Statutory Demand for Bankruptcy - Advice Needed

colin1951uk

Hello Folks,

I'm new to this board and looking for advice on something called a 'Statutory Demand for Bankruptcy' that I received a couple of days ago relating to a debt that is known to me.

The company who've sent this document go by the name of 'Capquest' and just Googling around they seem well known for being downright bullies whilst going about their business.

The debt (unsecured) itself goes back about eight years and was then being handled by another agency (Robinson Way) who I was repaying at the time at an agreed rate untill December 2004 came along and I had to stop the payments because of (what was then) the considerable increases to gas/electric which was eating into my spare cash. I was on JSA then and informed the agency of my intent to stop my repayments (giving them proof of my updated outgoings) untill such times as I could afford to restart them. I didn't get any formal reply to that notification and instead started getting the usual threatening letters through about what they would do if I didn't keep the repayments up. Anyway I asked for a reply to my letter but nothing happened except for a debt collector (working for Robinson Way) knocking on my door during October 2005 asking if I could start repaying. As I was still on JSA I said no, showed the person evidence of that plus the two letters I had written earlier and they said 'ok i'll report it as uncollectable then' and went away and I've never heard anything since untill now.

The debt is about halfway paid off so this bunch 'Capquest' are threatening me with bankruptcy for a sum a little over £3000 which seems a little extreme to me..a CCJ may be appropriate but bankruptcy over the top maybe??

What I have is a two page document (that doesn't look formal at all - more of an amateur job) saying that I have to repay the full amount within 21 days of it being served on me..there is no indication of coming to an amicable arrangement with the Creditor..or I have 18 days to get the Demand set aside by my local court..which will no doubt cost lots of dosh.

My current situation is that I'm currently in receipt of Income Support which I've been on since I started having heart troubles about nine months ago (my doctor thinks I should stay away from work for a while so he took me off of JSA) and it isn't much to live on and pay the bills in these inflation busting times and I certainly havn't got savings to pay off the amount demanded after being out of work for a long time now.

At the end of the day the house I'm living in belongs to my mother who went into care during September of last year so all the belongings in it are hers apart from a few things that belong to me which are mainly clothes and other stuff that have no real value so making me bankrupt would be pointless to my mind.

I really don't know whether to take this seriously after the way it's just appeared out of the blue and the reputation 'Capquest' have got.

I could end up in court making a fool out of these people but bankruptcy is not something I take lightly and they may know something that I don't so I'd appreciate any comments on what 'Statutory Demands' are all about and whether I should try and talk to this company despite the fact that they won't settle for anything else but the full value and they're lousy reputation.

Thanks..Colin

deedee_3

Give National Debtline a ring and have a chat with them about this. They will be able to talk you through what all this means. It can cost then £1200 or more to make you bankrupt. Will go get the number for you they are open until 9.00

: National Debtline Telephone: 0808 808 4000

excel1

a Stat demand is something that they throw around quite freely but should be taken seriously, have you sent crapquest a CCA request letter to see if they have the legal right to collect this debt?

Zobex

Is there a difference between making yourself personally bankrupt and Capquest or someone else doing it to you?

Also, do Capquest follow through on their Statutory Demands? I can't see how it will benefit them if they do. I've got no assets or savings or anything they could get through the courts so why would they bother?

colin1951uk

deedee thanks for replying..I've only just come back online so too late to phone now but I'll give em a go tomorrow when I get a chance.

excel1 thanks to you to..I assume CCA is Consumer Credit Agreement..if it is well on the document I've got there is something saying to the effect that the debt was passed from the original creditor Natwest to Capquest on the 30-10-07. Quite why they've sat on it for nearly a year though I don't know.

But something smells about this and I think I might know what's going on here now and if I'm right I'd call it a viscious dirty trick.

Like I mentioned earlier my mother is in care and her mental state (dementia) is such that she can't handle any of her own affairs and I was made a Deputy about three months ago by the Court of Protection to handle those affairs and that gives me access to her savings. It just so happens that my mum has an account at the same branch of Natwest that I did before I lost my job and got into this debt. Her account has enough money in it to pay off this debt and I'm wondering if this is Natwests dirty little game. When I first went into Natwest to get control of my mothers account they refused to acknowledge the Court Order I had to do it and said because my credit rating was poor they wouldn't deal with me. I had to get the Court to enforce the Order and that happened just two weeks ago and Natwest were a bit miffed about that.

So although it's not my money to spend they know that I now have access to funds that will cover their debt. If they were to make me bankrupt and I said to the judge I've got no money or assets to repay the amount I guess it could be argued that I would inherit everything my mums got..which would be the case..and therfore and again i'm guessing that some sort of order could be slapped onto the account I'm now controlling for my mum forcing me to pay up from that if something happened to my mother in the short term.

