Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

yorksgirl

Hi - some advice needed....

Myself and husband are currently in a DMP and are renting our house out to keep afloat....we are looking into the possibility of moving back to my husbands' home country (out of EU) as he has parents and family who are not getting any younger....

We would be in DMP (£30k) for another 6 years and have negative equity in our house (£20k) if we carried on as we are (we are currently able to maintain this). However if we do move abroad we are highly unlikely to be able to do this.

We have been considering bankruptcy as an option - don't know if we would be allowed to do this? At the moment any spare cash is being plowed into visas and we will be selling off small assets to pay for plane tickets/shipping etc......again is this all allowed prior to/during bankruptcy....

Looking at the options but so many questions and sleepless nights....

Any advice appreciated...

Thanks

suzymadge

Please can you advise me? I have been in touch with the CCCS since August and was originally going to do a DRO but then I went over the £15,000 limit so was advised to go BR. I have 4 dependant children at home. 1 who does gymnastics and competes at a County Level and 1 who does swimming lessons. We live 5 miles from the nearest town and whilst the youngest two could change schools to go to school in the next village the eldest still needs transport as the first bus out of the village does not connect with her college bus so I need to drive her to town. I have a court date booked for 22nd February but I am wondering if the OR will make my daughters give up their sport and whether he will make me give up my car. My husband needs his for work so I think his is safe. Also, is it too late to remove my name from our joint account as it is only me going BR?

I just want to be able to sleep, is that too much to ask? I feel that my head is between two brick walls which are being pushed together.

Thank you in advance.

Suzymadge

Spiderweb

Hi, I was made bankcrupt 25 years ago and discharged 22 years ago but I inherit money held in trust on my mothers death. This was declared when i was made bankcrupt. Can money still be taken from my inheritance even though the bancruptcy has been discharged and I have letters from my creditors saying nothing is owed

debtinfo

suzymadge wrote: »

Please can you advise me? I have been in touch with the CCCS since August and was originally going to do a DRO but then I went over the £15,000 limit so was advised to go BR. I have 4 dependant children at home. 1 who does gymnastics and competes at a County Level and 1 who does swimming lessons. We live 5 miles from the nearest town and whilst the youngest two could change schools to go to school in the next village the eldest still needs transport as the first bus out of the village does not connect with her college bus so I need to drive her to town. I have a court date booked for 22nd February but I am wondering if the OR will make my daughters give up their sport and whether he will make me give up my car. My husband needs his for work so I think his is safe. Also, is it too late to remove my name from our joint account as it is only me going BR?

I just want to be able to sleep, is that too much to ask? I feel that my head is between two brick walls which are being pushed together.

Thank you in advance.

Suzymadge

Particular items like this are always going to be a decisin for the OR, the question you need to ask yourself is what is necessary and what is not

CCCS_Sue

tigga_1961 wrote: »

hi, not sure where to start but im seriously considering br as an only option to get out of debt, i have recently started work after moving back north to find work and be near my family, alas i have been landed with 2 aoe's for council tax from 2005 which i have accepted and offered to pay weekly but the council have refused this as previously i had stupidly made offers to pay i couldnt keep when in reciept of £65 per week esa (i had cancer and depression) so now they are unwilling to accept any other offers at the moment i have income of £152 after the aoe from whcih i have £90 per week rent to pay and £30 per week travel then after gas and electric i have no money for food or any othe bills incl current council tax, sorry for rambling but looking for any help or advice thanks x

Hi tigga1961 and thank you for your message


Once an AOE order is in place, it will normally remain in force until the whole amount to which it relates is paid. If you have had a change in income, you need to inform the council.
I would recommend that you call us for an appointment to speak to one of our debt counsellors about your situation so that we can put together a budget with you.

The counsellor will then discuss all your options.

The free helpline number is 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00 Monday to Friday.

Kind Regards
Sue

StepChange_Pavan

yorksgirl wrote: »

Hi - some advice needed....

Myself and husband are currently in a DMP and are renting our house out to keep afloat....we are looking into the possibility of moving back to my husbands' home country (out of EU) as he has parents and family who are not getting any younger....

We would be in DMP (£30k) for another 6 years and have negative equity in our house (£20k) if we carried on as we are (we are currently able to maintain this). However if we do move abroad we are highly unlikely to be able to do this.

We have been considering bankruptcy as an option - don't know if we would be allowed to do this? At the moment any spare cash is being plowed into visas and we will be selling off small assets to pay for plane tickets/shipping etc......again is this all allowed prior to/during bankruptcy....

Looking at the options but so many questions and sleepless nights....

Any advice appreciated...

Thanks

Hi yorksgirl and thanks for your post.

