Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

soontobesensible

Hello there,
Just wondering:
1.If my secured loan company (fp monsters) decided to reposess my house can I then file for bankruptcy or would they do that anyway? As well as this can they do it if I have negative equity?
2. Would I have a reposession date when my house is reposessed and how long do the courts give you generally?
3. If made bankrupt would I get notification of the day I am about to go bankrupt before my accounts are frozen?
4. Would my current account be closed automatically after it has been frozen?
Thank You! Just trying to get my head around things.

Copperfish

Hi,

My wife and I are both on IVA's having had combined debts of over £150,000. Mostly mine & £40,000 of which with the Inland Revenue.

We were letting out our home at the time we took on the IVA, and we're renting. Because of this we had to sell our, we we have just done. Our current landlord is now selling. We are faced with the prospect of moving and have found a landlord willing to accept us with the IVA.

The problem that has been brought to light is that, having been a complete idiot, I am now looking at a huge tax bill £20,000 plus come the 31st of January. I have no means of paying this and my stepfather who is a solicitor has suggest we should file for bankruptcy.

That is all well and good, but where does that leave us with the new rented house? We haven't signed the lease yet. Should we move in and then declare bankruptcy once we are in there? This sounds like a bad thing to do, but will it affect him, assuming we continue to pay the rent. There is a clause in the tenancy agreement that says he has the option to terminate the tenancy if one of the tenants is declared bankrupt.

Also my worry is that the IVA/bankruptcy people will say that I have been negligent (which I obviously have) and will that mean my bankruptcy will be more difficult - longer?

Also the rent for this property is considerably higher and we have are in the process of approaching the creditors with a proposal to reduce our IVA contributions. How will that look when we turn around and declare ourselves bankrupt?

Finally - sorry lots of questions. My wife & my IVA are linked. Can she avoid bankruptcy? Her debts are considerably lower.

Hope someone has some answers.

Thanks

StepChange_Pavan

soontobesensible wrote: »

Hello there,
Just wondering:
1.If my secured loan company (fp monsters) decided to reposess my house can I then file for bankruptcy or would they do that anyway? As well as this can they do it if I have negative equity?
2. Would I have a reposession date when my house is reposessed and how long do the courts give you generally?
3. If made bankrupt would I get notification of the day I am about to go bankrupt before my accounts are frozen?
4. Would my current account be closed automatically after it has been frozen?
Thank You! Just trying to get my head around things.

Hi there,

If your house is repossessed they wouldn’t necessarily make you bankrupt. If your house is in negative equity there’s no reason for them to make you bankrupt as they wouldn’t get any of their money back. You would be given notice of the repossession or bankruptcy if they decide to go for either of these options and your account wouldn’t be automatically closed after bankruptcy provided that it’s a basic bank account and there’s nothing in the terms and conditions to say that they would.

I’d really recommend that you give us a call as we’ve spoken to you a few times on here but it’s important that you get some thorough advice so that we can explain the ins and outs to you in more detail. Going bankrupt is a big decision and we can help to take away some of the worries and uncertainty by explaining everything clearly – but we can only do this if we have a clear picture of your circumstances.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

AKGAries

I was declared bankrupt just over6 years ago, however my credit rating is still bad.
How can I improve my rating and remove the bankruptcy from my credit history??

StepChange_Pavan

Copperfish wrote: »

Hi,

My wife and I are both on IVA's having had combined debts of over £150,000. Mostly mine & £40,000 of which with the Inland Revenue.

We were letting out our home at the time we took on the IVA, and we're renting. Because of this we had to sell our, we we have just done. Our current landlord is now selling. We are faced with the prospect of moving and have found a landlord willing to accept us with the IVA.

The problem that has been brought to light is that, having been a complete idiot, I am now looking at a huge tax bill £20,000 plus come the 31st of January. I have no means of paying this and my stepfather who is a solicitor has suggest we should file for bankruptcy.

That is all well and good, but where does that leave us with the new rented house? We haven't signed the lease yet. Should we move in and then declare bankruptcy once we are in there? This sounds like a bad thing to do, but will it affect him, assuming we continue to pay the rent. There is a clause in the tenancy agreement that says he has the option to terminate the tenancy if one of the tenants is declared bankrupt.

Also my worry is that the IVA/bankruptcy people will say that I have been negligent (which I obviously have) and will that mean my bankruptcy will be more difficult - longer?

