Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

nataz

nataz wrote: »

Hi My husband is due to be made redundant in Nov, he is the sole earner (24k) as I look after our two children (2 yrs and 4 mths). We rely entirely on his income, except for tax credit and child benefit (currently £350 a month). I dont get any maternity pay as I wasnt working when I fell pregnant. We have debts just over 9k to several creditors, rent a house and have no savings. We had been attempting to reorganise our finances and live to a very tight budget. This recent redundancy means we will have no money to live with (except any measly benefits!!) His redundancy payout is just over 1k!

Please help us decide what to do, whether bankruptcy is our best option and what it will mean in terms of our current life.

Unfortunately he works in architecture and as you might guess there is little or no work in that area.

Thank you for your help.

Please can someone reply to my post, I could really do with the advice.

CCCS_Matthew

phockse wrote: »

I have posted this somewhere else but think it may be in the wrong place. So here I go again. I have a small business I purchased 3 years ago, it has been struggling recently so yesterday I came here for advice and someone pointed me in the direction of bussiness debt line, whom I rang and they were great and are going to help me sort everything out. As part of the debt managment they advised me to open a new business account with someone I dont owe any money to. I have tried to do this today, however it was declined, they rang me back to give me a reason (they dont usually) apparently the previous owner of the business has declared it bankrupt on 4th Sep 09. How can they do this when they have not owned the business for 3 years, its now showing on my business credit file. I dont know what to do, no one is going to open a new account for me now. Just when I thought I had things sorted, dont know how much more fight i have left in me. Thanks for any advice!!!

Hi there,

With it being a business bank account, this isn't something I'm hugely familiar with. When it comes to personal accounts all banks are obliged to offer you a basic bank account regardless of your financial situation. However when it comes to a business account, I'm not sure whether the
equivalent exists. Have you tried contacting Business Debt Line again to let them know of your difficulty in getting a new account? Perhaps they maybe able to offer some more practical advice?

Regards,
Matthew.

CCCS_Matthew

Lizaisabella wrote: »

Hi,
Please could you help?

Last year bankruptcy proceedings were begun against my husband and I due to his business debts of over £100,000 it was a personal rather than ltd company.

It has taken nearly a year to sort out the final settlement figure as the bank were originally claiming the debt should be applied to the whole mortgage and not just my husbands share which has now been amended and it will only apply to his share.

I thought we were now at the point where we could pay the money and move on however we have just had a letter to confirm the Mazar people have had ou house revalued and where we were expecting to pay about £2000-£4000 they have now said the house is worth £40,000 more and they calculate the full and final figure as £26000 and they are prepared to accept £20,000.

Is there anyway for us to negotiate this as we can't really afford to pay it and it is really out of the blue, we really don't want to be forced to move but we would have to in order to pay this.

Do I need to send them a letter and what should I say?

Thanks

Hi there.

Whenever a settlement is offered, there is always room to make an offer. You could certainly send them a letter with an offer of what you're prepared to pay to settle the debt. Has the company in question agreed to postpone the bankruptcy proceedings on the basis that you can clear the debt of via a settlement?

Matthew.

CCCS_Sarah

ladylumps45 wrote: »

Hi
my income is incapacity benefit,dla,child tax credit,child benefit.i understand that i wont have to pay an IPA or an IPO(not sure which one it is but i mean the one where you have to pay something back for 3 years).
however my ex husband pays me £125 a month maintenance for my 13 year old.this is done by private arrangement and its paid from his bank to mine each month.
my question is,as this is not a benefit does it mean i will have to pay an IPA(or whatever its called lol)?
thankyou.:o

Hello,

I was not 100% sure of the answer, so just doubled checked with the Insolvency Service for you. They would class child maintenance as income if this expenditure is not accounted for in the budget.

If you would like the CCCS to help you complete a budget, you could call our helpline free on 0800 138 1111. Once your budget is completed, we will then be able to see if there are any other options available to you. If Bankruptcy is your best option then we could then refer you through to our Bankruptcy Support team if you need any help with the forms.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

nataz wrote: »

Hi My husband is due to be made redundant in Nov, he is the sole earner (24k) as I look after our two children (2 yrs and 4 mths). We rely entirely on his income, except for tax credit and child benefit (currently £350 a month). I dont get any maternity pay as I wasnt working when I fell pregnant. We have debts just over 9k to several creditors, rent a house and have no savings. We had been attempting to reorganise our finances and live to a very tight budget. This recent redundancy means we will have no money to live with (except any measly benefits!!) His redundancy payout is just over 1k!

