More BR questions...(hopefully the last)

sillygirl73

Sooo, I am now at the stage of writing down my reasons for going BR. I started to get into debt in 1994 when I left university with a large overdraft:o. From that point, I lived on credit cards and every so often took out a loan to consolidate my debt so I could 'start afresh'...........needless to say I continued doing this for a good part of a decade, and whilst I was obviously in real trouble, because I had no problems obtaining credit I did not really think I had a problem:(.I don't have anything to show for the money as I used it for day to day living, and 1 holiday. I was living in London but earning a very provincial salary!
In 2004 I got a NR together mortgage and consolidated a big chunk of my debt with the 'together' loan. From that point I can be very specific about dates, lenders and what the money was used for, but before that I had so many cards etc that I can't remember details. As all debts prior to 2004 were satisfied (by consolidation etc), there is nothing on my credit file either to document these.

My question is, can I be more general about debts incurred pre 2004 as per the above paragraphs, and then be very specific about debts incurred after that?

Maizy

Hi Sillygirl

Not sure I have understood your post fully but I can tell you how we went about things.

The debts we had at the time of BR, ie credit cards/loan etc we could give the date we took out the debts or a rough idea anyhow, what the debts were for which was mainly living expenses and house upkeep and when I had a period out of work. We also had a secured loan against the house for consolidation but as the debts we consolidated were satisfied with the loan, we didn't go into things in much detail.

Only mention the debts going in the BR and what they were for. I think we just put the secured loan down as consolidation for old debts, its hard to remember what old debts were for especially if a DMP is entered into or if the debts have rolled into consolidation and the OR should understand that.

We got ourselves really worked up over the reasons for the debts and there really was no need. Provided you complete the forms correctly and as accurately as possible even if the date is estimated for taking out the credit, then thats the best you can do.

Not sure if this helps but good luck and once you are on the other side, you will feel tons better. Im on my way to being a quarter of the way through the year already and I truly believe life can begin again once discharged. Hate to wish my life away, but feel its only natural given the circumstances.

fermi

Just in general terms how you got to the position where you need to go BR is fine. Exact details of prior debts aren't needed.

sillygirl73

Thankyou Maizy and Fermi, that has really helped:). Its all a bit embarrassing when you have to put it down in writing how you got yourself into this mess:o. My poor husband could just put down that he met me, he had no debt when we met!!:o

tigerfeet2006

This is a useful post to read

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1831297

sillygirl73

It is all becoming very real now, after 2 years of being in limbo, I am going to be petitioning for BR with my husband on 13th March:eek:. Spoke to the BR clerk today who said that we only need to bring one copy of the forms as they will photocopy the other copies there and then:).

I have another question.....:o

The car that my husband has the use of is maintained and insured etc by him. He needs it as his shifts start at 6am every day and there is no public transport running at that time....the cost of taxi's would be prohibitive. We have only been using the car for the last couple of months and have not had it serviced yet. It is a 2003 Mondeo estate and is in pretty good condition. We were planning to save approx £40 per month for servicing costs and MOT.........does this seem reasonable? Petrol is about £120, car tax £22 and insurance is £28 pm. Again, would this be deemed reasonable?

Thank you in advance x

alastairq

Hi...VED , insurance premiums, MoT etc are fixed costs, regardless...not estimates.

So are perfectly acceptable.

Fuel costs likewise...they cannot be avoided.[don't forget, with petrol the amount used and costed for won't just be that amount used to get to work.]

Be prepared to present the OR with actual costs of taxis,or buses/trains, for commuting....in support of your argument to get the car exempted ...[I take it the car is owned by one of you? ]

sillygirl73

alastairq wrote: »

I take it the car is owned by one of you? ]

It is actually my FIL's and he has let us use it for the time being as we gave back our previous car at end of lease agreement. So it is registered with DVLA in my husbands name, insurance etc, but he is not the legal owner. So hopefully car won't need to be exempted, just will need the car expenses to be allowed. Cost of taxis alone would be over £400 pm so really hoping that we will be able to use the car.

Thankyou