A chance for all bankrupts to change your life - Your help needed!

geoffky

max my wife would of gone before me...well done on the self control..its to be applauded these days..

fiveyearplan

I've got the same t-shirt max - but I was with skylight - honest!

dalip

maxmycardagain wrote: »

Three years ago, if you had told me i was gonna go bankrupt id have laughed, i was servicing my debts and running my little business ....

Then, with the colusion of the Companies act and the protection of being a Ltd company, a "customer" wiped me out in a very short time by collapsing thier debt owed to me, so not only am i bankrupt, but i am also very, very bitter that my fate was decided some robbing t**t who a month later opened a florist shop for his sons GF and has just bought a country pub/hotel....

I do not hold myself liable/blameworthy ( i WAS, but wasnt...)

The wife stopped me driving the 160 miles to throttle the b*****d

maybe one day, you never know.

1)Everything comes to he who waits;)
2) Patience is a virtue
3)He who laughs last,laughts the longest


Remember that max.......especially when we are rocking in skeggy:rotfl:

4$£&*(£$&*(!

I said on Saturday that this board has the potential for immense lobbying power. Well I'm doing something about it, but I need your help.

I want to stop bankruptcy being an indelible crime, and to say after six years that is enough. To that extent I am writing to politicians at all levels. This isn't enough on its own, I need your help.

Below is a letter I have so far sent to my MP, my MEPs, and I have trawled through https://www.writetothem.com to identify possible Lords to write to (I have hit the maximum limit of writing to six Lords in a day at the moment). The letter misses off three paragraphs of very personal information, but I would encourage people to please write how they arrived at their current situation to give the politician some background.

---

I have learnt bankruptcy is never an easy option. It causes arguments, sleepless nights, worrying about your loved ones and thinking of consequences. Before my first-hand experience of this, I was under a common misconception that bankrupts may live a very enjoyable lifestyle then write off their debt. I was shocked that nothing was further from the truth, and when my partner eventually told me some of the harassment they had been subjected to from the banks, I felt sick to the stomach.

So why am I writing to you today? Well, quite simply, to ask for a change in UK law. I am in the process of corresponding with my MP, my MEP representatives, and identifying Lords who may be sympathetic to my concerns; detailing what I hope is a heartfelt story of personal struggle against institutional adversity.

I have always been a good credit risk. My finances are impeccable. I have never made a claim on my household insurance. This is the first change I am asking for. It is fundamentally wrong for insurers asking if I, or more importantly, if anyone else living in my house, has ever been bankrupt. Many, many insurers ask this as do many comparison websites. Why a bankrupt person creates a higher risk I have no idea. What I do know is this question penalises me despite being a good risk. I have written to insurers who tell me this is their responsibility to ascertain higher risk factors. I have written to the Information Commissioner to advise this information is irrelevant, who advises me I have to make individual complaints against specific organisations. I have written to the Ombudsman who say these companies are compliant with UK legislation.

The resolution must be to outlaw this question. I am aware of a situation where the son of a family became bankrupt and hid it from his parents. The parents had to make an unrelated claim. As the son had hid the bankruptcy, when it was uncovered by the insurance company they advised the claim was to be voided. Legislation must be passed to prevent this ever happening to anyone. Bankrupts are not a higher risk. If insurers feel that a bankrupt may make an outlandish claim, use existing control measures to stop outlandish claims, don't tar everyone with the same brush.

This may seem like a small problem, but my insurance renewal premium increased by over 100% in one year just because of this. Yet it is not a time-bound problem, insurers who take bankruptcy into account do this for the rest of the person's life, barring them from cheaper deals, possibly leading some to ignore insurance and become an undocumented insurance-poverty case.

The second point I am asking for is to stop criminalising bankrupts for life. The London Gazette, Edinburgh Gazette and Glasgow Gazette are publications which hold lists of bankrupts. These lists are never erased. Mortgage companies will always check these lists, as will insurers. I am not suggesting for one moment that the details of bankrupts are never produced; if I were a creditor I would want to see such a list. However the Credit Reference Agencies ensure financial details are applied on a six year rolling basis, on the premise a six-year duration is good enough to see a financial snapshot of the person's credit risk. If Credit Reference Agencies consider bankruptcy to be irrelevant after six years, a central life-long register is inappropriate and potentially against the spirit of the Data Protection Act in the sense the data must be relevant and current.

On this basis, I hope I have been comprehensive enough to advise the reasons why there are good justifications for changes in the law. Many of these changes simply unify our position with other EU countries. A bankrupt person is a financial risk initially, I do acknowledge this. My belief is a six year time limit is ample to demonstrate the person has changed their financial situation, and no public register should be held beyond this. Financial institutions should be prohibited from peering beyond six years into a person's financial past for the purposes of bankruptcy, and the bankrupt should be allowed to get on with their life.

I sincerely hope I have conveyed this information eloquently enough for you to consider changing legislation, I also hope you will consider lobbying the relevant financial and insurance institutions here in the UK.

