We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Scary OR Interview

After some time reflecting I went BR on the 5th of November. The court experience was not as bad as I thought but it did phase me for a few days and has not cleared the feelings of guilt and fear I have.

Today first thing was my OR interview and to start with I thought things were going OK until we got to the question "What did you spend the money on". My answers were not good enough and at one point I contradicted myself and the mood changed very quickly.:eek: The OR Said "If I had had XXX thousands as a loan I would know exactly what I had done with it" To be honest things went bit by bit not in large lumps so itemising things is almost impossible. I did say I don't remember but was told that wasn't answer. So I stumbled around in a jabbering mess and I'm sure the OR thought I was lying. I did say the only way to tell what the money was spent on was to look at my bank and credit card statements.

The remainder of the interview went alright, I just need to wait for paper work to arrive for IPA but it's left me in a state of shock, I just feel sick. Not sure if he will dig through the statements and then come back to me with discrepancies in my testimony and claim he has been misled. I'm not sure how you are supposed to remember things from 5 to 8 years ago, it's not like you go through life taking notes on every transaction in case you need to justify it to some obscure person in years to come.

Not sure what I do now I feel so guilty, I just want to cry, and I'm a bloke! Things were difficult before but now I'm in frightened I may have inadvertently broken some legal rule. Has anyone else had any experience of this? Do you think it will all work out in the end?

Comments

  • DON79
    DON79 Posts: 3,842 Forumite
    Hi, sorry to hear you had such a grilling. It is not easy to remember what you spent because very often it was probably just spent on living expenses that were necessary. And as for the OR saying they would remember what they spend xxx thousands on, well that is easy to say. but when you have been stressed etc and just been struggling to live it is not so easy to say where all the money went. I know that probably most of the money I owe on the credit cards is simply for food shopping and petrol and also I did balance transfers between cards quite a bit before admitting I was having problems so I don't have a clue what is what. I know that I don't have a cupboard stocked full of Nintendo Wii's or 50 inch tv's or a private parking lot with the mercedes and porsche tucked away.

    No point feeling guilty and beating yourself up about it. the only thing they can do is give you the ipa for three years. doubtful you would get a bro/bru because from what i have read, its only if you have gambled it away or spent it on luxury items or transferred monies abroad etc that you would get one.

    try not get too stressed. :D
    BSC #215/No.1 Jan 09 Club
  • Hi,

    Sorry to hear you didn't feel the interview went well, I'm still waiting for my court date but I'm sure you are probably worrying unnecessarily. Perhaps your OR can remember what he spent every penny in his life on but most people have lives! Seriously though, if you have been honest and open I can't see that there is much he can do, you're past the worst of it now, chin up. :)
  • The OR is simply a civil servant going through the motions. Some are clearly more sensitive than others in that process ( I was very lucky in that respect), but nonetheless it is a process and that is all.

    I would concur with the posts above that you have absolutely nothing to worry about unless of course you have indeed done something wrong and the OR is able to substantiate this, and there is nothing to suggest from your post that this is the case.

    Being poor at handling money is not a crime (not that I'm suggesting that this is the case with you).
  • Thanks for your supportive words. The thing that concerns me is being confronted at some future meeting with a bank statement from 2000 and and being asked to account for the spending! A lot of my debt was accumulative and increased with what I saw as my prosperity and bright future but if you look at it now it all looks like over spending and stupidity. The tables have now turned with the economy and my job prospects have vanished like a cruel joke, I'm still employed, Just, but my health is falling through the floor with a degenerative spinal condition, I'm hanging on in there but for how long I don't know.

    It looks like the only thing I can do is sit and wait for the outcome which I'm told can be any time within the next twelve months, I thought my case was straight forward with only the need to look at three or four sets of statements but it looks like it's not that clear cut. I've stopped sleeping again which is something I thought I would be over with at this stage, the thought of a year with no rest fills me with dread.
  • fiveyearplan
    fiveyearplan Posts: 10,143 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Hi HBTF and welcome. I pride myself on being able to remember exact details but when I had my OR interview my mind went blank! I couldn't remember what I spent a remortgage on 4 years ago!! I simply said "I'm sorry I can't remember but I'm sure if you look through the bank statements it will all be clear". He seemed to think that was a good enough answer. I must admit I wasn't the slightest bit nervous because I had been on this forum for over a year at that point so I was prepared and knew what to expect.

    I know this is easier said than done but try not to worry about it, you'll hear soon enough and the worst they can do is set you a BRO which just means you will still have some BR restrictions longer than the 12 months but you will still be discharged in 12 months. As for spending like a king - you could afford it at the time. Isn't that what the government are trying to get us to do now?

    :j :j


This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 254K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.