Hi need help with a decision

Beeincontrol

Hi, I am in a total financial mess,I owe around 24,000 to different creditors. I stopped paying them last April, when a old friend gave me the advice on unenforcability, I had all the CCA's back and they are all proving to be forceable, during this time, I have recived 2 ccj's and I have Marbles taking me to court on the 15th of March, they wouldnt take the payment I offered them and were asking for 250.00 a month. I did have a lot of help on this forum reguarding this , they were fantastic, but unfortunately it was out of their hands.
Well I have been considering going bankrupt, but I have mates who are telling me to go down the Iva route.
I am disabled and work 16 hours a week, My OH is out of work since November and things are looking bleak on the job front.I have 2 kids under 16. I am on intrest only with my morgage and the arears are building up. We have 2 cars that are only worth the price of scrap , I need mine for work, my OH needs his for work if he finds any.
This debt is in my name, there is no equity left in the house.
I would be so grateful for your advice.

Choo_Choo_4

Bee - based on the information that you have provided I would say (in my opinion, others may disagree) that bankruptcy might be the best option for you.

You have said that there is no equity left in the house so that means that there would be no reason for you to lose the house. If all debts are in your name then your OH simply needs to buy out your interest in the property (this can be a little as £1 - but make sure he does it if/when you declare yourself bankrupt as if it is left to a later date and there IS equity at that stage creditors would still be entitled to it then ...)

If you are only working 16 hours a week - I presume that you must get some benefits to boost your overall income but with your OH being out of work at the minute I'm sure that doesn't last long from one month to the next - hence your situation.

You would need to be able to make a monthly contribution in an IVA - this seems unlikely ... and you would not be asked to make any contribution in bankruptcy (I'd be almost certain of that)

Don't worry about the cars - there's obviously no great value in them and they are required for work so those will be exempt from bankruptcy as will all household goods (unless of course you've a Mona Lisa painting in the attic or something )

I would say you've probably already made up your mind Bee but want a wee push in that direction - bankruptcy kind of looks like your only option.

One thing I would say though is - you've said that there are arrears building up on your mortgage - why is this? Have you not been paying your mortgage? It is VITAL that you maintain the mortgage payment otherwise they could repossess the house ... so the important thing is to pay the SECURED debts (mortgage) as well as the likes of council tax and household bills (electricity, tv licence etc) - the unsecured (credit cards, loans, overdrafts ...) will all be taken care of by the bankruptcy ...

I hope this makes sense ...

Charco_2

You're definitely barking up the wrong tree looking at an IVA here, bankruptcy is far and away the best option for you (from what you've revealed here).

There are a number of things you should do here.

1. Look into bankruptcy as soon as possible. If Marbles go to court for a CCJ it will go into your bankruptcy... if they go for a charging order against your home then it will linger and linger until such times as tyhere is equity for you to deal with it. (More on this later)
2. Go to CAB (or someone) and try to speak to a benefits advisor to make sure you are getting all that you are entitled to... Working credits and maybe even some contributions towards the Interest on your mortgage for a few months.
3. HOWEVER, you have stated that you stopped paying your creditor's last April and that you are still in arrears on your mortgage... You really cannot afford your home now either. Your best bet would be to look around for a rental property (which would have to be chaeper than your current mortgage obviously) and simply handing your home back to your mortgage lender. Have it repossessed, have the shortfall entered into the Bankruptcy (and then it doesn't really matter what Marbles do either).

So approach CAB probably and look into both Bankruptcy and your Benefits entitlements!

Good luck

Beeincontrol

Thank you for your propt answers, I am paying intrest only on the morgage due to our finacial situation, it was arranged via the bank, so the arrears I am on about is the accumilation of the unpaid full morgage. My OH is reluctunt to sell up as he thinks when he gets work things be OK.
I will have to see someone I suppose. I can not bury my head in the sand about this anymore.:(

trudij

Im not anyone clever about things like this - but what the other two have said sounds sensible to me - I just wanted to say well done for being brave enough to post here, it takes a lot of courage (even behind a computer screen!) to say what you have. Very very good luck with this, let us know how it goes??

(((hugs)))

Beeincontrol

Thank you to all of you, I will let you know how it goes.:A

Charco_2

Well if you're holding out for better times with regards to the house then that's ok... tis your choice and you can still do that! But Bankruptcy is yer man for the rest! (Dont forget though that Marbles could be going for a Charging Order so you don't have much time! Find out!)

Benefits AND Bankrutpcy, they should be able to help with both at your local CAB. (you'll also get plenty of Bankruptcy advice on the abnkruptcy board next door - they LOVE bankruptcy in there!)

Beeincontrol

Thank you Charco, I Told my OH about how it works he has been white as a sheet all evening.:A

Charco_2

If all the debts are in your name, then he doesn't have to go bankrupt!

Just remember that if you have any JOINT Accounts you'd need to deal with them somehow because once you go BR your hubby will still be left to deal with the remainder.

Good luck

Choo_Choo_4

Beeincontrol wrote: »

Thank you Charco, I Told my OH about how it works he has been white as a sheet all evening.:A

Hey Bee .. is he worried about the whole bankruptcy thing?

You know that there isn't a stigma attached to bankruptcy anymore - it's there for a reason - to help people who (usually through no fault of their own) find themselves in a very difficult situation that is practically impossible to resolve AND the creditors certainly don't help but lumping interest and charges onto accounts at the drop of a hat AND hassling people with some very nasty phone calls.

The bankruptcy will be in your name only as you have said that the debt are only in your name and you're likely to be discharged after a couple of months. The level of debt isn't very big (comparatively speaking - I know it's huge to you ...) - at worst bankruptcy would last a year but I would expect that in your case it'd only be a few months.

It'll give you a fresh start and until such times as your OH finds work then i'm sure it will still be somewhat of a struggle but certainly not as bad as what it is now.

At least he is actively seeking employment and is positive about the future. If push comes to shove then you can always consider selling but let him ride it out first to see how the job front fares - but certainly act on the debt situation sooner as opposed to later as you don't want Marbles throwing a spanner in the works and leaving you with a SECURED debt against the property that will only go away if and when you would sell and settle it (providing sufficient equity at that time ...)

Why don't you get him to read through a few of the posts on here relating to your situation and others in similar situations - might bring the colour back to his cheeks

Good Luk Bee!

Beeincontrol

Thank you choo Choo, I just read your reply, and I had my OH come have a look, he seems brighter now.
The property has no equity on it, as we used it up to help with our finances before, and the I actually think its know in a negative equity. Our banking arangements are separate accounts with all the bills being paid out of mine, I guess that would have to change.I really do need to see about this as I need to start a thread in the other part, thank you ever so much though for your help.
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