Pobby

maxmycardagain wrote: »

Three years ago, if you had told me i was gonna go bankrupt id have laughed, i was servicing my debts and running my little business ....

Then, with the colusion of the Companies act and the protection of being a Ltd company, a "customer" wiped me out in a very short time by collapsing thier debt owed to me, so not only am i bankrupt, but i am also very, very bitter that my fate was decided some robbing t**t who a month later opened a florist shop for his sons GF and has just bought a country pub/hotel....

I do not hold myself liable/blameworthy ( i WAS, but wasnt...)

The wife stopped me driving the 160 miles to throttle the b*****d

maybe one day, you never know.

This is the problem. You are doing OK then a customer doesn`t pay up. I have had this in the past, thankfully not ruining me. I think it is often the case that folk go bankrupt through no fault of their own. It is something that I feel strongly about.

mustbedebtfree

CitySlicker wrote: »

I said on Saturday that this board has the potential for immense lobbying power. Well I'm doing something about it, but I need your help.

I want to stop bankruptcy being an indelible crime, and to say after six years that is enough. To that extent I am writing to politicians at all levels. This isn't enough on its own, I need your help.

Below is a letter I have so far sent to my MP, my MEPs, and I have trawled through www.writetothem.com to identify possible Lords to write to (I have hit the maximum limit of writing to six Lords in a day at the moment). The letter misses off three paragraphs of very personal information, but I would encourage people to please write how they arrived at their current situation to give the politician some background.

---

I have learnt bankruptcy is never an easy option. It causes arguments, sleepless nights, worrying about your loved ones and thinking of consequences. Before my first-hand experience of this, I was under a common misconception that bankrupts may live a very enjoyable lifestyle then write off their debt. I was shocked that nothing was further from the truth, and when my partner eventually told me some of the harassment they had been subjected to from the banks, I felt sick to the stomach.

So why am I writing to you today? Well, quite simply, to ask for a change in UK law. I am in the process of corresponding with my MP, my MEP representatives, and identifying Lords who may be sympathetic to my concerns; detailing what I hope is a heartfelt story of personal struggle against institutional adversity.

I have always been a good credit risk. My finances are impeccable. I have never made a claim on my household insurance. This is the first change I am asking for. It is fundamentally wrong for insurers asking if I, or more importantly, if anyone else living in my house, has ever been bankrupt. Many, many insurers ask this as do many comparison websites. Why a bankrupt person creates a higher risk I have no idea. What I do know is this question penalises me despite being a good risk. I have written to insurers who tell me this is their responsibility to ascertain higher risk factors. I have written to the Information Commissioner to advise this information is irrelevant, who advises me I have to make individual complaints against specific organisations. I have written to the Ombudsman who say these companies are compliant with UK legislation.

The resolution must be to outlaw this question. I am aware of a situation where the son of a family became bankrupt and hid it from his parents. The parents had to make an unrelated claim. As the son had hid the bankruptcy, when it was uncovered by the insurance company they advised the claim was to be voided. Legislation must be passed to prevent this ever happening to anyone. Bankrupts are not a higher risk. If insurers feel that a bankrupt may make an outlandish claim, use existing control measures to stop outlandish claims, don't tar everyone with the same brush.

This may seem like a small problem, but my insurance renewal premium increased by over 100% in one year just because of this. Yet it is not a time-bound problem, insurers who take bankruptcy into account do this for the rest of the person's life, barring them from cheaper deals, possibly leading some to ignore insurance and become an undocumented insurance-poverty case.

The second point I am asking for is to stop criminalising bankrupts for life. The London Gazette, Edinburgh Gazette and Glasgow Gazette are publications which hold lists of bankrupts. These lists are never erased. Mortgage companies will always check these lists, as will insurers. I am not suggesting for one moment that the details of bankrupts are never produced; if I were a creditor I would want to see such a list. However the Credit Reference Agencies ensure financial details are applied on a six year rolling basis, on the premise a six-year duration is good enough to see a financial snapshot of the person's credit risk. If Credit Reference Agencies consider bankruptcy to be irrelevant after six years, a central life-long register is inappropriate and potentially against the spirit of the Data Protection Act in the sense the data must be relevant and current.

On this basis, I hope I have been comprehensive enough to advise the reasons why there are good justifications for changes in the law. Many of these changes simply unify our position with other EU countries. A bankrupt person is a financial risk initially, I do acknowledge this. My belief is a six year time limit is ample to demonstrate the person has changed their financial situation, and no public register should be held beyond this. Financial institutions should be prohibited from peering beyond six years into a person's financial past for the purposes of bankruptcy, and the bankrupt should be allowed to get on with their life.

I sincerely hope I have conveyed this information eloquently enough for you to consider changing legislation, I also hope you will consider lobbying the relevant financial and insurance institutions here in the UK.

