rec'd lila br but want more info

dodo50

i've just rec'd a letter today from aib (scottish br) stating i was awarded br last week on 3rd april, but no award letter yet although they advise it will be sent and asking for the following:-

1. tenancy agreement (got this no problem)

2. state for settlement for previous property - what is this exactly and how do i get it? sold property 4 years ago.

3. benefit award letters (should have these ok)

4. most recent bank account statement - i have paperless statements so
are they likely to accept computer printouts? also my partners son asked me to keep 400 for him as he's got a wedding to go to (pay for his overnight accom and exps), this was in my account last month. will they accept this if i show them the trf he made into my acc? it made me look as if i had more money than they allow.

5. share certificates - i have these but they are only worth circa 200 but will they view them as having potential to be worth more?

why award me br then ask for all this, i'm really worried now and they've only gave me until 20apr to send them all details and everywhere is closed til tue and i'm on jury service for weeks? i'll need more time if i've to get bank statements and info about property.

the letter also advises they will prosecute or subject me to br restrictions on my credit and employment activities for between 2 and 15 years after i've been discharged and they may delay the discharge by up to 2years.

dear god.

killingjoke

hello dodo50,
good you got the bankruptcy award. I think they want extra info to make sure you have no assetts over £1000 (including cash, shares etc.) so that you qualify for low income low asetts bankruptcy.. I presume computer printouts would be ok for statements. The fact they`ve awarded your bankruptcy suggests you`ve not too much to worry about. I don`t know your circumstances so don`t know if you would get a BRO/BRU. The best thing to do is phone accountant in bankruptcy office and speak to your case worker, they seem to be approachable from my limted experience. Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks Chris

coolcait

Hiya

Congratulations on getting your bankruptcy awarded - hope the Award letter comes through soon.

Now... time to take a deep breath and calm down to a frenzy (as my sister always tells me! ).

It sounds like one of the AiB's checks - they run them on random cases, so it's not necessarily anything to get too worried about.

I'd go along with what killingjoke says - give the case worker a call, and explain that you're on jury duty, and may need more time to get the info together. Tell them what you can send just now, offer to send a copy of the jury duty stuff, and give them an idea how long it will take you to get the other stuff together. You can ask them if they'll accept computer printouts for the bank stuff.

And please have another look at that letter they sent you - I think you'll fnd that it's a list of things that could be done if you don't cooperate. And I think that calling them to let them know that you're trying to get the info together for them, but might need a bit longer for some things, would be seen as 'cooperating'.

I think AiB themselves are also closed until Tuesday, so maybe try giving them a call then.

Good luck!

dodo50

thanks both of you for reply, it's such a great help to talk to people.

i don't even get out of the room they put you in at court never mind making private phone calls!! still i'll email aib.

i do have issues with this asset thing of over 1000 in cash. between shares if i cashed them in to value 200, my partners son giving me 400 to keep for him so he didn't spend it before the wedding and my rent and benefit money all in account at some point last month, you'd think i'd loads. it soon disappeared on bills. i receive housing benefit direct into my account and incapacity benefit so when you add it all up for a short period then yes it was just over 1000.

i also have a prob with my car, it is valued at 870 - 1200 depending on private sale poor cond - private sale good cond. it is not in good cond but could be a matter of their view not mine. never put it on app but now i expect them to check everything.

i feel like a criminal now, not just stupid. i live on benefits and struggle to do so but as i've health issues i need a car so didn't sell it. i'll only have it a short while longer as its too expensive anyway.

4 years ago i did sell my property and i lived on the proceeds as i'd lost my job through ill health. i didn't claim benefits for 2years but i could have paid more to debts, i just didn't. i have absolutely no paperwork at all so what is it they want by 'state of settlement' of previous property?

what are your thoughts on

1. will they accept the fact some of the money in my account belonged to another? he trf 400 into it so it shows his name.

2. i presume they'll take a dim view of me selling property, receiving proceeds and not paying it all towards debts?

