DRO now or later

Suseka97

Its been quite a while since I had a reason to post on the MSE debt forums, but nice to see some familiar names appearing and giving advice to others (as was the case when I needed it).  

I'm back looking for advice for my son, who has had a pretty turbulent few years - in and out of work, whilst struggling with mental health issues.  He's been in and out of counselling too (but that's a separate issue).

I've finally made him sit down and accept that his debt situation needs to be addressed one way or another and I've been holding his creditors at bay for more than a year or so - but I can't do this forever.  He's currently signed off work and has been for several months now, under the supervision of his GP, with mental health problems and has lost his drivers licence as a result (which has only added to his general lack of interest in, well, everything).  He is receiving some sort of income support benefit (ESA I think) and has recently been assessed for PIP (currently pending the outcome).  He is having some sort of assessment in a few weeks to determine whether he can get his drivers licence back (reading between the lines I think his GP reported him to the DVLA due to his mental health issues).

His current income is something like £350 per month, his debts amount to just under £29k and he has a 2010 Ford Mondeo worth less than £2k (looking at the Parkers Guide valuation).  I don't know what his income will be if he gets PIP.  He has no bank account (his benefit gets paid into his partners bank account).  She is a NHS bank worker and they have one daughter.  Her income is variable (although as a bank worker she can pick up shifts fairly regularly).  Between them they cannot afford all their household bills, so the situation for the whole household is getting pretty dire (she's on an IVA, has been for about 4 years now).

I don't have all the figures to put an I&E up on the forum - but just looking at things from what I know, I'm thinking he is probably eligible for a DRO.  However, I don't know how best to go about this, or who to contact.  He did think about bankruptcy, but doesn't have the funds - but I'm willing to pay the £90 for a DRO application.  

So my reason for posting is to get some idea as to whether I'm on the right track.  Should he wait until his PIP thing is sorted, or, if he gets his licence back he'll be better placed to find the sort of work he wants to do, so should he wait until that's resolved.  

It's impossible for me to know, if he started working, whether his disposable income would be below £75 per month, although I suspect it's would be.  There are so many what ifs and maybes going around in my head and so any advice that might help me focus would be much appreciated.

All of his debts are defaulted and have been for at least 2 years, if not more.

fatbelly

I didn't realise you'd been away!

You may not know that Stepchange have stopped doing DROs (toys, pram, thrown out of) and the main providers are now CA and Money Wellness, which is a rebranded Gregory Pennington.

I think you should probably start discussions with both as he is near the 30k debt limit and just under the car value limit.

On ESA he will meet the income criteria, and PIP doesn't count, though there are a lot of rookie advisers who might not grasp that.

If it goes wrong then the maximum loss is £90 and you're no worse off

Suseka97

Hey fatbelly... good that you are still giving great advice, on this and other boards  

I had no idea that SC had stopped doing DROs and I'm not entirely confident with Money Wellness, them being a rebranded GP who more than likely advocate for IVAs.  I'll try with CA (aka CAB) and see if I can connect with a local service first.  

The issue with my son is that there are too many variables at play... but, as you say, I'm okay with losing £90 if things do not work out.  I've given him far more than that over the last several months to help him keep afloat.  

fatbelly

Yes Gregory Pennington do seem to see this as an opportunity to push IVAs, and they are not alone in that. But if you stand your ground they will do a DRO. They have received a large amount of funding from MAPS (Stepchange lost out) to do this. You may find that Citizens Advice want a lot of i's dotted and t's crossed. Gregory Pennington might be easier.

There are other organisations that do them, just not in so great quantity.