Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

CCCS_Alan

gonebellyup wrote: »

Thank you all for this thread.

Does anyone have experience of UK bankruptcy from Australia?

Both my husband and I are completing our 6.28 forms at the moment and are paying a company to represent us in the high court to petition for bankruptcy as that is cheaper than trying to fly back ourselves to do it. We have huge unsecured debt in the UK that we had been making minimum payments on and then token payments but realise we will never catch up with ourselves.

We have no assets in the UK but have a house (negative equity) and two cars in Australia that I assume the OR will have an interest in.

Can anyone tell me how it works across the water ~

If they want to release the value in our cars (about £4000 each) how do they do it?

Will we have to pay for a valuation on our house to prove the negative equity in our home?

Will our Australian bank account be frozen, this is an enormous worry?

Can anyone help, the panic has really set in?

kind regards

Hi Gonebellyup

Any assets anywhere in the world would be included in the bankruptcy. Depending on what cross border co-operation there is between the countries concerned would depend on what action the official receiver would take.

It is my understanding that in the case of Australia any action taken would have to be done through the courts, therefore, the official receiver would have to take into account the costs of realising those assets.

You should also note that where there are assets and creditors in Australia the court will give priority to the Australian creditors (taking action against the assets in Australia) over the English trustee in bankruptcy.

Ultimately it will be for the official receiver, based on all the facts, to decide what action to take regarding assets in Australia. I cannot say what evidence the official receiver would require to prove the property was in negative equity. This could also apply to the cars as the official receiver would need to take account of costs when deciding what to do about the cars. Bear in mind that their primary role is to work in the interests of the creditors to be able realise assets for their benefit but they have to off set that against costs involved.

Unfortunately I am unable to say whether the Australian bank accounts will be frozen. It would depend on whether the Australian Banks recognise UK insolvency and what their policy is regarding individuals who are bankrupt. Your may wish to speak with your bank about this.

A final point worth noting, if you are looking to apply for Australian status/citizenship (unless they already have), you will need to check with Australian immigration services as bankruptcy can affect applications.

Regards

CCCS_Alan

shazza1982

Can you still leave the country to travel or even live abroad if you are bankrupt?

philnicandamy

shazza1982 wrote: »

Can you still leave the country to travel or even live abroad if you are bankrupt?

long as you leave contact details for the official receiver then yes nothing to stop you

to cover yourself as well contact the relevent embassy for information

lufcgreat

I went into self imposed personal bankruptcy in May 2006 after a divorce . The amount was only £17,500 , it wasn't the amount but the interest charged monthly that I couldn't afford . It was decided I would pay back £14,400 via an IPA agreement through an intermediary , a solicitor collecting on behalf of the insolvency service . After about 14 months I was still not paying tax so I rang the solicitors collecting the monies to express my concern about getting a tax bill , their answer was '' don't wory that won't happen '' . I rang several times over the next 2 years and got the same answer . However when my payments came to an end June 2009 I rang the insolvency people to find out ''what happens next ''. During the course of our conversation Ilearned that I should have been paying tax 2 years ago . After ''bubbling myself '' I now have a tax bill for £10193.00 only £7500 less than my bankruptcy amount, to pay within a month . I know I may have been a little niave but I put my faith and trust in the solicitors and the system to get things right . It is through their wrong advice that I find myself in this situation . what do I do now ,I am in utter dispare . HELP!!!!!!!!!

CCCS_Alan

robert.grieve1973 wrote: »

Hope you can help,

Declared bankrupt May 2007, dischardged May 2008, being chased by an agency collecting outstanding bill from Orange (Wanadoo) dated back to Aug 2006, Orange or this collection company can not supply statement of account showing where amount has originated from as it is almost 3 years old.

My argument is if i owed this sum back in 2006 and they chased for settlement at the time or if i disputed it would this not be cleared when i went bankrupt in 2007, can they chase me after 3 years even though i have never been off the electral roll and therefore taken Orange 3 years to realise their was an amount outstanding?

Any advise would be appreciated?

Hi Robert.Grieve.1973

If the debt was finalised and owed before you went bankrupt, it should have been included into your bankruptcy.

You would have to prove the debt should have been included in the bankruptcy. I would suggest contacting either your old official receiver or the Insolvency Service on 0845 602 9848, on how best to go about this.

If the contract was running through your bankruptcy, and you were still using the service the debt would have been excluded from the bankruptcy and you would be liable to pay this unfortunately.

Regards

CCCS

CCCS_Alan

porkpie1981 wrote: »

Hi i have just made my 1st payment of £100 to the cccs for a dmp. They did say at the start to go bankrupt but im trying this 1st. Tbh we are still struggling to survive as only on benefits.

