Please Help x

murphy10_2

Hi !
Hope I am in the right bit :S I need to ask a few questions. My mum has done all of her forms and has 3 copies of each.. she has phoned the court and has an appointment for Thurs 21st!! Which was quick as she only phoned today! She has the fee and also the exempt form where u geT £150 back because she is on benifits..

1. She has a Smile (co-operative) step account that ALL of her benifits are paid into, housing benifit, child, careers etc.. just wondering if this will be closed and if so how long for as obviously her rent goes into it...

2. Can they make her pay anything from her benefits.. she is worried as she can hardly make ends meet as it is..

3. What will happen on Thurs? How long does it take roughly?

4. We had a phonecall today from on of the debt companys saying if we didnt make payment then they would send people round

5. She is in roughly 13,000 of debt.. do you think it will be long process?

6. Can the OR send people in her home to take tvs, games consoles etc??

Please Help.. x

Jaxb_2

murphy10 wrote: »

Hi !
Hope I am in the right bit :S I need to ask a few questions. My mum has done all of her forms and has 3 copies of each.. she has phoned the court and has an appointment for Thurs 21st!! Which was quick as she only phoned today! She has the fee and also the exempt form where u geT £150 back because she is on benifits..

1. She has a Smile (co-operative) step account that ALL of her benifits are paid into, housing benifit, child, careers etc.. just wondering if this will be closed and if so how long for as obviously her rent goes into it...

2. Can they make her pay anything from her benefits.. she is worried as she can hardly make ends meet as it is.. If benefits are her only income it is very unlikely they would give her an IPA.

3. What will happen on Thurs? How long does it take roughly?

4. We had a phonecall today from on of the debt companys saying if we didnt make payment then they would send people round It's unlikely that they will this is usual a scare tactic so don't worry too much if they call again tell them that you are talking to the CAB about your debt problems that should delay them until the court date

5. She is in roughly 13,000 of debt.. do you think it will be long process?

6. Can the OR send people in her home to take tvs, games consoles etc?? No (well unless you have a Monet hanging on the wall or the crown jewels in your attic ) They are not going to take things like your tv or games consoles

Please Help.. x

I have answered the questions that I can hopefully someone else can come along and answer the others for you.

murphy10_2

Thankyou so much for your help... I really need someone to help me with Information about the bank account cituation... I read that a co op bank account was fine and this is what my mum has had all her benefits paid into now... yet I have just been on another forum and they dont seem to think Smile accounts count... even though it is just a very simple step account! She needs it for her rent to go in! Im sure the OR wont take her benefits away.. she needs them for the kids but its just soo scary and stressful! x

philnicandamy

Does she have any debts with smile??

(the court can be anything from a few minutes to a few hours depends how busy)

murphy10_2

No debts with smile... its too basic an account.. lol it has no overdraft or anything .. just her benefits paid in.. shes just so worried that the account will be frozen and she can't get to her money, for rent/food etc etc

confused76

murphy10 wrote: »

Hi !
Hope I am in the right bit :S I need to ask a few questions. My mum has done all of her forms and has 3 copies of each.. she has phoned the court and has an appointment for Thurs 21st!! Which was quick as she only phoned today! She has the fee and also the exempt form where u geT £150 back because she is on benifits..

1. She has a Smile (co-operative) step account that ALL of her benifits are paid into, housing benifit, child, careers etc.. just wondering if this will be closed and if so how long for as obviously her rent goes into it...
i'm not sure - i opened a coop cashminder account as this is br friendly, and barclays do a basic account that is br friendly too

2. Can they make her pay anything from her benefits.. she is worried as she can hardly make ends meet as it is..

3. What will happen on Thurs? How long does it take roughly?
i was there just over an hour. first saw court clerk who took the payment and checked through the forms, then i had to swear on the bible etc then i was sent to wait in waiting room for about 45 minutes. the clerk came back and took me to see the judge - i was in there 2 minutes. the judge was lovely, asked what i was earning, what my debts were and said he had no problem declaring me br, that was it. later on that day the official receiver rang me at home to check a couple of details and to advise a telephone interview date and info pack would come through the post. in the letter they ask for bank statements/cards/payslips etc. i have now had my interview which lasted 45 minutes and that was fine.
the day in court i was terrified but it was just a formality, nothing to be frightened of i promise....
4. We had a phonecall today from on of the debt companys saying if we didnt make payment then they would send people round

5. She is in roughly 13,000 of debt.. do you think it will be long process?

6. Can the OR send people in her home to take tvs, games consoles etc??

Please Help.. x

try not to worry, it will be fine x

philnicandamy

Is the total debt 13,000??

has nobody suggested a DRO??
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1385275

murphy10_2

We tried that but were turned down.. I cant remember why! XX
Does anyone know if they can try and make u pay anything monthly if you are just recieving benefits x

Trelawny1688

You say your Mum is worried abaout money being taken from benefits. Is ALL her income from benefits? If so, there should be no problem. On the Sticky about bankruptcy there is an extract from the guidance to ORs
which says:

"3. Following consultation with the Minister, as a matter of policy, official receivers should not seek an IPA, or IPO, where the bankrupt's sole source of income is state benefits."

murphy10_2

We tried for a DRO.. We were turned down as we had around 70 extra a month and their maximum was £50!! So Bankruptcy it is.. Our appointment is at 10.30 tomorrow :S
We have done all of the forms! We have the form that gets you £150 off with the benefit letter.. So i think we are ok..

Had a woman banging on the door yesterday (not even 12 hours after she phoned) threatening that things had gone further.. she posted a note through the door with her number and said she would be back.. We rang the National Debt Line (Fantastic People) and they advised us that without a letter in writing to us... her coming round like that was harrassment! We text the number and told her to come back on friday.. after we do the BR tomorrow.. Im hoping we will be safe then.. Soo scary Just wondering if for any reason the court can say no? My mum hasnt slept for weeks, cant eat properly and is a mess, the kids (my brothers and sisters) know something wrong as there is a big sign on the inner door saying "Do not open" .. Just can't wait till all this is over and m mum can get on with her life! x

sizzler

Hi there,

strange about DRO but these things happen. Main thing is some good advice so far, have you and mum read the stickys and took as much advice from the debt charities as you can.

Hope all goes well for you and your mum is ok.

Really good luck

sizzler