Wherediditallgo’s ‘path to enlightenment’ bankruptcy diary

[Deleted User]

Ignore them where did it all go, the tinternet is full of haters, jealous folk and wind up merchants some times people dont even realise they are offending.

But whats important is... ive forgot whats important... anyway... carry on

wherediditallgo

13 April - Got a letter from one of the banks basically telling me that the OR's informed them I'm BR, so the account has been closed. If the account was overdrawn, they'll be informing a credit reference agency in 28 days. They'll release any credit balance in the account when the OR gives them authority to do so, but not before. I therefore need to make alternative arrangements for any credits or debits, cut up my card & return it with any unused stationery to them.

I realise the letter is probably a standard one, but considering (a) I told them I was going BR the same day it happened, when I could have kept my mouth shut for a few days, & (b) I'd never owed them a penny from the day I opened the account & the account was in credit when I informed them, I thought the letter was rather abrupt. I'm sorely tempted to first cut the card into a stencil that says 'up yours' before returning it, but maybe that wouldn't go down too well. Never mind - their loss of a good customer is ultimately my gain. I've got my Cashminder account now, so this weekend I'll be going through all the original direct debits & setting them up there. I've got £150 cash to put in the account, so that will stand me in good stead until I next get paid.

Went to a work do tonight. I'd normally have used my debit card to pay my share, but now I've got to make a conscious effort to have cash I had to think about how much I could afford to spend. I didn't mind spending the £15 (dinner & my share of the wine, which isn't bad), especially as I had budgeted for it, because I've known for weeks it was coming up. I had a very light & cheap lunch because I couldn't afford to waste money tonight buying dinner that I didn't finish eating, & it felt good to know I'd paid cash so wouldn't have the bill resurfacing at a later date.

NekoZombie

Hi wherediditallgo

in response to your post - one thing that has struck me.

Bankrputcy *forces* poeple to change the way they spend - you literally have to account for every penny because that all you've got - no credit cards to fall back on at all. You either have it, or you don't. If that doesn't make you learn how to manage money, I don't know what will. Thanks for highlighting this! :T

wherediditallgo

No problem. The only cards I've got in my purse now are my Nectar card & my work ID. And that suits me just fine.

wherediditallgo

14 April - Finished cleaning & clearing an old filing cabinet - I'm going to start filing away financial letters as soon as I get them, so that I can more easily keep an eye on things in future. I wish I'd done a proper budget years ago. When I had to do my I & E with the CCCS, I realised that (a) at least 1 of my debts was so near completion that I was able to clear it quicker than I thought, & (b) the overall debt on my SOA for my BR was less than I thought. I think it had grown in my head because of all the letters & calls I was getting. I don't regret going BR, partly because all the paperwork I had to wade through made me realise where cutbacks were going to have to be made, & some of those things (eg credit cards) will be gone forever.

Got 2 more statements today. Spoke to Nationwide about my Flex account - the woman confirmed that I should be able to keep the account, as they weren't a creditor & I'd never owed them any money. She said I could transfer my direct debits to them. :j I'll never put all my eggs in one basket again though, so I think I'll just put the utility direct debits there after I've had confirmation of my IPA or after I get paid (whichever is the latter), & ensure that I set up a standing order to transfer money there each month. The other was another bank's credit card statement, so I just gave them details of the BR order.

My 'light bulb moment' came when I acknowledged my debts, including the fact that some of them were definitely no-one's fault but my own. My light bulb shone distinctly brighter when I started to make permanent lifestyle changes, rather than the more temporary ones that involved robbing Peter to pay Paul, hoping that letters wouldn't arrive on time etc. I've already worked out an alternative budget, & will take advantage of having to cancel my direct debits to look into switching to better-priced utility suppliers.

wherediditallgo

14 April (5.42pm) - Checked my credit report. My BR is there for anyone checking my file to see. It's strange seeing it in writing on something so distant as the internet. I thought it would shock me, but it didn't - it was almost as if it was about someone else. I don't know if that's because it's now just over 2 weeks since I was declared BR & the passage of time has lessened the impact. It felt strange because I didn't feel anything at all except that it's now internet-official - it would be overly-nonchalant to describe it as an 'Oh well' sort of feeling, but I can't think of any other way to describe it except as 'strange'. And, though that's rather perplexing, I'm not going to dwell on it.

NekoZombie

Hey wdiag

Have you actually had your first proper chat with the OR? Was just looking through your diary but can't see mention of it anywhere?

wherediditallgo

Not yet. They haven't written to or telephoned me. I've decided that I'm going to take the day off work for that, especially if it's in the morning. Some people have been talking to them for only a few minutes, but others have been talking with them for a couple of hours. :eek: I'm hoping for a telephone interview, partly because I don't want to be going so far & getting stressed out, only to be there for just a few minutes, but mainly because I really don't think I can deal with a face-to-face one. On the other hand, being visibly upset might work in my favour, as I know my posh accent might go against me on the 'phone - it works brilliantly for complaints & getting through to decision-makers, but for some reason people think you should be blamed more when something goes wrong because they think you're better educated. Something tells me I won't be getting a choice in the matter anyway. :cool:

Bollinge

Basic bank account info here:
http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

Bollinge

wherediditallgo wrote: »

Not yet. They haven't written to or telephoned me. I've decided that I'm going to take the day off work for that, especially if it's in the morning. Some people have been talking to them for only a few minutes, but others have been talking with them for a couple of hours. :eek: I'm hoping for a telephone interview, partly because I don't want to be going so far & getting stressed out, only to be there for just a few minutes, but mainly because I really don't think I can deal with a face-to-face one. On the other hand, being visibly upset might work in my favour, as I know my posh accent might go against me on the 'phone - it works brilliantly for complaints & getting through to decision-makers, but for some reason people think you should be blamed more when something goes wrong because they think you're better educated. Something tells me I won't be getting a choice in the matter anyway. :cool:

I don't think you should worry about your interview, whether by telephone or face to face. I think you will be surprised how sympathetic the OR will be.

It doesn't sound as though you have conned anybody or stashed millions in Zurich.

Keep going with the bank charge reclaims, although all the loot will go to the OR.

It will be interesting to see how much you are expected to repay and over how long. If you do not have any assets, e.g. a house, surely it's trying to get blood out of a stone when you really need a completely fresh start.