Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

CCCS_Sue

FacingReality wrote: »

I am roughly £57000 in debt through Credit Cards and a Loan from a 125% mortgate\loan (the mortgage bit was paid off). All debt is unsecured, I currently live in rented accommodation. I currently earn £2080 per month. I am paying minimum payments to all my debts.

I went to a debt advisor at the CAB and he suggested bankruptcy would be my best course of action. He didn't take a look at my outgoings at all, he said the point was how indebted I was, how long it would take me to pay things off.

I am planning to get married next year (my fiancee is aware of my debts). All the debts are mine and I want a fresh start so I am planning on taking his advice but still need a bit more advice before I take the plunge (if indeed I do). Getting further time from the CAB is proving difficult after my original appointment. I realise they are very busy so I am not complaining.

What is the likelihood of a bankruptcy being accepted or rejected? The CAB advisor seemed pretty certain it would go through.

If the application is rejected would I still be liable to pay the £510 costs?

As I am planning to move 90 miles from where I currently am, if bankrupt, would the Official Receiver ask questions when I manage to get another job nearer my new home, which will inevitably pay me about 30% lower than my current salary. Admittedly it will probably cost me over £500pm in petrol to commute to my current job which would go some way to offsetting the salary reduction.

If and when I move in with my fiancee, would her credit rating be affected at all? The house is hers, the mortgage is in her name. My name won't be going on to it. All debts are mine so I want her affected as little as I possibly can.

Would I be regarded as a tenant in her house for bankruptcy purposes?

Would her income determine a change in any IPA I would inevitably be required to do?

How far back in my finances would the OR look? If I took out of my bank account the little spare cash I currently have to put towards my wedding costs, would this be frowned upon by the OR?

If I do apply for bankruptcy should I take out any spare cash I have in my current account anyway? With the accounts frozen I would want cash to pay bills, etc. until I could get direct debits changed over to another bank account.

I shred all my bank account statements, etc. as a matter of course. Should I stop doing this to help give the OR a better idea of my finances?

If you can answer any or all of these questions then I would very much appreciate it.

Hi facingreality and thank you for your message

The OR will look at all money you have in savings accounts and your bank account is frozen initially when you go bankrupt, but you are allowed to take out money for bills and food.
Any money drawn out of savings account would be questioned. I’m afraid that money saved for your wedding would not be classed as a priority.
The OR would want copies of bank statements, so it is important you keep copies as the banks do normally charge for replacement copies.
Your fianc!es credit would not be affected as the debts are just in your name unless she has acted as guarantor or there were joint debts, in which case she could be pursued for the full amount.
In some circumstances, when a couple live together, and the mortgage is in one name, then the other partner can be classed as having a beneficial interest in the property if they have paid towards the mortgage, or paid for repairs and bills etc.
Because you are only just thinking of moving in together and have not contributed anything at all towards the upkeep, then I do not think this would affect you.
I would recommend you call us for an appointment to discuss your situation in more detail as I do not know your full financial circumstances.
It may be that there are other options you could look at, especially if you are thinking of moving in with your fiancee.
If bankruptcy was still the best option, then we do have a bankruptcy support team who could give further help and advice if required.
If you would like to talk to a debt counsellor about your situation, you can book a telephone based appointment by calling our helpline free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00. It would be helpful that when you call you have details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If you have this information ready it may be possible to refer you directly to a counsellor if one is available, otherwise we will arrange a time that is convenient for you to be called back for an appointment.

Regards,
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sue

Lazy_Line_Painter_Jane wrote: »

Hi

I am planning to go BR in the next 3 months (I'm saving up for the fee) and I was just wondering about my car. I have a Ford Escort 96, second-hand, worth about £400. As a single parent, I need it for taking my girls to school and back as well as getting to and from work myself. Is this likely to be something that the OR would be interested in or is the value too low?

Thanks

Lazy Jane

hi Lazy Jane and thank you for your message

The OR will normally allow you to keep a car for travel to work and if the car is below £400 in value I do not think the OR would be interested in it, bearing in mind the cost of taking it to auction etc.

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sue

Kuggers wrote: »

Hi. On the Insolvency website SOA form, you are asked to give tax details. The header states that you should enter your tax code and tax office address. The actual question states: "Give your current (or latest) Income Tax reference number." On my wage slip the "Tax Reference" is the code for the Tax Office (***/xx****). Should I enter my Tax Code or my Tax Reference on the form?

