The Insolvency Service has since found that thousands of Brits had started the process of a Debt Relief Order (DRO) but didn’t complete it – this means they are due a £90 refund
Thousands of Brits could be due a refund of £90 after a major debt rule was changed last year. In April 2024, the £90 administration fee to take out a Debt Relief Order (DRO) was axed.
A DRO freezes your debts for 12 months and bans creditors from contacting you about any money owed during that time. Before it was axed, you needed to pay £90 to set one up.
The Insolvency Service has since found that thousands of Brits had started the process but didn’t complete it. This means they are due the £90 payment back.
According to its records, since 2016, 5,000 people took out a DRO before the change in April last year but didn’t complete the application process. The Insolvency Service has written to these people informing them of the refund.
As of writing, around 1,000 have responded to these letters and have received the refund. This means around 4,000 people are still eligible to get their money back.
The first batch of letters to those eligible for a refund was sent around two months ago, and another round will be posted “in the coming days.” Emails are also being sent to those due a payment.
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If you are due a refund, you can request your refund by emailing the Insolvency Service on: [email protected]. To get your £90 refund, you will need to provide:
- Debt Relief Order application number (if known)
- Your name
- Your address
- Your telephone number
- Bank/building society Name
- Account name (as shown on bank statement)
- Bank account number (full 8 numbers)
- Bank sort code (full 6 numbers)
- Building Society roll number (if applicable)
If your contact details have changed since making the DRO application, include your previous name and address alongside your current details. If a charity or third party paid for the DRO on your behalf, you will need to provide the details of the organisation that made it.
Caroline Shanahan, senior leader in the Personal Insolvency Team at the Insolvency Service, said: “In some cases, people may have changed their email address or moved home, meaning we do not have their current details to contact them.
“Those people can still apply for a refund if they paid towards a debt relief order that was not submitted, they just need to get in touch and let us know.”
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