Please help us decide what to do, whether bankruptcy is our best option and what it will mean in terms of our current life.

Unfortunately he works in architecture and as you might guess there is little or no work in that area.

Thank you for your help.

It’s difficult to give you detailed advice on your options as we don’t have your full financial details. However you can visit our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. Debt Remedy would assist you in completing a financial statement and you would be provided with tailored advice on the best way to deal with your situation. Click here to go directly to Debt Remedy.

If you would prefer 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.

CCCS_Sarah

agata wrote: »

Thank you Sarah. We are with Personal Debt Helpline. If I leave my husband, I would rather separate the debts. I really don't know what to do...

If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a PM

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

garston_T wrote: »

Hi.

I will need to pay for my bankrupcy out of my overdraft, which i will of course be including in the list of debts. I am however worried that I'll be done for fraud if i do this, as i obviously have no intention of paying this money back do i. Or at the very least have my case held up/thrown out and be asked to pay it back etc. I just want to get this thing over and done with. (I don't owe a massive, massive amount like many here, about 11k. But nethertheless I have no way of paying it back, and the monthly repayments take most of my JSA and have left me 700 pounds and rising into a 1700 overdraft. so it might as well be a massive debt, if you cant pay you can't pay..)

I assume taking the money out in cash heightens this risk even more of fruad.

Is paying the 390 pound fee by debit card or cheque possible, and would this reduce the risk? As then on any statement it's clear in black and white the money was to make myself bankrupt, and not to go and buy designer clothes with etc. is the fee able to be payed by debit card/cheque? when i return the completed forms.

many thanks.

Hello,

As someone has pointed out, as you have less than £15000 of debts you maybe eligible for a DRO. If you were eligible then the fees are only £90 so would save you a lot of money and worry. If you would like to see if you are eligible for a DRO you can call our helpline free to arrange an appointment. Our helpline number is 0800 138 1111.

Sarah

ladylumps45

thankyou sarah for taking the time to check for me.with the DRO does it mean that you musnt have more than £50 surplus for the whole year after or when working out budget?

CCCS_Sarah

powsuzy wrote: »

Please can you help - I have posted this elsewhere but haven't received any replies:-
I received a Stat Demand dated 1st June but it had never been opened as it was not received in the post just pushed through the door and was not postmarked or stamped. I only found it after Phoenix Collections called. The letter I have from Phoenix states that they called to issue me with a Bankruptcy Order (Letter Title is Bankruptcy Petition - 1st September 2009) the date they called was 24th September - and that as I wasn't in - they will be calling again on 7th October at 10.00am in order to affect service of the Bankruptcy Petition.

The debt is with 1st Credit (Citi Credit Card) £3822.25 - but the account is with Connaught Collections. Following the visit from Phoenix - I contacted the National Debtline - wrote a personal budget and wrote with an offer of payment of £120 per month.

They sent me a letter dated 1st October 2009 saying that my proposal was unacceptable and that they advised me that they are seeking the full debt balance in addition to any costs incurred. The title of the letter was 1st Credit Ltd - Citifinancial Outstanding Debt - £3822.25.

I contacted them again on 3rd October (the day I received the letter) to say that I could get a lump sum and could pay £3000. They informed me that they could not take any payments on my account and that I would have to contact Moorhead James Solicitors who were now handling my case.

I contacted Moorhead James on Monday 5th October and e-mailed them with an offer of £3000.00 in full and final settlement (template letter from National Debtline).

They have now e-mailed me back to reject the offer as follows:-
We refer to your email to the writer of 5 October 2009 upon which we have taken our client’s instructions.

Regrettably, your offer is rejected.

May we remind you that the sum for which you are indebted to our client which remains the subject of these proceedings is £3,822.25. You are also responsible for payment of the petitioning creditor’s costs which currently stand at £1,882. However, this is subject to change as the matter progresses.

Therefore, in total, the amount currently due from you is £5,704.25.

Payment may be made directly into this firm’s client account, the details of which are as follows:

Following this a minute later I received another e-mail as follows:-

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dear Madam

We refer to the above matter and your email of 5 October 2009.

