Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

System

gerturdeanna wrote: »

Have previously had a CCCS DMP - CCCS stopped the plan due to me 'missing' payments - have been trying to self-manage but would prefer to be back with CCCS - Others won't help as don't owe a lot anymore - can I go back to CCCS?

Hi and thanks for your message.

It would depend on your situation as it is now.

I’d recommend that you give us a call with your details and we’ll see if we can help. If we can’t assist we may be able to point you in the direction of another free organisation.

Our free Helpline number is 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturday 9am until 3.00pm.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

System

k2cat wrote: »

KPR booboo, loan settlement for £0 mistake
I have a £25000 loan that KPR (debt collection agency) is trying to settle with me. They offered to settle the debt for £6200 but on receiving the paperwork they have made an error stating that I must pay £0 to settle the debt and for my account to be closed. My question is this. Do they have to honour the agreement at £0 or am i still going to have to pay £6200? Any advice would be appreciated. kind regards K2

Hi K2 and thanks for your post.

It does sound like an administrative error on their part. I doubt very much that they would honour this agreement and in many cases of full and final settlements some creditors seem to have difficulty honouring amounts they do agree to (the remaining portion of the debt is often sold on and later chased regardless of full and final settlements being agreed in writing with the original creditor). This is why it’s vital to keep copies of all paperwork.

You could argue against this but it could be a matter that would be dealt with in court (meaning the creditors would have to take further action against you). It would then be the judge’s decision.

Before you pay any money over I would recommend that you give us a quick call to make sure you are doing the right thing (particularly if you have other unsecured debts).

You’re welcome to call our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturday 9am until 3.00pm

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

System

Jesca wrote: »

I was declared Bankrupt in July 2006 and discharged in July 2007 after my business failed and I was left with around £30,000 worth of personal debt.

Since 2006, I've successfully lived within my means and have been very careful not to damage my already damaged file. I successfully got a NatWest Current Account (with help from a very kind employer) in 2008 and have no debt of any kind. No mortgage, no credit cards, no overdraft. I have subscribed to Credit Expert (Experian) and have been cleaning up my credit report and have now been reading advise and help on this website which has been hugely helpful.

Two and a half months before the Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Discharge is due to be removed from my credit file (July 2012), I would like some advice on how to start getting my life back after 6 years of none existence?

Do you have any advice for Bankrupts in the latter stages of the 6 year recovery? What steps should I be taking to rebuild my credit file? Should I seek a specialist bankruptcy adviser and where are these angels!? I am newly living with someone who has a perfect credit history. How can I do the right thing by him and build my credit worthiness without adversely affecting him?

From what I have read, one way to start is to get a credit card. I applied for a Capital One credit card in August 2011 but was turned down. I am reluctant to start applying again as I know these refusals are recorded on my credit file therefore damaging it further. Should I wait until my Bankruptcy has been removed from my file or should I apply now?

Any advice or help would be gratefully received.

Yours faithfully,

Jesca

Hi Jesca and thanks for your post.

I’m not sure if you have come across this thread from Fermi –

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=677875%3Cbr%20/%3E

This should explain just about everything about credit file clean up after bankruptcy. You can do all of this yourself and certainly don’t need to pay any specialist for the service.

I’d recommend following the instructions on this thread and waiting until the bankruptcy is no longer listed on your credit file before you apply for any credit.

This thread from Martin is also very useful –

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

rock_queen

...... even though the rent pretty much covers the mortgage and i can afford to make up the shortfall? I have been considering personal bankruptsy as I have been struggling to meet other debts since my husband has been on ssp, fortunately he is back at work now. however, the company we both work for are making us redundant at the end of next month. The property I own is 200 miles away from where we live now (in rented accomodation). will i have to include it in the bankruptsy petition? thanks

StepChange_Pavan

rock_queen wrote: »

...... even though the rent pretty much covers the mortgage and i can afford to make up the shortfall? I have been considering personal bankruptsy as I have been struggling to meet other debts since my husband has been on ssp, fortunately he is back at work now. however, the company we both work for are making us redundant at the end of next month. The property I own is 200 miles away from where we live now (in rented accomodation). will i have to include it in the bankruptsy petition? thanks

Hi rock queen and thanks for your post.

Buy to lets can be very complicated in bankruptcy. Firstly it depends on whether there’s any equity in the property. It also depends on your personal budget – especially if you have to use your own funds to top up the repayments.

The OR can consider the rental income as an extra income without taking the expenditure into consideration which could force you to include it in the bankruptcy. However, we’d need to look at your situation in a lot more detail to be able to advise you properly and make sure that this is your best solution.

I’d really recommend that you give us a call so that you can speak with one of our specialist bankruptcy counsellors. You can call our free helpline on 0800 138 1111 and we’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturdays 9am – 3pm.

