Notification of a variation
The DAS administrator sends a notification through eDEN if the client or a creditor has applied to vary the DPP. The DAS administrator allows the debt adviser, the creditors and the client up to 21 days to submit comments.
When the DAS administrator is determining whether a variation is ‘fair and reasonable’, they consider:
1Reg 38 DAS(S) Regs•the fair and reasonable criteria;
•the client’s views;
•the views of the other client in the case of a joint DPP;
•the views of a creditor taking part in the programme and of any creditor making the application;
•the views of any debt adviser who has provided advice to the client;
•whether any expenditure of the client declared in assessing disposable income appears to be necessarily incurred by the client;
•any payment break variation previously approved;
•any other factor the DAS administrator considers appropriate;
•whether approval may be made subject to a discretionary condition under regulation 28.
The DAS administrator notifies the following of the variation decision:
2Reg 39 DAS(S) Regs•the client;
•the debt adviser;
•the payments distributor;
•the creditors taking part in the DPP;
•the client’s employer (where the DPP is being paid by means of a payment instruction to the employer).
The notification informs all parties of the approval or rejection of the variation, including the reasons for the decision, via their chosen communication method.
The DAS administrator updates the DAS Register. The variation shows in the section for variations, with the date of application, date of the decision and the ‘approved’ status.
The DAS administrator must send all creditors details of the amended DPP, which provides:
•the client’s details (name, address, postcode and date of birth);
•the client’s financial statement;
•how much of the client’s surplus income will be offered as a contribution to the DPP (including where the grounds for the variation are that the client has had a change of circumstances, and the client does not wish to use the full surplus income);
•details of the joint client, if applicable;
•the total amount the client owes the creditor;
•the percentage of the total debt owed that will be repaid by the client after the fees have been deducted (net amount of debt);
•sort codes, account numbers and reference numbers (if known);
•the amount the creditor will receive in each instalment and the frequency of the proposed payments to the creditor;
•the proposed length of the DPP;
•any lump-sum payments or realisation of assets;
•the revised end date of the DPP.
Following the approval of the variation, the DAS administrator notifies the payments distributor who arranges to make the agreed changes to the DPP.
If the client is paying their instalment through their wages, the client must provide an updated payment mandate using Form 3 to their employer.
Unless a payment break variation has been approved or there has been a change to the frequency of the payments, the client should arrange to make the varied payment under a programme in time for the next scheduled payment to the programme, and within one month of the DPP variation being approved.
If the DAS administrator rejects the variation application, the creditors should continue to receive payments as agreed in the DPP.
The client, the debt adviser or a creditor can request a review of the variation decision. If unsatisfied with the outcome of the review, the client or the creditor can appeal to the sheriff, on a point of law, against this decision.