What do i tell creditors while saving for BR

crowman19

Hi

Just wondering what approach people took with their creditors while saving for the BR fees ?

I have told them I am in consultation with CCCS and asked them for 30 days breathing space which I have had.

I phoned them to offer another token payment of £1 this month and they are starting to question when they will be hearing from CCCS or myself regarding SoA and a payment offer.

It will be another 2 months before I have the fees and don't know whether it would be best to tell them that I am saving for BR or use another excuse/reason for them.

Ant advice ?

Thanks

morty1963

Hi crowman
well i am newish here but have been in background for yonks, just do what you need to do to get the extra time but dont tell them your going bankrupt as they will pursue debt harder, all the best and like you i am saving hard for fees

alastairq

there is a counter argument that says, if you know you are but a short way off achieving your target for the £510 , or whatever it is now, for the court fees, then informing creditors of your impending bankruptcy hearing allows them to actually back-off, thus saving them [un-necessary] costs regarding phone calls and postage/admin charges.

This factor allows folk like CCCS or CAB to bolster their credibility with major creditors which is useful when they enter into negotiations on a debtor's behalf.

I am surprised CCCS is happy for you to enter into any negotiations with your creditors.

My experience [I am nearly 4 months into my own bankruptcy]...has been..[with CAB] that my Debt Advisor definately did not want me to enter any sort of negotiations....especialy as anything I agree to may compromise my interests.

If you have agreed to allow CCCS to negtiate on your behalf, then leave them to do so.

If there is no such agreement, then engage them asap...or enquire at someone like CAB.

This is an important aspect of your actual court hearing..the Judge will want to know exactly what Debt Councilling aid you have recieved.....as Insolvency cannot be granted without having recieved correct advice/help first.

My advice, FWIW, is to cease telelphone contact with creditors immediately.

EIther pass all correspondence onto your chosen Debt advice organisation, or deal with it yourself, solely by post.

Inevitably Creditors will get to the point where they will realise you are aiming at Bankruptcy anyway, so will cut their own losses by not pursuing too hard.

Remember that, once you have acquired your Court fees, that doesn't mean you will get your Hearing immediately.....I applied in February, and got my Hearing in May....Court staff problems, etc, but I did get a date where there were very few other Applications, so was in and out inside and hour...which annoyed me a bit as I had paid for several hours worth of car parking.....

So, if you know exactly when you'll get your fees together, [and with CCCS's sanction, of course] apply for your hearing soonest.

Of course, there is another point to make...once you have decided what financial path you want to follow, stop trying to pay creditors anything.


The only path they can follow, apart from attempting to intimidate you into payments you don't need to make, or cannot afford to make, is to apply to a court for a Judgment against you...which will take a long time to achieve, and will be totally negated by your impending Bankruptcy.

Alos ,there is the possibility of you being able to fund your Court fees by using any available cash credit you still have....for example, by raiding a bank overdraught, or by using up any credit limit on any credit cards you have still active.

Whilst probably against the rules, it appears OR's are not too bothered about where the fees come from...or the fact that you know you'll never have to pay them back, following BAnkruptcy....[after all, the OR's fees are also included ]

So..stop talking to your creditors..write only....speak to CCCS about the issue....plan ahead for your Court Hearing....get an answering machine to fend off the inevitable calls...remember, in reality it is you that has the upper hand.