Bankruptcy Annulment - Nightmare story, in need of urgent advice

debtdrinker · 16 April 2011 at 5:53PM

Hi,
Firstly I welcome you into an insane story.

Last year, I had a bankruptcy order against me. I sought advice and an Insolvency Practioner advised me to borrow third party funds and get the bankruptcy annulled.

I got the third party funds which were taken in order to pay all creditors. He said was working on my case. A while passed with little than vague updates.

I was then arrested one day for contempt of court. I was due to attend a Public Examination and my I.P. had informed me that this had been postponed and it wasn't necessary for me to attend. However this was a lie and I spent a weekend at my local police station.

I met with the Official Receiver shortly afterwards and found that nothing had been done on my case.

I then found out that the I.P. had gone into liquidation along with my third party funds. I lost the money, still had my debts outstanding and was now at risk of a trustee being appointed and losing my home.

I have since borrowed the money AGAIN from a relative.

I have used this money to pay all creditors.

However, due to the problematic nature of the above process - I have been seen to be uncooperative and the Official Receiver is getting heavy. Even though I have paid all creditors I have little time in order to get an annulment hearing before a Trustee is appointed and I lose my home.

I have sought some legal advice from an Insolvency Lawyer and told that this can be done but will cost me something in the region of £5000-£7000. This is something I can't afford.

My creditors are all paid but as far as the OR is concerned this is just my word and unless a hearing is made in the next couple of weeks (which won't be possible to do) a trustee will be appointed. I will then have paid all my creditors but still likely end up losing my property once a trustee is appointed.

Can anybody recommend somebody who could help or to advise me on this matter?

Thank you all

debtinfo · 16 April 2011 at 6:48PM

hi and welcome, seems you have had a rough time, i guess the moral of the story is you need to deal with things yourself, not rely on others to do it for you. The reason i mention this now is not to have a go at you but because if you are going to get the annulment then you need to start doing the hardwork yourself and start being proactive in moving the case along.

You can apply for an annulment straight away, get onto the court and ask them for the forms to fill out, it is best to have representation but if you cant afford it or dont want to trust other people again then the process is relatively simple. The premis is straight forward, you apply to the court first staiting that you have or intend to fay the debts in full, you can do this straight away, the court will book you in for a hearing and give you and the OR a court, you need to send the application to the OR and then the hearing date when you get it, You need to do this to show the OR you are not messing around and are serious. The OR hears people everyday that say they will be applying for an annulment and never do. Look at it from the OR's percoective, they think you have already been uncooperative and you have by not attending the interviews, it does not matter that you thought someone else was dealing with it, the onus was on you to attend not them. so make sure the OR knows you are serious, if you get an application in they normally wont do anything to assets until after the hearing.

When you get to the court you are going to need to convince the judge that you have paid ALL debts, not just ones that were pressing for payment. You are going to need proof, so between now and the hearing you need to get onto those creditors and get them to send you letters stating that the debt is cleared, receipts if possible, copies of cheques or bank transfers etc. Bare in mind that you also need to pay the OR's costs and the petitioning creditors costs, so again get onto them, find out how much it is, pay it and get proof. Paying the OR's costs is also a great way to show them you are serious, if you get onto these quickly then the OR should give you some time

hope that helps

fiveyearplan · 16 April 2011 at 6:54PM

What a nightmare. Did you pay your creditors via the IP? Is it a possibility IP didn't pay them?

debtdrinker · 16 April 2011 at 7:00PM

Thanks so much for your prompt responses.

Just to update you a little more I have filed for an annulment hearing. I did this a while ago, it was £60, but I keep getting different feedback from whoever I speak to. What do you suggest here?

I agree it would be a good idea to pay the OR's costs to show onus.

They have been understanding since I communicated these problems but suddenly it seems I have an ultimatum which I'm not sure is an arbitrary date.

It's the anniversary of the date my bankruptcy was petitioned so I'm not sure if this is relevant.

And yes @fiveyearplan I paid the IP the funds (along with signing a contract etc) but the funds were withdrawn or lost when the firm was liquidated. I have since borrowed the money AGAIN and paid the creditors myself with these third party funds. They are under investigation for fraud and have mislead a number of others. This is another matter I am dealing with but right now I am wanting to resolve my bankruptcy and get it annulled.

JCS1 · 16 April 2011 at 7:06PM

The year is important - I would expect the OR to go back to court and obtain a suspension of discharge (SOD) so that you do not get automatic discharge.