Update on going bankrupt!

pug_in_a_bed

i'm really interested to hear how you're getting on, whether you've been to court or not yet, esp. as i declared bankrupt last august, not long to go before i'm discharged, touch wood!!

it was dead scary but it was over so fast, so if you havent been to court yet, then don't worry, you don't always even have to see the judge (i didnt - my forms were taken in and out in 5 minutes)...i feel like im jinxing it talking about it, lol!

anyway, best of luck

Jumanji_2

Hi smam21, We haven't declared bankruptcy yet. We're having someone from a charity come round on Monday to assess our situation and see whether they're going to help us pay to go bankrupt.

I'm really nervous, and everything else that is happening at the same time isn't helping.

Jumanji_2

Malestrom wrote:

Jumanji, why have you been to the council? What are you trying to get out of them? Are you looking for a place to live? What about where you are now?

I must have missed something here as i've been concentrating on the bankruptcy side of things

Were you able to attend court today or has the date been put back?

Basically our landlord has given us notice, so we have to be out by 10th May. What with the fact that myself and my partner have lost our jobs, and we're trying to go bankrupt, we're struggling to find the money to move and pay deposits etc.

So we've gone to the council to apply for housing, however it's "highly unlikely" that they will do anything for us as "you're not pregnant and you don't have kids". They've said that if we stay in the house even when our notice has expired, then landlord will have to get a court order, so the counsil might be able to help with temporary accomodation. But what is the point in that?

I don't know what to do anymore.

We haven't been able to go bankrupt yet - had to cancel it. We're going to see what the charity say on Monday and if they will help us out.

halloweenqueen_2

Will the DSS pay for you to rent somewhere private, at least you won't have to worry about being on the council list. A relative of mine is on benefits and she rents a private house.

Malestrom

Good luck today Jumanji, I hope the charity can help you out!

pug_in_a_bed

Jumanji wrote:

Hi smam21, We haven't declared bankruptcy yet. We're having someone from a charity come round on Monday to assess our situation and see whether they're going to help us pay to go bankrupt.

I'm really nervous, and everything else that is happening at the same time isn't helping.

in my opinion the bankruptcy is the best thing you can do; the CAB were keen to make me wait, mainly becasue they couldn't arrange for me to see a qualified advisor for 10 weeks (!), if i had waited that long its likely i would have literally drowned under the mounds of debt.

i know you will have been told this before, but try and keep calm. if you do go bankrupt, which it sounds like you will be, it really will be a weight off. my feeling is that you should do it sooner rather than later, esp as you have to be out by 11th may. this woud free up worries over debts into, (an also worrying siutation) your consideration of where to live.

I had to pay the full fee as i was working; when you go to court, part of the form you fill in is an assessment to see if they should wave the fees. by the sounds of your situation, i think it would be waved. the only thing is you dont know untill the actual day. Its pretty simple, you basically do a income vs expenditure form: you seem to have no income so i think you'd be in with a pretty good chance of no fees or a very reduced rate

do you have the forms yet? if not you can pick them up from your local court, its a good way to prepare yourself, instead of doing the whole thing there and then.

it also helps in your interview with theinsolvency practioner, whom you may or may not see on the day - i spoke to him on the phone, and an interview was arrangeed by phone two weeks later. If your case is staright forward, likely yours too wil be over the phone (a lot less stressful, although those long pauses where he writes stuff down are worse over the phone cos you cant see what he's doing!).

i hope this isnt all repeated info, i'm sure you're clued up.
again, good luck

Malestrom

Unfortunately, only the court fees are waived, the deposit has to be paid by everyone and thats in the order of £350 each, so £700 for Jumanji and her partner to go bankrupt if the court fees are waived. Hopefully Jumanji has had some good news today, she certainly deserves it.

halloweenqueen_2

Is that right that once you go bankrupt you are allowed to keep enough of your earnings to live on and the rest goes towards creditors? I could be horribly wrong

Jumanji_2

Malestrom wrote:

Unfortunately, only the court fees are waived, the deposit has to be paid by everyone and thats in the order of £350 each, so £700 for Jumanji and her partner to go bankrupt if the court fees are waived. Hopefully Jumanji has had some good news today, she certainly deserves it.

Actually the court fees are £140 each, so it is £310 that we have to pay. (£620 in total).

halloweenqueen wrote:

Is that right that once you go bankrupt you are allowed to keep enough of your earnings to live on and the rest goes towards creditors? I could be horribly wrong

The guy from the Royal British Legion came round tonight, and he was very nice. Said he will type up the report tonight, it should get to his headquarters on Wednesday, and then they will negotiate with the Army (OH was in army). They should be able to cover bother our fees, but it will take a week or two until we know.


Update One
Other half went to an interview thing (I say that because it was very informal) on Thursday. They gave him an application form which he filled in and dropped in on Friday. He rang them today to see what they thought, and they're waiting for his references to get back before they officially offer him a job! *Fingers crossed*

If he does get the job, our SOA will look like this after going bankrupt.