Also the rent for this property is considerably higher and we have are in the process of approaching the creditors with a proposal to reduce our IVA contributions. How will that look when we turn around and declare ourselves bankrupt?

Finally - sorry lots of questions. My wife & my IVA are linked. Can she avoid bankruptcy? Her debts are considerably lower.

Hope someone has some answers.

Thanks

Hi Copperfish and thanks for your question.

You have lots of questions and ultimately you will need to discuss these with your Insolvency Practitioner as you’re in a legally binding IVA. Bankruptcy may be your best solution but you won’t know this until your chat through your options with your IP. You’re right that they could put a restriction on your bankruptcy and you can read more about them in this leaflet from the Insolvency Service: http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/personal-insolvency/bros-and-brus.

I’d say that it’s best to be up front with your landlord. It won’t affect him but he would have the option to terminate your contract if it’s written in the terms and conditions.

I can’t say whether your wife would be able to avoid bankruptcy as this is something you would need to discuss with your IVA provider.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

AKGAries wrote: »

I was declared bankrupt just over6 years ago, however my credit rating is still bad.
How can I improve my rating and remove the bankruptcy from my credit history??

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

If you were discharged from your bankruptcy over 6 years ago this should automatically drop off your file. You can contact the credit reference agency to query this.

This article should give you everything you need to know about credit reference files and how you can improve yours: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

skintmumof2

Hello

I have used CCCS debt remedy numerous times over the last few years and each time been told bankruptcy.
Ive never been able to afford bankruptcy, and my debts are just over the limit for a DRO.
I will be receiving a cheque from a PPI payment soon, about £1900. I wanted to fill my oil tank up for winter (Its been empty for ages!!!) and then make myself bankrupt.
Will this amount of money I receive affect applying for bankruptcy? As I will have some money left in the bank (Around £500) after oil and bankruptcy that I was hoping to use for a nice xmas for me and the kids.
What would you recommend and where do I start with the bankruptcy? Should I do it through yourselves? Is that easier? Do i need up to date statements from creditors?
Thank you

StepChange_Pavan

skintmumof2 wrote: »

Hello

I have used CCCS debt remedy numerous times over the last few years and each time been told bankruptcy.
Ive never been able to afford bankruptcy, and my debts are just over the limit for a DRO.
I will be receiving a cheque from a PPI payment soon, about £1900. I wanted to fill my oil tank up for winter (Its been empty for ages!!!) and then make myself bankrupt.
Will this amount of money I receive affect applying for bankruptcy? As I will have some money left in the bank (Around £500) after oil and bankruptcy that I was hoping to use for a nice xmas for me and the kids.
What would you recommend and where do I start with the bankruptcy? Should I do it through yourselves? Is that easier? Do i need up to date statements from creditors?
Thank you

Hi there and thanks for your question.

If we’ve already recommended bankruptcy as your best option you can call our bankruptcy support team and they will advise and support you throughout the whole process completely free of charge (their number should be in your advice booklet).

It’s likely that the Official Receiver will want to know where the PPI money has been spent. It’s reasonable that you would pay for the fees and fill up the oil tank with this money but it’s best that you speak with us before spending any money on anything else so we can advise you thoroughly.

If the PPI is due from a creditor that you still owe money to they may deduct the amount from the debt rather than issuing you a cheque. If this is the case it’s still worth giving us a call as there may be trust funds available to help you with your fees,

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Hi everyone,

The MoneyAware team are out of the office until Monday, 24th September so we’re very sorry for any delays in responding to your queries.

If you need immediate advice you can use our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) and there’s also lots of useful advice on our blog: http://moneyaware.co.uk/

See you again on Monday

win123

Hi I am on a DMP with you (CCCS) - Live with my disabled mother and son who is 18 just and still in full time education at college - I feel like I cant go on any longer with the worry of my debt and the length of time it is going to take me to pay it off 20yrs or so - My mum has a 6k credit card debt and is 66yrs old will the CCCS be able to help her also? We are seriously thinking of going bancrupt but will our council or housing dept say that we have made ourselves intentionally homeless and will they see us on the streets my mum is 66 and disabled and we are at our wits end with the fear of debt and being homeless - I am under my GP for severe stress and depression and I am not eating or sleeping and have lost a lot of weight - I have always suffered with anxiety but this situation of debt and fear of being homless is making it far worse and i don't know how much more I can take - I have also heard that if you do go bancrupt and you have had your home adapted for the presons disability that the judge in bancrupcy may let us keep our home is this true? Where do we go for advice? Thanks for your advice