Terrified about going bankrupt

Strong

Hi guys,

have done a lot of reading on the internet and spoken to a few guys that have gone bankrupt but am still very nervous about the prospect of going bankrupt.

I'll give you a brief run down of my situation

I ran up around £27k of debt on unsecured loans and credit cards in the space of around 5 years. Most of this was due to constantly renewing car loans then getting a little extra to pay off my cards. I'd then slowly run the cards up when emergencies cropped up or if I'm honest I wanted something I couldn't afford. I wasn't living extravagantly but was obviously living beyond my means.

I was earning good money at the time so could meet minimal payments ect but was probably increasing my debt level by a few hundred quid a month.

About 6 months ago our terms at work changed and my salary dropped substantially for the summer months. I was paying credit with credit and took out a further loan of £7.5k to pay off my over draft and tide me through until work picked up again.

Work did pick up a little during the winter but even with the increase in salary I was now way over my head debt wise.

I borrowed from my family to tide me over for the next 6 months in the hope that work picked up.

All this time my wife new nothing of the amount of debt and tbh I was scared to tell her so when she said she needed money for something I was simply drawing cash on my cards. I was also drawing cash on cards to pay back family debts and for living expenses. I was simply making minimum card payments with another card to stop and red letters coming through the door.

In this time I'm guessing I'e probably drawn £6-8k in cash. My total debt is now around £43k and In the next month the car I was making minimal payments with is going to be maxed.

I can longer hide this from my wife who is going to go light.

My concern with going BR is accounting(which I believe you have to do)for where all your cash has gone. There is no way I can account for it, I know I've been stupid and should have faced up to the facts a year ago but am now left terrified that my BR will be refused if they say I was drawing money I knew I simply couldn't repay.

Sorry for the long post, any advice appreciated.

snowmouse

Not br yet myself but going to be.
Of course every case is different but frankly your story sounds very familiar, I`m sure the offical receivers heard its like many times before. Just be honest, say this is what happened, I`m not proud of it, whats done is done, BR is the way forward.

philnicandamy

Hiya strong & welcome...first thing....dont panic!

we've all been in the same spot at some time or another I couldnt remember half the stuff i'd done during my interview & to be honest? the Receiver was fine...they understand that sometimes you cant remember bits & bobs they see it a fair few times a day I imagine...most people here will tell you Bankruptcy isnt as scary a prospect as your imagining it can be..its a pretty painless thing to do & many people including myself think its the best thing ever done...leads on to a better life as well later

What you need to do first is get some FREE debt advice from one of the places in my sig below...then anything that makes no sense just give us a shout & we'll do our best to help

Phil

DON79

Hi Strong and welcome, firstly don't worry, bankruptcy is refused rarely if ever. also, please don't think that you are alone in having robbed peter to pay paul, many of us will have done that, I know I did the same as you at times when money got a bit tight and I needed cash for food & to pay bills. If the OR questions why your borrowing increased, simply state as you already have done that you were expecting your work situation to improve and did not anticipate that you would not have the funds to repay the debts.

Have you gotten advice from CAB or CCCS or National Debtline about the options open to you? Also I think you do need to sit down and discuss this with your wife, make her aware of the situation because you will need support and help to get through the BR process which we can give you but it's nice to have support in person too. Tell her you need her help and understanding.

Any questions please ask.

Donna

Strong

Thanks for the speedy replies.

I have already called the CCCS who have set up an interview for me.

What is worrying me is the case studies I have seen of people who have recieved BRO's. A lot of them state about people continuing to borrow whilst being unable to repay.

When I took the loan for £7.5k I was at that point unable to repay it although I was genuinelly hoping for things to pick up. When I was drawing cash I knew I was screwed but was to scared to do anything about it.

So I was taking on debts when I knew when I was insolvent which is classed as fraud isn't it?

philnicandamy

Depends on the OR really Strong....you may be looking at a BRO but thats not all as bad as you think either way you'd be discharged from bankruptcy in 12mnths the BRO just extends the limitations a little....BUT thats worse case...bit of a read here for you http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/bro.pdf its purely to give you an idea NOT to say you'll receive one...the OR treats each case differently

OR may just give a telling off....just run with it & see what happens (I know easier said than done)

So_Sad_Angel

Hi Strong

Welcome & well done for having the courage to post. Seeing your fears down on the screen is very good therapy towards wanting to find the solution.

You `are where you are` in terms of the hows & whys of your situation.....time to look ahead now & deal with sorting it out.You can`t change whats happened.

Regards the debt...we all do stuff in good faith, because we think it is the right thing to do & sometimes in sheer desperation to keep our heads above water just to live but there comes a time when you have to face it.

Have the courage to open up to your wife & although it looks bad you are looking to put it right...there is a distant light at the end of the tunnel.

Angiexx

philnicandamy

if anything strong you should give yourself a massive pat on the back for getting here & starting to tackle your problems...the light at the end of the tunnel isn't always a train!