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[seh567]

Having bean on a DMP with CCCS for a couple of months and before token payments for 4 months I have now become unemployed again. I have debts totalling £16k and CCCS have recommended bankruptcy. I am desperately trying to avoid this at the moment because in my last pay packet I had £1500 wages & £500 bonus. My understanding is that the OR will take a big chunk of this as an asset after living expense and I would probably lose my car as well. After discussions with my parents they are willing to give me £7k for full & final settlements.

My debt is with Mercers (Barclaycard), Moorcroft (Nationwide), Egg, Alliance & Leicester and Natwest bank.

Mercers have already sent me a letter offering a 75% f & f settlement which I didn't even ask for. What are the chances of any of them agreeing to a settlement within the next month.

If I can't get agreements I will have no choice but to go bankrupt in early January.

Thanks

[worried jim]

The cccs may have a dept that specialises in f & f settlements I know that Payplan do, I would give them a call and tell them that you have 75% of £16k as If one creditor will accept this maybe they all will which will be a lot less than £7k. Good luck!

[seh567]

Think I misled. Mercers offered 25% off the debt not 75%.

I have £7k against £16k which equates to 43%.

Regards

[worried jim]

How would bankruptcy effect you, are you a home owner?

[seh567]

Hi, I am single and live in a housing association flat and I don't own any properties. I have a car worth approx £1300 and have approx £1400 in the bank which was my last wage and bonus before being laid off. Currently unemployed just applied for JSA, HB & CTB

[worried jim]

Go Bankrupt today ! at £1300 your car is worthless. Have a good chat with cccs and follow there advice, you have nothing to loose except £1500 against £16k. No brainer.

[hart]

Why should he go Bankrupt, I think its a nonsense for £16k!

Have you done the CCA route to see if these scummy DCA's hold any enforceable agreements, what years did you take out these agreements, were they all prior Apr 2007? These DCA's will have bought the debt for between 7-15% in the £ so think about it, offer them 20% max as full & final settlement no more, especially considering your circumstances. Certainly don't go Bankrupt yourself it cost you money!! if these scummy DCA's have the money let them pay for it, let them do it but, I doubt they would even bother. Anyway they haven't even got a CCJ yet! Bankrupcy is a very last resort, easy for someone else to tell you to do it, maybe if you owed £160k the creditors might want to go for it but unless they thought you had hidden assests why would they bother?

Fight your corner and stand up to these to$$ers, many ordinary people are doing just that and winning.

All the best and good luck!

Maybe ask NID he seems to be very knowledge about these CCA matters

[hart]

Remember these DCA's use very nasty tactics and send all sorts of threatening letters, preying on the poor and vunerable, using every trick in the book to get money back from you, the more they can get the bigger their profits, if they see you as a soft touch they will ramp up the demands. Certainly I would advise not telling them you have family ready to cough up £7k that would be music to their ears, they will push for much more. They really are very cunning and will stop at nothing to get more from you!

Remember its your parents hard earned money and a small part of your future inheritance no doubt.

In fact 20% is too much to offer! Ask nid too see if he thinks you have a case to go down the CCA route, not sure if its too late or not?

If all the agreements are unenforceable they won't be able to get a penny off you! If that route is not an option then offer them 10% full&final saying you know my circumstances, no job, on HB and no assets, take or leave it. I can't see them bothering even to get a CCJ out on you as that would cost them money too! They will know you have Sweet FA to give them anyway. There are hundreds of thousands like you where the DCA's have just left a default on your credit file for 6 years (Big deal!) You can live with those but Bankrupcy A BIG NO NO! in my honest opinion.

Time to stand up and fight Seh567!

[DarkConvict]

My friend went bankruptcy in September for his 3rd time, with debts of £10,000. Mostly due to a mess-up in his tax affairs but also my the harsh tactics used by Vanquis Credit Card.

[unhappy with ecar]

I agree with the previous posts, you have no assets and no money, there's no need for you to go bankrupt. Of course its a personal choice, but for 16K its not worth the effort.
Get copies of the agreements, if they actually have them and they are signed and right then keep the token payments going of a £1 a month. Don't tell them you have parents money, suggest you might be able to borrow some money from a friend. Then as suggested offer them full and final settlement anywhere around 10-20% of the debt.
I've negotiated full and final settlements for people of around 20% and then got it interest free payable at £10 per month. The older this debt gets, the less money they will want to settle it. If they don't accept, tell them that is all you can offer, keep paying the £1 a month and you'd be surprised at what they will end up accepting.
Keep all correspondence in writing and make sure you get them to update your credit file showing the debt as settled and removing any defaults.

[hart]

Yes why go Bankrupt! Better to live with some defaults than the big B on your files for 6yrs, after a few years, lenders aren't too bothered about old defaults.

Living with the big B is much harder and it could have a bearing on where you live as technically you would be in breach of the terms of your rental agreement and it could have a bearing on any future job applications or things where you can often be asked on the form/s have you ever been declared bankrupt before, you can't lie about those sorts of things!

These DCA's ofetn send nonsense letters in big red letters about making you bankrupt its a sick joke really, if you read these forums you will become more knowledgable and know their tricks, once they know you are streetwise about these matters they won't bother you and move onto the next one they can manipulate with their not very nice staff using every trick in the book to get money from you!

Yes if you do manage to get them to fall in line and agree a full & final only do it in writing and on the basis they must remove all defaults and other onerous data from ALL your credit files, there are standard letters for this available, NID and a few others knows all about these matters.

Good Luck mate.

