Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

Flower2014 · 21 October 2014 at 9:40AM

Hello,

I declared myself bankrupt in August on the advice of Stepchange and feel it was the right decision.

However my ex partner, whom I live with and co-parent my 7 month baby with is buying a house. The plan is for me to move there with him for the time being and pay a kind of rent to him. This is not a permanent solution but a method of working a difficult situation.

I am worried my bankruptcy could affect his house buying, would it? (We have never been linked financially) And would I be allowed to pay rent to him? I know I have to inform the official reciever of change of address and am worried I will be told I can't do this

Any advice would be very greatfully received.

Thank you

bengal128 · 21 October 2014 at 1:56PM

Hi, I have about 6 creditors that I'm nearly half way paying back through step change and I have two of the debts are with Shoosmith, one for about £770 and the other £11500. I have just received £450 bonus at work and was wondering if there is a good chance the £770 could be settled in a F&F. Or would they not do it as I have debt for £11500?

Many thanks

Former_StepChange_Rory · 22 October 2014 at 1:41PM

Flower2014 wrote: »

Hello,

I declared myself bankrupt in August on the advice of Stepchange and feel it was the right decision.

However my ex partner, whom I live with and co-parent my 7 month baby with is buying a house. The plan is for me to move there with him for the time being and pay a kind of rent to him. This is not a permanent solution but a method of working a difficult situation.

I am worried my bankruptcy could affect his house buying, would it? (We have never been linked financially) And would I be allowed to pay rent to him? I know I have to inform the official reciever of change of address and am worried I will be told I can't do this

Any advice would be very greatfully received.

Thank you

Hi there,

If you and your partner have no financial links (joint accounts and joint debts) then your bankruptcy shouldn’t have any impact on them. Credit files are individual and it’s a common myth that they’re linked to other people at the same address.

You should make sure you inform the OR of any changes in your situation that could affect you and your budget so that they can be clear on things.

You could even speak to the OR before you decide to go ahead with the move so that you have a chance to ask any questions if you wanted to.

I hope this helps, good luck with the move if you decide to go ahead.

Rory

Former_StepChange_Rory · 22 October 2014 at 1:48PM

bengal128 wrote: »

Hi, I have about 6 creditors that I'm nearly half way paying back through step change and I have two of the debts are with Shoosmith, one for about £770 and the other £11500. I have just received £450 bonus at work and was wondering if there is a good chance the £770 could be settled in a F&F. Or would they not do it as I have debt for £11500?

Many thanks

Hi bengal128,

I think the best way to answer your question would be to talk to us so we can take a look for you. Because we'll have details of your budget and situation it should make things easier for you and our advice will be more specific.

To get in touch please visit the StepChange website for more details.

Rory

mightykate · 22 October 2014 at 2:16PM

Hi I was declared bankrupt in 2009. I was able to get a Santander basic account but with no overdraft facility. I have been paying wages into it since. I applied for a loan from the credit union where I save £25 a month and they refused. How do I improve my credit record when i can't get any credit?
Kind regards

Former_StepChange_Rory · 24 October 2014 at 4:58PM

Hi everyone,

We're going to be in training on Monday and Tuesday next week (27th & 28th October). We'll be back in on Wednesday and will answer any questions then.

If you've got an urgent query then please call our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm; Sat 8am-4pm) or use our online Debt Remedy tool (http://www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy.aspx) for full debt advice.

Thanks

Rory

plim26 · 30 October 2014 at 1:10PM

Hi, not sure I've posted this in the thread but please feel free to move.
I have just been served with a record of examination hearing, it is from a creditor (who are solicitors ) I have a ccj with them the payment is for £1 which I have been paying by standing order since the beginning of the year. I don't own my home - I rent privately, I have no assets. My circumstances did improve a little so I have had a little surplus income. From next week though my hours have reduced at work due to me having a relapse and not being able to work 5 days a week, and although I get benefits and tax credits there is going to be a short fall. Now I pay for a car on hp/lease, it's 210 a month but the finance is in my dads name as I do not have a good enough credit rating to get finace under my name the reason I have the car is because I have ms and I couldn't be without it. Could they turn round and say that I shouldn't be paying for it? As my parents could not afford to take on that debt and it's not fair that they should.
Also can you tell me what the hearing actually entails? What questions I will be asked etc.....
As I am worried about it and getting quite stressed which is also not good for my Ms.
Any help and advice would be greatly received.
Thanks

StepChange_James · 31 October 2014 at 12:31PM

plim26 wrote: »

