The Bankruptcy Club & Supporters Club

rog2

Fedupbutready wrote:

Hi all,

Just a couple of questions.
1. I give respite care (not official) to my step son (is severly disabled; autism, speech, behavoural, epilepsy) from my previous relationship (only Dad he really knows) so I have a two bedroom flat would they allow me to keep it or would I have to move to a one bedroom flat/lesser property?
2. I sold the family car (£4k) and used some of the money to pay off friends / family I owed and bought a S reg Vectra (£1K) would I have to sell it and get something less?
3. If I work any OT would they take all of it to pay the creditors back as my basic just covers my living expenses?
4. I haven't got all the paperwork for various creditors (now debt collection agencies) would they beable to find out who I owed.
5. Final question. I had to open a new bank account this year (due to overdraft) and I have kept this account in credit for nearly 6 months, would I beable to keep it as my wages are paid into it and my company are very slow at changing details?

Many thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing about everyone else's experiences.
Simon

Hi Simon, and welcome to BCSC

1. Most unlikely that you will be asked to 'downsize' your flat - you could mention the 'respite' to your OR, and you should put the 'cost' associated with this in your living expenses.
2. If you need your car, for getting to work, you will be allowed to keep it as £1k would not be considered a 'high value' car.
3. Subject to your income level, you will be given an IPA/IPO, whereby you pay a certain, agreed or imposed, sum every month, from your wages. The IPA/IPO will last for three years and amount payable is subject to review by OR. Whilst you may have to pay extra, due to additional earnings eg overtime, you will not have to pay all that you earn. If your overtime is regular OR may include this in your income figure - best to discuss this at your OR interview.
4. Providing you give the names of all creditors/DCA's, the OR can find out exact amounts of debt.
5. It is not the OR who cancels your Bank Accounts - the final decision is down to the bank. Other posters have found that banks are happy for you to keep an account, particularly if they have had no problems with you, and are not one of your creditors. If you explain, to OR, that you need this account - for salary etc. you should be allowed to keep it.

jandomenia

Hi Simon

The Official Receiver tots up your outgoings and income and will see how much, if any disposable income you have and negotiate paying back your creditors.. I was surprised to learn that my wages were deemed to be almost on the poverty level at the time (working full time for a local government). If you take advice when filling in the forms laying out your income, you will be told to put everything on from Optical and dental checkups/treatment to buying a daily newspaper. It has to be realistic. You are not going to stay in for five years or stop buying clothes so entertainment and clothes have to be taken into consideration too. Ring one of the helplines available if you haven't already done so. They warned me that my bank account with First Direct would be frozen immediately and It was. I was advised to draw my entire salary out on pay day (which was a week before B day). I struggled to get a bank account in time, but I understand things are different now. They allowed me to keep my used car although the one I was buying on finance was obviously reposessed. I don't think you have any worries with an S reg. Your flat is rented and the fact that it's a two bedroom flat does not matter. No one is going to make you move out! You would only have to look for somewhere else to live. They probably won't be interested in your overtime. As instructed by the OR, I rang up when I was given a £2000 rise and they practically laughed me off the phone! Although it seems a lot to you, they are dealing with companies whose bankruptcy makes ours look like pocket money! They do appreciate your honesty though and you can ask the OR about it at your interview. Try not to do too much overtime just before your hearing as they like you to provide details of your income for the last 5 weeks/ months and will calculate an average income from this. It's not an easy route at first. There's a phenomenal amount of paperwork and I was grilled about the reasons why I had got into debt in the first place. The OR asked me "Is that why your husband left you because of the debts?" (He assumed I was the one who had ran them up and also the one who was deserted!) However, there's a lot of support about now and how I wish this site had been available to me five years ago. There's always someone here who can answer your questions and most have more recent experiences. I wish you all the best. It will be worth it and it's a hard lesson but it's such an amazing feeling when you can ignore THOSE letters. Good luck!!

bizzylizzy

Can anyone help with this? OH and I were made BR on 6th Dec. Today we got letters from "ias" -" The Insolvency Advisory Service LLP". I have never heard of them. They are offering a phone call and free meeting to "work for us and protect us against our Trustee". I presume you have to pay for further meetings/phone calls? Is this a company trying to get the little money we have or do we need something like this to "protect" us? We have OR phone call in 45 mins.

rog2

bizzylizzy wrote:

Can anyone help with this? OH and I were made BR on 6th Dec. Today we got letters from "ias" -" The Insolvency Advisory Service LLP". I have never heard of them. They are offering a phone call and free meeting to "work for us and protect us against our Trustee". I presume you have to pay for further meetings/phone calls? Is this a company trying to get the little money we have or do we need something like this to "protect" us? We have OR phone call in 45 mins.

Be careful bl - Since my br I received many similar letters, most from private companies offering to 'reverse my bankruptcy' and 'protect me and my assets from OR/Trustee.
In the final analysis, these were people trying to 'sell' me an IVA, so that they could earn money from my misfortune.
They sound similar to me.
Good luck with OR

Mike_St_Helens

bizzylizzy wrote:

Can anyone help with this? OH and I were made BR on 6th Dec. Today we got letters from "ias" -" The Insolvency Advisory Service LLP". I have never heard of them. They are offering a phone call and free meeting to "work for us and protect us against our Trustee". I presume you have to pay for further meetings/phone calls? Is this a company trying to get the little money we have or do we need something like this to "protect" us? We have OR phone call in 45 mins.

Beware... They are a profit making vulture,. Simply out to attack the vunerable, charge a fee and try and interfere with the OR's service.

bizzylizzy

Mike_St_Helens wrote:

Beware... They are a profit making vulture,. Simply out to attack the vunerable, charge a fee and try and interfere with the OR's service.

Thanks very much, just in time! OR in 10 mins, both in a state.
I will file the letters in the fire.

post_insolvency_hope

Hi Mike -
7 and a half years down the line from the worst financial hell, and things are starting to look up .. full support to all and it might not be much but I've been through it (trust deed - scotland) so happy to help

Elaine : )

bloomin_freezing

Bankruptcy court date only 4 days away!!!!!!!!! I can't wait! Things are on the up!

:j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j :j

rog2

post_insolvency_hope wrote:

Hi Mike -
7 and a half years down the line from the worst financial hell, and things are starting to look up .. full support to all and it might not be much but I've been through it (trust deed - scotland) so happy to help

Elaine : )

Thanks Elaine - Glad it's going ok for you now. We get quite a few posters asking about sequestration, so a bit of help/input from someone who has experience of this - as opposed to bankruptcy process in England and Wales, will be really usefull - keep posting.

jonejayc

Just been to the nationwide opened a basic account. no hassle, thanks for the advice from previous posters
thanks