Bankruptcy and Offical Receiver Interview

miaow99

Before you go BR, a couple of questions:

1. Am I right in thinking that the majority of your debt is in those loans?

2. If so, when was the last payment / acknowledgement you made?

The reason I ask is that after 6 years without payment or acknowledgement, debts become statute barred, meaning that you can't be legally pursued for them any more.

Also, about the OR interview... have been through winding up, which is similar but for a company. The OR was a friendly bloke in a cardigan who just asked me why it happened, then signed it off.

Remember: they're OR aren't the Spanish Inquisition. They're just civil servants trying to do a fairly routine, and often stressful job to the best of their ability. Make their life easy for them by being helpful so they can go home early, and you have nothing to worry about

If they get the sense you're being straight with them, they will do their best to help you. 25K is very small beer in the world of BR... my winding up was for 35K, and the OR said "I can't work out why your creditor bothered"

Based on the situation you've outline, the absolute worst that could happen is that the OR asks to extend the period of time you're not allowed to get credit for, mainly to protect you from getting into more gambling debt. But even if that does happen, would that be such a bad thing?

Your mental health is far more important than any money you owe.

tigerfeet2006

Have a read of Amiga's diary, it is very inspirational. Obviously he was a in a worse situation than you are but if he can get through it I hope that you will see that you can to.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1802595=

dancingfairy

I too believe that the majority of your debts may well be statute barred. I believe that if you haven't made a payment during a 6 year period then they become statute barred even if you make a payment after this.
Do check this out as you could save yourself the stress and hassle and cost of going bankrupt.
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dmm1982

thanks guys, I have definately made a payment within the last 6 years to the debt collection company so I know if i tried to argue the fact they were statue barred then I would lose and it would be probably cause me unwated stress. The major loan in which I owe 18000+ on was taken out in 2003 defaulted 04/05 no longer on credit file but still get ramdom letters from the debt collecting company every 6 - 12 months last one was in jan12. last made a payment to debt collecting company was last year then stopped it and not paid anything since CAB told me to stop paying creditors, so have but scared to open mail and keep thinking someone gonna knock on the door. Never took out any credit as I couldnt because of my defaults until last year when I heard about payday advances and its one of the worst things I could of done as have 6 outstanding now all totalling to around 1200, but will prob be tripple that if they start adding there charges each day, so i know the or will probably grill me about them. Head is everywhere at the min just hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. You never map your life to end uplike this I am a worrier too and do not want it to affect my children.
Its so nice to have these sites to get advice and reassurance my parents are not very supportive and get the usual, "its your own fault for getting in this mess" somethimes I wish I reborn into a different family, yet if it was my younger sister the blue eye it would be a very different story she can not do no wrong in their eyes.

each day passed is one day closer.

dmm1982

just another note have the BR funds too through a organisation as I am ex military I can get the BR fees paid which is a hugh releif. xx

worried123

Hi there

I was just scanning your thread quickly and just wanted to say that, like you, I was very anxious about the official receiver....but, he seemed to be on my side, was very pleasant.....I was afraid of losing my car as it is crucial for my work.......I had sent a letter in beforehand with all of my statements etc.....His first words were, well you can stop worrying about your car because we are not here to put people out of work.......He advised me and just clarified things and didnt judge me on how the debts had built up.

Please dont worry. I think it will be huge burden off your shoulders once it has all been done and dusted.

I know that i shouldnt probably say this but in the grand scheme of things, with all the worries that life throws at us......bankruptcy was, for me, painless and a huge relief. Of course, it does have its draw backs in that you cannot get credit....but once you have been through so much regarding debt, you really dont want to ever use credit again.

I am about 5 years down the line from bankruptcy and only just needing to make my credit history look better - only because i want to rent privately and they do credit checks. I still have a cash card account and although I am sure that i actually could apply for a debit card with my bank, I really havent wanted to.......you may go short some months but with cash you cannot really get into much of a mess again..........

