Old couple DRO?

The-Joker · 26 October 2017 at 11:27AM

An old couple in their 70s who rent their home, both have retired and each have just under £20K credit card debt.

Can they both do a DRO at the same time, because most of the paper work will be the same? The same 50% of all income and expenses, the same address and same bills ect. Only bank statements and a credit card statement will be a little different for each of them.

They dont have a car or any investments, they are both on old age pension, but both a little dodery and dont really understand the interest rates they are keep paying when there is no chance they can ever pay off the capital.

They are in absolute poverty with this debt hanging round their necks.

Which debt company is best for dealing with older victims of the banksters? CAB were not patient enough and they didnt get anywhere. It stepchange or any of the others particulalry good with dementure sufferers?

elsien · 26 October 2017 at 11:32AM

You say they are doddery, then go on to mention dementia.
Before looking at options, do they have a formal dementia diagnosis, and (regardless of this) do they have the mental capacity to understand the financial implications of any decisions that they might make? If the answer is possibly not, then they're likely to need more help than just sorting out paying the debts.

The-Joker · 26 October 2017 at 12:07PM

elsien wrote: »

You say they are doddery, then go on to mention dementia.
Before looking at options, do they have a formal dementia diagnosis, and (regardless of this) do they have the mental capacity to understand the financial implications of any decisions that they might make? If the answer is possibly not, then they're likely to need more help than just sorting out paying the debts.

No official diagnosis

just old and dodery

Say if they did have an official diagnosis, would the creditors take that into consideration, and are there any other routes rather than DRO for such situations?

National_Debtline · 26 October 2017 at 4:53PM

Hi The-Joker

It is possible to ask creditors to write off debts. Things that could be pointed out are if the person is elderly, in ill health, has no assets, has little spare money for the debt and if their circumstances are unlikely to improve. If there are medical issues it's best to try and get some evidence to support this. There's nothing to lose by asking.

If a write off is not successful then a DRO could be considered. You can't have a joint DRO so they would both need to make an application, but it can done at the same time. It would be important that they were able to understand the DRO and it's implications. If they don't get face to face advice the application process will be via telephone conversations and forms through the post.

You can get further advice on this from one of the free debt advice charities. I hope it all goes well.

Susie
@natdebtline

Electrum · 6 March 2018 at 3:49PM

National_Debtline wrote: »

Hi The-Joker

It is possible to ask creditors to write off debts. Things that could be pointed out are if the person is elderly, in ill health, has no assets, has little spare money for the debt and if their circumstances are unlikely to improve. If there are medical issues it's best to try and get some evidence to support this. There's nothing to lose by asking.

If a write off is not successful then a DRO could be considered. You can't have a joint DRO so they would both need to make an application, but it can done at the same time. It would be important that they were able to understand the DRO and it's implications. If they don't get face to face advice the application process will be via telephone conversations and forms through the post.

You can get further advice on this from one of the free debt advice charities. I hope it all goes well.

Susie
@natdebtline

something like this.... https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/sample-letters-to-creditors/Request-to-write-off-a-debt---letter/

66 Heron Street
Willowshire
WL4 8HH
Liable Loans plc
123 Green Lane
Redshire
RE1 1ER

6 March 2018

Your reference: LL/ANO/Reminder1

Dear Sir/Madam

Account name: A.N. Other
Account number: 12345678

I am sorry that I am unable to keep up my monthly payments to your company. This is because I am very sick and unable to work. I have claimed benefits and am waiting to hear the outcome of my claim. My situation is unlikely to improve for at least 3 months.

I enclose a copy of my financial statement. This shows income and expenses for me. You will see from this information that I am unable to make any offer of payment.

Unfortunately, my circumstances are unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future and I have no assets to sell to help clear my debt. I am therefore asking you to consider writing off my debt as I can see no way of ever repaying it.

If you are unable to agree to this, please explain your reasons.

Thank you for your help and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Ann Other

fatbelly · 6 March 2018 at 7:40PM

The-Joker wrote: »

An old couple in their 70s who rent their home, both have retired and each have just under £20K credit card debt.

Can they both do a DRO at the same time, because most of the paper work will be the same? The same 50% of all income and expenses, the same address and same bills ect. Only bank statements and a credit card statement will be a little different for each of them.

They dont have a car or any investments, they are both on old age pension, but both a little dodery and dont really understand the interest rates they are keep paying when there is no chance they can ever pay off the capital.

They are in absolute poverty with this debt hanging round their necks.

Which debt company is best for dealing with older victims of the banksters? CAB were not patient enough and they didnt get anywhere. It stepchange or any of the others particulalry good with dementure sufferers?

I'd normally say CAB is your best bet. Older people usually prefer the face-to-face treatment than a phone service. They both sound as if they are suited to DROs, provided they can understand what they are agreeing to (declarations will be read to them and it's part of the process that they understand them).

