First Post- Filing for Bankruptcy Soon...

Youthiswastedontheyoung

Hi all!
I have been lurking here for a few weeks now and this is my first post! I am confident there will be someone to help us with our queries and offer some support. I can tell there are a lot of helpful supportive people here (who says flattery gets you nowhere? hehe).
I will try to be as clear and to the point as possible.
My husband and I are about £27k in debt, Via bank loans and credit cards.
We have spoken to CCCS and they have advised that bankruptcy is an option based on our income/expenditure.
We have opened a Co-op Cashminder account and are sending the switching forms off tomorrow.
We have the forms for help from British Gas Trust fund to help.
Our employers and landlady are all fine with us going bankrupt.
All our debt is paid up to date but every month we are going further into our overdraft, which will eventually run out.
We have basically come to the conclusion that bankruptcy is our best option. We have a 1 year old daughter and another on the way in Jan and we want to be able to provide for them properly and we have found this to be the only way we can do that.
This isn't a decision we have taken lightly and we will certainly learn our lesson from it.


So here are my questions-

• Firstly I have an overpayment from housing benefits and have told them I can pay £15 per month (which I probably can't either in all honesty) but they are saying they will only accept £40 per month and no less. I have done the income/expenditure forms with them and they will not allow more than £70 per week for food (with a 1 year old a husband with a healthy appitite and a heavily pregnant self?!) as well as not allowing anything for Telephones etc. They say they will be taking me to court if I don't agree to pay £40 per month, does anyone have any experience with this? and can this be included in the bankruptcy? if so what happens if they take us to court before we file for the bankruptcy?
• Next we have a car on HP which is only a few months old, my husband doesn't need it to get to work for his daily job but very rarely needs it to travel around the country for work. I would need it for work normally but I am on maternity leave for a while now (until at least june/july) so will this be taken back? and if so how would we get another car? would it be advisable to hand it back and include the shortfall in the bankruptcy? if we did this can we buy another one before we file for bankruptcy? if we did would this then be taken off us as an asset?
• Also we understand that we need to file as individules but can we go to court together? and the OR meeting together?
• What is the worst case scenario when going to court etc?
• Will we end up left with any money at any point?
• How do we get the best from the OR meeting? I understand that the OR has to do their jobs and I won't lie about anything (as it all comes out in the end) but as I said we are doing this for our baby girls sakes and we don't want to end up with no money for christmas, birthdays and newborn essentials in a couple of months.
• We have credit available that could pay for the bankruptcy in full if the trust fund wont help. Is there a problem with this at all? We can transfer the amount to a bank account and withdraw the cash. Has anyone done this before?
• And finally, at the moment we have been very grown up about it all and have come the decision without arguements etc, and we would love to keep it that way so is there anything anyone would warn about how it will effect a marriage if we aren't prepared? I can safely say I have/am going to research EVERY detail about going bankrupt before we go ahead.

Thank you for reading my long post! haha. Hopefully someone can help me with my queries :cheesy:
S

thatsyourlot

Hiya,

I cant really answer any of your queries but just wanted to say hello & welcome to the board.

I was a lurker for quite a while before I got the courage to post on here & thank goodness I did.

I remember being at the start of the journey where you are now & can also remember how daunting everything felt back then. So good luck with it all.

Somebody is sure to be along soon to answer all your questions

xx

Youthiswastedontheyoung

Thank you
I hope someone can help, I'm a bit of a worrier and want to do this properly

leftatthelights

Hi,

I cannot help you either but (as you know) your in the right place so just hang in there and im sure a more knowledgeable person will be along soon!!


Just wanted to say hi!!:D

Youthiswastedontheyoung

Thanks both, are you both bankrupt? if you don't mind me asking?
If so how did it go for you? is the OR meeting etc stressful?
S

newdawn_2

Someone will be along soon to help in more detail but they will prob need to know how the housing benefit overpayment was caused as there are some cases where it cant be included. Eg misrepresentation/fraud.

thatsyourlot

HI,

Yes I am br. It all happened for me on 6th August.

I was SO worried about it all & especially the or interview but it all went smoothly & it was not anywhere near as bas as I thought it was going to be. Nobody shouted at me (dont know why I was expecting this)

I have my own business online & am allowed to keep running this, though its not doing very well really. The only thing I have to do is to send the stock that I have here at home, into my or so that it can pay towards my debts.

I make wedding jewellery for a living & so had stock already made that I take when I do any wedding fairs. I was given the choice to buy this stock back at the price it cost me to make but I cannot even afford to that. I cant afford to pay for a table at any wedding fairs (approx £150) so whats the point of me keeping hold of the stock if I dont do any wedding fairs.

I have to send all my stock into the or & they will then see what they can get for it to pay off part of my debts. I joked with my or & said that they would probably have more luck selling it than me.

Everything I make is, "made to order" so once a customer makes a purchase I can them order the materials I need & not have the worry about buying bits to keep to hand.

