personal injury then the guidance says that this will not adversely affect your DRO (See Fatbelly's post - who found the guidance before I did!) -so why not inform?


just make sure that you don't buy anything of value with the money whilst under the DRO.
DD

fatbelly

Yes, unless you think the amount will change, I would say this is already 'quantified' so I am disagreeing with the intermediaries at Payplan (are you sure you spoke to their intermediaries - they don't have many).

Everyone has to follow the same guidance and I've quoted from it above. This does not count as 'income' and is a particular sort of 'windfall', covered by its own section in the guidance.

Their statement that the DRO will be definitely revoked seems to differ from the official guidance that 'this will not adversely affect the DRO'

If they truly suggested that you should lie to the DRO Unit then that may change my view of whether to refer to them at all, ever!

Blouseortrousers

Well Fatbelly, the lady from payplan was really blunt! Genuinely she said I'd be putting my foot in it if I tell them now because the money may take months to come into my posession, thus not during the moratorium period.

I really am torn between both sides- I can see that legally I must tell the OR, but at the same time I dont even have the award, what if the 3rd party withdraw the offer and dont pay out- then I've lost my DRO too.

Having said that, as DD and Fatbelly have said, it seems that I might not get my DRO revoked. In your experience- do people get found out about these things; i.e, how COULD the DRO unit even find out unless someone personally rings and tells them? Is there some kind of personal injury register that they search?

*EDIT* I have also emailed Payplan to ask them to confirm their advice in writing via email to cover myself

debt_doctor

I really do fully understand your worries.


Fatbelly (FB) and I are both Authorised Intermediaries.


My worry for you is that if you withhold information (I agree with FB that you - as I said earlier, need to inform now as the 'award' has been quantified) then that is a reason to revoke your DRO - no matter how they would treat the money.


The guidance is issued for a reason - it needs to be followed by all parties, and the guidance says that your money and DRO is safe PROVIDING that all of the award is for personal injury.


If it isn't ALL for personal injury (part of it is loss of earnings or something) then tell us and get further advice from here.
DD

mwarby

Good plan to get advice in writing. But consider if you spend the money and OR wants it later, will they reimburse it ? will record of advice be mysteriously lost or be deemed not to be advice?

The OR is unlikely to take kindly to finding out, rather than being told in the proper manner.