forced into BR by an old friend

frenchmaiden

Please could someone give me some much needed advice?
i owe an ex best friend some money have offered to pay it back with some interest however i never agreed to the 8% interest he has levied.
He has a girlfriend who I believe is insecure and she seems to have forced him into making me BR can only assume she feels insecure because we had been close for 25 years. I have received the CCJ - when I went to court the judge was not terribly good at listening - now he, the old friend of 25 years, has petitioned for my bankrupcy.
I live in rented accommodation and am borrowing a friends car so no assets however I run a company and my main concern are the bank accounts - I have closed the ltd company and so am no longer a director of a company working as a sole trader however I cannot afford to have my bank accounts for the company stopped as money from clients goes in there and it funds my living and business expenses -I have commission only agents working for me and need to pay them.
I am also concerned that I will not be able to continue with my contract mobile phone which is used purely for business.
Please advise what I should do - I did offer money back via settlement or installments however unusual case I know creditor did not want my money merely to see my with nothing? what can I do next - I have a court hearing in 2 weeks it seems jolly unfair that a creditor can have the power to refuse your offers to pay and make you BR.

thanks so much in advance for your help

KSoni

How much do you owe? when did you borrow the money?

PasturesNew

And how much were you offering to pay back?
And had you kept your promises to pay the money back in the past, or slipped?

gordikin

It's jolly unfair to borrow money and not pay it back. 8% is an excellent rate...bite their hand off! You borrowed money from a friend and haven't paid it back..WHY? You're the bad guy here not your friend! Mixed messages regarding closing the Company (why?) and still needing the mobile to run it?

frenchmaiden

I actually owe still 27K from friend we were like brother and sister - never agreed any interest and was told to pay him when I could - I have already paid him 21K back I am self employed and it is feast of famine always paid when I could! only doing this because of his change in relationship - I have offered 30K but he would not agree because the court costs and interest have now bumped it up to 40K! You say 8 percent is good ??? tell me where one could invest money in a building society or bank account now and receive 8% interest?

frenchmaiden

orignal amount of money was borrowed about 5 years ago when started company as he encouraged me to start the company. Is there not something at this late stage that I can do to get the interest stopped and make payments to him?

debtinfo

Do you have the £30K available to pay him now

frenchmaiden

I mentioned mobile phone because that is a form of credit and it is needed purely for business which is not my personal use. Also business bank accounts - do they need to be divulged because again they are business however I am now a sole trader? I have offered installments and settlement for the past year to this chap however my solicitor says that this is sad in that it is clearly vindictive and personal!

frenchmaiden

debtinfo wrote: »

Do you have the £30K available to pay him now

no i would need to get a loan - he was not interested in any repayment only full amount which is going up monthly at 8 percent! I mentioned to judge however the legal aid solicitor had put down my minimal income - my work varies one month I earn nothing the next quite a lot very unpredictable.

frenchmaiden

what can I do next please?

stebiz

The way I see it (and I may be totally wrong) but if you are declared bankrupt, you will be allowed to run your business as a sole trader, with a basic bank account. Points 5 and 6 suggest this on

http://www.just-debts.co.uk/bankruptcy_faq.html

Now if he insists on making you bankrupt and you have no house, he will be an unsecured creditor, and will be paid in accordance, with the law. This could in effect mean that your debt may be wiped off.

He would be a fool to make you bankrupt!!