Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

njmpk14

thank you very much.

I will get in touch with them

StepChange_Pavan

RAHRAH700 wrote: »

I currently have a CCCS debt management plan in place with £23000 of debt on (debt was run up when my husband lost his eye and spent 6 months in hospital so we lived on credit cards throughout that time) that we have been plodding along and paying for the last couple of years, however over the weekend we had 2 bits of bad news one of which being that my husbands ex girlfriend has somehow managed to acquire a credit card in my husbands name and run up £4k of debt on it which can now be classed as fraud against us as we declared all our debts when we took out the debt management plan which has upset me slightly as now he ex has dissappeared (conveniently) also i was made redundant on Friday and there is no way we could continue with the plan, i know that we can reduce our payment and make a gratituary payment each month but that isnt really going to help reduce our debts.
I am considering bankrupcy at the moment as it seems like the only way out as we cannot survive on just my husbands wages alone. Is there any way we can declare ourselves bankrupt withot losing our house? Its all we have to show at the moment for our hard work and it would be heartbreaking to lose it!

Hi there and thanks for your post.

Sue has already replied to your question on our other thread

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

mrmadcat69 wrote: »

I was made banckrupt in 2000 by the VAT office for an unpaid debt of £1.74 !. I had already de registered for Vat and they later admited there mistake. But it was too late to stop everything in the end I had total debts (not including mortgage) of £11 k the bankrupcy was pased to Grant Thornton who took out a possetion order on my property which meant we lost our home (this was 3 years after the original bankrupcy). Grant Thornton sold our property for £10k less than the market value at the time but it still left after mortgage paid a total of £42,000 they then charged a total of £32,500 Admin and other fee's which meant that out of £42,000 there wasn't enough to pay off all the creditors in full they did however get 98p to the £1. Was it legal for Grant Thornton to do this I contacted them at the time and was told they could charge what they liked and as they were in charge of the money it was upto them who got paid and when they would not give me any paperwork to show where the balance (£42,000) had gone only a brief letter that showed there would be £429.00 left and there would be outstanding charges to them of £450.00 can I do anything about this now ? with all the banks being made to pay back unrealistic charges surly someone can help me with the fight against a large company like Grant Thornton at the time no soliciter would even write a letter to them without a £5,000 bond as they said it would cost that to force a reveiw and there was no guarentee of me getting anything back.

Hi there and thanks for your post.

Unfortunately it is unlikely that you will be able to reclaim these fees but if you think that the bankruptcy was a mistake you could complain to the HMRC. Especially if you have proof that they admitted it was their mistake.

You could also make a complaint to the Insolvency Service. This leaflet gives you more information: http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/complaints.pdf.

You could also try Community Legal Advice to see if you are eligible for free legal help.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

vannsfamily wrote: »

Hi,

We are new here and have already spoken with citizens advice re bankruptcy and are planning to do so in the next month or so, but we have a few technical questions.

We have about £37k debt plus a buy to let flat that is in negative equity, £30k, which we are having voluntary reposessed. Our house is currently in negative equity by some £10k and there is an extra loan that was taken with northern rock on the together package, which says it is unsecured, but we have heard they secure it against the property, this is for £18k.

We are concerned that if we have to stay in the house we will still have a large amount of debt in the form of negative equity, required maintenance to the roof and also if the interest rate increases it will become unaffordable.
We want to do this once, the br, and be debt free.

Will the OR take the above into account and ask for the house to be sold so we can move to council housing or private rented?

What would you suggest?

Thanks,
Mr V

Hello Mr V and thanks for your post.

If your house is in negative equity, you could chose to hand the keys back and seek alternative rented accommodation.

Alternatively you could stay in the house for as long as possible and if it became unaffordable further down the line the shortfall would still be included in the bankruptcy.

If you’d like some more detailed advice you can call our free helpline and we can refer you to our specialist bankruptcy team that can support you through the process and answer any questions that you have.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

cc734

Contemplating bankruptcy and have had conflicting advice regarding a couple of matters. I live in my partner's house (my name appears on the council tax bill only) and was told about 3 months ago by Nat Debtline that she would not be affected in any way if I chose this route as everything is in her name. On phoning again to clarify something unrelated I've now been told that due to to new legislation if the OR believed that I had any financial interest in the house this could be a problem, and to contact the OR personally to ask for advice. On doing this I was told by the OR's office that he was unable to give such advice and I had been misinformed, but spoke to a member of staff about the subject of beneficial interest and he assured me that only in certain cases where there is a lot of equity might this apply. My partner's house is in negative equity so I'm assuming this should not be a problem, but a little bit of enlightenment on this subject would be most welcome.

