Debt Relief Order

[ColourMeBlue]

I applied for a Debt relief order,filled in relevant forms online and was advised to apply.when i rang to finalise it I was informed the DRO does not apply to HP bills,such as Utility bills(gas and electric)Council tax debt,rent arrears and HMRC fines.Can anyone confirm this please,has any one applied for this successfully?the person dealing with my case seemed quite new to his job,he first said they do not deal with DRO,then changed his mind.Thank you

According to Step Change, they are included:

The following types of debt will be written off 12 months after your DRO is approved, if your situation hasn’t improved:

• Arrears on household bills such as rent, gas, electric, telephone and council tax
• Consumer debts such as credit card debt, payday loans, overdrafts, catalogues or store cards
• Benefit overpayments, unless they were due to fraud
• Hire purchase (HP) or conditional sale agreements
• Items bought on finance, including anything bought on a buy-now-pay-later agreement
• Loans from friends or family

The only one I'm not sure about in your list is HMRC fines, there is usually separate legislation for that kind of thing but I'll keep looking for you. Household bills should all be included, apart from TV licence. Anything obtained via fraud (such as on credit cards or claiming benefits fraudulently) is included in the total to reach the minimum £30k to make you eligible (can't remember the exact amount!) but is not actually included in the DRO itself.

Maximum £30k**

Thank you for your replies.i filled in the paper work online with stepchange,but due to no funding to help people in Wales I contacted Money Wellness(I think it was them)and they said HP bills are not relevant.I will ring again Monday morning and speak to someone else.Thanks again 😊