Can you explore what happened at CAB? Did they try to farm them out to a contact centre? Did they not have intermediaries? Did your friends stop engaging with the process for some reason? Was there a problem with surplus income or some other factor?

It may well be easier to pick up where they left off at CAB rather than starting again with stepchange.

Electrum · 12 July 2018 at 10:53AM

Electrum wrote: »

something like this.... https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/sample-letters-to-creditors/Request-to-write-off-a-debt---letter/

66 Heron Street
Willowshire
WL4 8HH
Liable Loans plc
123 Green Lane
Redshire
RE1 1ER

6 March 2018

Your reference: LL/ANO/Reminder1

Dear Sir/Madam

Account name: A.N. Other
Account number: 12345678

I am sorry that I am unable to keep up my monthly payments to your company. This is because I am very sick and unable to work. I have claimed benefits and am waiting to hear the outcome of my claim. My situation is unlikely to improve for at least 3 months.

I enclose a copy of my financial statement. This shows income and expenses for me. You will see from this information that I am unable to make any offer of payment.

Unfortunately, my circumstances are unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future and I have no assets to sell to help clear my debt. I am therefore asking you to consider writing off my debt as I can see no way of ever repaying it.

If you are unable to agree to this, please explain your reasons.

Thank you for your help and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Ann Other

If the creditors dont accept this letter then is there any other way to explain that your elderly relative is not in a fit state of mind and has no assets?

Im helping somebody who keeps getting red letters very threatening, she has no assets at all living in rented accommodation.
The latter above was refused and its been handed onto another collection agency. Its just credit card debt and huge charges over the years.

I think a DRO would be best for her, but she doesnt understand anything that would be required.

Are there any charities that could do it for her? She has no idea about her pension or expenses. No family to help either.

It wont be long before she is either in a home or hospital and doubt she will ever come out. But for now how can she stop the red letters worrying her?

National_Debtline · 12 July 2018 at 4:49PM

Hi Electrum

I'm sorry to hear the write off request was turned down but if a new company has bought the debt there's no harm in making the request again. You can find more information on writing off debts here https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/write-off-debt/write-off.aspx.

If someone wants to apply for a DRO they must do it through an approved intermediary, which does include the free debt advice agencies. You can find a full list of organisations here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/getting-a-debt-relief-order/getting-a-debt-relief-order#find-a-debt-adviser. The person you're helping would still need to be able to understand the DRO and it's implications in order to enter into it.

Alternatively you could help this person ask for an affordable payment plan and a freeze on interest. Their starting point will be to complete a statement of affairs (SOA) that they can send to the debt collection agency (DCA) as proof of what they can afford to offer http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php.

Best wishes

Susie
@natdebtline

The-Joker · 30 September 2018 at 3:22PM

elsien wrote: »

You say they are doddery, then go on to mention dementia.
Before looking at options, do they have a formal dementia diagnosis, and (regardless of this) do they have the mental capacity to understand the financial implications of any decisions that they might make? If the answer is possibly not, then they're likely to need more help than just sorting out paying the debts.

This old couple have got partial dementia

We have asked for the debt to be written off but the credit card companies said no

I think dro is now the only option

Or simply do nothing, what will happen as the couple get older

LadyDee · 30 September 2018 at 3:35PM

If you are expecting the companies to accept dementia as one of the reasons not to pay their debts, they are going to need to have a proper diagnosis. It's not enough to claim being old, doddery (oh, and partial dementia) to get them anywhere. Being old and doddery does not of its own mean they don't understand their position. I think your first step is to get the GP involved in referring them to a psychogeriatrician.

fatbelly · 30 September 2018 at 5:17PM

The-Joker wrote: »

An old couple in their 70s who rent their home, both have retired and each have just under £20K credit card debt.

Can they both do a DRO at the same time, because most of the paper work will be the same? The same 50% of all income and expenses, the same address and same bills ect. Only bank statements and a credit card statement will be a little different for each of them.

They dont have a car or any investments, they are both on old age pension, but both a little dodery and dont really understand the interest rates they are keep paying when there is no chance they can ever pay off the capital.

They are in absolute poverty with this debt hanging round their necks.

Which debt company is best for dealing with older victims of the banksters? CAB were not patient enough and they didnt get anywhere. It stepchange or any of the others particulalry good with dementure sufferers?

The-Joker wrote: »

This old couple have got partial dementia

We have asked for the debt to be written off but the credit card companies said no

I think dro is now the only option

Or simply do nothing, what will happen as the couple get older

I guess those are the two options.

1. Talk to CAB (go with them if possible) and ask if 2 x DROs would be possible. The intermediary would need to be convinced that they understood what they were doing (specifically the declarations they are required to do)

2. If these debts are all credit cards then I have set out the process here. It's quite possible they would never see court action at all.

Old couple DRO?

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