I would also welcome any advice on how to deal with the letters, phone calls etc in the run up to bankruptcy. Do you tell them straight what you are intending to do? Again I've had conflicting advice on this and really don't know how to approach it.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

mel35

hi i was hoping someone could tell me if social fund loans are included in bankruptcy, i was made bankrupt in 2007 and am now back on my feet and was doing ok but last week got a letter from dwp debt dept saying i had to pay back £250 by 21st of feb for a social fund loan i took out in 1998 just before i came off of income support i am trying to find out whether this would have been included in my bankruptcy or if i have to pay it, i didnt declare it in my debtors list on my bankruptcy because i forgot i owed it it was 10 years ago then and is 13 years ago now!!
thankyou
mel

CCCS_Sue

cc734 wrote: »

Contemplating bankruptcy and have had conflicting advice regarding a couple of matters. I live in my partner's house (my name appears on the council tax bill only) and was told about 3 months ago by Nat Debtline that she would not be affected in any way if I chose this route as everything is in her name. On phoning again to clarify something unrelated I've now been told that due to to new legislation if the OR believed that I had any financial interest in the house this could be a problem, and to contact the OR personally to ask for advice. On doing this I was told by the OR's office that he was unable to give such advice and I had been misinformed, but spoke to a member of staff about the subject of beneficial interest and he assured me that only in certain cases where there is a lot of equity might this apply. My partner's house is in negative equity so I'm assuming this should not be a problem, but a little bit of enlightenment on this subject would be most welcome.

I would also welcome any advice on how to deal with the letters, phone calls etc in the run up to bankruptcy. Do you tell them straight what you are intending to do? Again I've had conflicting advice on this and really don't know how to approach it.

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Hi cc734 and thank you for your message

Bankruptcy is a big step to take and before you contemplate going ahead, I would recommend that you take some professional advice, especially as you seem to be getting lots of conflicting information

Beneficial interest can be quite complicated and usually depends on how much you have contributed towards the deposit on the house, how long you have lived at the address, whether you pay towards the mortgage and repairs etc.
The trustee in bankruptcy would take legal advice if they believed there was beneficial interest. If you or your partner disputed this claim, the trustee would need to make a formal application through the courts.

If the house is in negative equity at the date of the bankruptcy, under new legislation, it can be revisited again after 2 years and 3 months.

In order to give you further details and advice regarding bankruptcy, I would recommend that you call us for an appointment to speak to one of our debt counsellors.
The free helpline is 0800 138 1111 and lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00
Monday to Friday
We do have a bankruptcy support team who could give you ongoing support.

Kind Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

mel35 wrote: »

hi i was hoping someone could tell me if social fund loans are included in bankruptcy, i was made bankrupt in 2007 and am now back on my feet and was doing ok but last week got a letter from dwp debt dept saying i had to pay back £250 by 21st of feb for a social fund loan i took out in 1998 just before i came off of income support i am trying to find out whether this would have been included in my bankruptcy or if i have to pay it, i didnt declare it in my debtors list on my bankruptcy because i forgot i owed it it was 10 years ago then and is 13 years ago now!!
thankyou
mel

Hi mel35 and thank you for your message

Social funds are included in bankruptcy. I would recommend that you contact the OR who dealt with your bankruptcy and ask them for further advice.

Kind Regards
Sue

mel35

thanks for your help i will contact my or

cc734

CCCS_Sue wrote: »

Hi cc734 and thank you for your message

Bankruptcy is a big step to take and before you contemplate going ahead, I would recommend that you take some professional advice, especially as you seem to be getting lots of conflicting information

Beneficial interest can be quite complicated and usually depends on how much you have contributed towards the deposit on the house, how long you have lived at the address, whether you pay towards the mortgage and repairs etc.
The trustee in bankruptcy would take legal advice if they believed there was beneficial interest. If you or your partner disputed this claim, the trustee would need to make a formal application through the courts.

If the house is in negative equity at the date of the bankruptcy, under new legislation, it can be revisited again after 2 years and 3 months.

In order to give you further details and advice regarding bankruptcy, I would recommend that you call us for an appointment to speak to one of our debt counsellors.
The free helpline is 0800 138 1111 and lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00
Monday to Friday
We do have a bankruptcy support team who could give you ongoing support.

Kind Regards
Sue

Thanks for your reply. Managed to get the information I required. Feel I have a better understanding of beneficial interest now.