Quick question about a debt relief order

[unitedg201]

So long story short I have been working with stepchange to get my application for a dro together and Have already posted all my evidence and application etc.
Got a email saying they have received all the information and that they need a little bit more information from me and to phone them

So I phoned them and they said someone will have to ring back on Monday :(
I asked what it was about and they said something to do with the budget

So basically it’s give me a bit of anxiety having to wait on this phonecall

Do you guys think I should still be able to go ahead with the dro and this is normal procedure?

Or should I expect the worst that they won’t accept it? Would they usually phone or email you to tell you it won’t be accepted

My budget was leaving me with basically nothing each month and that was not even spending on clothes or entertainment

Hi. I did a DRO with StepChange. The call after submitting is quite routine I believe - they need to double check everything.

Hopefully you've had your callback by now and all is sorted.

Hi thanks for reply they were meant to be calling me back today because I got a email saying that they needed a bit more information I asked on the phone what this was about and they said something to do with the budget.. I waited a hour on the call back and nothing so I rung them and they have said the person who was meant to phone me was sick today :( so they said they will try get someone else to call me back today but I don’t think I’ll receive a call today I’ll probably have to ring in the morning

Definitely keep trying - call them this afternoon again if you don't hear from them.

With me, because I'd put nothing for clothing, car servicing and the like, they wanted to check this - the budget has to be realistic. They also increased the amount I spent on food and added on an amount for prescriptions, as over the course of a year they said my spends didn't average out to a high enough amount.

Please try not to worry, they just want to make sure it's all accurate enough to go through.

Hi @BourbonAndTeaso I finally got a call back from stepchange today basically a few things in my budget we’re short and I forgot to put some things in. So they fixed everything and they have told me that they are going to get someone to final check it and then send me out a draft letter or something that I have to sign? And then they said once they receive that they well tell me how to pay the fee
?

Does this sound like everything is going as planned ?

Hi @unitedg201 yes all sounds right. I had my final letter emailed to me to speed things up a bit, and then posted it back to them.

They will send you instructions for the fee - usually a PayPoint (at most Post Offices). They won't submit until you pay this - equally, they won't ask you to pay of they're not confident of a successful submission.

It all sounds like it is progressing and you will soon be able to breathe again.

Hey so I didn’t even know you could get it emailed to you, did you do yours through stepchange? I might ask them to email it to me. If you can remember how long was it from you emailed it back to them to gettin your barcode ?

Yes - defo ask them, I got that via email and got the barcode about 3 days later, it didn't take long at all. They submitted the day I paid and I was on the register and approved 48 hours later

@BourbonAndTea so I ring them today and was told that the Northern Ireland dro team were unavailable today but I asked the guy if he could change the draft copy to be sent by email and he said ok not a problem
I asked him when it would be sent and he didn’t know he told me that one more person has to look over it before they send me the draft. He didn’t have a timeframe in the last person checking over it

I’m hoping they will have checked over by the weekend so I can ring them on Monday and see if it has passed the final check

Just worrying abit do you think the guy on the phone would have told me if it has a chance to be rejected?
Or do you think that would be up to the last person who checks it to tell me?

They have not mentioned anything about it being rejected they have said all the paperwork was great and just had to sort a few things out with my budget so he done that on the phone with me and basically said there one more person has to check and then we will get your draft sent to you

It sounds like it's going well, if a little slowly - but I imagine they just have a high workload.

If they didn't think it would be accepted they wouldn't have got you to this stage. Keep calling them and prompting them - they won;t forget, but if you explain how worrying it is and how your creditors want to know what's going on, they might get it through a little quicker.

As I said, they wouldn't have got you to this stage if they thought it would be rejected, so hold on to that and try not to worry - I know that's easier said than done!

My moratorium period has just ended and so I'm officially debt-free (with a wrecked credit file but it could be so much worse). You will be soon, too!

@BourbonAndTea thnaks for your reply so basically received a email from stepchange today with my debt relief order draft copy which I have to sign and return to them so hopefully in the next few days I should hear from them they said they have a few other question so they ask you on the phone and then tell you how to pay + get uptodate balances. So hopefully this sounds all good and everything is in order I hope. They have said they do not need any more information or evidence so I take it that they must be confident it will go through and get accepted? Also do you know what sort of questions they ask you before proceeding with the application

Brilliant!

Don't worry, they just need to be sure you understand the process and the implications of the DRO. They will also want to confirm your balances and creditors and ensure you've not missed anything.

Almost there - well done!

That sounds good I hope I am almost there it’s been a long process . I forgot to congratulate you now on been debt free flip that must be such a relief. Do u feel better with yourself now? Have u learned how to control your money ?

It is a long process but well worth it.

Thank you! I have spent the last year keeping a budget (really useful) and tracking all of my spending, so hoping to be able to start saving now without worrying about who I've got to pay! It's a real weight off and I am so grateful that such a scheme exists. No more credit for me, I don't ever want to feel that low again.

@BourbonAndTea so I received a phonecall today and basically they were happy enough to proceed with the application I don’t expect them to be so quick I don’t have the £90 until Friday they said they can’t do it on Friday it would be Monday I update the balances and then pay the £90 within 24 hours. I’m from Northern Ireland and they have said that it takes 4-8 weeks for a decision I was like wow. England only take 10 days :( suppose its gunna be Christmas or January before I hear anything

Sorry, I've been away! How are things going?

If it's like England, they won't tell you it's been successful, you have to check the online register (Insolvency Service) and your name will appear. I was told 10 days but it was complete withing 48 hours of them submitting it!

Hey, so paid my £90 fee on Monday and got it sent in, the lady then on the phone said there shouldn’t be any problem with my application as it was pretty straight forward she told me I’ll get a answer within 28 days instead of 8 weeks so fingers crossed and yea I have been checking every morning but nothing as of yet. I hate Northern Ireland we are so slow with everything I think it’s a bit of a joke that it can be down within 48 hours in England and over here is 28 days , we’ll i suppose I’ll get the good or bad news right before Xmas. So just have to wait and see how things go it’s a tad stressful waiting to hear but guess atleast the hard work is done :)

Absolutely, the hard work is done and they won't have submitted it unless it had a 99%+ of being accepted.

Breathe out now and start to unwind - and congratulations! The year will fly by once it's approved!

Thanks :) I’ll remember to update when I get my decision and let you know how I get on.ill try unwind and get ready for Xmas :) Thanks for all the comments you’ve been great help :)

@BourbonAndTea hey again we’ll guess what the last day or two the dro register search has been down but I checked earlier today and bingo my name is on there. Got a phonecall from stepchange last week and they said the team had found another debt and if I wanted it included I was like yesss please and the lady’s told me it would probably be another few weeks before I hear anything Can’t believe it it’s such a relief and it has been on there since the 9th I didn’t receive a email or text saying I had been approved is that normal?? Also what happens now should I receive any letters from creditors saying they have acknowledged it??do the creditors have any length of time to object,, Feels so good that I can start trying to build myself to be stable such a long process but so worth it 363 days to go to be debt freeeeee

Hi! That's great news congratulations!

No, you don't receive notification of approval, and you won't receive anything when it ends either.

Best thing to do is print a copy of it from the website and keep it for future, and then around 10th December 2020 when it switches to 'discharged' print another copy to keep as proof.

Some creditors might contact you, if they do just say you're on a DRO and give them the reference number, they can find you on the register and update your details.

Congratulations again - you can breathe easy now!