Good luck and best wishes to you

miaow99

dmm1982 wrote: »

thanks guys, I have definately made a payment within the last 6 years to the debt collection company so I know if i tried to argue the fact they were statue barred then I would lose and it would be probably cause me unwated stress. The major loan in which I owe 18000+ on was taken out in 2003 defaulted 04/05 no longer on credit file but still get ramdom letters from the debt collecting company every 6 - 12 months last one was in jan12. last made a payment to debt collecting company was last year then stopped it and not paid anything since CAB told me to stop paying creditors, so have but scared to open mail and keep thinking someone gonna knock on the door. Never took out any credit as I couldnt because of my defaults until last year when I heard about payday advances and its one of the worst things I could of done as have 6 outstanding now all totalling to around 1200, but will prob be tripple that if they start adding there charges each day, so i know the or will probably grill me about them. Head is everywhere at the min just hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. You never map your life to end uplike this I am a worrier too and do not want it to affect my children.
Its so nice to have these sites to get advice and reassurance my parents are not very supportive and get the usual, "its your own fault for getting in this mess" somethimes I wish I reborn into a different family, yet if it was my younger sister the blue eye it would be a very different story she can not do no wrong in their eyes.

each day passed is one day closer.

To be honest, I think you would be better off going BR, as it sounds like you don't have the emotional resources to fight your way out right now. There's nothing wrong with that - you have other, more important priorities like your health and family.

As for your family, yeah, that's families for you. I don't think "fault" is a very useful concept in this situation. You are where you are, and worrying about what caused it won't change a thing.

It is, however, important to take responsibility for what's happened, and sorting your life out. But it sounds like you're doing that, anyway. Remember that if you go BR, the clock is ticking on when the trouble will be "over", and in a few short years you'll be able to look back on this and think about how it's made you a stronger, more capable person.

worried123

what a lovely and supportive reply. When i spoke to the official receiver I told him that i had been trying to sort my debts out, seeing if I could possibly get on top of them....he said, `You were just prolonging the agony.

very supportive post...

dmm1982

thanks again guys, the more i research bout the BR and OR interview it does not sound as scary as i am imagining, but I am still terrified of the whole process, and thanks miaow I know in the forseeable future I will be able to look back and be thankfulthat I am no longer in the situation I was, I have read amigos diary aboout him going BR for Gambling all his debt around 40K I think was all through gambling and he mentioned he got a restriction order for3 1/2 years, I have probably caused around 1500 of my debt(which are the payday advances) through gambling as I only started to gamble in the last year or 2 out of desparation but it got the better of me and before I knew it I was blowing all my wages etc online and struggling to live and pay bills all very stupid I know, one of the hardest things I had to do was admit that I had a bit of a problem and that I needed to get help and put a stop to it I have not gambled for a coupple of weeks now and the difference it has made has made me realise that I don't need to do it and I have been better in myself for it.
The worst thing in the BR that can happen is ill probably end up with a BRO which I am expecting but to be honest I don't think Ill ever want to get credit in the future again, I just want to start a fresh and have all these worrys and stress off my back and be able to enjoy bringing my children up in a happy home.

xx

miaow99

worried123 wrote: »

what a lovely and supportive reply. When i spoke to the official receiver I told him that i had been trying to sort my debts out, seeing if I could possibly get on top of them....he said, `You were just prolonging the agony.

very supportive post...

Yep, he's right. Often the bravest thing to do is to admit it's out of control, and pull the ejector switch.

Although saying that, I've got 60k of debt I've decided I want to fight my way out of. It doesn't cause me any emotional trouble though, I've just set it as a fun challenge, so I can say "I did it". But I'm weird like that. I wouldn't recommend it as a path for others

dmm... your potential addiction is a bigger worry than your debt. Debt is just a symptom of your troubles. The causes are what matters.

It sounds like you are going through a lot of self-judgement right now. That's normal, but be aware it's not accurate. You are where you are because of a complicated mix of circumstance and poor decision making. That doesn't make you a "bad" or "stupid" person, just someone who is in a bad situation. And like all situations, it will change.

A book I found very helpful when things were hard a few years ago was "There Is Nothing Wrong With You" by Cheri Huber. It talks about addiction and the roots of it... you can get on Amazon fairly cheaply I think.