DRO Questions.

Onel

Hello,

I've been reading these forums for awhile and think a DRO is the right way for me to go.

I have debts of £15,900 (all in my name) which I am unable to pay without the help of payday loans and other borrowing from family and friends.

I have a few questions before I proceed:

I am married with a joint bank account where mine and my wifes bills both come out from, Is this going to be seen as all the bills in the account are split down the middle? I only ask as I pay for 80% of them. (my wifes pay doesn't enter this account and she just pays in what she can)

Although we rent together and both our names are on the agreement I pay the majority of the rental cost, council tax, electric and so on and again she pays what she can.

Basically I am asking as I am married and live with my wife are they going to just say you should both be paying half so we can't accept the expenses you claim, as if they did ask to see her earnings they would think she could pay more than she is but she owes massive ammounts to family members £11,000+ so it isn't possible for her to do so without screwing them over (which obviously we don't want).

Any help is appreciated.

sourcrates

Hi,

In a DRO, your budget, is your Budget.

It will be accepted without question.

A bigger problem may be related to treating your creditors fairly, you should not be seen to favour one over another, so ideally you should of ceased making all creditor payments well before application.

debt_doctor

Hi,
If it is only you that is doing a DRO then only your income should be taken in to account and the expenses that you pay.
If I read correctly, it is only your wife that is paying family back? If so, then that is not an action by you - providing the family debts are not yours.
DD

Onel

Hello DD,

Yes my wife is the only one paying back the debt she owes to family as it has nothing to do with me.

ToxtethO'Grady

You mentioned you've been borrowing off family and friends, have you included that in your debt balance?

You may have to get them to gift it to you if it isn't included and takes you over £20K. And remember its not just the debt balance your surplus (money left over after your living expenses at the end of the month) should be under £50. Try and get your budget balanced if its in a deficit with the contribution from your wife.

Onel

Hello ToxtethO'Grady

I have spoken to family and friends who pointed me in the direction of a DRO and they told me not to worry about paying them back.

I have a question regarding a very expensive mobile phone contract (£160 a month) i have missed payments on this so would that be added to the DRO? and if so would just the amount I owe or the entire contract be added?

Thanks in advance.

sourcrates

Onel wrote: »

Hello ToxtethO'Grady

I have spoken to family and friends who pointed me in the direction of a DRO and they told me not to worry about paying them back.

I have a question regarding a very expensive mobile phone contract (£160 a month) i have missed payments on this so would that be added to the DRO? and if so would just the amount I owe or the entire contract be added?

Thanks in advance.

Yes it can be added, (any consumer credit/service contract debt can be), for the full amount of the outstanding contract (as long as it does not go over the 20k threshold).

wba31

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi,

In a DRO, your budget, is your Budget.

It will be accepted without question.

A bigger problem may be related to treating your creditors fairly, you should not be seen to favour one over another, so ideally you should of ceased making all creditor payments well before application.

Depending on your intermediary, this may not be the case.

If you came to me, I would insist that you should be paying your proportional share of the household costs only. So if you earn 60% of the household income for example, your budget should show that you pay 60% of household costs and your wife 40%. Sometimes there are anomalies that change this (if you run a car and she doesn't for example) but for you to pay 80% while your wife pays creditors (they are all to be treated fairly, irrelevant of being banks/credit cards or family members) would be something that may mean you are not eligible for a DRO. In my understanding some of the biggest providers of DROs would have the same opinion.

You mentioned that family members are prepared to gift what is owed, this would mean that your wife would have more money to contribute to the household budget and can then pay more than 20%, this may then effect your disposable income...

Onel

Thank you for the reply wba31,

My wife earns a fair bit less than me due to being on a 0 hour contract. She also has a car to run and I don't, the debt she is paying to family also isn't mine but I do see where you are coming from. (only my family is willing to gift me what I owe them not hers unfortunately)

I have provided StepChange with a summery of what I pay and why and I am waiting on a reply from them before deciding on if I proceed with a DRO or not.

Electrum

Keep us updated how things go.