Some of the members of the DRO team pictured in the Plymouth office. The DRO team would also be the first part of the Insolvency Service running on the then-new ISCIS computer system. DROs were introduced by the Insolvency Service of Northern Ireland in 2011, with the similar Minimal Asset Process bankruptcy introduced to Scotland in 2015.Įventually the decision was taken to base the DRO Unit in Plymouth, where there was office space available and experienced staff willing to take on the challenge of launching a new team. Bankruptcy at that time was still made in individual courts, who would then notify the Official Receiver’s Office that covered that region.Ī decision was taken early on that - as there would be less administration involved - all DROs would be handled by one unit for the whole of England and Wales. Your surplus monthly income, after all bills and living costs were accounted for, did not exceed £50.00įind out what options are available if you cannot pay your debts Up and runningĪttention then turned to getting the DRO system up and running.Your assets are not worth more than £1,000.To make sure this was reaching the people who needed it, limits are put in place on who could apply, meaning you are only eligible if: The DRO is different from bankruptcy in several important ways: applicants could apply through a debt advisor rather than facing a Judge, they would not have to be interviewed by an examiner, and as a result of the savings in time fees were reduced. After consultation with groups representing creditors as well as debtors, the enabling legislation to allow DROs was laid before Parliament and passed on 19 September 2007. This proposed “the introduction of debt relief via a No Income No Asset Debt Relief scheme administered by the Insolvency Service”. The process to finding a solution to the issue began in July 2004, with the then-Department of Constitutional Affairs publishing the consultation paper “A Choice Of Paths”. The Insolvency Service, together with groups that campaign for debtors, such as Citizens’ Advice and the National Debt Line, noticed a significant number of people who, even if bankruptcy was the best option for them, were put off applying both by the actual costs and the perceived stigma. I’m Andrew and I’ve worked for the Insolvency Service for 12 years now, and I’ve been lucky enough to see Debt Relief Orders (DRO) go from an idea to having 250,000 people benefiting from receiving one.īut, what exactly is a DRO, why do we have them and how are they different from bankruptcy? To answer that, we need to go back to those halcyon days of polyphonic ringtones in the mid-2000s!ĭeclaring yourself bankrupt back then involved paying a large deposit and going to court (which also added more fees), as well as having your details published in a local newspaper.
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