Contradictory Advice - Please Help x

ricardovich

Hi there

I have been reading the posts on this forum all day and am amazed at, and grateful for, everyone's advice and encouragement.

Briefly my story:- I earn't well, lived well but spent well. After a messy divorce 5 years ago I lost my house (sold in the settlement) and my job. As I work in a specialized field I really only managed to find full-time work in April 2007,, but now unfortunately, that 2 year contract has come to an end. I have spent the last 5 years doing everything I can to pay my creditors and have been robbing Peter to pay Paul. Now that I have absolutley no income whatsoever I am at the end of my tether. I owe £80,000 in unsecured debt:eek:

I have been to the CAB and an Insolvency Practicioner who, in my mind, rightly points out that I cannot get an IVA as I have no job and no income and that BR is the only way forward for me - as he says "are you ever gonna be able to pay these people back now?"

Questions that I would love your help with are:-

1. I am overdrawn in my Yorkshire Bank current account. This was fine when my salary was being paid in but obviously I can no longer use this account. The Insolvency Practitioner told me to open a new basic account elsewhere BEFORE filing for BR. This goes against advice on this forum.

Q: Could someone please explain what's best?

2. I went to Nationwide today to ask about opening a basic account. They told me the account application would be subject to credit scoring. Obviously my rating is in the toilet!

Q: Is there an account that I can open without credit checks?

3. I live in a rented flat with my girlfriend. She earns good money and has picked up the payments on everything since my unemployment (she's the only good thing in my life :A). She pays the rent, the bills, the shopping...everything.

Q: When I fill out my income/expenditure form do I reflect the fact that I am no longer paying any of these things or do I fill it out as if we were sharing everything 50/50 as was happening when I had a job?

4. Finally, BR seems so daunting. Yes, I know that I can't pay these people back but...

Q: Will BR really stop the threatening letters and phone calls that I've had to deal with 24/7 for the past 5 years?

I guess I need some hand-holding. It's all so surreal that I've got to this situation. I hope your advice and support can help me through this.

many thanks and hugs in advance
x

RAS

Hi

You can open a Co-op Cashminder without a credit check and you can keep it after BR as that is what it is designed for. You will need to get the OR to declare that he has no interest in the account.

Natwest will close any basic account you have open now twhen you go BR.

Do you have any sort of income at all?

ricardovich

Hi RAS

Thanks for this.

Again, would you advise opening the Co-op account before or after the BR?

I haven't earnt any money since February. Obviously, I'm desperately searching for appropraite work but times is tuff:cool:

I signed up for JobSeekers Allowance at the beginning of June but as of yet they haven't paid me a penny :-( Should they ever get round to paying me £68 a week the money should go into a Post Office account that they told me to open.

debtinfo

1)any accounts you open before filing run the risk of being frozen (albeit temporarily) untill you speak to the Official receiver and ask for them to be unfrozen. If you ask for it the Official receiver can provide you with a letter stating that they have no objection to you getting a bank account after you go bankrupt. In your situation with no income at the moment it does not really matter if you open the account before or after the order. If you have regular income going in as you can get stuck for a short time with no access to your money.
2)Always best to be upfront and tell them if you are going bankrupt so that they dont change their mind later.
3)You should put your whole household income (yours and your girlfriends) and your whole household outgoings (yours and your girlfriends) they wont take your girlfriends money as only you are bankrupt.
4)After bankruptcy many people continue to get letters and phonecalls for a short period of time but these usually go away after you present a bankruptcy order to them. They do not have any right to chase you for proveable debts

Ibanez

Hi,

I opened my co cp account about a month before I went BR. As they are bankrupt friendly it should be ok.
When I opened my account they asked why I was opening the account, I told them that it was because you are bankrupt friendly and that I would be filing for BR, they were fine with this.

The day I went BR the OR said it was fine to use the account and I also gave the co op a call to let them know, they were fine, they have no risk with you on a basic account.

Dave

tigerfeet2006

Debtinfo that is twice you have said you put the full wage down of the posters OH in different posts. You do NOT put the other persons full income down.

In this case the OP would put his income down as nil, if the JSA hasn't come through by the time he files for BR. Then he would put down what his OH would pay to balance the SoA NOT her full wage as she will have her own expenses to service.

As for the Co-op cashminder, they are very BR friendly and very rarely freeze accounts once you have made them aware you are BR, so if you wish to open an account to get things sorted before BR then go ahead. You just let the OR know this is the account you opened for you BR. The OR who has issues with this is Brighton.

Have you chased the DWP for your money?

ricardovich

Hey Dave

Thanks so much for this - I'm off to the co-op then:j

Maybe you (or someone) can give me some more advice on a development that's just happened.

I've just been offered 1 week of work at the beginning of August. I will earn about £700.

Should I hold of the BR till after I've earnt it or will the OR look at/take whatever I've earnt retrospectively anyway?

Thanks again

fiveyearplan

Also just to clear things, you don't put down your girlfriend's full wage and you don't put down her own personal expenses either (like hairdressing, mobile, travel etc.). Why don't you pop up your SOA and we can make comments then.

As for working in August - well you may as well wait for BR until after that. Chances are if you phoned the court now it would be about August anyway before they could fit you in. You can also say that you used the money for your fees and general living expenses - which would be true!

Here is the link for the courts service.

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/

ricardovich

tigerfeet2006 wrote: »

if you wish to open an account to get things sorted before BR then go ahead. You just let the OR know this is the account you opened for you BR. The OR who has issues with this is Brighton.

Hang about - I live in Brighton/Hove:mad: Any further info on the above?

I chased the DWP AGAIN today. The delay had been that they reckon I hadn't paid enough N.I. to claim. I sent them my P60 and statement of earnings to show I had paid £7000 N.I. PAYE last year alone! i loved it when they told me "...oh our system doesn't liaise with the N.I. system...this happens all the time" :eek:

When I phoned them today they said that because I had only spoken to them on Monday they hadn't done anything about it yet......I had to point out that I didn't speak to them on Monday...... I spoke to them TWO MONDAY'S AGO!!!

My claim was registered on May 3rd and I've yet to recieve a penny yet. sigh.

tigerfeet2006

Crumbs if they were employed in the private sector, they would be sacked for not doing their job properly. Keep chasing them for it, make a nuicense (sp?) of yourself so they will get fed up of you ringing and do something.

The Brighton OR's office have this bee in their bonnet about any accounts opened before BR and insist that you can't use any of them. They are the only OR's office that does it and it is a bloomin' pain. Most OR's are brilliant and realise the need for getting all your affairs sorted so that things will run smoothly after BR for you.

ricardovich

5YP

Genius - that's great advice. I'll put my SAO up when I've done it. Is there a template anywhere or do I just copy/paste the one off the insolvency forms?

I'm so glad to have found you people. I feel like I've been wading through treacle for the past couple of years - now I don't feel so alone.

Cheers & love
xxxxx