Bankruptcy advice again please

Maizy

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Maizy

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sillygirl73

Hi Maizy,
I just wanted to maybe reassure you about rental credit checks. I moved into a rental house in july this year fully expecting to need a guarantor etc as for the last 12 months we have been paying £1 pm token payments to all our creditors and had not paid the mortgage at all for 3 months. Between us we have about 4 defaults so you can imagine how poor our credit is! We went through a smaller lettings agency, but they still did credit checks for the £200 fee:mad: and it came back fine!!!:D. They seemed to be only interested if we had CCJ's /BR etc. We were fortunate to have a guarantor lined up in case but they were not needed.
We have also been putting off BR and wish we had done it back in May last year but were advised by CAB to get our housing sorted out first. We would have been discharged by now! We are in the process of saving for fees and hope to go BR by the end of this year/beginning of next.

Just wanted to say good luck, try and stay positive, but start putting the what ifs to the back of your mind and once you have secured a rental house then take the plunge.......I think the anticipation of it all is the worst bit!

Maizy

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Johnpj

With regard to the credit checks and small letting agencies. THey might use Callcredit rather than Experian or Equifax, because it is cheaper and easier to sign up for. Not as many companies report to them as Experian or Equifax, although this is changing slowly. For this reason you often find your Callcredit report is better, if not perfect, when compared to the other two. Wise move to use a small letting agency!!

The other way is to use the small adverts in local newspapers, maybe in surrounding areas rather than wher you live (based on your comments). By doing so you will be less likely to be credit checked as you will be dealing with the landlord direct. They might ask to see recent bank statements though. Also the local councils, and the CAB often have details of local landlords who welcome people with financial problems.

With regard to friends and family. If you can avoid putting them down then its possibly a good idea, but often it is unavoidable as the OR will be asking where money went/came from. However the way forward is to talk to them as everybody has suggested. Then, once you are discharged, normally after 1 year, if not sooner, you can give them money from your earnings as any other person can as a gift. Your earnings will be better due to you not having the burden of paying back your debts. The time NOT to do this is just prior to going bankrupt as the OR takes a dim view of family being paid BEFORE other creditors. I know this is not ideal, but it is one way to protect your moral standing with family.

With regard to renting, I always smile when I hear landlords turning their noses up at bankrupts. If they take someone on with poor credit there are far more likley to have problem with rent payments as the tennant juggles the rent and debts. Once they are bankrupt the OR oversees their finances and they are freed from the burden and hassle from debt collectors and the rob peter to pay paul situation. So in a strange way landlords would be better off taking bankrupts than people with bad debt. Just my point of view!

Johnpj

Maizy wrote: »

So pretty naffed at the minute and anxiety levels sky high (despite this not being the norm). Being on a suspended repo order it was only a matter of weeks last time before they signed off for going to court for repo (which we managed to stop at last minute). Lots of self blaming going on in this house and wondering how things will pan out when we dont have the joint responsibility of the house etc. debt can affect the best of things at times, only time will tell I suppose. Debt can consume a person and of course planning to go BR, I feel consumed by this even more. I know there is light at the end of the tunnel this way though so thats a bonus.

Taking all the moral issues out of the situation, this is the reason bankruptcy is there. In simple terms it frees you from the burden of debt and allows you to restart your life. It is not easy, and has major consequences, like more than likely losing your mortgaged home.

However the relief and positive future it delivers are sometimes the medication we need to solve the problem. I mention medication because many seek help with depression from their doctor, but in actual fact the real medication is dealing with the issue. I know many, quite rightly will complain about bankruptcy, as people lose money, but sometimes it is the only way for one to move on. As long as you have taken the right advice from debt charities then it will probably be one of the best things you do in your life.

Many have a massive weight lifted from them once the bankruptcy order is made, and feel so relieved. Yes there will be an interview, but if you have not splashed out massive holidays and gambling then it might even be a phone interview. Yes you might be ordered to pay an amount each month for upto 3 years if you have surplus income. But the fact you will get your life back, and can move on probaby outweighs those things when you are deep in debt and no way out.

After 6 years, as long as you do the right things and play by the rules, you will free from the credit reference agency information, have a clean credit record and can move on with your life at an even greater pace.

It should be worth noting, just to complete the picture that even after 6 years when the information is removed from the agencies you will never be able to hide totally from it. If you ever want to get a mortgage again, they often ask have you ever been bankrupt, and you would have to say yes.

Two of the worst things to do are - ignore the debt and keep putting action off, and use a dodgy company offering you a debt management plan. With regard to the latter they get on my nerves telling people they can wipe out a massive chunk of their debt easily. The problem is they take fees during the plan, and make their money. However if the plan is not workable then in months, or a year or two down the line the plan collapes and you have to go bankrupt. This then takes even longer before you are free from the depressing debt situation, and the only winners were the debt management company. Avoid them, and take free advice from the debt charities, they will suggest a debt management plan only if it is right for you, and then point you in the direction of the good companies. I am afraid there are far too many out there who want to prey on the misery of others for their own gain - take free advice it is there for that purpose.

Maizy

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Johnpj

Eviction and repo orders are not classed as debt orders so are not shown. However if the company applied for a money order AS WELL as a repo order that would show.

Please do not take this the wrong way, and I am not trying to suggest you would do bad things, but in these circumstances people in desperation often decide to try and hide things or lie on credit check applications. Please take this the right way, but please do not be tempted as there are fraud prevention systems in place and if you trigger an alert you will get what is known as a CIFAS warning against you. In that case you will fail everything, and would not even be able to open a basic bank acount. We have alll been there, thinking what if, but please do not go down that route, it really is not worth it.

Johnpj

I hope things turn out ok for you. You will find those on here who have gone through BR will sympathise with you, and understand the sorts of things you are going though.

You will really feel a massive relief if you do go BR in terms of the burden of debt being lifted from you, and the thought that things can only get better from that point in.

Good luck and make sure you come back so the community can help you.

fermi

Maizy wrote: »

Is a suspended repo order classed as a ccj???

If the house is repossessed following it, it will certainly be recorded on your credit reports.