BR is not an easy thing to go through & is a HUGE emotional rollercoaster ride but I was very fortunate in the fact that I dont own any property & that my finances have always been kept sepaate from my husband, so my br will not impact on him.

I kept it all to myself & only "fessed" upto him about a month before the wheels were set in motion. Previous to this I was in a pretty bad state & even contemplated ending it all. (yes looking back a very stupid thing)

I have a FABULOUS husband & I am so glad that I now took the br route & am out the other side of it.

I did end up with an IPA for the next 36 months, as the or has said that I have a surplus of income. I really dont mind paying this as it was me who got myself into this mess!! The IPA I was given is a damn sight less to pay each month than the amount I was struggling to pay each month towards my debts.

Well there you go.... thats me in mega waffle mode!! Hope it hasnt sent you to sleep..lol

Youthiswastedontheyoung

Well I'm definately glad you came through it all positively, It is a bit worrying for us but because of this forum we realise that it really isn't all that bad, and as you said no-one will shout at us
I think as long as we know exactly what we are doing and what will happen etc we should be well prepared
I also think a supportive partner is a big key to it all, which we are lucky we have.
Just think when you are discharged next year you should be able to start the wedding fayres again or hopefully before. Hope business picks up for you soon, I'm sure it will!

With ref the housing benefit, it wasn't fraud but they are saying that when I put my initial claim in I didn't give them my tax credits amounts and then when I was no longer entitled they asked for my tax credits awards (because I didn't give it to them in the beginning, although I'm so sure I did! just can't prove it one way or the other now) and promptly sent me an overpayment letter!

Thank you for the replys, can anyone else answer my queries?

Youthiswastedontheyoung

Ummm Bump? anyone?

debtinfo

Youthiswastedontheyoung wrote: »

Hi all!
I have been lurking here for a few weeks now and this is my first post! I am confident there will be someone to help us with our queries and offer some support. I can tell there are a lot of helpful supportive people here (who says flattery gets you nowhere? hehe).
I will try to be as clear and to the point as possible.
My husband and I are about £27k in debt, Via bank loans and credit cards.
We have spoken to CCCS and they have advised that bankruptcy is an option based on our income/expenditure.
We have opened a Co-op Cashminder account and are sending the switching forms off tomorrow.
We have the forms for help from British Gas Trust fund to help.
Our employers and landlady are all fine with us going bankrupt.
All our debt is paid up to date but every month we are going further into our overdraft, which will eventually run out.
We have basically come to the conclusion that bankruptcy is our best option. We have a 1 year old daughter and another on the way in Jan and we want to be able to provide for them properly and we have found this to be the only way we can do that.
This isn't a decision we have taken lightly and we will certainly learn our lesson from it.



So here are my questions-

• Firstly I have an overpayment from housing benefits and have told them I can pay £15 per month (which I probably can't either in all honesty) but they are saying they will only accept £40 per month and no less. I have done the income/expenditure forms with them and they will not allow more than £70 per week for food (with a 1 year old a husband with a healthy appitite and a heavily pregnant self?!) as well as not allowing anything for Telephones etc. They say they will be taking me to court if I don't agree to pay £40 per month, does anyone have any experience with this? and can this be included in the bankruptcy? if so what happens if they take us to court before we file for the bankruptcy?See below
• Next we have a car on HP which is only a few months old, my husband doesn't need it to get to work for his daily job but very rarely needs it to travel around the country for work. I would need it for work normally but I am on maternity leave for a while now (until at least june/july) so will this be taken back?This will be down to the HP company and if you can afford to pay it. and if so how would we get another car? you would have to buy a cheap one yourself would it be advisable to hand it back and include the shortfall in the bankruptcy? regardless of when it was handed back the shortfall would go into the bankruptcy if we did this can we buy another one before we file for bankruptcy?If you own a car at the date of the bankruptcy the OR may exempt it but only if it is needed and there is no alternative if we did would this then be taken off us as an asset?
• Also we understand that we need to file as individules but can we go to court together? Yes and the OR meeting together? Yes you can sit in on each others interview, although the OR can chuck you out if you interfere. Most people have telephone interviews anyway.
• What is the worst case scenario when going to court etc? It depends on what you have done, presuming you have not done anything the worst that can happen is the bankruptcy itself and losing control of your assets.
• Will we end up left with any money at any point? The OR may ask you to hand over some of your wage if you are deemed to have a surplus, between 50%-70% of the surplus, the rest you keep.
• How do we get the best from the OR meeting? I understand that the OR has to do their jobs and I won't lie about anything (as it all comes out in the end) but as I said we are doing this for our baby girls sakes and we don't want to end up with no money for christmas, birthdays and newborn essentials in a couple of months. Try not to think of it as lookng for money for christmas and birthdays as these are not essential. Do make sure that you account for all the essentials properly, rent, food, heating dentists opticians etc etc so that you dont run short, make sure you think about the ones that dont come up regularly
• We have credit available that could pay for the bankruptcy in full if the trust fund wont help. Is there a problem with this at all? We can transfer the amount to a bank account and withdraw the cash. Has anyone done this before? The OR will frown upon you using credit for the fees in fact now that you know the bankrutcy is coming you should not use any credit at all
• And finally, at the moment we have been very grown up about it all and have come the decision without arguements etc, and we would love to keep it that way so is there anything anyone would warn about how it will effect a marriage if we aren't prepared? I can safely say I have/am going to research EVERY detail about going bankrupt before we go ahead. no comment on this one except to say that there is another thread in last day about problems caused by partners not talking to each other properly

