Thousands of UK residents may be entitled to a £90 refund following a significant change to debt regulations last year. The £90 administrative fee for setting up a Debt Relief Order (DRO) was eliminated in April 2024.
A DRO temporarily halts debt payments for 12 months and prohibits creditors from contacting debtors during this period. Prior to its removal, a £90 fee was required to establish a DRO.
The Insolvency Service has discovered that numerous individuals initiated the process but failed to complete it, rendering them eligible for a refund of the £90 fee. Records indicate that since 2016, 5,000 individuals commenced the DRO process before the change in April of the previous year but did not complete the application, reports the Mirror.
These individuals have been informed of their refund eligibility via correspondence from the Insolvency Service. Approximately 1,000 individuals have responded to these notifications and received their refunds, leaving around 4,000 individuals still eligible for reimbursement.
The initial batch of notifications to those eligible for refunds was dispatched around two months ago, and an additional round will be mailed “in the coming days.”
Electronic notifications will also be sent to individuals entitled to refunds. If you are eligible for a refund, you may submit your refund request via email to the Insolvency Service at dro.preorder@insolvency. gov.uk. To receive your £90 reimbursement, you will be required to provide:
- Your address
- Bank account number (full 8 numbers)
- Bank sort code (full 6 numbers)
- Account name (as shown on bank statement)
- Building Society roll number (if applicable)
- Your name
- Bank/building society Name
- Debt Relief Order application number (if known)
- Your telephone number
If you’ve changed your contact details since applying for the DRO, make sure to include both your previous and current information. If a charity or another third party covered the cost of the DRO on your behalf, you’ll need to provide their details.
Caroline Shanahan, a senior leader in the Personal Insolvency Team at the Insolvency Service, stated: “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.”
