The Bankruptcy Club & Supporters Club

bizzylizzy

less2303 wrote:

You can either fill in the one from the court and photocopy it 3 times, or do the online one and print it 3 times, its up to you. Eitherway you will need to take 3 copies with you on the day.

I went BR in Dec 2006 and filled in form supplied by the court. I only needed to take that copy when I went to court and the clerk did any copies that he wanted. I was given a copy to bring home.

sandralovescats

Brokeandbothered wrote:

Last year I took out a loan and with the money, paid for a three year re-training course in a subject that I love and so in a few years time I might actually get a job that I like! Thing is, what will happen when I go BR? I paid for the course fully with the loan. It wasn't a student loan or a CDL, just a stright up loan. Will my course be ok, can they stop me from doing it somehow?

Breathe easy!! Your course is safe. No-one will try to take it away from you!

Hope all goes well for you!

spyglass_2

Hi,

My wife and I are in the process of completing the bankruptcy paperwork after 4 hard years of trying to repay what we owed.

I would like to join this site so anything we learn from our experience can ideally be passed on to help others

Regards,

Spyglass

Mike_St_Helens wrote:

I would like to start this thread to give support to the people who have/are/want/need/wish.... to be Bankrupt.

I have a long history with debt, My fall down was being nieve in business dealings and I fell foul.

Bankrupt people can be in peoples view thought of as second class, failures, wannabe's and poor people. We are not.

We have tried and tried and cried sweat to get ourselves out of difficult, upsetting and hurtful times.

If you are in 'My club' you are more than welcome, simply by replying (nice) is enough for me.

Im BKY #1

Mike

spyglass_2

Hi,

In a similar situation and reading your notes is very reassuring.

have just been told about https://www.which-prepaid-card.co.uk which I hope will healp with online shopping.

Regards,

Spyglass

GrannyKnits wrote:

Will be thinking of you Rog2, i'm sure everything will be fine.

Thought I'd post a kind of diary of events to explain how my b.r. went in the hope it will reassure anyone who is about to go through it themselves. Apologies now for the length of post, if it's too long rog2, p.m. me and I'll delete it!!

• Way back in sept. last year I finally faced up to the fact that all my money was paying off credit cards/loans, leaving me to buy food on my cards - I acknowledged the vicious cycle I had got myself in.

• Phoned up all my creditors and told them I was having trouble paying due to my current circumstaces and asked for total owed.

• Worked out incomings and necessary amounts for food,fuel etc. Then with total amount left I worked out a pro-rata figure. Therefore those I owed the most to got a higher share of the money.

• Wrote a covering letter explaining why I was doing this and how I'd worked the figures out to each of the creditors along with the personal financial statement. TIP: I also stapled a cheque with the amount for the first instalement. This came in useful when certain creditors denied getting the letter - yes, I had proof that they had cashed the cheque. TIP: Keep photo copies of all papers sent.

• Then I cut up the credit cards!!

• Struggled through Christmas and New Year but creditors had started ringing asking for money. Esp. Halifax who took to ringing 2/3 times a day asking me to make extra payments on my card (yes, even after i told them i'd cut them up!! they do stick to their script)

• Finally I'd had enough and decided I would go B.R. I stopped paying the montly payments and saved the money i would need for the b.r.

• Phoned up local CAB and made an appoint. to see the debt specialist. He was brilliant, helped me fill in the nesessary forms. TIP: If you have a life insurance policy it may be counted as equity as it accrues money. Think about cancelling until after if you don't stand to lose too much money.

• Phoned up court and asked to be put through to b.r. clerk. Asked her if I could have an appointment at the b.r. court, got one a couple of days later.

• At court was shown to a waiting room which quickly filled up with about another 6/7 people. Each one was called up to the counter where you handed over your £310 and swore on the Bible you were who you said you were and the facts were right on the form. You had the opportunity to object to using the Bible.

• We were taken upstairs 2 by 2 (some link there!) and asked to wait in another room. The other person was called through first and came back within 2/3 minutes. Then my turn, went into a room and the Judge sat there (normal clothes!). He briefly leafed through the form, I started to say why I had done this but it wasn't necessary. He told me he was declaring me b.r. and to go back downstairs and wait for m declaration.

• 27 minutes after my appointment I had been declared b.r. I had a short wait then for my legal letter (due to the amount of people who also were going b.r.). I was asked if it would be convienient for the Official Receiver to ring me the next a.m.

• Phone call next a.m. very brief exchnge from a very nice lady. Told me she would contact all my creditors and inform them of my b.r. The amount they gave her then would be the amount dis-regarded. TIP: Legally the creditors are not supposed to call once you have been declared b.r. but it can take a month for all official notification to go through. If they ring, tell them you have been declared b.r. and give them your number. They should not ring again. TIP: If you cancel your bank account whilst going through b.r. NOW is the time to open a basic one. O.R. said she would send me some forms to sign which I must return to her so the process can commence. TIP: Make sure you check the date it has to be back for because I sat on it for a couple of days and then had to hand deliver it, I only had a week to turn it around! She told me I could legally open a basic bank account if I wanted. Also if I wanted to obtain credit over £500 then I had to inform them that I was an undischarged b.r. The mind boggles! I told her I didn't ever want to be in this situation again!

• 5 months later I had a letter from O.R. saying she was going to apply to the courts for early discharge This means the O.R. writes to all creditors informing them of her intentions, they can appeal against this but need a very good reason. Just wanting their money is not enough, but they must do this within 1 month.

• Just over 6 months later I had a letter stating I was now Discharged from b.r.

Downfall - Bank won't give me back a debit card, can't shop online (i'm disabled and can't always get out). Even though I have letter saying I'm discharged it remains on record for 1 year.
Upside - able to use cash for food! -have to save up for things but at least I find out whether I really need them and it cuts down on impulse buying. I now spend ages reading MSE for tips and OS is great! Many thanks to Martin and Team for all this help and support.

If you have managed to plough through all this and still feel uncertain, the guy at CAB told me when i sat in his office crying buckets with guilt that one of the major banks had made several Billion £'s profit last year. He also blamed the banks/building societies for making it tooo easy to borrow. What a great guy, :T need I say more

I have copies of The Insolvency Service leaflets : 'What will happen to my home'? 'What happens when you are interviewed by the Official Receiver'? and 'The Charter if anyone wants anything looking up.

Brokeandbothered

sandralovescats wrote:

Breathe easy!! Your course is safe. No-one will try to take it away from you!

Hope all goes well for you!

Thanks Sandra, you always make me feel better!

I have started filling my forms in online, they seem much simpler.
Only 13 days to go....

scootw1

Quick question:

I'll probably have about £200 cash in hand when I go br. If they are going to take this, when would that be? On the date of the hearing or the date of interview?

less2303

No, it wont be taken, you need money to live off for day to day expenses.

scootw1

I think i will have enough to get by and £200 surplus. Does what you say still apply then? I know the ORs can sometimes take cash in hand but will they for this amount?

less2303

So what you are saying then is that after your BR fees and living expenses you still have £200 left over?

Have you made allowances for money towards any upcoming bills like gas electricity etc? Is there any expected outlay coming up that you could clear now?

Money could well be tight after BT, so what you want to do is be able to start on an even keel, so anything you can get paid now is a help.

scootw1

Gas and electric are ongoing monthly DDs so don't know if I am behind, ahead or whatever. no other upcoming bills. I could put the £200 on one side and say i haven't got anything but I am thinking perhaps the OR may ask me to account for where all my money has gone the last two months so i want to show some cash in hand.