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Creditors Asking for Payment After Debt Relief Order Letter

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Scott
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Scott Nelson

Managing Director

MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.

Learn more about Scott
&
Janine
Janine Marsh Profile Picture

Janine Marsh

Financial Expert

Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.

Learn more about Janine
· Mar 14th, 2024
Could you legally write off some debt? Answer below to get started.

Total amount of debt?

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

Featured in...
Creditors Asking for Payment After Debt Relief Order

For free & impartial money advice you can visit MoneyHelper. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options. This isn’t a full fact-find, some debt solutions may not be suitable in all circumstances, ongoing fees might apply & your credit rating may be affected.

Are you looking to deal with creditors asking for payment even after a Debt Relief Order (DRO)? You’ve come to the right place.

Every month, more than 170,000 people visit our website for guidance on solving debt problems. We offer advice on how to deal with stubborn creditors even after a DRO has been approved. 

In this article, we’ll give you:

  • A clear understanding of a Debt Relief Order.
  • Reasons why creditors might still contact you after a DRO.
  • A free letter template to stop creditors from contacting you.
  • Information about writing off some debt.
  • Help with dealing with unmanageable debt.
  • Information about how much debt is too much and when to seek help. 

We know that dealing with debt can be hard; some of us have been through similar situations. With our expertise, we’ll help you figure things out.

Could you legally write off some debt?

There are several debt solutions in the UK, choosing the right one for you could write off some of your unaffordable debt, but the wrong one may be expensive and drawn out.

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find. MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

Letter Template

To Whom It May Concern

Regarding Case #: [your case number]* (required

You have recently contacted me about the above account. This debt is currently subject to a debt relief order (DRO), reference [enter the reference number]* (required), which was made on [enter the date the order was made]* (required).

As you are aware, this is a formal insolvency procedure which places a 12 month moratorium on qualifying debts scheduled within the order. Once the 12 month period has passed, this debt will be written off. The Insolvency Service has issued guidance regarding debt relief orders, which states:

“While the subject of a DRO, debtors need not take any action in relation to continuing correspondence from creditors scheduled as qualifying creditors in their DRO and should under no circumstances make any payments to the said creditors.”

“If the debtor receives any requests for payment from creditors that are scheduled within the DRO during the period of the order, the debtor should indicate that they are the subject to a DRO, and as such creditors have no remedy in respect of these debts.”

Please confirm in writing that you will stop all collection activity immediately and that this matter is now closed. Otherwise I will have no option but to make a formal complaint to you and, if unresolved, to the appropriate regulator or ombudsman.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Downloadable Resource

The download links below take you to a Google document template where you can make a copy or save in any document format you like. Note, you may have to login to your Google account.

Download – Single (for one person)
Download – Joint (for couples)

Can creditors still contact me during a Debt Relief Order?

Once your Debt Relief Order has been approved, any creditor or debt collection agency chasing a debt that was included in the DRO will not be allowed to contact you. This is why it is important to make it clear that they should not be contacting you asking for payments. 

Our free letter templates make this easy and save you time coming up with the right words. 

How a debt solution could help

Some debt solutions can:

  1. Stop nasty calls from creditors
  2. Freeze interest and charges
  3. Reduce your monthly payments

A few debt solutions can even result in writing off some of your debt.

Here’s an example:


Situation

Monthly income £2,504
Monthly expenses £2,345
Total debt £32,049

Monthly debt repayments

Before £587
After £158

£429 reduction in monthly payments

If you want to learn what debt solutions are available to you, click the button below to get started.

Get started

Can a Debt Relief Order stop bailiffs?

Creditors and debt collectors can’t contact you when a DRO is in place, but they also can’t send bailiffs to your home to enforce the debt or take you to court. You should not have any dealings with your creditors at all when a DRO is in place. 

Why are creditors contacting me on a DRO?

Most of the time, when a creditor continues to contact you after a DRO was accepted, it is because of a delay in them being notified by the Official Receiver at the Insolvency Office (the people who granted you the DRO). It is their job to let all creditors know that a DRO is now in place and not to make contact. Some letters may have been sent before the DRO notification came through. 

You might want to double-check the DRO and make sure the debt they are trying to chase was included in your DRO agreement. There are some occasions when a creditor is still allowed to make contact, such as writing to give general account information. But they should never ask you for a payment. 

Thousands have already tackled their debt

Every day our partners, The Debt Advice Service, help people find out whether they can lower their repayments and finally tackle or write off some of their debt.

Natasha

I’d recommend this firm to anyone struggling with debt – my mind has been put to rest, all is getting sorted.

Get started

Reviews shown are for The Debt Advice Service.

Creditors are still contacting me, what now?

After you download our free letter template and send it to your persistent creditor, there is a good chance you will never hear from them again. If in a rare situation where they continue to contact you and you are sure the debt was included in the DRO, you can escalate the problem.

You should contact the Official Receiver at the Insolvency Office and tell them what has happened. They will then chase the creditor up and make sure they do not contact you again. It’s recommended to send your creditor or debt collector a letter first.

Could you legally write off some debt?

Answer below to get started.

How much debt do you have?

This isn’t a full fact find. MoneyNerd doesn’t give advice. We work with The Debt Advice Service who provide information about your options.

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The authors
Scott Nelson Profile Picture
Author
MoneyNerd’s founder, Scott Nelson, has a decade of financial industry experience, including 6 years in FCA regulated loan and credit card companies. Troubled by a lack of conscience in the industry, he founded MoneyNerd to give genuine advice to those in debt and struggling financially.
Janine Marsh Profile Picture
Debt Expert
Janine Marsh is an award-winning presenter and a valuable member of the MoneyNerd team. With a wealth of experience as a financial expert, she's been featured on BBC Radio 4, BBC Local Radio, and BBC Five Live, and is a regular on Co-op Radio.