Available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (not Scotland for more information about bankruptcy in Scotland please visit www.aib.gov.uk).

A DRO usually lasts for one year and during that time your creditors won’t be able to take any action against you for the money you owe. At the end of the year if your circumstances have not changed you will be free of all the debts that are listed in your DRO.

You do not have to pay any monthly instalments towards your debt and should your financial situation qualify for this resolution, it is a cheaper option than Bankruptcy.

Criteria

•  You owe less than £20,000.

•  You have £50 or less spare income each month (after normal household expenses).

•  You have less than £1000 worth of assets (this excludes a car, which you also own as long as its value is less than £1000).

•  You have lived or worked in England/Wales for the past three years.

Advantages:

•  You clear your debt in a year.

•  A Debt Relief Order won’t cost you as much as Bankruptcy.

•  The courts won’t be involved in the process.

•  Your creditors can’t take any action over the money you owe.

•  A Debt Relief Order won’t cost the client as much as Bankruptcy.

•  The courts will not be involved in the process.

•  The client will not have to pay a penny towards the listed debts.

•  Many of the client’s creditors won’t be able to take action against the client for a year (this excludes child support, court fines and confiscation orders, maintenance and student loans).

•  At the end of the year the client will be free of all their debts listed in the order and they will no longer have to pay them off.

Disadvantages:

•  Strict Income and Expenditure Guideline’s will be applied.

•  The client cannot own a car if it’s value is more than £1,500.

•  The client cannot have more than £1,000 in assets.

•  If the client’s financial circumstances change within the year, the debts will revert back to the client to pay.

•  The client can have no more than £20,000 of unsecured debt.

•  The client must have lived, had a property or carried on a business in England or Wales for the last 3 years.