Officially Bankrupt - 'petrified' No Longer!

petrified_2

My mini-diary of a straightforward, non-stressful, non-judgemental bankruptcy hearing. For all those of you waiting for the big day, it really isn’t any thing like as scary as you might imagine. But perhaps no-one really believes that 100% until they discover it for themselves.

I managed to get a good night's sleep last night, and woke up feeling a little nervous but surprisingly calm and collected considering, and got to court 15 mins early for my appointment. BUT… I was at the wrong flippin court!!! Our county court isn’t in session on a Thursday, and the person who set up my appointment neglected to tell me that it would in another town. So that meant a had a 25 min drive to somewhere I didn’t know very well, and there was no way I would make it on time. The court security guard was really helpful and phoned ahead to explain what happened. They told me not to worry and it wouldn’t be a problem at all…they must get it a lot as they gave me printed instructions on how to get there. Ironic for a bankrupt really, I wasted a fiver on the carpark!!

So, when I finally arrived at the right place, I was really nervous, shaking and close to tears (bit pathetic in hindsight, but was daunting enough to be appearing in court, never mind being in the wrong one!). The court clerk was a young girl about the same age as me, really sweet and kind, and reassured me that they knew how difficult it is to be in the position of declaring yourself br, and that they’re not there to make it difficult or to judge. She checked the mistake I thought I’d made on the form (turned out was fine), took my money and got me to swear the affidavit. Then she told me to sit down, relax and read a magazine. More irony: the reading material in a waiting area for bankrupts was Harpers, Vogue and the Times Travel magazine! Heh heh: here’s what you could have if you weren’t so crap with your money…or here’s what you won’t be caning your credit cards on anymore. No that I did that of course, too busy trying to pay Buckingham palace size mortgage. Anyway, I digress…

I waited for about ½ hr, then the clerk took me upstairs to wait outside the courtroom and told me they’d call me in a few minutes. About 20 minutes later, another really lovely lady bustled up to me, laughing about the fact she’d been trying to get a cup of coffee for the past hour, and then just casually said, ‘you’re bankrupt as of now, so if you get hassled by any creditors, just refer them to the person dealing with your case’.

I was taken back to the first waiting area, and after another ½ hour or so, the first clerk came back and asked me if I felt okay. She really was lovely, and even said herself that it really isn’t the dreadful experience people expect. She then told me that I’d be taken to a private room and would have a short preliminary interview with the or, and that it would then all be over for today. I told her I hadn’t seen the judge, and she said no need, he could see that I have no means of paying your debts.

Interview with OR office was fine, just asked questions about assets and bank accounts that were already detailed on br forms, so I just read it out from my copy. She asked for my landline number so they could arrange a telephone interview with OR to - and I quote ‘get to the nitty-gritty of how you got into this mess’, but being a total dunce, I forgot my own number and just could not remember it. How embarrassing was that? I had to turn my mobile on in the end and look it up. As soon as the phone call was over (took about 10 mins) I was free to go. And that, as they say, was that.

And YES, I feel so bloody relieved I can’t believe it’s almost over. I know the hardest part will be the OR interview, but now I know the ball is rolling and I’m almost there, I’m not even nervous about that now.

Right, now for a celebratory glass of wine and a fag.

(oh, and for those of you that commented on the smoking last night with your own tales of giving up, trying to or cutting down, I went from 20 a day to none at all the day I found out I was pregnant in Jan 2007, then started again about 14 months later when the finances got way, way out of control and I split up with ex. I’m only on 1 or 2 day now, but I feel I deserve that one little vice when my little girl is finally tucked up in bed of a night. Tho no surprise that for the last week I’ve been back up to about 5 a day, but will be stopping that again now as it gives me a hangover, believe it or not!!!)
Blimey, don’t I ever ramble on. Sorry, I’m finding it cathartic.

Again, thank you, thank you fellow bankrupt and nearly bankrupt people, this board has been my sanity-saver for quite a while now.
x

DON79

Hi petrified,

poor you! sending you to the wrong court, I can totally understand how it could make you really upset! It is not pathetic.

But I am so pleased that the court had such lovely staff and I am glad they were nice and helpful to you.

Well done to you and enjoy your little drink! pleased that you are feeling relief from the burden too.

Congratulations!

:j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j

So_Sad_Angel

What a lovely post petrified (may have to change you user name to ....`no longer petrified`)....glad you are through this stage & your words will help so many who are dreading the court day.

Good luck on the OR interview...try & get a relaxing weekend Honey.

Angex

dalip

or even petrifiedless:rotfl: eh ange;) .

Well done P. Hope you got the first of many good nights sleep.Dx

yellowmonkey

Congrats to you and all the best :beer:

ym

fiveyearplan

Congratulations Petrified - glad you got through it okay.

philnicandamy

glad to hear everything went well eventually!

petrified_2

thanks all for your kind words etc. so sad angel, i'm glad you liked the post. thought it was a bit waffley, but like i said was cathartic and wanted to reassure others that it really, really is not anything to stress about. i read similar posts and just thought 'lucky !!!!!!s' and didn't think i'd be so lucky myself. but now i don't think it's a case of luck...they're just so used to dealing with brs as it's their job, plus perhaps they're getting blase as its getting more and more commonplace (35% rise in my area i believe).
have my OR phone interview next week. am in for a rollocking i think, as buried my head in the sand and my list of court cases (actual repo, further claim for repo from secured loan, orders on house, applications for ccjs etc) totalled five. i am an idiot, but have forgiven myself, and hope the OR has the same feelings! she phoned in person to arrange interview and sounded nice, so there is hope. will not be getting worried about it tho, que sera, etc.
i sound like i'm taking it all lightly and perhaps arrogantly, but that's just the sheer relief, i don't know how else to express it.
i am still a bit emotional about it all (in positive way) so apologies if i sound carried away. just so good to be able to share with like minded people.
yep, yep, yep, must change my username. my computer automatically logs me in, and i can't see where i can change it - any ideas folks?

philnicandamy

Ohh you'll need to send an email to the forum admin to change your username you'll not find any settings yourself to change sorry....

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=2769855&postcount=8

petrified_2

is it acceptable to register again then? feel silly with the 'woe is me' moniker now i'm on the up!!

philnicandamy

your not really allowed to (but I didnt see a thing!)