If i was to go bankrupt i was reading that they look back into ur bank statements for 1 year. The thing i am worried about is i sell on ebay and they will see paypal amounts going into my account, I only sell the houses used stuff but then i also bought quite a bit also. Will i get in trouble for this as in can they say that the money i made selling stuff should have been used to pay debts rather than buy more? basically this is the main problem i have for being in this bother eg overspending even when i knew i was in a mess???????????????????????????????????????

Hi Porkpie1981

The official receiver (OR) can look into your financial history such as bank statements. It will be up to the OR how they would deal with your situation based on what they see. If it has only been small items you have been buying it should not really be much of a problem.

Regards

CCCS

Knock-on

Hi there

I have an agreement in place with the CCCS but it doesn't seem to be working out. I have chosen a repayment plan rather than an IVA which although was scheduled to finish in about 9 years time, at least ensured I would repay all the money I owed.

However, it seems that Lloyds are being difficult and the debt I have with them keeps getting bigger even though I'm paying as much off as I can afford.

To compound matters, I have just received a 10% pay cut at work and am going to struggle even more keeping up with payments.

At this moment, I don't know what to do. I tried to get an agreement in place to sort everything out and be debt free within 10 years but the way the agreement is working out, I am never going to be debt free.

LeasePressure

Thought i might post this message here although there is a seperate thread......


Hi All,

Was unsure where to post this but thought this board looked the best bet...

I currently own a business as an outside work venture (as i have a full-time job). The business leases a premises (this is under my name and not an limited company). I have been using a lot of my own money to sub the business for nearly a year now through the recession but am now losing my full time job due to redundancy (the package i am receiving is equal to about 2,500). I have spoken to the landlord about terminating my lease as i can no longer afford to trade but there is still 7 years left to run. Meaning i am liable to pay the Landlord £70,000 in future rent payments. The landlord is understandably therefore not happy to just let me walk away. The business has been on the market for several months but has attracted no buyers. I am now defaulting on my rent. Me and my partner own a house worth around 170,000 but have 160,000 mortgage i have no other real assets except my car worth around 2,000 which is vital for work. I also have debts of over 34K through overdrafts, loans and credit cards.

My question is really would it be worth my landlord forcing me into bankruptcy?
Would he be likely to terminate the lease (obviously he would keep the deposit (6 months rent) and chase for the arrears)?

I have put the latter option on the table as i think it would be the best for both of us as i don't think he will recover anywhere near 70K from my assets especially when this is split between my other creditors which are all high street banks. But as yet have just received stalling answers.

Any help comment or discussion around this matter would be very much appreciated as i do feel very lost and very alone. I understand i have got myself into a silly position but really would like any help in keeping the roof over me and my partners head.

Thanks

CCCS_Alan

danielc wrote: »

Hi,
I am a member of a professional body and if I were to become bankrupt would lose my job, so I really want to avoid this.

Over the past few years I have invested heavilly in a number of properties both private and buy to lets. Almost all are in negative equity. I am struggling to meet the interest repayments and have started using credit cards to do so. I know this cant go on much longer. The stress is getting to me now.

Could i simply hand back all the keys (voluntary re-possession) without the mortgage companies bankrupting me for the shortfall? If so what would be the consequences both on my salary and would my employer be able to find out?

Thanks for reading
Dan.

Hi Dan

You could contact the lenders and advise them you want to hand the keys back and arrange that with the lender. You would still be legally responsible for the property until sold, and they would then bill you for the remainder.

If a creditor petitions for your bankruptcy for the shortfall on a mortgage, they risk the fact that the debt could be written off completely. Plus they would have to pay the costs for this as well. Your salary should not be affected but you may be asked to comply with an income payment arrangement (IPA) for 3 years where you pay towards your debts. Your tax code would change as well, but dependent on your company that may flag up something that may raise questions.

Regards

CCCS

CCCS_Alan

doc_h wrote: »

Hi there,
I have lasted week filed for bankruptcy, in my debts I had to include my electricity bill with British Gas (£870) what do you recommend I do, I have not contacted them yet, I imagine the OR will do it too, but what should I do? Find another utilities company and move or will BG want to put a slot meter on my house?
Any suggestions will be greatfully received !

Hi Doc_h

Unfortunately if you have outstanding bills it is likely they will object to the transfer, unless you can clear the balance first. BG are likely to also insist on a pre pay meter to be installed into the property if the debt is included in to your bankruptcy.

Regards

CCCS_Alan