Bearing in mind Capquest have appeared out of nowhere with something they've had for yonks and that I've forced Natwest into letting me handle my mothers money in the last two weeks seems something of a coincedence to me now.

I might be going overboard on my thinking but it makes sense when I put it together.

I think I might need to get furthur advice on this..don't know what anybody else might think.

Incedentaly..the only way to contact Capquest (if not in writing) is via a 0870 sky high premium number. I thought that sort of thing was frowned on by the OFT some time ago..bad business practice to expect a debtor to make expensive calls or something to that effect..is this still the case?

Colin

excel1

Not quite CCA does mean that but all you were sent was a deed of assignment. on here you will find CCA request template now if they dont have it or its not valid then no legal enforcement can take place, but you must request it, please dont expect the court to check these things.

I doubt crapquest have any info from natwest as this debt no longer belongs to them so its probanly been picked up that no one has done anything with your file.

excel1

Zobex,


the only difference is that they pay for it not you.

99% of all stat demands do not get to bankruptcy, because either they scare people into paying or are invalid or the cost is too much of a risk against the return.

rog2

colin1951uk wrote: »

The debt is about halfway paid off so this bunch 'Capquest' are threatening me with bankruptcy for a sum a little over £3000 which seems a little extreme to me..a CCJ may be appropriate but bankruptcy over the top maybe??

Hi Colin - Any creditor, to whom a debtor owes more than £750.00, has the legal right to petition for that debtor's bankruptcy.
The serving of a Statutory Demand, which effectively is a 'final' chance for that debtor to come to an agreement with the creditor, is a necessary pre-cursor to a petition for bankruptcy. Normally, any Statutory Demand would be 'personally served', although if a creditor, or his agent, has tried unsuccessfully to serve the SD by hand, it is permissible to post the SD to the debtor.
A Statutory Demand is, indeed, a powerful document, and many debt collection agencies are well aware of the effect that such a document will, inevitably, have on a debtor, who in 99% of cases will be totally unaware of any rights that he/she may have. The majority of debtors who receive a SD, whether genuine or not, will rather go deeper into debt in order to get these parasites off of their backs, rather than contest the 'legality' of the claimed debt.
Hence, my friend, the reason why the less professional members of the Debt Collection Mafia use these 'SD Forms' like confetti. CRAPQUEST and CONNAUGHT COLLECTIONS are extremely well known for this.
So, what are the implications?
1. It will cost CQ £590.00, for the Court Fees, plus the asociated Solicitors' fees, to petition for your bankruptcy.
2. These 'fees' must be paid in advance and, whilst they can be added to your 'estate in bankruptcy' there will be absolutely no guarantee that CQ will get any of this money back, as they will not receive any preferential treatment over any of your other creditors. After the Official Receiver/Trustee has siezed ANY assetts that you may have, he will, after deduction of his fees/expenses, distribute any remaining monies equally between EVERY one of your creditors at the time of your bankruptcy, irrespective of who actually petitioned for your bankruptcy.

So, unless you have assetts, such as equity in a house, then it is most unlikely that CQ will actually follow through on their threat, but you must NOT ignore the SD - there is a case, on the bankruptcy board; http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1058293 where one such dca (Connaught Collections) did actually take a case as far as bankruptcy for a little over £3k.

Talk, first, to one of the Debt Counselling Charities, such as:

National Debtline www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/ tel. 0808 808 4000

CCCS www.cccs.co.uk tel. 0800 138 1111

Or your local CAB

They will be able to advise you about getting the SD set aside, and what other steps you may take to establish whether this 'debt' is genuine and/or enforceable.

Zobex

Thanks Rog2 - really helpful post

I have been planning to go bankrupt but dealing with life has meant not getting the cash together to do it. I've no assets and there is no cash left over at the end of the month. CCCS have recommended bankruptcy to me...will it be worse for me if I let it be done to me rather than trying to get the money together, which isn't likely in the short term?

RAS

Zobex

Rog2 is a major poster on the BK board and will pick up your other post. If you want to go Bk, then the sensible thing to do is to make plans for it. The chances of your being relieved of the job are minimal.

if you post up details on the your thread, then people can help you more. What most folk do is stop paying everything, except the rent if possible, and save up money from for the fees. In some instances the £150 fee is waived.

Zobex

Thanks RAS

I'm a bit nervous / wary of posting details on a public site and I'm new here too. Sorry - that's not meant as a reflection on anyone here.

I really appreciate your point about saving up and cutting back to get the cash together. That's something that, if I put my mind to it and get on with it I know I can acheive and if it is "done" to me so be it.

CCCS have advised me to go down the bankruptcy route. I suppose it's over £50k in total with less than £20k with Capquest. The CCCS statement of earnings leaves me with less than £100 over but that is with a zero for clothing or "Other personal expenditure"