First steps make me feel sick.

paulcornwall

On my way in now, eek, will let you know later whats happening fingers x

Ineedaname

Paul - you signed authority for the CAB to discuss your financial affairs with your creditors, that's unlikely to include the CAB asking the question "when was this debt taken on?", although that depends on the advisor. Hence my saying "the CAB is unlikely to do this for you" - you just can't be certain unless they have said that's what they are doing.

I'm very concerned you are 'paying' the CAB for their help. Their support is meant to be free. I'm guessing if you've had to sign up for legal aid then the CAB have passed you on to a fee charging individual outside of the CAB...

Hope it all went well today though, awaiting your update.

paulcornwall

Well I'm back and still alive..just. Spent about 2 hours going through the paperwork, had to guess a lot of the dates for loans etc, reasons for credit included, living expenses, clothing, car and money for self employment. Reasons for failure to pay included coming from a well paid job to suffering from burn out and depression, followed by my mother suffering a stroke and becoming her carer.
I have all the forms and the money and my appointment is next Tuesday at 10 am, i am pooping it! Got told I would have to pass through a metal detector and be frisked for weapons....lol! Nerves are getting worse at least it'll be over before Christmas, I can't take much more of this.

yesican

Hi Paul,

I went for LILA route WITH the help of CAB and i can assure you that it was not an interrogation at all-if anything,it was the opposite...Just be honest with them and they're there for you.... :-) ---(i first went to them in March 2011 and the reason why it took so long was because,i was getting all info for the CAB..imagine "begging" the creditors for a letter that confirms how much you owe them!..The minute they hear that you've involved CAB or any other organisation,they play hard to get!..cheeky s*ds!!)

All the best and if you need any help with anything...fire away!! :-)

By the way,CAB's advice was FREE!!!!

paulcornwall

I was told by CAB not to mention consolidation, is this true??

Ineedaname

Consolidation in what sense? That you undertook consolidation at some point during your indebtedness in an attempt to manage your finances better? Why not mention it if it's the truth of how you came to be where you are now?

paulcornwall

Tuesday is fast approaching (BR day), i have a couple of queries - Our benefits are paid into a account thats listed as a creditor, I'm aware all bank accounts will be frozen, how will i gain access to our money to live on? I have opened up a new account but the notice is too short for the change to take place, what can i do here?
Feeling more at ease with the court part but very anxious about the OR call in the afternoon. As my head is a little screwed up at the moment I've written down a list of events on how the debt occurred, could you look over it and see any areas that may raise concern,


In 1999- 2006 I worked for company as a successful telesales rep. I earned a good income and could only see my income improving. I decided to purchase a newish car (4 years old). I traveled from our village to the city 6 times a week so a reliable car was essential (hour drive each way). However after 7 months the engine gave up and required a replacement, I had no savings so decided to place the repair bill on credit (the car was a private sale). Not long after the gearbox went. The car was became uneconomical to repair and was sold for spares repairs. I lost a substantial amount of money. Although disappointing this did not worry me as my income was sufficient to pay for the credit I obtained.
I bought another car from the sale of broken one.
My partner was working as a chambermaid and required her first car, we bought a second hand one and got insurance for both of us. Insurance was quite substantial.
I am became ill with depression and anxiety in 2006 and had to stop work, my doctor told me i was working too hard and needed some time out, he said i had burnt myself out.
After 6 months off work SPP was stopped and then placed onto Incapacity benefit (I think that what its called) as the doctor thought I was not mentally fit to work. I underwent counselling etc and started to show signs of improvement. I decided to start my own sign writing business from home and sell the items on ebay this kept me busy although made little impact on repayments which were falling behind. In 2007 my rock of a mother suffered a stroke, she lost most of her mobility and cognitive skills. I moved closer to my mothers to become her carer. While caring for my mother I took a Open University course, i passed the first year in Health studies. I borrowed money to live on as things were looking up, I took numerous courses in order to get into Uni. In 2010 I was accepted into Uni as a medical student. We made arrangement for my stepfather to care for my mother while I attended Uni, we had to move my family closer to the Uni and placement site in order to make travel viable. During my first term at Uni my mothers condition deteriorated. I was given a condition interrupt from the Uni and had to move back close to home (for mum). We moved 5 times during a 5 year period, each moving costing a considerable amount of money (Our moves were either essential to move closer to my mother or because the private landlord sold up). I am now living at home with my mother sharing caring duties with my step father, her condition is worsening and have no way to pay for debts. I have a family of my own 2 children and a partner who stays with us when appropriate. i don't have a car but the father in law has given the use of his 2nd car (its 13 years old but is great), we have to maintain the car in return for its use. I owe approx 21k of unsecured debts including c/c and od and a loan, I have a partner, a 5 year old and a 9 month old. My SOA shows no surplus income. One bank account is in joint names with my partner, what will happen here?

Have i covered most areas the OR will ask about, please help as my head isn't straight at the moment and I'll just fall to bit if i have no notes to work from, everyones help is appreciated no matter how small. I'm so grateful to all member who have replied.

Nova2000

Based on my experience, you have more than enough covered the areas that you will be asked about. I began on this long speech and the OR cut me off and just kind of summarised what I had said and wrote that down. The rest of my interview was just clarifying what was on my BR form and the (miniscule) assets I had. Of course I'm sure it is a little different for everyone, but I really believe that the OR interview will not be as nerve-wracking to actually go through as you imagine it will (and I imagined it going really really bad for me!).

Well done for getting the ball rolling though, its a bizarre thing to go through, but its for the best in the long run. I sleep much better now and feel far more part of the human race than I did before, even though I have much to sort out in the new year (getting a job mainly).

Speaking frankly though: I think I would have been f***ed if I hadn't found this board. Without the ton of information and knowledge of posters here, I think I would have gone to pieces. So cheers everyone for just about keeping me sane (whether you knew you did or not).

Teen_the_Drama_Queen

Hi Paul

It's been a little while since I've posted on here, but read your thread. Don't beat yourself up about how you got where you are today. Like the majority of us, you worked hard and strived to live your life to the best of your ability. Unfortunately, health, redundancy and credit get the best of all of us. Interest rates and banks have taken a huge chunk of our finances over the past years - yes we took credit when we could afford it and struggled to !!!!!!y when we couldn't. From there it was a downward spiral.

This time last year we didn't know how we were going to manage to pay the mortgage and loans, let alone buy Christmas presents. We wanted to cancel Christmas!

A year on and on the plus side we will afford small Christmas presents and have the joy of knowing we won't have horrendous credit card debts come the new year. If we can't afford something, then we will just have to go without.

Well done for getting the funds together (its ironic, isn't it, you have no money and yet you have to raise this huge sum to go BR).

I would say that this year has been a year from hell for us, house repossessed, bankruptcy in April and sadly my dad passed away last week. Just when you think life can't get worse, unfortunately it does, big time!

If I were you, I would contact the Samaritans, some things are just too major to try and struggle through alone or even with your close family around you. Sometimes you just need to scream out loud!

Again, we want to cancel Christmas this year too..... we are hoping for much better things next year.

Keep posting on this forum, its a great source of info and comfort.

xxx

Ineedaname

HUGS Teen - keep letting it out as long as needed. I'm sure your dad wouldn't have wanted you to cancel Christmas on his behalf, more to enjoy it and remember all the good ones you had with him too.:A