DRO deficit amounts

Sweet_Treats

Hi Guys, 

I am working out my budget for a possible DRO. I know you have to have no more than £75 left each month after you’ve paid all the usual household expenses. However what happens if your minus  £200 per month. Would you still be able to apply? 

Thank you. 

Brie

So you're saying you have more money going out than you have coming in?  Which is one of the reasons you are in debt (obviously).  As far as I'm aware you can still apply but you need to consider that you're saying you're willing to get yourself into more debt which shouldn't be happening during the year of a DRO.

So I would suggest you look at your budget again.  Why is there that £200 problem?  Is it because you are paying off debts that you won't be paying once the DRO is in place?  So mark those as zero.  Is it because all your basic expenditures (rent/bills/food) exceed your income?  then you have to look at a way to cut those back.  Stick to the priority debts (rent/council tax as well as food) and get rid of everything else.  Somehow.  Maybe post on the DWD board with an statement of accounts to see what assistance others can give on trimming things.

sourcrates

You do not include any debt repayments in your disposable income/budget figure.

You cannot live with a £200 per month budget deficit, it`s simply not workable.

You would be advised to correct your budget until it balanced, as no debt solution will work given those figures.

The other day you were looking at £50 per month mobile phone upgrades, you should perhaps explain what in your budget is causing this deficit.

Sweet_Treats

Hi, 
Thank you for the reply.

I will look at my budget again as I have added some of the debts that would not be in place at the time of a DRO. 

I’ve used my basic wage, plus 1 days enhanced pay and my UC just as a guideline for me to work with at the moment due to my pay being different every month. 

I am also a shift worker so my wages is different every month. I get enhanced payments if I work over a weekend. So one month I may get 2 Saturdays and then the next month a Sat and Sun, Another month I may get no weekend days so it’s hard to work out exactly what I will earn. Plus at present I get a small amount of Universal Credit which would be reduced or zero payment depending on my pay each month from my employer. 
My last 8 months payslips are mainly sick pay. I was off long term sick with an injury, then caught Covid. Plus I also had a pay rise and some back pay in my June. My July wages was just basic pay but then my UC was zero due to Junes back pay and 5% pay rise. 

How would I work it out or would the person who does my DRO do that for me? 

The guy I spoke to at NationalDebt said I need exact figures of my wage each month which I’ve told him is not going to be exact as I’m a shift worker and that my UC will never be the same each month. 

Any advice would be greatly welcomed. 

Thank you 😊 

sourcrates

You must not include ANY debt repayments in your outgoings, as those debts will be included in the DRO.

If your wages vary, then you have to give the DRO advisor an average figure to work with.

This information is required to see if you qualify for a DRO, so the information you give them, must show you meet the criteria, and that your payslips back up your income.

It must also show you have no more than £75 disposable income at month end, now this is only needed to see if you qualify, its a "one off check", once approved, there are no further checks on your income/expenditure at all, so its only an "on paper" figure that`s needed, as long as the budget you show the DRO advisor meets the criteria, that`s all that matters.

Your actual budget is up to you once it gets approved, do you understand what I'm saying.

Sweet_Treats

@sourcrates

Yes I understand what you’re saying. I will speak to my payroll department on Wednesday for some advice regarding my pay. I’ve also looked at turn2us to try to workout how much my wages would need to be before it would completely wipe out my UC payment, as that’s also different every month being a shift worker. 

I’ve added the total together of ever single debt I have and the total is still under the £30,000. 👍

I’ve started working on my budget but I can not see any guidelines on what amounts I can claim for, only what you can claim for in expenses. 

Thank you 😊 

Sweet_Treats

Hi Guys,

I have decided to go with a DRO I’m just about to call back to fill in the application. But first I have a few questions.

1) I work for the nhs and the lady at National Debtline mentioned pensions could be used against my debt. I am in 2 nhs pensions, I can draw one at 65yrs and the other at 67yrs. Will I lose some of my pension or be made to draw them early? 

2) I’m in a housing association flat no rent arrears always been up to date with my rent, could I lose my flat with a DRO?

3) Can anyone advise how long roughly is the process once I complete the application and how it works like where do I send all my info to. 

Just like to say thank you to those who have helped me so far I really do appreciate it. 

sourcrates

The pension rules in a DRO are not like bankruptcy, if you are 55 or younger, on the day your DRO is approved, your pensions are safe.

This also applies if you are already in a DRO, you cannot be made to cash it in, and you certainly should not draw on one whilst you are subject to a DRO.

Is your pension safe in a DRO? · Debt Camel

Your housing association would only find out if they credit checked you, I can`t think of a reason why they would do that, and as long as your rent is up to date, there should not be any issues.

Timescales I am unsure of, fatbelly is your man for that, you must apply through an approved intermediary, stepchange no longer do DRO`s, but can guide you to who does.

Sweet_Treats

@sourcrates
Sorry for the late reply. Thank you for the info, I have an appointment booked with the CAB on Monday 18th to get the ball rolling. Hopefully all will go well. 

Kind Regards. 

Sweet_Treats

Hi Guys,

So I had a 2 hour phone call on 18th Sept with CAB. I did a budget with the CAB worker and was told to send over proof of income, wage slips, debts etc. I sent all this to them over a week ago, and today I received a email back from them with a form debt relief order hub, local citizens advice client referral pack. 
Can anyone advice what happens now as the email just says someone will call me within the next 10days. Also my caseworker did not send me a copy of the budget we did over the phone will I have to do another one? They also say I need to send some proof of ID to them like my passport do I just take a photo and send it over to them? I already have the £90 saved for the fee and my credit report. Thank you in advance.

stu12345_2

I wanted to drop hours at work to get a dro.see previous threads.the problem was I would i have to claim UC top up as my part-time hours were too low. and the CAB guy said the dro regulator would expected any benefits to be claimed..in a DRO application.
so that would mean being back to a full-time job seeker.and prob go bk to higher hours in the year DRO.which would wreck it and cancel it out.
putting me back to square one.
the other problem was I had to show 2 months of wage slips.isaid I'm still full-time and if I drop hours it would be 2 months before I could show you part time wage slips and that would delay my application.

it seemed an excellent idea a DRO cos it would right off £12500 of debts.but I couldn't guarantee I would be below the £75 limit of excess money .during the 12 months. especially when the DWP force me bk into fulltime job 
the CAB guy said a DROb suits someone not a full-time job seeker.but someone on permanent disability where they don't need to up their income or benefits and it would be fixed in the 12 months DRO