Well done, what a great idea!!! :T

4$£&*(£$&*(!

mustbedebtfree wrote: »

Well done, what a great idea!!! :T

Thank you, and I'm amazed that I have already had a holding response from one MEP advising me they will be checking what current EU legislation is in place to see if any of my points are covered, and what steps to do next. They have been very sympathetic to these points.

Here's the crucial thing though. This may be a great idea from me, but I'm only one person. I cannot see anyone on this forum disagreeing with these points, so what would be amazing is if everyone wrote a brief email with these issues, even if it is something as brief as saying no organisation has the right to know a bankrupt ever was a bankrupt after six years and the Gazettes must start de-listing people.

This will only be a success if every single person feels as passionate as me about ending this unfair situation against bankrupts. It only takes five minutes to go to www.writetothem.com, compose a short message, and send it off.

On my own this isn't enough. Will people pledge to do this - and importantly, follow this up and post back online to say they have done this? Together we can change the future of bankruptcy forever.

mustbedebtfree

CitySlicker wrote: »

Thank you, and I'm amazed that I have already had a holding response from one MEP advising me they will be checking what current EU legislation is in place to see if any of my points are covered, and what steps to do next. They have been very sympathetic to these points.

Here's the crucial thing though. This may be a great idea from me, but I'm only one person. I cannot see anyone on this forum disagreeing with these points, so what would be amazing is if everyone wrote a brief email with these issues, even if it is something as brief as saying no organisation has the right to know a bankrupt ever was a bankrupt after six years and the Gazettes must start de-listing people.

This will only be a success if every single person feels as passionate as me about ending this unfair situation against bankrupts. It only takes five minutes to go to www.writetothem.com, compose a short message, and send it off.

On my own this isn't enough. Will people pledge to do this - and importantly, follow this up and post back online to say they have done this? Together we can change the future of bankruptcy forever.

I'm not bankrupt yet, but will happily fire off a few letters or emails

Count me in! :j

PixiePie

Written to a load of them - I have been thinking about this for a long time, however as you say, just one person wouldn't really have much of an effect probably. If we can ALL do this, please please please then perhaps we can get something changed.

Not holding out much hope for my MP - the only other thing I wrote to them about I was just told to complain to the organisation myself (I wrote about our diabolical health services around here, if you complain to the GP you are just threatened with being struck off the surgery list, so I didn't really want to pursue that line really).

Hopefully the MEPs and Lords will be a bit more helpful though

wayforward_2

Have done it! Is very easy and takes minutes

This is my adaptation of your letter - anyone feel free to cut and paste!

Dear

I am writing to you to ask for a change in UK law with regards to discharged bankrupts.

1. I believe it is fundamentally wrong for insurers asking if I, or more importantly, if anyone else living in my house, has ever been bankrupt. Many, many insurers ask this as do many comparison websites. Why a bankrupt person creates a higher risk I have no idea. What I do know is this question penalises the enquirer whether or not they are a good risk. The Ombudsman says these companies are compliant with UK legislation.

The resolution must be to outlaw this question. There has been a situation where the son of a family became bankrupt and hid it from his parents. The parents had to make an unrelated claim. As the son had hid the bankruptcy, when it was uncovered by the insurance company they advised the claim was to be voided. Legislation must be passed to prevent this ever happening to anyone. Bankrupts are not a higher risk. If insurers feel that a bankrupt may make an outlandish claim, use existing control measures to stop outlandish claims, don't tar everyone with the same brush.

This may seem like a small problem, but an insurance renewal premium can increase by over 100% in one year just because of it. Yet it is not a time-bound problem, insurers who take bankruptcy into account do this for the rest of the person's life, barring them from cheaper deals, possibly leading some to ignore insurance and become an undocumented insurance-poverty case.

2. The second point I am asking for is to stop criminalising bankrupts for life. The London Gazette, Edinburgh Gazette and Glasgow Gazette are publications which hold lists of bankrupts. These lists are never erased. Mortgage companies will always check these lists, as will insurers. I am not suggesting for one moment that the details of bankrupts are never produced; if I were a creditor I would want to see such a list. However the Credit Reference Agencies ensure financial details are applied on a six year rolling basis, on the premise a six-year duration is good enough to see a financial snapshot of the person's credit risk. If Credit Reference Agencies consider bankruptcy to be irrelevant after six years, a central life-long register is inappropriate and potentially against the spirit of the Data Protection Act in the sense the data must be relevant and current.

On this basis, I hope I have been comprehensive enough to advise the reasons why there are good justifications for changes in the law. Many of these changes simply unify our position with other EU countries. A bankrupt person is a financial risk initially, I do acknowledge this. My belief is a six year time limit is ample to demonstrate the person has changed their financial situation, and no public register should be held beyond this. Financial institutions should be prohibited from peering beyond six years into a person's financial past for the purposes of bankruptcy, and the bankrupt should be allowed to get on with their life.

I sincerely hope I have conveyed this information eloquently enough for you to consider lobbying the relevant financial and insurance institutions here in the UK.