Help Please, Im Bankrupt and didnt Know!!

confused?

Help Please, Im Bankrupt and didn’t Know!!

Good Morning Everyone,

Well yes I’m confused hence the user name.

I'll Start From the beginning.

above 9 Years ago I was in the mod and ran up a couple of debts in the region of 4k , to pay off bank charges from working overseas. I then left the mod, lost track of the debts through moving about and redundancies (I believed it to have been written off)

eventually I had no contact with the creditors and haven’t since, hence it was forgotten about.

I moved to my new address recently and purchased it though from the council with my missus.

Once we bought the home I started to get letters from a company claiming to own a supposed debt, The thing is, the lender they are talking about is totally different to the original lender so could be totally unrelated?

I went online and joined credit expert to get details of who was chasing me, and it said both Aktive Kapital and HFO had done searches and that a default was registered back in 2004 by them (now above 6 years ago). there is no sign of the original debt hence I thought it had been wiped or something.

well yesterday I got up to the letter box going, (post delivery).
I nipped down stairs and opened a letter, it was from wait for it..... yep

The Bankruptcy Protection Fund Limited
saying basically,

"Hey sorry to hear your bankrupt but we can help if you want"

EHHH!!! WHAT THE!!!! BUT!!!!

Yes from that point I was confused, I searched the web and went on the insolvency website and to my surprise I was now bankrupt.
I told the missus and she said "here you are this brown envelope came yesterday here it is!!! why what is it?".

it was a letter from the official receiver with an appointment and booklet to fill in prior to my appointment at the end of the month??

So that’s where I am at the moment: - I have an appointment with the official receiver and Bankrupt What Now?
Is there anything I can do?

If I let it run will they sell my home? There really isn’t any equity in it however if it sells the council want it anyway. (Right to buy discount).

I don’t really own anything of value?
My cars only worth a couple of grand max and I need it for work?
The furniture in the house was bought by the missus?
(I pay bills, she buys stuff?)

I have my old laptop old Xbox few screwdrivers and tools etc... Usual junk nothing valuable.

I have been on credit expert and it says my credit rating is superb now everything from the past has gone, I have nothing registered on there at all and no missed payments on any of my recent accounts/overdrafts etc....

I keep up to date with mortgage bills etc

I know I shouldn’t have forgotten about the original creditors but at the time I couldn’t afford to pay them and had insurances that I thought would cover them, and if no one asked you then you do forget about things.

As you can probably guess I’m really really confused how can I be bankrupt I have never been asked to attend court no letters have ever come saying that any said action was ever to take place and I don’t know what to do, I’m bankrupt and didn’t know!!!

Any Help is Appreciated

Thanks
Confused?

debt_doctor

Well now, that must have been a surprise!

Were you served with a statutory demand? I wonder if the guy you 'marched off' was trying to serve that upon you, which is a notice of intention to make you bankrupt?

If a creditor is owed more than £750 then they can issue a SD, don't need to even do that if they have a CCJ against you and have unsuccessfully tied to use bailiffs to collect the debt.

Any way, you are clearly bankrupt, the judge has stamped the order and unless it can be anulled by payment of all debts plus costs, or you can prove a strong legal ground that it should not have taken place, then your stuck with it.

If there is noequity then you should be able to purchase the interest for £1 plus costs and as you say the council would want monies back on a sliding scale of 5 years.

DD

kerrypn

Hello

Is there any chance you owed Inland Revenue any tax from past years as sometimes they file for a creditor's petition of bankruptcy. Ive never heard of any other creditor doing it-but any creditor can if you owe them more than £750 (I believe). After 6 years of no contact from them, would this be statute barred?

You need to cooperate fully with the Official Receiver now as it is your legal obligation to do so.

Contact one of the debt charities URGENTLY for advice-National Debtline, CCCS or Citizens Advice-due to the urgency you may need to opt for one of the first 2.

In terms of assets, household items are mainly disregarded unless they are of particular value(eg resale value of £1000 plus).

The house will be of interest to the Official Receiver-but if there is little or no equity you are unlikely to be forced to sell it-take advice on this-and you are usually able to buy back the beneficial interest. The car will have to be declared. There is no hard and fast rule with cars-some have to sell and downgrade, others are allowed to keep. Down to the Official Receiver.

TAKE ADVICE URGENTLY-there is a lot you need to be aware of, and whilst there are several brilliant posters on here who will be along shortly-you taking advice is absolutely crucial at this point.

