Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

NittyGritty

hi, are there any templates i can use to write to creditors to stop intrest, yes i know they not legally bound to stop intrest, i,m just wondering are there any sort of templates that would help so i can send and ask them to freeze or maybe drop the intrest, as at the moment the money i,m paying to them the intrest eats it all up,thanks for any info

frenchmaiden

tlc1000 wrote: »

hi i hope i am posting this in the right place, apologies if i have done it wrong. i am after some help regarding going bancrupt.

Last year i started my own business, it is a ltd company and i am employed by the company as a director with no other staff, firstly does this still mean i am self employed ?

i have got into a large amount of debt (16k) , mainly personal for living expenses since giving up my job to start this company and a small amount of business debt (under 5k). I have looked at the DRO and dont feel i apply due to owing over 15k, which therefore only leaves bancruptcy otherwise it will take me more than 30yrs to clear with min payments. my business is small and only brings in a small amount of money i can hardly get through the month without paying any creditors.

i live in my boyfriends house and my only asset would be my car so feel BR is the best option.

My main concern though is what will happen to my business, obvioulsy i can not be a director, can i change the ltd co to a sole trader or can i still not be a sole trader. Although it does not make massive amounts it is a small income which helps with all the other bills so still need to keep this going, do i have anyway to do this.

Lastly as i am going to have to not pay creditors and save the money to pay the fees can i contact my creditors and tell them this as they are on my back all the time ?!?

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks

Jennie to my knowledge you are not allowed to be a Director of your own company - I have a so called ex best friend making me bankrupt and have had to close the limited company down and set up as a sole trader - I am looking in to bank accounts now - I would advise if you can afford it to get a good solicitor to help you through this - there are other things to consider like credit on phones - can we still have mobile phones on contract and BT lines - like you i need my acounts for the business i m hoping that as its me that is having to go BR it wont affect my business accounts? good luck x

loislois

Hi All,

SO so many questions, will really appreciate a response as I struggle to have a conversation on the telephone for any length!
(I have a small baby)

I have been filling out the statement of affairs for bankruptcy and am struggling. My situation is that I am currently getting nothing/ am unemployed as I am a mother to a small baby and live with my partner who pays for everything, rent and bills etc. I owe approx £25k to 3 credit cards and one bank over 3 different accounts (personal, sole tr and business) plus a business loan account with the same bank.

I have had problems sorting out benefits so do not even have these to put down.

I used to work self-employed and for a variety of ill financial judgements got further and further into debt. My last work needed to be through a Ltd company and so I set this up and although I have no real major debts with the company, I have struck this off this week and dissolved it. I am a little confused as to the relationship of the Ltd co, personal debt and sole trader debt if any?

I have partly got caught up in problems due to not submitting self assessment correctly for the last few years and my accounts are not in order but I noticed that these may be needed? Will this cause problems?

The questions I have are:

ASSETS: I spoke to someone awhile ago from CCCS and they mentioned that they are not interested in things like sofas etc, I asked as I am confused with just what I am meant to list here. I do not own anything of any real major value from what they said although in the help section the assets lists items that you should put down as clothes etc?

OUTGOINGS: As my partner pays all the bills etc and all my living costs I have put this entirely at zero. Is this accurate? We pay lots of bills but I currently pay nothing.

CURRENT PROPERTY: The property I live in is with him and our daughter but I am only listed as a tenant on the out of date tenancy agreement. I am unsure to whether I need to write down anything as I am not actually classed as paying any rent as such.

I also drive my partners company car and have put this on the form but wonder why this is asked due to the fact it asks what the cost is, seems odd as it doesnt belong to me?

My partners company may possibly paying me a small wage, no more than £6k pa to start doing his paperwork within the next year, I would also like to know if this will effect me?

I intend to try and get some benefits sorted in the next month as I should be able to get some and at least pay some way as my partner is working all hours to keep our family, will this effect my application for BR?

Ive been struggling to sort this out since the beginning of this year and it has got to the point where I am desperate to get it sorted. The collection agencies and parties keep calling on behalf of those that I owe and I can't wait to inform them of a bankruptcy number/court date. Do you have a rough idea how long this takes to get given and if I need to pay on the same day that I hand my forms in?

Many thanks, seriously grateful for your help

CCCS_Sue

Raki wrote: »

Hi,

I am very confused as to what happens when you go BR. Here is our situation....

We had DMP with CCCS. All tickety boo, until hubby became very ill, and couldn't work. We were given options of DRO or BR. DRO out of the question, as our car is worth £2500. We are in rented accomodation with just £26 spare after living expenses taken out. I work p/t.

I have read here that all accounts are frozen, and you shouldn't open a new one until bankruptcy order has been made. So here is Q #1 What happens to direct debits for the likes of rent, council tax, water, electricity, etc?
Q#2 What about money going in, such as my p/t wages, WFTC, CHB, HB?
Do we clear accounts, so we can pay these prior to the order? I don't want to go into arrears with anything, as we have avoided this to date.
Q#3 Does our landlady automatically get told, or is it up to us?

Thankyou in advance.

Hi Raki and thank you for your message.

Any money in your account at the time of the bankruptcy is an asset in bankruptcy and will be claimed by the Official Receiver (OR).
However, you are usually allowed to release money for
necessary domestic expenses.
I have attached a link to a booklet from the Insolvency Services website which gives you further advice regarding bank accounts in bankruptcy you may find useful.
http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/bankaccount.pdf
Your landlord can be informed of your bankruptcy, so you should review any tenancy agreement you may have, as some have a clause that states if you go bankrupt, the landlord can request you move out.