3. if they find my application to be apparently false (over 1000 cash if you add all up inc 400 belonging to someone else or they find out about car and value it over 1000) can they take the br award away or will they put br restrictions on it as if i didn't co-operate?

i'm not telling any lies nor have i assets (in my view that don't apply to their criteria) but it all seems to come down to their view.

many thanks for reading and advising, have a lovely easter!:easter:

killingjoke

hello,
The cash assett and the share assett will be dealt with as seperate assetts i think, so £1000 allowed for each. whatever you had in your bank on the day bankruptcy was made is the amount they will base your money assetts on. If it was a bit over for one reason or another then you`d need to speak to AIB as i don`t know if they don`t count the£400 out of this as it isn`t yours. I don`t know about he car,if it averages out at £1000 then that would be ok. I wouldn`t worry too much even if you`re worried about a restriction order as it generally just restricts your credit etc for longer, and various jobs in finance ,etc . Other people on here have more concrete knowledge about the scottish lila but it is amazing what you learn along the way. I`ve got a cou[ple of worries as i paid a business electric bill aday before i went bankrupt with a credit card. I don`t think you should feel like a criminal as ultimately you`ve done nothing wrong, same as most folk going bankrupt.
Thanks Chris

dreamcatcher73

I don't know anything about Scottish BR laws but surely if some of the money in your account was for housing benefit, it wasn't technically your money anyway, it was for your LL?
I'm sure if you explain all these things they will not treat you harshly, the trouble is we all get ourselves worked up into such a state when it comes to OR's as we look upon ourselves as having done something wrong because we had to go BR.

I for one was dreading the OR interview for various reasons and was sure I would get a BRO/U and an intensive grilling, but in the end I had a very short interview and they have finished with my case less than two months after BR.

Good luck to you, I'm sure all will be fine, please keep us updated.

And Happy Easter to you too :easter:

isabella01

Great you awarded BR what a relief it must be!
Interesting..we're still awaiting further contact..so they may require further evidence we don't have any assets worth over £1000?
We do have a crash damaged motorbike but it was valued at £800 and a knackered car probably worth £400 or so...could they take both as a single asset of over £1000?

killingjoke

Hello,
I think the bike and the car will be treated as seperate assetts.
Chris

dodo50

hi folks. thanks to everyone for replies. hope you hear soon isabella and that its good news.

i know they have told me i'm bankrupt and the award letter is on its way but it doesn't feel like it with all these further requests.

i can certainly say to them i had housing benefit money for my rent so that i suppose shouldn't be counted.

can anyone tell me what is this 'state for settlement' i've to produce re property? is it something the abbey would have as my mortgage was with them or the solicitor i had when i sold it? i can't even remember the lawyer's name! but i'll find out somehow.

anyway aib have been emailed with my issues so i guess they'll tell me. thanks all and i'll keep you posted. i'm just praying they don't take the br award away and i'm back to sq one.

coolcait

I never know what to say to posts like this. On the one hand, I don't want to add to the poster's distress - which means that I don't feel able to be completely honest. On the other hand, I don't want to encourage others to believe that it's OK to be less than honest on the application form.

I suppose that I can tell myself that the OP's distress might be enough to put others off making the same mistakes.

I don't think that the bankruptcy award can be withdrawn that easily. If it could, then there wouldn't be TV programmes about how badly HMRC get it wrong, for example.

The bottom line is that, under the Scottish system, you didn't meet the rules to make yourself bankrupt. So you didn't tell them about your car. And that's where the problems start - that's part of the issue about you being worried about them looking for more information. If they find one thing was wrong, they might start to dig deeper. They might not. But, at this stage, all you can do is see how it goes.

If you didn't even mention your car on the application form, then they could get you on that. It stops being a matter of 'I think it's worth this/they think it's worth that' and starts being something which is covered by the Warning at the beginning of the form:

"You may be committing a criminal offence if you deliberately do not disclose all relevant information or if you deliberately make a false statement when completing the forms in this pack."

It is never a good idea, IMO; I wouldn't ever recommend it; and if that's what you took from the advice I gave you months ago, then - I'll be honest - it puts me off giving advice about the Scottish bankruptcy system. I am happy to share what I know, and do so in the hope that it will help people who are going through a hellishly difficult time. However, once I start to fear that my input is being used as a means to identify loopholes, or to find a way to get round the system -especially illegal means - then I wouldn't feel comfortable giving out anything more than the most basic links to other sites. If that.

Will they do anything about it? I have no idea - that's something which they will decide. The AiB website has info on what might happen under these circumstances.

isabella01

Thanks Killingjoke..I hope we hear soon..we were 100% honest with AiB both the motorbike and car were declared.
We have dumped the bank who were "the straw that broke the camel's back" and opened a new bank account(for our benefits) since sending off the BR forms..do we need to inform them of this?
cheers
Izzy