Let us know how you get on

EDIT:sorry debt doctor, posted at same time!

debt_doctor

..... you need to find out which company made you bankrupt, how much they were owed, if and how a SD was served and if the debt was statute barred at the time of the petition.

DD

confused?

Thanks all. I'm gonna seek the info, who why and when tomorrow,
I'll keep u all posted.

Just a couple of things though, Do I have to tell my boss?
What's this about changing tax codes?
If I don't tell them does this all change anyway cos if it does they'll find out anyway won't they.
I don't deal directly with money however I'm a professional, will I loose my job, I.e can they sack me?

Many thanks
Confused?

tigerfeet2006

No you don't have to tell your employer. The tax man just issues the new tax code to them and there is a few reasons for being issued. If anyone gossips, which they shouldn't as they have to comply with the data protection act. If any one says anything to you just say 'i don't know why, maybe I paid to much tax, aren't I lucky' smile and walk away.

Check your contract for a BR clause but in your job I doubt you will find one and if you want to double check then ring HR without giving your name and ask.

confused?

Thanks all, I did tell my employer today (however I didn’t have to) and they were fine about it, they even gave me the day off to try sort stuff out. They even said they could write me some letters if I need help.


If your employer is approachable I advise it’s probably the best option because it takes a load off I can tell you. At least I know my jobs safe.


Anyway. I rang the official receiver today,
not very helpful as they wouldn’t go into what I’ll loose just wanted me to give details like my date of birth which they didn’t even have.

Madness!
How can they say I owe anything if all they have is an address and a name?

Surely this isn’t right?

Anyway
the debt isnt HFO Or Aktive Kapital its a company called Lowell portfolio 1 ltd whoever they are ?and the debt was for about £2500. Lowell also claimed that they delivered it by hand, (NO THEY DID NOT NEITHER DID IT COME BY POST).

I did tell a man to go away after he said i had a credit card i hadn't paid! i thought he was trying it on. Plus the man I sent away claimed to be from another company id never heared of and then lied saying he was from the county court. He never gave me anything

I said to the OR if its mine which i dont think it is then could I arrange to pay the whole £2500 off and let that be the end of it?

They said No I would have to pay all my debt off all 100% of everything I owe, including my mortgage to free me from this.

Its nuts because I pay everything on time every time!

It looks like I WILL lose my home...... as they will hold onto it for 3 years and sell it then once the council have no interest in it (i.e. my discount).

Well it’s scary because if a debt collector has a name and an address they can say anything and make anyone bankrupt it seems, if the person never gets chance to contest it.


I’m off to find out more tomorrow. I’ll keep you posted.
Maybe the British legion will be able to help..

JCS1

There are a couple of ways of obtaining an annullment. One is payment of all unsecured debts in full (so not your mortgage) the other is that the order ought not to have been made if proper procedure has not been followed - which may be an option in your case. Will be back in a minute with the link.

Details on annullments:

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/Canmybankruptcybecancelled.pdf

debtinfo

calm down, i think your jumping a bit to conclusions with very little info, As JCS1 says have a read of the leaflet in the link. Have you thought that the OR may be just confirming you are the right person by asking for your DOB.

You need to get more info, ie when they served the petition, where they served it and who served it (they usually use a serving company). If the order ought not to have been made (the process was not correct) then you can get the annullment without paying all your debt off.

In the meantime you need to cooperate with the OR, but do try and find out that info

confused?

Thanks again. All
I've been onto the national debt line who were also helpful as have been you all.
They confirmed everything you all have been saying about applying for annulment

and have said that they will send out a standard letter 'subject access request' for me to forward to the collectors asking for proof of the debt and date last contact was made. I will need to edit the info to suit, & have to get the OR on my side and request permission to apply for the annulment. Fingered crossed

confused?

Just sat at the local CAB walk in centre patiently waiting to construct a backup plan in case the annulment fails.
Just hoping someone will come out shortly it seems like an eternity waiting. Surly there is a quicker way to get an appointment. Been here since 9am already.

By the way national debt line number is 0808 808 4000 as tigerfeet has also pointed out previous.
The CCS couldn't help me this time as I'm already bankrupt.
Legal aid couldn't help because I don't qualify (not on benefits etc) I think each case is handled seperately though.

There's a number called 0800 buster that you can put in first if your mobile network charges for free to landline numbers, which makes it possible to use your inclusive minutes. You get the number off the website as I think it's different wherever you live. I'm unsure if 0808 are free from mobiles but I use this service and the say no to 0870 website which works with 0844 and 0845 numbers.
Just a pointer to help if the mobile phone bill is an issue.