Introduction

A Debt Relief Order (DRO) can resolve debt worries. During the order period, you do not need to make any payments towards your debts. During this time your creditors are not allowed to chase you for money. DRO`s only apply if your debts are under £30,000. There are certain debts such as student loans or a TV license that are excluded from a DRO. Furthermore, outgoings such as rent and mortgages will still need to be paid. A DRO is mainly used to address debts that have built over time and which you are now struggling to maintain. Your DRO may be revoked if it is found that you can pay some of your debts off. Having a DRO will affect any future borrowing as similar to other debt solutions it remains on your credit history for six years. Your details will also be entered into the bankruptcy and insolvency register when your DRO is approved. This information is accessible for members of the public. 

 

An officer within the bankruptcy court will arrange your application which is then approved by a debt advisor who would have approved your application in advance. Known as an 'approved intermediary', they provide support with paperwork. Lestons can help you to navigate this process if appointed to do so. 

 

A DRO can only be sought in certain situations (see our section “Eligibility”), as a general rule you have to owe under £30,000, have under £50 a month spare, own under £1,000 worth of assets etc. However, when calculating this £30,000 you should not include debts regarding: -

• Magistrates’ court fines or money owed under a ‘criminal confiscation order’;
• Child maintenance, Child Support Agency (CSA) or Child Maintenance Service (CMS);
• Student loans;
• Budgeting loans and crisis loans; and
• Debts resulting from certain personal injury claims against you.

 

How we can help

Lestons can assist you to design a solution to your debts, we can, if instructed appoint one of our excellent third-party independent financial advisors who can look at the situation and advise whether a DRO is your best option. Please note we make no commission from these referrals but do need clients to open a case so that we can prepare a financial brief for them. To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by simply clicking on the link at the top of the page, you will then need to deposit a sum equal to one hour’s usage, upon receipt of these funds you will be assigned your personal caseworker who will telephone you to discuss the matter and make suggestions on how to proceed.

Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our appointed financial advisor and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.