If you do decide to go bankrupt, the Official Receiver will investigate your expenditure and want to know why this money wasn’t put towards clearing your debts. Ultimately it will be at his discretion but if he feels that this expenditure was excessive it could result in a Bankruptcy Restriction Order.

If your DMP is with us, I’d recommend that you contact us to look at your situation in more detail and determine your best course of action.

If bankruptcy is your best solution, our specialist team will support and advise you throughout the process.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Scarlet_Pimpernel_2

My Husband and I have a business together. It is not limited. The business supplies to the building trade. We have 4 members of staff, plus us 2. We have limped along for the last year but the bad winter in December has just about finished us off. I am about to see our accountant to stop being a director of the company, and just be an employee, so that hopefully if it goes bust (which it may very well do within the next 6 months) then only my husband will be made BR and we can start again. I feel terrible about the 4 staff as they all have mortgages and families and I should have laid 2 off by now to save money but I just feel so responsible for them.
We have a joint mortgage, paid up to date with no arrears, with 10 years left to go and a total outstanding debt on it of £115k. In the current market it is worth about £250K. There is a bank charge on the house for £55K which is the loan we used to set up the business. We did get 5 months behind but managed to claw it back with family help. On top of this our business has debts of £88K, with the main creditors being VAT, Tax and NI, (both of whom are getting very snippy) a Loan for a Van, loan for tools and machinery, 6 months premises rent overdue, and 3 months behind with business rates. We live entirely on our child tax credit. Our last self assessments declared a profit last year of £5k between the two of us. We have one school aged child.
A friend who went bankrupt last year told us we should change our house deeds so that we are tenants in common with me owning 90% and my husband 10%. He told us this would mean that any debtors we have will not be able to make us sell the house.
This sounds a bit fishy to me. But I am naive, terrified, and do not know where to start. I have no idea where to go to for professional advice,we tried Business Link but they came out to see us, mentioned some grants that it turned out we were not eligible for, and suggested we swap energy suppliers and that was about it.
If anyone has any words of wisdom for me, or can point me in the direction of some sensible help I will be forever grateful. Sorry for rambling...

StepChange_Pavan

suzymadge wrote: »

Please can you advise me? I have been in touch with the CCCS since August and was originally going to do a DRO but then I went over the £15,000 limit so was advised to go BR. I have 4 dependant children at home. 1 who does gymnastics and competes at a County Level and 1 who does swimming lessons. We live 5 miles from the nearest town and whilst the youngest two could change schools to go to school in the next village the eldest still needs transport as the first bus out of the village does not connect with her college bus so I need to drive her to town. I have a court date booked for 22nd February but I am wondering if the OR will make my daughters give up their sport and whether he will make me give up my car. My husband needs his for work so I think his is safe. Also, is it too late to remove my name from our joint account as it is only me going BR?

I just want to be able to sleep, is that too much to ask? I feel that my head is between two brick walls which are being pushed together.

Thank you in advance.

Suzymadge

Hi Suzymadge and thank you for your post.

This is tricky as it is ultimately at the Official Receiver’s discretion. I would imagine that it will depend on how much it is costing you and whether it is sustainable on your budget. He may question it if it is a substantial amount that could be going towards paying your debts.

The same is with the car – you will need to prove that it is essential to you and it will also depend on how much the car is worth. This article gives you more information on what they will consider: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1056247

With regards to your bank account, the OR may question why you removed your name so close to your bankruptcy. If it appears suspicious he will look into it further. You can read more about what happens to your bank account in bankruptcy here: http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/bankaccount.pdf. There is a little information on joint accounts on page 2.

As you’re already a client, I’d recommend that you call our support team as they will refer you on to our specialist bankruptcy team. They will be able to answer any of your questions and hopefully help to put your mind at ease.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Spiderweb wrote: »

Hi, I was made bankcrupt 25 years ago and discharged 22 years ago but I inherit money held in trust on my mothers death. This was declared when i was made bankcrupt. Can money still be taken from my inheritance even though the bancruptcy has been discharged and I have letters from my creditors saying nothing is owed

Hi Spiderweb and thanks for your post.

It’s unlikely that any money can be taken from your inheritance as your bankruptcy was such a long time ago.

Although you declared it at the time, they will have only noted it if it was likely to happen soon after your bankruptcy.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Stayathomemom_2

Hi just a quick query, I am on A DMP, and have been for 2 years, but it is a continual struggle. At the moment the DMP will take approx 22years to repay, as long as no more interest/charges are added, we also have a 6.5k tax bill to be added, taking this into consideration, would the recommendation be bankruptcy or continue with DMP. I will be ringing CCCS but I hate asking about br as I feel we are cheating by looking for a way out, I know this isnt the case and I know you cant comment on individual cases but taking into the length of DMP, what would you advice