Debt Relief Orders (DRO) - Information & help thread

I posted last year after talking to the CAB and she said that a pension pot is classed as an asset, now I know the rules have just changed for this, so hubby has just phoned up our debt advisor at CAB and she said he can go for the debt relief order but I have would have to go bankrupt and can't do DRO as the joint debts when under my name take my debts over £15,000 but when the joint debts are under hubby's name then obviously I'm under £15,000.

what I was wondering, is it just the CAB who have to be an intermediary or can it be an accountant?

and how does it affect your outgoings/life, we have broadband/calls/line rental with BT at £60 ( we're still in a 12 month contract with them), I've read that the phone threshold is £29, is that correct? and is that for landline and/or mobile , hubby has a mobile contract at £20 month.

also we already have a basic bank account with Yorkshire Bank where wages go in and bills go out and also have a basic account with Nationwide to pay direct debits, would we lose either of those?

also hubby has a credit union account at work, we save £10 week, £5 is towards car tax and the rest is being saved towards a washer as ours is 15 years old and freezer is approx ten years old. does DRO affect the credit union account?

sorry for all the questions, just fed up that now the pension rule has changed that the CAB says that it's the joint debts holding us back.:(

Josie64 wrote: »

I posted last year after talking to the CAB and she said that a pension pot is classed as an asset, now I know the rules have just changed for this, so hubby has just phoned up our debt advisor at CAB and she said he can go for the debt relief order but I have would have to go bankrupt and can't do DRO as the joint debts when under my name take my debts over £15,000 but when the joint debts are under hubby's name then obviously I'm under £15,000.

what I was wondering, is it just the CAB who have to be an intermediary or can it be an accountant?

and how does it affect your outgoings/life, we have broadband/calls/line rental with BT at £60 ( we're still in a 12 month contract with them), I've read that the phone threshold is £29, is that correct? and is that for landline and/or mobile , hubby has a mobile contract at £20 month.

also we already have a basic bank account with Yorkshire Bank where wages go in and bills go out and also have a basic account with Nationwide to pay direct debits, would we lose either of those?

also hubby has a credit union account at work, we save £10 week, £5 is towards car tax and the rest is being saved towards a washer as ours is 15 years old and freezer is approx ten years old. does DRO affect the credit union account?

sorry for all the questions, just fed up that now the pension rule has changed that the CAB says that it's the joint debts holding us back.:(

With regards to joint debts, if the balance of the debt is £1000, you both owe £1000. It doesnt get split or assigned to one person. If your husband did a DRO and you didnt do anything, you would still owe £1000 (on this hypothetical debt), so if they amount of debts which your name are on are more than £15000, that's where CAB are coming from...

DRO intermediaries are people who have been through a special training course and test in order to be qualified to do the DRO. CAB, CCCS and NDL all have approved intermediaries in their ranks, any organisation that wants intermediaries has to apply to the IS to become a "competent authority."

there are specific guidelines and trigger figures for the DRO, but on the paper budget, where you may be high on one figure, you may be low on another, but your intermediary will address that when completing forms. The other side of it is that if your husband does a DRO, they will only want to see his income and his expenditure, so items like that can be assigned to the partner if the budget fits and figures are high.

chances are you wouldnt lose your basic accounts, unless you have debts with either company. The only bank I've seen close accounts to people with DRO's when no debt is owed to them is Santander.

With regards to the credit union account, as long as the balance doesnt go over £300 then this is no problem. if the balance of savings go over £300 then this is an asset which would cause any DRO to be revoked

I hope this all helps... If CAB are delaying you then try CCCS or NDL

wba31 wrote: »

With regards to joint debts, if the balance of the debt is £1000, you both owe £1000. It doesnt get split or assigned to one person. If your husband did a DRO and you didnt do anything, you would still owe £1000 (on this hypothetical debt), so if they amount of debts which your name are on are more than £15000, that's where CAB are coming from...

DRO intermediaries are people who have been through a special training course and test in order to be qualified to do the DRO. CAB, CCCS and NDL all have approved intermediaries in their ranks, any organisation that wants intermediaries has to apply to the IS to become a "competent authority."

there are specific guidelines and trigger figures for the DRO, but on the paper budget, where you may be high on one figure, you may be low on another, but your intermediary will address that when completing forms. The other side of it is that if your husband does a DRO, they will only want to see his income and his expenditure, so items like that can be assigned to the partner if the budget fits and figures are high.

chances are you wouldnt lose your basic accounts, unless you have debts with either company. The only bank I've seen close accounts to people with DRO's when no debt is owed to them is Santander.

With regards to the credit union account, as long as the balance doesnt go over £300 then this is no problem. if the balance of savings go over £300 then this is an asset which would cause any DRO to be revoked

I hope this all helps... If CAB are delaying you then try CCCS or NDL

the CAB aren't delaying, it's just the joint debts that seem to be an issue, she says that if hubbys goes for DRO then the joint debts will be assigned to me.

can't we contact the creditors of the joint debts and asked for either me hubby to be named as sole debtor?

in the past when creditors contact us, the alliance and leicester overdraft always contact hubby and TSB overdraft always contact me,I think the reason for that maybe because the alliance/leicester account was in hubby's name originally and my name was added at a later date and the TSB account was in my name originally and hubby's name was added at a later date.

it's just frustrating because we thought we could finally do something about clearing the debts:(

Does anybody have any information of what happens once the DRO is finished after a year? I know that it stays on your credit rating for another 6 years. But is there any way to improve your credit record or put any notes on it so it doesn't look quite as bad?? Otherwise I think I'm doomed to living with my parents for the next 6 years as no landlord/estate agent will want a tenant with a DRO so I've been told.

Diddley_Squat wrote: »

I have a question I'm hoping someone here can help me with.

A friend is in the process of applying for a DRO and the CAB needed her employers address but wouldn't tell her why. Do the people who decide if she can have a DRO contact her employers at all as she doesn't want them to know her business?

Many thanks.

There's a section on the online form for employer details. I asked (in the early days) if the DRO Unit routinely contacted the employer and was told 'only if there's an attachment of earnings order.'