Income:
Wage: £1430
Benefits: £430

TOTAL = £1,860.00

Outgoings:
Rent: ?????
Council Tax: £130
Contents Ins: £15
Water: £35
Gas: £35
Electricity: £35
Phone Bill: £40
Mobile Phone: £20
TV Licence: £10
Groceries: £260 (£30 per head/week)
Medical: £20
Petrol: £130
Maintenance: £40
Insurance: £35
Car Tax: £15
Public: £20
Clothing: £30
Haircuts: £20

TOTAL = £890

That leaves £970 which we need to take the rent out of, once we know what it is/will be.

Then anything that is left the OR will take between 40%-60%. Whatever we’re left with after that will have to pay for:

Sky = £20
Internet = £18
Tobacco = £40

And anything else we may need.


UPDATE TWO
Have sent an email to our local MP, Mayor and the Housing Department today.

The general one we sent to them all was:

As you may be aware are struggling to find housing in *******. We have spoken to two letting agencies who have said that it is highly unlikely any agency will be able to help us, as their insurance will not cover us for non-payment of rent. We are getting a letter to this effect.

At the same time, we are searching the local papers for private lettings, however they all seem to say 'No DSS', as we are currently applying for housing benefit this causes a large problem.

My partners health is also being badly effected by this, the stress is causing her depression and anxiety to worsen. She has been to ****** Centre for a review, and will be obtaining a letter from her GP explaining how bad her mental health is.

We also await hearing from you with regards to our housing application - it has now been three weeks since we brought it to your attention.

We are aware that the housing list is very extensive, however as we will be homeless in less then 2 months, and my partners ill health is getting worse, we find it hard to believe that we are not being housed because we do not have children and are not pregnant. This is already an urgent situation, and yet no action will be taken until we are either living on the streets, or a court order is served by the letting agency (due to us not leaving the property at the end of the tenancy - as advised by your department)!

We had this addition to the email sent to MP and Mayor:

Just to give you some background as I realised you won't know what is going on. My partner and I are having to petition for our own bankruptcy, for which we are having to contact charities to help us pay the fees. This is one of the main reason no letting agencies are able to take us on.

Secondly, we have both recently lost our jobs, my partner due to her illness, and myself simply because the work ran out. I have a possible job opportunity, the employer is just waiting to receive the references before he officially offers it. However due to us both losing our jobs within a week of each other, we have had no money coming in, therefore have been unable to pay many of our bills, including rent - another reason letting agencies won't be able to help us.

The reason we are having to move out of the property we are currently living in, is because the landlady has decided to sell up, therefore we have been served with Notice to Quit and need to have left the property by May 10th. We do not have any family living in the area who can help us, my parents live in **********, and my partners on the **** ** **in ********. They are also unable to help us financially.

Everytime we have gone to the council they have tried to push us towards the "Fresh Start" scheme, which we understand. However the only places we would be able to apply for housing are in the north of England or the Midlands. We moved back down from ******* in November, simply because being so far away from family and friends is what triggered my partners illness, so you can see why we don't wish to return.

The reason I am writing to you, is because we are desperate. We have no where to go on the 10th May. The housing department of the council have informed us that if we stay on after the tenancy expires the letting agency will have to obtain a Court Order for us to leave the property. If we then take this into the council, they should be able to help us by putting us in temporary housing. However we will still have to find somewhere to live ourselves. Also, we are concerned what we would do with our furniture. We can't afford to store it, so would it all be on the street? Then there is always the possibility that they can't help us.

I just wanted to draw to your attention the fact that it is highly likely we will end up homeless simply because my partner is not pregnant and we do not have any children! Everytime we go to the Housing Department they keep trying to get us to go private, but that's impossible. The stress is really effecting my partner, and gradually making her condition worse.

Is there any way you can help us?

So far we have had this response from the council:

Thank you for your enquiry regarding your housing application. Your application has been assigned to my colleague, ****** *****, who is on leave at present. Therefore I will be processing your application and you should receive a letter from me to indicate where you are placed on our waiting list.

A copy of your e-mail was sent to a Homelessness Prevention Officer who will be contacting you regarding your situation and alternatives that can be considered regarding re-housing.

You can check your application online on our website https://www.*******.gov.uk your case number is **** and your access pin is ***

Should you have any queries regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact me on ***** ******.

So it seems our application hadn't even been processed. I think the person we were speaking to was just trying to put us off so we would sort it out ourselves. I'm glad they're finally processing it though, and it's gone to the Homelessness officer.

So *fingers crossed* we may be making some progress - not going to get my hopes up too much anyway as they'll just get dashed!

Walrus

Only read the last page, but are tobacco and Sky (as well as £20 p/month!!! on haircuts) necessary when you are on your position?

It might be me being a bit moral etc, but when you are in !!!!!! street financially I'm sure you can do without the £20 that is Sky?