Kind regards,
Pavan

hopefullforthefuture

Hi all if myself and my husband declare ourselves BR (We now know its the only option for us) Where do we stand on our house, we have a mortgage and a large secured loan on the house and thanks to the drop in house prices we are about £40k in negative equity. We have 4 dependents and my husband is in a full time job. What will happen with the house? Will we get told to leave straight away, will we be given time to save up a deposit to rent or I have also read they may leave us in the house? If they where to leave us in the house I am guesing we would have to pay something in terms of rent for staying in the house? We have an appointment to see a counsellor whist we are saving up the fees but wondered if someone could answer this for me. Also while we are saving up the deposit should we not pay any creditors to speed the process up or just pay small amounts to keep them off our backs until we have the money togather? Thanks in advance

System

hopefullforthefuture wrote: »

Hi all if myself and my husband declare ourselves BR (We now know its the only option for us) Where do we stand on our house, we have a mortgage and a large secured loan on the house and thanks to the drop in house prices we are about £40k in negative equity. We have 4 dependents and my husband is in a full time job. What will happen with the house? Will we get told to leave straight away, will we be given time to save up a deposit to rent or I have also read they may leave us in the house? If they where to leave us in the house I am guesing we would have to pay something in terms of rent for staying in the house? We have an appointment to see a counsellor whist we are saving up the fees but wondered if someone could answer this for me. Also while we are saving up the deposit should we not pay any creditors to speed the process up or just pay small amounts to keep them off our backs until we have the money togather? Thanks in advance

Hi and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you would benefit from some free and impartial advice.

When a property is in negative equity it's possible that you can retain the house in bankruptcy as long as you can maintain the mortgage and secured loan payments. In most cases you would be allowed to stay in the property as long as there is no significant rise in equity.

If the property is seen to have significant negative equity you may consider handing the keys back to the property prior to bankruptcy and renting somewhere else to live. You can then include the shortfall from the mortgaged property in with your other debts in bankruptcy.

You would be advised to take free and impartial advice before petitioning for bankruptcy. We have a specialist bankruptcy team that can offer advice free of charge.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

lafemme51

Dear CCCS Counsellors

I am on a DMP with CCCS now. I have six creditors (and I owe my mum some money separately). Three of the creditors are showing balances via recent states of more than I originally borrowed. I have paid £5,000 off with CCCS over the past 22 months and it is not very encouraging to see I owe thousands more to a couple of the creditors. I had paid something off these debts before I went onto the DMP so it is upsetting to find I owe more than I originally borrowed as I can't see a way of ever paying them off.

I have contacted them asking them to remove the interest etc but have not had any joy and I have written to them on a couple of occasions.

I live in a house I co-own now. There is no equity in this property.

I own a house I rent out – the mortgage and rent are the same each month. There is about £15,000 (maximum) equity in this house. I did have it on the market for nearly two years without any success.

My car is worth about £3,500.

I owe around £30,500.

Would bankruptcy be a sensible option for me?

Thank you

StepChange_Pavan

lafemme51 wrote: »

Dear CCCS Counsellors

I am on a DMP with CCCS now. I have six creditors (and I owe my mum some money separately). Three of the creditors are showing balances via recent states of more than I originally borrowed. I have paid £5,000 off with CCCS over the past 22 months and it is not very encouraging to see I owe thousands more to a couple of the creditors. I had paid something off these debts before I went onto the DMP so it is upsetting to find I owe more than I originally borrowed as I can't see a way of ever paying them off.

I have contacted them asking them to remove the interest etc but have not had any joy and I have written to them on a couple of occasions.

I live in a house I co-own now. There is no equity in this property.

I own a house I rent out – the mortgage and rent are the same each month. There is about £15,000 (maximum) equity in this house. I did have it on the market for nearly two years without any success.

My car is worth about £3,500.

I owe around £30,500.

Would bankruptcy be a sensible option for me?

Thank you

Hi lafemme51 and thanks for your post.

I can understand that this must be very frustrating. As you’re already a client, it’s best that you give us a call so we can go through your options with you. It’s difficult to say what your best solution is without looking at your details but if you call we’ll have access to all your information so we’ll be able to advise you properly.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Hi there,

Many thanks for your post.

The CCCS MoneyAware team are out of the office until Wednesday, 6th June. Please accept our apologies for any delay in replying to your question.

You can still receive debt counselling over the bank holiday period through our online service Debt Remedy (http://debtremedy.cccs.co.uk) 24 hours a day.

We hope you enjoy a great Jubilee bank holiday weekend.

Kind regards,

The CCCS MoneyAware team
http://www.cccs.co.uk
http://moneyaware.co.uk