As you are aware, the sum currently due and owing from you is £5,704.25.

However, in order to bring this matter to a swift conclusion, the petitioning creditor will accept the sum of £5,000 in full and final settlement of the debt and costs due under petition number 185 of 2009. This offer remains open for acceptance until 4pm on 9 October 2009. This offer is final and non negotiable and, if accepted, payment must be made no later than 4pm on 16 October 2009.

The National Debtline advised me to bring the debt below £750 if possible to avoid bankruptcy - however - neither Connaught or Moorhead James will take any form of payment from me.

I have found an old letter with details of Connaught's Account and the reference number for the original debt - so I am paying £3200.00 into that account - via Bank Transfer - in
the morning.

Will I still be responsible for all the other costs? And therefore will they continue to make me bankrupt? Any help and information/advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Update - Phoenix called today - but I did not answer - they left no further correspondence.

Yes, you would be liable for court costs. You could ask them if you paid £3200 straight away and then the remainder in instalments i.e. over 24 months @ £104. Alternatively if you could lower the debt to below £750 as National Debtline have mentioned.

Are you a homeowner or are you renting?

CCCS_Sarah

TONY111 wrote: »

URGENT BEFORE O.R. TAKES MY VECHILES. SOME PROFECIONAL HELP/ ADVICE NEEDED PLEASE

I have followed your forum with great interest and read some great advice so I am hoping somebody can possible help me.

I have just been declared bankrupt 5/10/09 and my question is with regard to my vehicles

I am self employed and will be allowed to carry on trading. But I have 2 vehicles.
I am the registered keeper of both. (but not the owner)

1. Motorcycle a 600cc commuter with box on back (not a flash racing bike) Purchase price £500 current value £450

2. High top van. (my workshop fitted out with bench compressor tools and press ect.)
Purchase price £1200 current value £120 to £200

I need to keep both, my argument and facts of the matter are-

The van is my workshop, it has no mot at present but will if allowed to keep it. Without the van I cannot repair the parts I service. When back on the road it will allow access to the jobs that cannot come to me and require me to attend the job with many tools that only the van can carry.

The motorcycle transports the products to and from my customers it takes my child to school some days, it gives me access to my 78 yr old mother to help with shopping/cleaning. It saves a fortune in fuel against the van especially on some of my many long work trips. It saves lots of time on all work trips.
It is my only method to get to my part time Night job. (no busses at 2am & taxi to expensive)

My wife paid for both vehicles last year on the pretence that i can use them unconditionally and I will purchase them from her at some time in the future.

For the van my wife’s bank statement shows the cost of purchase being taken out
4 lots of £300 cash machine withdrawals consecutively (£1200 total cost of van)
Followed by £244.26 for the van insurance.
The insurance is easy to prove it belongs to the van. But there is no receipt for this vehicle to prove she owns it. But the reg document date of purchase is about right.

For the motorcycle 2 consecutive lots of £300 show withdrawn from a cash machine 15 days prior to the reg doc date of purchase, however we do have a receipt for its purchase from the previous owner dated one day after the cash withdrawals and it names my wife as the purchaser of the vehicle and has all the sellers detail including the amount of the sale which was £500. (my wife withdrew £600 but negotiated the price of sale down to £500)

My wife has her own personal vehicle as well value about £900 she uses it for full time work which sometimes includes traveling to different towns. She also uses it for the normal day to day things involved in running a family (2 kids). I have occasional use of this vehicle but its governed by her needs and could not successfully replace either the van or motorcycle. My wife is not part of the bankruptcy..

I think I have read somewhere in the O.R. tech manual that a vehicle reg doc is not proof of ownership and that a vehicle owned by other than the bankrupted party should be counted as excluded property..

If I cannot prove ownership of the van I think I should claim this vehicle is essential for work (which it it) and hopefully be allowed to keep it on that basis.
As for the motorcycle because of the stronger evidence to prove my wife owns it I think I should claim it as exempt property on that basis.

Is this correct?
Do I stand a chance of keeping both vehicles?

These are all true facts’, keeping both vehicles is extremely important to me, my family and business and is not just an excuse to get out of having them taken by the O.R. their value is minimal but replacement would not be easy and an extreme inconvenience.

Thanks in advance for any advice… Tony..

Hello,

I’m not too sure of this, so I’m looking into it for you. Will get back to you as soon as possible.


Sarah