[worried jim]

after 12 months the bankruptcy would be satisfied but if he just carried on it would effect him/her for 6 years. why torture yourself for 6 years when the whole thing can be done and dusted in 1 year.

[seh567]

Thankyou all for the advice but it looks to me that there is no clear answer.

As far as going down the CCA route I believe them to all be enforceable, 2 x loans (I have the agreements) 2 credit cards (both have been CCA's and look to be ok) 1 overdraft which I cannot dispute.

I am now tired of trying to pay off these debts by doing the right thing, although I would have stayed on the DMP if I had kept my job it was not ideal as a couple of creditors would not stop charges & interest and the allocated payments did not cover these charges so those debts would have increased.

Since I am now unemployed and god knows when I will get another one I thought it best to go down the BR route to get it over with and get back on track with my life.

These debts (although small in some eyes) have caused me nothing but worry & fret and I am tired of all the hassle, phonecalls, text messages and trying to do the right thing. I realise BR will stay on my credit file for 6 years but that no big deal because I don't ever want to borrow money ever again

[fatbelly]

As always, seh, the decision is yours...

Bankruptcy would work from what you say but you have a couple of issues.

The car would need to be accounted for but the OR would give you the opportunity to buy it back and your parents might help with that.

You have £1400 in the bank but will need £360 for the OR fee and it's perfectly OK to have next month's rent in your account ready to pay it. You might have to pay the rent for the next month anyway before the HB kicks in. Your aim should be to go bankrupt when the account is in credit but not by very much, so that you have a fighting chance of keeping the account open.

You will need to complete the bankruptcy forms and book an apointment at your nearest bankruptcy court so that's going to take a few weeks. You will also need to complete an EX160 to get off the court fee and they will want evidence of your JSA dated within one month of presenting the petition. So that JSA award notice is going to be useful for a month.

You're clearly insolvent and don't qualify for a DRO.

Regards

[seh567]

Hi fatbelly

I realise I have to get the account balance down so am thinking maybe bankruptcy in early January. I applied for benefits on 2nd November but nothing has kicked in yet so I am living on the current credit balance.

I have already requested forms from Reading Magistrates court and they tell me when forms are ready and I have the money I can telephone them for an appointment, they tell me there is no waiting list so could be done within a week.

Your right, even if I did manage a settlement with 1 x creditor (bring debt down to £15k) I don't qualify for a DRO because I have a small pension policy which sends me over the £300 asset limit.

My main worry is my car worth by Parkers Guide - poor £1300 but bodywork and interior in bad condition (although the engine is ok and reliable) due to being used when working as ceiling fixer on building site. I really need to keep it for when I get work because I won't be able to afford another one even at low value. My parents have already offered to buy it back from OR if this is a possibility. However does anyone know if it would be at the full cost of £1300 what the OR would sell it for after costs?

[hart]

The Bankruptcy will be recorded on your credit file for six years from the day on which the court made the Bankruptcy Order.

None of your creditors are going to make you bankrupt as it will cost them £1500 just for starters! Also the debt has to be over £750.

Even if you want to make yourself Bankrupt it will cost at least £500, can't see the point when you could easily settle all these debts for a nominal amount £1600 - 2000 max and negotiate full & final settlements with all the defaults removed and any onerous data. Even if I had to borrow a bit from family I know which route I would go down.

Only someone like the Inland Revenue or Customs & Excise are likely to make you Bankrupt, very unlikley any banks or credit card co's would unless you owed 100's of thousands and would seem to be hiding some assets on the side.

[property.advert]

I would hold the BR and try to negotiate a settlement. Even 30% on 16k is £5k and less than the £7k you are considering throwing into a black hole. You will still owe your parents and you need to get that amount down.

Somehow you have to get them to understand that the options are a little or zero and you. I guess you'll have to raise your offer or 3 times and you have to factor that into the equation. Can you sell your car to your dad (but still retain the use of it) and then offer £2000 from the sale of the only asset you have ?

[hart]

If you live in rented accommodation then your landlord will be informed of your Bankruptcy.
You should check your tenancy agreement and seek legal advice to find out how your tenancy might be affected by Bankruptcy.

Could be very important to check as your Landlord could terminate the tenancy agreement?

[property.advert]

Originally Posted by hart

If you live in rented accommodation then your landlord will be informed of your Bankruptcy.
You should check your tenancy agreement and seek legal advice to find out how your tenancy might be affected by Bankruptcy.

Could be very important to check as your Landlord could terminate the tenancy agreement?

Would you care to enlighten me just why the landlord would be informed of a tenant's bankruptcy ?

[fatbelly]

Originally Posted by seh567

I have already requested forms from Reading Magistrates court and they tell me when forms are ready and I have the money I can telephone them for an appointment, they tell me there is no waiting list so could be done within a week.

Usually a county court?

Originally Posted by seh567

Your right, even if I did manage a settlement with 1 x creditor (bring debt down to £15k) I don't qualify for a DRO because I have a small pension policy which sends me over the £300 asset limit.

That would get you into trouble as it would count as a 'preference'. The car also sends you over the (1k) limit for a DRO.

Originally Posted by seh567

My main worry is my car worth by Parkers Guide - poor £1300 but bodywork and interior in bad condition (although the engine is ok and reliable) due to being used when working as ceiling fixer on building site. I really need to keep it for when I get work because I won't be able to afford another one even at low value. My parents have already offered to buy it back from OR if this is a possibility. However does anyone know if it would be at the full cost of £1300 what the OR would sell it for after costs?

I think you should hop over to the bankruptcy board where you will get accurate advice form those who understand your position.