Bankruptcy: Just starting out...

Conor_3

Not the case at salerooms. I've seen decent laptops struggling to get £50 before.

kevker

I don't doubt for a minute what you are saying conor. However, when I declared bankruptcy a dvd player (worth £120 new) a tv (worth £300 new) and an old computer, which I would say would be worth £200 if you sold it privately were all taken. The impression I got from the examiner was that if something could be sold for enough to cover the costs of recovery and sale, and have something left over to go towards your creditors, then it will be taken. Maybe it varies with different receivers.

cd02

kevker wrote:

I don't doubt for a minute what you are saying conor. However, when I declared bankruptcy a dvd player (worth £120 new) a tv (worth £300 new) and an old computer, which I would say would be worth £200 if you sold it privately were all taken. The impression I got from the examiner was that if something could be sold for enough to cover the costs of recovery and sale, and have something left over to go towards your creditors, then it will be taken. Maybe it varies with different receivers.

can anyone clear up what they would take ?

say i have a laptop that was £800 through an insurance claim, would they take that ?
also i have a tv which i brought 3 or 4 years ago for £300 and a dvd player which i got through insurance worth £99, would they take any of that ? How about my dvd collection ? which is made up of about 200 dvd's ?

Addicted2Chocolate

some of the things in this post are incorrect. If you have a telephone interview you may not have any further interview, it depends on your case. And a motor vehicle can only be kept if it is exempt, that is essential for your employmnet. Irrespective of value you cannot keep it for personal reasons such as being disabled or needing it for kids. Exempt assets are defined in section 283 of the insolvency act 1986.

jellycat40 wrote:

Hi there
I am going to go bankrupt as well so know how you feel.

You can declare yourself bankrupt and this may be the most stress free way. If you don't have an IP then you only need to pay £305 to the court on the day and you will have your bankruptcy declared in a couple of hours. You need to be in court but you may not be called.

After the court hearing you will have an interview with the Official Receiver either on the phone or in person. if on the phone you will have a face to face appointment later.

You may lose your car unless it is worth £2500 or less and you can prove you need it. You will lose any expensive electrical equipment such as tv, hi-fi or digital equipment. Not likely if it is over 2 years old. You may lose your house, be forced to downsize or have a charge put on your property for when you do sell it.

The good side is that you are likely to be discharged within a year and the OR is likely to issue letters to your creditors to say he has no further interest in your case within 6 months. One way of keeping tabs on this is to let someone pay your court fee for you. This will make them one of your creditors although for such a small amount not one that the OR will worry about. then when the OR issues letters your friend will get a copy of the letter.

Well that is about all, I tried Payplan and found them to be lovely people they just could not help me. Probably similar to your experience with CCCS.

Louise

Addicted2Chocolate

in my experience assets of this level of value would not be taken. They wopuld have no benefit for the bankruptcy estate after the costs of the agents to sell at auction. But you will only know for sure after your interview, the examiner should tell you.

cd02 wrote:

can anyone clear up what they would take ?

say i have a laptop that was £800 through an insurance claim, would they take that ?
also i have a tv which i brought 3 or 4 years ago for £300 and a dvd player which i got through insurance worth £99, would they take any of that ? How about my dvd collection ? which is made up of about 200 dvd's ?

smokey112

In our case we didn't have anything taken - our interview was in the OR office the week after we declared

Ang
x

jesster_2

My OH is considering bankruptcy. He doesn't own a house or anything like that, so he's probably in a fairly straightforward position.

But what we're really scared of is how long the after-effects will go on for? In terms of his credit rating, getting a mortgage a couple of years down the line, etc.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom? I know he'd be so relieved to be free of the debt and work his butt off to get himself straight again, but just want to be fully warned about what could come up to bite us later...?

jesster_2

jellycat40 wrote:

After the court hearing you will have an interview with the Official Receiver either on the phone or in person. if on the phone you will have a face to face appointment later.



The good side is that you are likely to be discharged within a year and the OR is likely to issue letters to your creditors to say he has no further interest in your case within 6 months. One way of keeping tabs on this is to let someone pay your court fee for you. This will make them one of your creditors although for such a small amount not one that the OR will worry about. then when the OR issues letters your friend will get a copy of the letter.



Louise

Useful post, Jellycat40.

What advice were you given about: a) whether you'd have to pay back as much as you could afford to, even after the bankruptcy; and b) how long AFTER the discharge you are still likely to be affected in terms of your credit rating? We've been warned that these can be big probs, and they are the two big worries we have in what is otherwise an obvious decision to declare bankrupt...

can anyone else share their experiences?

Addicted2Chocolate

in terms of how much you would repay, the OR would look at the household income less essential outgoings, calculate the surplus, then seek a part of the surplus (between 50 and 70%) to be paid each month for 36 months under an Income Payment Agreement. so you are left with some leeway, unlike in a IVA where the debtor has to pay all of any leftover income.
and in terms of how long it will affect you, like all other info on credit file the bankruptcy order will be on your credit file for 6 years. so will effect your credit rating for 6 years from the bankruptcy order date. 6 years is the time limit set by the data protections act.

jesster wrote:

Useful post, Jellycat40.

What advice were you given about: a) whether you'd have to pay back as much as you could afford to, even after the bankruptcy; and b) how long AFTER the discharge you are still likely to be affected in terms of your credit rating? We've been warned that these can be big probs, and they are the two big worries we have in what is otherwise an obvious decision to declare bankrupt...

can anyone else share their experiences?

Conor_3

cd02 wrote:

say i have a laptop that was £800 through an insurance claim, would they take that ?
also i have a tv which i brought 3 or 4 years ago for £300 and a dvd player which i got through insurance worth £99, would they take any of that ? How about my dvd collection ? which is made up of about 200 dvd's ?

At the time I went bankrupt, on the paperwork I declared (new price):

£1500 laptop - 12 months old.
£600 homebuilt PC
£750 Sony Nicam 29" TV - 3 years old.
£250 Pioneer DVD Player - 1 year old.
£400 HiFi - 3 years old.
Sony Playstation 2 and 30 games - less than 12 months old.

He wasn't interested in any of them. HOWEVER I was completely forthright and co-operative with him so could have got off easy. He did say that had I tried to BS him, he would take a very dim view.

It may be a case that what they will/won't take could depend on the person you are assigned to a point.