Inland Revenue want paying

worriedwoman_2

My OH and I have been talking about bankruptcy for over a year now due to our mountain of credit card bills which we have not paid for around two years. Like lots of other people on this site we receive letters daily from all different companies threatening us with legal action over non-payment, but as things stand we do not have a single penny left for paying anything after our day to day expenses. We have so far ignored the letters but know we will end up having to go BR to get these people to leave us alone. We are just waiting as long as possible before doing so, mainly as we cannot afford the cost.
I was made redundant from my job a few months ago so now things are even harder for us.
My OH is self employed and has not been able to pay his tax bill for the past 2 years - we have just ignored it.
We have now received a letter from HMRC informing us that they will now visit our house and list goods to sell at auction.
Our house is rented and is furnished. However our son has an expensive guitar and I am worried that they can take this. I have no proof that the guitar is his, so does anyone know what happens? Is it best to start the BR process now rather than later?
Any advice will be welcome
thanks

sieve

Start the process now if that is what you are going to end up doing anyway. HMRC can and probably will make you bankrupt if there are assets, and it's your job to prove that they're not yours, not their job to prove that they belong to you.

They will be ruthless so you're best off declaring yourself, if there are no other options - but YOU MUST TALK TO NATIONAL DEBT LINE (number in the sticky at the top of this forum) NOW to check that's the best way forward.

Good luck.

Cheers

S

sparkle83

Yep, I'd be starting the process asap. Do his first, that way you only have to get the first set of fees together.

good luck

sieve

Just to add, HMRC sent their bailiff round about 5 weeks after I ignored the letter saying that they'd send someone.

Fortunately it was a debt that had already been taken care of by my bankruptcy but it was still pretty scary!

HalfPint

I'm sure someone else will be along shortly to advise on the best course of action for you but..and please believe me, I am trying to be gentle....you MUST stop sticking your head in the sand and deal with these issues. Ignoring them does not make it better, in fact makes it worse, and they wont go away just because you choose not to respond.

I've never gone down the bankruptcy route but have been in major debt before and got out of it before (by paying what was due), once I finally took my head out of the dark sandy place in which it was stuck! Once you have started to deal with your debts, you will be less miserable and able to look forward again.

There are lots of lovely people on here who will help you and advise you, along with charitable organisations who are there for you.

If HMRC are threatening to auction off your belongings, then you have got to the point where it is serious and you need professional help and advice on how to sort it out.

Finally, I;d like to add that life goes on...debt and bankruptcy is not the end of the world and we are all here to help and support you.

Good luck on the road to being debt free

HP x

worriedwoman_2

Thank you for your replies and support so far. I will start my OH's BR and hopefully it won't be too difficult....we do not have a printer, so may need to ring a court to send us the forms.
We just keep putting it off and off and off as it is so daunting every time I think about it. My OH is useless with forms and leaves everything to me, but while I am out of work I expect now is the best time to tackle it.

the-muffin-man

The worst part of BR for me was the intitial filling in of the forms - finding all the relevant info took some doing! - but once its done, its done and you can start the ball rolling!!!

Call your local court tomorrow and see if they operate a waiting list or if you can drop in any day to go BR.

lardy1

Hi all, I new here but felt I could add some help/reassurance here.

I went bankrupt in August for about £85,000 of which £16,000 was Self assessment tax.

I had all the same letters and scares that you are getting, dont panic! The first thing you need to do if the issues are relating to SA Tax is talk to Business Debtline as National Debtline will not be able to help you, in fact it was national fdebtline who forwarded me on to Business Debtline. They are very good and will talk you through and explain everything.

Secondly, the taxman cannot just walk in to your house - he needs a court order. They may turn up but you must not invite them in. At this point they would then have to go away and get a court order and most of the time they dont bother and seek other ways - eg bankruptcy to get your assets.

Be aware though that leaving a door or window open is considered as allowing them access.

If you talk to business debtline they will explain all of this - they are really very good!

kew63

Can second that Business Debtline are brilliant :-)

sieve

kew63 wrote: »

Can second that Business Debtline are brilliant :-)

Thirded

maxmycardagain

hide the guitar

:D:D:D:D:D