Regards


Sue

CCCS_Sue

NittyGritty wrote: »

hi, are there any templates i can use to write to creditors to stop intrest, yes i know they not legally bound to stop intrest, i,m just wondering are there any sort of templates that would help so i can send and ask them to freeze or maybe drop the intrest, as at the moment the money i,m paying to them the intrest eats it all up,thanks for any info

Hi nittygritty and thank you for your message.
When you write to your creditors requesting that they stop interest and charges, you should send your request with a copy of your income and expenditure to back up any offer of payment you are making.
The letter should ask them to consider stopping interest and charges.
Our online facility Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement which includes information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. All this information is used as a basis to determine the options available to you to deal with your situation.

Once you’ve followed the process through and completed all the required information you will immediately be presented with an advice booklet, which will provide tailored advice for you based on your current circumstances. Depending on the solution provided,there will be a template letter you can use to send to your creditors. It will also provide advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation. If you would like to get immediate advice on your situation, follow the link to go directly to Debt Remedy: http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

loislois wrote: »

Hi All,

SO so many questions, will really appreciate a response as I struggle to have a conversation on the telephone for any length!
(I have a small baby)

I have been filling out the statement of affairs for bankruptcy and am struggling. My situation is that I am currently getting nothing/ am unemployed as I am a mother to a small baby and live with my partner who pays for everything, rent and bills etc. I owe approx £25k to 3 credit cards and one bank over 3 different accounts (personal, sole tr and business) plus a business loan account with the same bank.

I have had problems sorting out benefits so do not even have these to put down.

I used to work self-employed and for a variety of ill financial judgements got further and further into debt. My last work needed to be through a Ltd company and so I set this up and although I have no real major debts with the company, I have struck this off this week and dissolved it. I am a little confused as to the relationship of the Ltd co, personal debt and sole trader debt if any?

I have partly got caught up in problems due to not submitting self assessment correctly for the last few years and my accounts are not in order but I noticed that these may be needed? Will this cause problems?

The questions I have are:

ASSETS: I spoke to someone awhile ago from CCCS and they mentioned that they are not interested in things like sofas etc, I asked as I am confused with just what I am meant to list here. I do not own anything of any real major value from what they said although in the help section the assets lists items that you should put down as clothes etc?

OUTGOINGS: As my partner pays all the bills etc and all my living costs I have put this entirely at zero. Is this accurate? We pay lots of bills but I currently pay nothing.

CURRENT PROPERTY: The property I live in is with him and our daughter but I am only listed as a tenant on the out of date tenancy agreement. I am unsure to whether I need to write down anything as I am not actually classed as paying any rent as such.

I also drive my partners company car and have put this on the form but wonder why this is asked due to the fact it asks what the cost is, seems odd as it doesnt belong to me?

My partners company may possibly paying me a small wage, no more than £6k pa to start doing his paperwork within the next year, I would also like to know if this will effect me?

I intend to try and get some benefits sorted in the next month as I should be able to get some and at least pay some way as my partner is working all hours to keep our family, will this effect my application for BR?

Ive been struggling to sort this out since the beginning of this year and it has got to the point where I am desperate to get it sorted. The collection agencies and parties keep calling on behalf of those that I owe and I can't wait to inform them of a bankruptcy number/court date. Do you have a rough idea how long this takes to get given and if I need to pay on the same day that I hand my forms in?

Many thanks, seriously grateful for your help

Hi loislois and thank you for your message

As you have already been considering this for the past year, it may be better to wait a bit longer until you find out how much benefit you are entitled to before you file for bankruptcy.
Although you say have spoken to us previously, making yourself bankrupt is a big step to take and requires expert advice. I would recommend that you call us for an update of your situation and to discuss your options again. Our free Helpline is 0800 138 1111.
If it is an option for you and you decide to go ahead, we can also offer you extra support through our bankruptcy support team. They can answer any questions you have about bankruptcy.
Although the car is your partner’s company car and not affected by the bankruptcy, it is still advisable to explain this on the form.
Assets are things such as property, vehicles, jewellery, antiques, investments, savings etc. You do not need to list things like clothing and any items required for everyday domestic use.
If you decide to call for another appointment, the counsellor would explain all this and any other questions you may have in more detail if bankruptcy was your best option.

Regards
Sue

shellyk1

Hi. Please could someone help. I have an appointment to go bankrupt and have a question. Four months ago I was made redundant, at the time the car my husband owed was going wrong and we needed it to get children to school etc. We then decided to pay the remianing finance off and part x the car, this subsiquently meant us putting £3000 to the car to get a new one. This car is registered in my husbands name and we do require it for work and school runs etc. The car is only worth £5000, will the OR make us sell this car or will he class this as my husbands assett??? Thanks

philnicandamy

but WHO bought the car?

shellyk1

Well I suppose its how you look at it, bacause when we bought the car it was £6500 of which £3500 was our part exchange car which was paid for by my husband, the other £3000 was money from the redundancy payment.

foxfeatures

Hi,

After many years of ignoring my sitaution (burying head) and it spiralling out of control, I came to the conclusion that bankruptcy would actually be my best option. This would give me life back slowly and feel like Im would have a future instead of being trapped as at the moments my loan repaymants last for another 20 years or more.

I've been advised that a DMP may be my best option paying around £650 a month for over six years. Despite filling in the online budgets I don't think i can afford this. I'm fortunate as my board is modest at the moment. Also, I'm already 31 and have moved back home to help me but if I took the DMP I wouldn't be able to leave home until I am nearly 40. I don't think my parents would be very happy with this! I want children and this would rule this out too. Surely, if I am brave and go through the bankruptcy (I know this is not the easy option but do think it is my best option) then at least I have the chance to live modestly on my own?

Do I have to agree to the DMP or can I continue with the bankruptcy? Or would they reject it anyway?

Thanks