Declaring bankruptcy without a penny

999mph

I am in the middle of an IVA agreement. I have no assets to my name but recently it has become very difficult to keep my head above water. I don't have the money to pay for a BR and tried every source to accumilate the amount necessary but all I could manage was £100. I cancelled my Direct Debit on my IVA but that still didn't help. How do I proceed?

louiser123

as far as i am aware if you fail on an iva, the creditors will file for your bankruptcy not immediatly though i think you get the normal chances ect to bring payments up to date but they do eventually file if payments are missed for a while. this was the case with us as our iva was set too high in the first place but we accepted it to try prevent the next step of bankruptcy, in the end the creditors filed for the br.
things may have changed since then(7 yrs ago now) im sure somone with more knowledge will be along soon.

dalip

Some utilities like water will help with fees,,also certain societies like MS will help not sure how to go about the initial groundwork though:o .Dx

banks4u

If you have no assets and are struggling i would actually suggest going for bankcruptcy it lasts a year and after that you can get back to normal. it may affect you if you work in finance or with loans or credit cards. but i suggest you speak to citizens advice.

wallopadonkey

we found cccs far more help than cab to be honest with you apart from the fact it took 3 weeks just to get through on the phone to the cab office

cccs have a specialist bankruptcy number as well they were great we thought we would get exemption from all the fees but the ex160 form only exempts you from the court costs only still costs 345 to go br
if you have no more options available like us it was the only option but GET ADVICE first:beer:

tigerfeet2006

Hi and welcome to the board.

As the others have said the first thing to do is to get advice from the debt charities. Some numbers and links in my sig. and more in the Bankruptcy Help sticky.

You may be able to get a remission on the court fees of £150 but will still have to pay the OR's fees of £345. From the Bankruptcy Help sticky.

Court fee remission and forms.

• HMCS - Court fees do you have to pay them? (And guidance on completing the fee remission form). (pdf)
• HMCS - Form EX160 - Application for a fee remission (pdf)
• Example application for a fee remission based on gross annual income - EX160 (Thanks to NE Derbyshire CAB)
• Example application for a fee remission based on permitted benefits - EX160 (Thanks to NE Derbyshire CAB)

The IVA companies no longer set fees aside to deal with bankruptcy so you will have to find it. Ask at your local CAB if there is any local charities who may help. Are you a member of a church? Some have a discretionary fund for the ministers to use with out telling anyone. Are you ex-forces? SSAFA may be able to help. Do you have a disability? The appropriate charity may be able to help. One poster sold things like their microwave and sofa in the paper to raise the funds, then picked up replacements for free on Freecycle.This link speaks for it self.

• Possible assistance with Bankruptcy costs / fees
• (Thanks to NE Derbyshire CAB)

fermi

Check your IVA agreement to see whether funds have been retained for the IP/supervisor to petition.

If not, then it will be up to you to do. Your actual creditors are not likely to do it. Costs them a lot of extra money for (normally) nothing back.

999mph

Cheers.
With regards to the Creditors applying for Bankruptcy without my involvement how does that work? I mean I really don't have a penny to give. Then what? and I don't even have a Sofa to my name. All the furniture I use belong to the landlord.

fermi

999mph wrote: »

Cheers.
With regards to the Creditors applying for Bankruptcy without my involvement how does that work? I mean I really don't have a penny to give. Then what? and I don't even have a Sofa to my name. All the furniture I use belong to the landlord.

The IP/supervisor from your IVA may do it if there are funds available and it is in your agreement that they will.

Your original creditors are very unlikely to do it for you though. It will costs them over £1,000 in up front fees to do, and they would have no guarantee of seeing any of those back let alone the original debt.

The only original creditors who sometimes will make you bankrupt are the Taxman, American Express, Council Tax (sometimes) and a few "trade" suppliers.

Other creditors may use bankruptcy as a threat or scare tactic, but they are not normally daft enough to shoot themselves in the foot and go through with it.

999mph

So if I have no money to pay and don't declare myself bankrupt and my IVA doesn't cover it. Then what?

philnicandamy

Possible help with bankruptcy costs / fees

There are a number of charities that may help with bankruptcy costs and fees depending on eligibility (examples below) help is not guaranteed though because of the increase of people filing for personal BR some funds are now refusing to pay anything....worth a try applying though

• Severn Trent Trust Fund and other water trusts
• EDF Energy Trust
• Royal British Legion
• Some Trade Unions
  • Trades Union Congress
  • Union Finder from Worksmart
• Turn2Us enables you to search for charities
• United Utilities

Please note you will usually need the assistance of a recognised Debt and Money Advice Worker in completing applications relating to the above.