Notes for Guidance - Creditors - Debt Arrangement Scheme

An application must include a statement of income and expenditure in the style and format of the Common Financial Tool. This will form part of the DPP proposal which is issued to you.

A client does not have to offer the full surplus income calculated by the Common Financial Tool in their DAS proposal. You will be informed of the surplus available in the proposal and will be invited to accept or reject the terms offered.

A client must include all debts in a DPP except for those classed as a continuing liability. 

In the list of standard conditions to be found at Regulation 27, reference is made to continuing liabilities. These are defined in the regulations and relate to those sums, for example, rent, utilities, council tax, which are deducted from income when calculating the surplus remaining available for distribution amongst creditors to pay debts. 

These are not included, however, arrears of these payments can be included. 

Once a formal application has been made submitted, you will receive a request to consent to the proposal through eDEN or via post.

The request to consent is designed to give you all the information you need to decide to accept or reject the DPP proposal. 

It provides as much information as possible so that you can correctly identify the debt and understand the payment proposal being offered. 

It should clearly state on the form:

• the client’s details (name, address, postcode and date of birth)
• the financial statement
• how much of the client’s surplus income will be offered as a contribution to the DPP if the client does not wish to use the full surplus
• any rent or mortgage arrears which have not been included in the DPP;
• details of the joint client (if applicable)
• the total amount owed to you
• the % of the total debt owed that will be repaid by the after the statutory DAS fees have been deducted (net amount of debt)
• sort codes, account numbers and reference numbers to allow the payments to be made to you more quickly (if known)
• the amount you will receive in each instalment
• the frequency of the proposed payments to you
• the proposed length of the DPP

You are required to respond to the request to consent to the DPP application within 21 days from the date of the request. 

If you do not respond to the proposal within 21 days you will be deemed to have consented to the terms of the DPP.

Responses should be made via eDEN or by return to the DAS Administrator or the money adviser. The 21 days starts from the date of posting or electronic transmission to you.  

There are three possible responses:

Consent

You reply within the 21 days and agrees to the proposal.

Deemed consent

You do not respond to the application within the 21 days. In this case, you are deemed to have agreed to the proposal, unless the DPP is only for a single debt, where it will be treated as if you have not consented.

Non consent

You reply within the 21 days and do not agree to the proposal.

At the end of the 21 days, if at least 90% in value of all creditors consent, or are deemed to have consented, the DAS Administrator will approve it regardless of the amount of the debt or the length of the proposed programme. 

Where a continuing money adviser is administering the DPP, they will inform the DAS Administrator the creditors have consented, or are deemed to have consented, and the DAS Administrator will approve the DPP and update the DAS Register accordingly.

Where at least 10% in value of creditors have not consented, or where the DPP is for a single debt and the creditor has not responded within the 21 day period, the DAS Administrator must approve the DPP proposal if it is deemed fair and reasonable .

The client will continue to be provided with protection from diligence unless their application is withdrawn or rejected.

The DAS Administrator will consider all creditors’ responses and whether it is appropriate to approve the DPP.

In deciding whether a programme is fair and reasonable, the DAS Administrator will consider the number of criteria which are set out in Regulation 25.