Hi, not sure I've posted this in the thread but please feel free to move.
I have just been served with a record of examination hearing, it is from a creditor (who are solicitors ) I have a ccj with them the payment is for £1 which I have been paying by standing order since the beginning of the year. I don't own my home - I rent privately, I have no assets. My circumstances did improve a little so I have had a little surplus income. From next week though my hours have reduced at work due to me having a relapse and not being able to work 5 days a week, and although I get benefits and tax credits there is going to be a short fall. Now I pay for a car on hp/lease, it's 210 a month but the finance is in my dads name as I do not have a good enough credit rating to get finace under my name the reason I have the car is because I have ms and I couldn't be without it. Could they turn round and say that I shouldn't be paying for it? As my parents could not afford to take on that debt and it's not fair that they should.
Also can you tell me what the hearing actually entails? What questions I will be asked etc.....
As I am worried about it and getting quite stressed which is also not good for my Ms.
Any help and advice would be greatly received.
Thanks

Hi Plim26,

Thanks for posting, while this thread is usually for bankruptcy related questions, I don't mind answering questions about other debt related subjects too.

The payment you make for the car should be seen by the courts as a debt you have to your dad. The car finances is in him name but you then owe him the money for the payments. Given that you need the vehicle for health reasons I'd expect the courts to be understanding about this.

The forms you've been given should include an N39 form, which will state the paperwork you need to take along with you to the hearing. Alongside those documents I'd recommend taking something along that confirms you're going to be working less hours from next week. A letter confirming the change by your employer would be good for this purpose.

It would also be useful to have some projections about your likely income once you've changed your hours. Having an idea of your outgoings will be handy too, even if they're not on the list of things they've asked you to take along.

The hearing is usually done with an officer of the court but it's possible it could be you meet with a district judge. Then you'll be asked the questions that you can find on this form: http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex140-eng.pdf (which you may already have a copy of).

There's also a possibility that the creditor could have requested other questions be asked, but given the level of detail it's hard to imagine what extra they might want to know!

After the hearing your creditor will be informed of the details discussed. If they think you can afford to pay more they could then apply to vary your judgment. Though it sounds like you're not likely to be in a position to afford more than the £1 a month set, so it may result in nothing changing.

I hope this information is useful and perhaps makes you feel a bit more at ease about this process. I'd recommend giving us a call on our helpline if you'd like to talk through things more: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx. You might find it useful to go through our full advice process, as then one of our debt advisors will help you plan a full income and expenditure budget and give you advice about the options available.

Kind regards

James

lil'H · 1 November 2014 at 9:22PM

Hi all,

Lots of bankruptcy questions. My partner has gotten himself into a complete mess, he was depressed for a period before we met and basically failed to keep on top of everything. He has self assessment years missing for HMRC, VAT owing, HMRC fines, and CIS fines, as well as personal debts to utilities, credit cards etc. He hasn't added to his debts in a couple of years, and once he confessed to me about the mess we have been busy sorting his paperwork. We are almost there with completing his tax returns etc.

Today HMRC contacted and are issuing bankruptcy proceedings. His total debt is in the region of 100k, and he doesn't have any assets so we know bankruptcy is likely to be the only option at this stage and were prepared for this. However we were hoping to have completed the missing tax returns first.

We haven't been able to get any answers to the following from HMRC

The missing tax returns - will they be written off as part of the process ,or do we need to have completed the returns in order for them to be included.
The tax owing for the most recent year (for which payment isn't yet due) will this be written off?
CIS - when bankrupt we understand that he will be on a nil tax code for the year, what happens with payments via CIS scheme?
Will the fines for late submissions and payments be included in the debts written off.

With regard to his payments once bankrupt, he pays maintenance for his children, via a private arrangement not a court order or CSA (as CSA no encourage people to do so privately) will this be allowed to continue, he doesn't want to stop paying towards his child?

Many thanks in advance,
lil'H

TheGardener · 2 November 2014 at 9:08AM

mightykate wrote: »

Hi I was declared bankrupt in 2009. I was able to get a Santander basic account but with no overdraft facility. I have been paying wages into it since. I applied for a loan from the credit union where I save £25 a month and they refused. How do I improve my credit record when i can't get any credit?
Kind regards

First thing - have you done a credit file clean up and made sure all 3 main CRA's have all your details right? this is essential and you will find all the info on how to do it on the welcome to the BR page of this forum.
Once your CRF is cleaned up you can apply for a 'sub prime' credit card - make regular purchase on it and then make sure its all paid back before the due date to avoid the high interest rates.
If a CU has turned you down for a loan, was that based on your ability to pay it back? They would have been looking at whether you could afford the repayments (any responsible lender should)
Do you need credit? Most of us BR's would rather pull our own fingernails out than go back to being in debt?

Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

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