So here goes...

arrowarra

My wife and I are up the creek with no paddle. £40K unsecured between us which has got too much. We haven't missed a payment but our circumstances have changed and we sought some advice from the CCCS and have been advised to file for bankruptcy.

We obviously have to file seperately but are terrified it gets refused because everything has been paid on time up to now or because our accounts are in a mess. We have no statements to give the official receiver if it was successful.

Where should i start? Do I just get a new account asap and leave all the direct debits to bounce on the old account, do I cancel them? Do I advise the companies? I cant get an answer from my employer whether I would keep my job should I go bankrupt either. Help!

HateBanks

Firstly give National Debtline a call, they give great advice over the phone.

Contact the Co Op and open a 'cashminder' account, BR friendly, and put any essential DD on there, (gas, elec, rent, council tax) arrange for wages etc to go in, then cancel all DD at old account.

Our OR just told us to send what we had, some of our debt was almost 20yrs old, and we haven't had statements for ages, it was fine. You should be able to get a few recent bank statements together?

I wouldnt advise companies what you are planning, they will hassle you until you have the court number to give them, but then they will stop.

My hubby and I were in a similar situation, and I cant tell you the relief we have felt since we did it, my advice is to read, read and read some more. These guys on here are THE BEST, they put my mind at rest so many times.
Best of luck. x

SurreyLass1

First of all, DONT PANIC!

I went BR on 28/03, and I didnt miss a payment until the beginning of March - I ended up missing one payment per creditor.

I set up a Co-op Casthminder account late February, and then set about transferring direct debits, child benefit payments etc to that, and when I went BR, I told the official receiver on my forms that this account was set up as my post BR account, and it didnt get frozen, has all worked fine. It took about a week or so for the debit card to arrive, and a couple more days for the PIN number.

I cancelled the direct debits to my creditors, it meant no charges from my bank (who were one of my creditors anyway) and took a while before letters arrived, which was important to me, as I dont handle stress very well!

I didnt have all my statements, in fact, I had NO bank statements at all, as they were all on line, and I never printed them out - I just sent what I had for each creditor, and the OR said he can request anything else he needs.

I was quite 'organised' before actually going to court, and I really feel this helped me handle it personally, as I felt in control.

Take a deep breath, and keep coming back here asking questions - everyone is so helpful and full of super useful information.

Oh, and get familiar with your court forms asap - they arent a quick job, at least not if they are done properly.

Good luck
x

arrowarra

Thanks both for your quick reply. I will sort out the Co-op account as soon as possible. That is really good advice regarding cancelling the direct debits -thanks! I need to feel organised before this happens as it is obviously not something o be taken lightly. I am already relieved being able to talk to some people who have experienced it. I have no doubt I will be back shortly with some more questions!

iquit

I am sorry to hear of your situation, welcome to the forum. Congratulations on seeking advice from CCCS, you could also try CAB. You will need to open br friendly bank accounts as suggested, with either Barclays or Co-op. Move and cancel direct debit payments as needed ie move the utilities, cancel those you're going br over. I would advise against informing your creditors as they may begin to 'pressure' you between now and when you file for br. I can imagine how worried you must be about your job, have you read your contract through? It may help the more experienced members to comment/advise on your job if you say what field your work is in. All the best with taking this step.

alastairq

hi and welcome....

Good advice as above....and agrees with what the CAB, etc say first off......open new bank account with Co-op [or Barclays, must be a 'basic' account though, not the type with a cheque book and overdraught facility]...Co-op's product is 'Cashminder'....to move all day-to-day moneys away from existing banks [and creditors]...

Move all essential DD's....[Council tax, rent/mortgage, power, water, tv, insurances, etc.]...forget the rest, just cancel.

You have a distinct advantage over many who come on here..you can see the problems looming...and are prepared to meet them appropriately.

Many hide their heads in the sand until the problems prove overwhelming, before making a start at tackling them.

Don't worry about our eventual petition being refused..[IF that is the route you eventually go down..there may well be other options for dealing with the eventual debt open to you]

Also, I suggest if your employer cannot tell you whether BR is unacceptable for that job, either it isn't...or the job isn't one for which BR precludes anyone..[ie certain financial services, etc].

In the normal course of events, an employer will not know...or be told by anyone else....if an employee petitions for BR.

All that they can do is surmise, based on certain vague evidence.

That and the fact that everyone at work will notice you suddenly walking around in a state of sublime freedom!

You have no [legal] obligation to tell anyone of your plans...before or after....[unless, once BR, you wish to apply for credit exceeding £500.]


So..do as we have advised above....then post your SOA on here for perusal and bone-picking..we have some good bone-pickers on here.

alastairq

oh..I forgot.....why not open two Cashminder accounts [one after 't'uther]....??

Then one can have all DD's and fixed outgoings, the other for income and day-to-day expenditure.

feed the former from the latter when paid....ensures you don't touch those essential outgoings inadvertently.

arrowarra

I wasnt expecting so many responses so quickly - so thanks again!

What is an SOA? I was following up to that point! Re the 2 accounts, I think we just want to make it as simple as possible. If we know whats going in and what has to go out we know where we stand. I didnt think you could have more than one basic account?

alastairq

SOA is Statement of Affairs.......there is a sticky link up top, but it allows one to work out exactly how much is allowable, etc.

Regarding the two accounts?

[A BR] can have as many accounts as they wish...as long as they are of the correct type.

Opening two accounts is often advised since it allows for simpler budgeting.

Many folk who have debt problems, arrive at that situation partly due to poor budgeting skills [me for one].

By having two accounts, one keeps one's essential outgoings totally separate from income and other expenditure.

This allows us to know exactly how much is left to 'spend' on the likes of food, fuel, etc without fear of inadvertently pinching from essential payments like council tax, etc.

Co-op CAshminder accounts can be managed online, so the above is very simple to control.

SunshineBear

Some good advice above.

just remember you may be 'up the creak' but this site is your 'paddle'.

You will be able to navigate.

All the best.

SB

[Deleted User]

alastairq wrote: »

oh..I forgot.....why not open two Cashminder accounts [one after 't'uther]....??

From personal experience I suggest to ONLY OPEN 1 ACCOUNT BEFORE going br - I opened a cashminder before br and the OR took everything including the cashminder - thankfully I could get the second one straight afterward br so would advise being cautious on that score.
If this happens to others it would leave them with less options.

lbm