Hi kuggers and thank you for your message
I would put both down as this would cover the header request to enter the tax code and tax office address.
To confirm this or if you require further help with the bankruptcy form, you can ring the insolvency service’s special helpline on 0845 602 9848 or email [EMAIL="onlineforms@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk"]onlineforms@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL]
Hope this helps
Regards
CCCS_Sue

FacingReality

CCCS_Sue wrote: »

Hi facingreality and thank you for your message

The OR will look at all money you have in savings accounts and your bank account is frozen initially when you go bankrupt, but you are allowed to take out money for bills and food.
Any money drawn out of savings account would be questioned. I’m afraid that money saved for your wedding would not be classed as a priority.
The OR would want copies of bank statements, so it is important you keep copies as the banks do normally charge for replacement copies.
Your fianc!es credit would not be affected as the debts are just in your name unless she has acted as guarantor or there were joint debts, in which case she could be pursued for the full amount.
In some circumstances, when a couple live together, and the mortgage is in one name, then the other partner can be classed as having a beneficial interest in the property if they have paid towards the mortgage, or paid for repairs and bills etc.
Because you are only just thinking of moving in together and have not contributed anything at all towards the upkeep, then I do not think this would affect you.
I would recommend you call us for an appointment to discuss your situation in more detail as I do not know your full financial circumstances.
It may be that there are other options you could look at, especially if you are thinking of moving in with your fiancee.
If bankruptcy was still the best option, then we do have a bankruptcy support team who could give further help and advice if required.
If you would like to talk to a debt counsellor about your situation, you can book a telephone based appointment by calling our helpline free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00. It would be helpful that when you call you have details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If you have this information ready it may be possible to refer you directly to a counsellor if one is available, otherwise we will arrange a time that is convenient for you to be called back for an appointment.

Regards,
CCCS_Sue

Thank you for the reply Sue. I will give the helpline a call to discuss further.

CCCS_Sue

briggzy1 wrote: »

I owe 4 banks about £20,000 and pay £600 a month towards them but I get really bad depression and about 2 months ago something happened and i was really bad and ended up leaving my job . Now i am feeling a bit better i cannot find any work so i cant afford to pay any of my bills.
I still live with my parents and dont have anything of value. I have enough money to make one more months payments but after this i dont know what to do?:eek:
Does anyone have any advice for me please?

Hi briggzy1 and thank you for your message

It is difficult to give you detailed advice via email without knowing your full financial circumstances.

I recommend that you call us to make an appointment to speak to one of our debt counsellors about your situation.
The counsellor will put together a budget showing your income and expenditure and then look at the options available for your situation.

If you would like to talk to a debt counsellor about your situation, you can book a telephone based appointment by calling our helpline free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00. It would be helpful that when you call you have details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If you have this information ready it may be possible to refer you directly to a counsellor if one is available, otherwise we will arrange a time that is convenient for you to be called back for an appointment.

Regards,
CCCS_Sue

giddyg

Hi.
Wondered if you can help,
I have been advised by the CCCS to open a basic bank account and to get our wages paid into this new account as opposed to the current account we have. This new account should be with a bank that is not affiliated with the credit cards we owe money to, which are: MBNA, Tesco and Capital one, We were thinking of Barclays, does anyone know if this would be ok?

tigerfeet2006

Giddyg, Barclays will be fine. The Barclays Cash account and the Co-op Cashminder are both BR friendly accounts.

wils3957

Hi my IP went back to court to end my IVA with them in Februray 09 they sent me a report of the outcome but not sure what is now to happen will it be BR or creditors start chasing again. No one has been in touch IVA or creditors what normally happens.

CCCS_Sarah

giddyg wrote: »

Hi.
Wondered if you can help,
I have been advised by the CCCS to open a basic bank account and to get our wages paid into this new account as opposed to the current account we have. This new account should be with a bank that is not affiliated with the credit cards we owe money to, which are: MBNA, Tesco and Capital one, We were thinking of Barclays, does anyone know if this would be ok?

Barclays should be fine.

Sarah

sambo1983

I have recently got married, and know we are sorting our debt problems out. Been advised to write to all creditors to make token offers with the view of going bankrupt if our situation doesn't improve within 3- 6 months. My question is in regard to my name which I plan on changing. Do I change my name with the companies first then make token offers or do I leave it but then will the debt be included in the bankruptcy?