would matched betting be possible / allowed whilst on a DRO?

Jibabajabba

Hi everyone, 
my first post here after a long while reading / spectating. . 
I've been speaking with Step change for a few years and considering going for a DRO. 
One thing that worries me is the inflexibility of earning more - I currently come out with about 1000 after tax and child maintenance. I tend to have around 200 left once I've paid rent and regular bills. 200 doesn't tend to last the month so I survive by doing a few extra shifts with NHS banks on the weekends - this is paid weekly as well so very convenient. This is also very essential income as well for allowing me to travel 300 miles every month or two to spend a weekend with my 10 year old soon. 
Without the extra shifts - it seems easy enough to set out my income and outcome to satisfy the DRO terms. -  but doing the extra shifts can easily throw that all out.

So - I had an idea,   - a few years ago I dabbled with matched betting. made a few hundred but lost interest / lacked time  - just preferred to earn money via everytime. But now - I'm thinking could this be a good replacement for overtime -  with it being tax free and also not considered earnings exactly ( I may be wrong? ) 
If I were to have a separate account - monzo for instance  - that I just used to try and build up money for son visits with matched betting wins  - would that be jeopardising my DRO?  I suspect it possibly would be a risk  - hence the post here. . . 
thanks for any info or opinions in advance . . 

MrFrugalFever

forgive me but why would you even entertain such a thing when you’re in a position whereby you owe creditors money and are about to potentially have debt wiped off where they lose out?

if you earn additional income, whether that be through overtime, second job or other, it will be reviewed and questioned.

Jibabajabba

I did try to explain reason for considering this somewhat  -   I earn just enough to cover rent , pay the bills and all the essentials -     maintaining contact with my child winds up being a significant outgoing each visit -  petrol expense, b and b etc  ( we live opposite ends of England ) - usually overtime is the solution to this.  With overtime not being an opportunity to solve this whilst doing a DRO process for a year, of course I consider how to manage the year  .   * Only consider , of course -    reason for post is I'm skeptical whether its allowed / or within the rules .   I guess the reason it crossed my mind is that it appears to be treated differently to a second job in some respects

Jibabajabba

sorry If the idea sounds dodgy or immoral -  it is only an idea that came up whilst I try to think of solutions to a  problem -       the reason I share on a forum is I wouldn't want to go into DRO and break any rules . . . 

MrFrugalFever

I understand your thought process and reasoning but matched betting is just asking for further debt problems, not to mention will not be seen favourably when going through a debt solution.
if you do regular overtime then this could be seen as regular income and be taken in to account to support with you child situation. So say you regularly earn an extra £300 post-tax per month then that will be taken in to account but if it’s £300 one month then nothing for 4 months then £200 etc, that would be seen differently.

the bottom line is you owe companies money, earning more and not expecting them to want their fair share is naive, so be honest and declare everything and your situation and it will work for you, then hopefully learn from it.

i know I’ve learnt a lesson, that’s for sure.

Jibabajabba

yeah you're probably right. I guess the solution is to factor the trips in to my outgoings - and try to stabilize the income as much as possible. Just quite tricky to keep things the same every month when working a combination of steady job and extra shifts  -  ( I belive income has to stay the same each month with wiggle room of £50 pound each way ) . 
Thanks for the reply

MrFrugalFever

When doing your I&E report, yes factor in a regular routine, it’s not a lie it’s how you’re managing a situation that is beyond your control.

i have little experience as far as DRO’s are concerned, but I imagine they aren’t too dissimilar to the way an IVA is set up or managed just a DRO is a much quicker process for lower debt generally (sub £20k?).

it is entirely possible to reduce expenditure and still maintain a reasonably healthy lifestyle, if you’re going to do it, do it now because the country being shut down is a great excuse to start really cutting back and scrutinising everything you spend. I no longer need to make excuses as to why I can’t go down the pub or to a restaurant....saving £50+ each visit....