Thank you for reading my long post! haha. Hopefully someone can help me with my queries :cheesy:
S

Hi about the overpayment, there are lots of ifs and buts but in general if they ask you to pay it back before the bankruptcy order which it would seem that they have done then after the bankruptcy the only way they can collect it is from deductions from ongoing benefits until your discharge

alastairq

So here are my questions-

• Firstly I have an overpayment from housing benefits and have told them I can pay £15 per month (which I probably can't either in all honesty) but they are saying they will only accept £40 per month and no less. I have done the income/expenditure forms with them and they will not allow more than £70 per week for food (with a 1 year old a husband with a healthy appitite and a heavily pregnant self?!) as well as not allowing anything for Telephones etc. They say they will be taking me to court if I don't agree to pay £40 per month, does anyone have any experience with this? and can this be included in the bankruptcy? if so what happens if they take us to court before we file for the bankruptcy?
• Next we have a car on HP which is only a few months old, my husband doesn't need it to get to work for his daily job but very rarely needs it to travel around the country for work. I would need it for work normally but I am on maternity leave for a while now (until at least june/july) so will this be taken back? and if so how would we get another car? would it be advisable to hand it back and include the shortfall in the bankruptcy? if we did this can we buy another one before we file for bankruptcy? if we did would this then be taken off us as an asset? Depends on whether the amount outstanding exceeds the value of the car. To have a car 'exempted ' in BR, it seems you'd need to demonstrate a 'need'...ie for work, no public transport,etc. Also, the value of the car needs to be below a certain limit...AFAIK it's around £2k's....a car worth more than that would need to be sold, and a smaller [older] one purchased instead..It may be possible to 'purchase the interest' from the OR..I have, for a bike and another car...but they would have been more trouble for the OR to claim and sell, than they were worth.
• Also we understand that we need to file as individules but can we go to court together? and the OR meeting together? Depends on how your Court operates. Some, you have to pre-book your hearing...some, you just 'turn up.'....The OR's interview may well be condiucted over the phone..but if a FTF is required for both of you, then liaise with the OR regarding times.
• What is the worst case scenario when going to court etc? Fire? At worse, if either one or both have failed to seek independant debt advice [CAB, etc...] , Judge wont allow until advice sought. Ensure you both have the fees ready..in cash, usually..so it's £510 apiece. Do you BOTH need to go BR?
• Will we end up left with any money at any point? Depends upon your incomes. Having ensured your SOA are completed with [max] allowed amounts, surplus income, if under £90, will beyours...any surplus above that will result in a [significant] percentage being claimed by the OR as 'assets'. However, given that you possibly wont have any debt repayments [aside from the re-claimed benfits]...then your income will be enough to be comfortable...remember, penury is NOT the name of the game, from the OR's viewpoint...if not that of some who post on here...
• How do we get the best from the OR meeting? I understand that the OR has to do their jobs and I won't lie about anything (as it all comes out in the end) but as I said we are doing this for our baby girls sakes and we don't want to end up with no money for christmas, birthdays and newborn essentials in a couple of months. I sympathise with your worries, but really, you are not under interrogation....the OR [case handler] really is only after filling in the boxes......everything is also open to negotiation.
• We have credit available that could pay for the bankruptcy in full if the trust fund wont help. Is there a problem with this at all? We can transfer the amount to a bank account and withdraw the cash. Has anyone done this before?
• And finally, at the moment we have been very grown up about it all and have come the decision without arguements etc, and we would love to keep it that way so is there anything anyone would warn about how it will effect a marriage if we aren't prepared? I can safely say I have/am going to research EVERY detail about going bankrupt before we go ahead. This really is a difficult question to answer....firstly ensure BR really is the only option. To be BR you both need to demonstrate INSOLVENCY.
• If what you say is understood properly, you haven't got enough to 'live on'' each month after debt repayments? Are you getting your entitlements under TAx credits?
• regarding relationships...I'm a fine example of failure in that department....debt [and the worry of it all] can lead to a breakdown of relationships....much depends on the expectations of all parties....what I can say as a BR is, there isn't anything within the BR process that I can see, that would lead to a breakdown of marriage.....although, BR itself may pose endless problems for an ex-partner...?? [as seen on this forum??]

By the way, welcome to the mad house that passes for the BR forum....