scared about going bankrupt

jones160312

As the title says I'm petrified about going bankrupt and im not sure why. I have spoke to both national debt line and cccs who have advised this is the only option for me. I just wondered if people can tell me whether it is something to be scared about compared to the constant worry of debt (its getting me quite down and I'm not sleeping very well)

Also I have a quick question, I need to save for the fees but what do I do about the creditors as it will take quite a few months. Do I offer them a pound a month or nothing at all and do I tell them about the impending bankruptcy? (I don't bank with any if my creditors, first thing I did was change my account to a basic Barclay account)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I_luv_cats

jones160312 wrote: »

As the title says I'm petrified about going bankrupt and im not sure why. I have spoke to both national debt line and cccs who have advised this is the only option for me. I just wondered if people can tell me whether it is something to be scared about compared to the constant worry of debt (its getting me quite down and I'm not sleeping very well)

Also I have a quick question, I need to save for the fees but what do I do about the creditors as it will take quite a few months. Do I offer them a pound a month or nothing at all and do I tell them about the impending bankruptcy? (I don't bank with any if my creditors, first thing I did was change my account to a basic Barclay account)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Has national debt line and cccs given you any advice on how to raise the fees? (In certain cases you could be exempt from paying the court fee; for example, if you are on a low income or receiving benefits, but you would still have to pay the Official Receiver's fee)

http://www.cccs.co.uk/InfoCentre/EnglandandWales/Debtsolutions/Bankruptcy/BankruptcycourtfeesUK.aspx

sniggings

no reason to worry in my experience, though like you I did.

I walked out of court with a big grin on my face, no judge, just 10 mins wait in the waiting room, the guy came and handed me the BR form, I thought he was going to take me to the judge but he said no that's it your BR :eek:

I know I am making it sound simple but really all it is is you signing a form, then no more debt, other things come with it like crdit will be hard to get etc but for me thats not a worry.

As for telling your crditors, no as that tends to make them pester you more, paying them a £1 is done by some people but I never did, as a postal oder and sending it would have cost more than that and I wasn't going to give them my bank details for them to take the money.

All you really need to do is make sure to keep up to date with those dates you can go to prison for, such as council tax and watch out for any letters from the court, best not to agnore court letters as it upsets the judge apart from that I stopped paying them all, turned off phones, ignored non court letters and saved for BR.

Please get advice though from CAB CCCS etc as I do not know all your details.

court fee is ree if on benefits I believe, but the big bit of just over £500 is paid by all.

I_luv_cats

Mike Thomas the Debt Wizard says the last debtors prison closed in XXXX and Bankruptcy was introduced to help people move on.

We will report further on the outcome of the consultation but in the meantime there are numerous ways of finding the fee.

• Stop paying your creditors that will feature in your bankruptcy - you can consider this provided you can demonstrate that you used this money towards the fee and not for unreasonable spending
• Borrow from family - if you do this then make sure you inform the Official Receiver (OR) as they may be able to reimbursed your family the bankruptcy fee if there are sufficient funds in the bankruptcy administration
• From your union or another source – police officers and army personnel, as well as some civil servants, often get help towards the bankruptcy fee if they can demonstrate financial hardship. Citizens Advice may also be able to help by approaching your utility company
• Sell an asset - you can consider this, for example if you have paid for your car, i.e. it is not on hire purchase, and you could then use the sale proceeds to buy a cheaper car using some of the surplus funds towards the bankruptcy fee. You will need to keep all receipts and not waste any of the money. Any other money or assets that you own would then be offered to the OR.

http://www.debtwizard.com/debt-help/guides-and-advice/871-bankruptcy-support

jones160312

NDL told me to save the £52 we can afford to pay creditors and not pay them. I've got cccs bankruptcy team calling me tomorrow. CAB told me they are full and can't help me .

Together my husband and I are on 18.5k after tax but that includes my smp, child tax credits and child benifit so not sure if we are classed as low income

PippaGirl_2

There are various charities that provide BR fees as grants, including energy companies I think.

I found this which was last updated in 2010 so some might be out of date

I_luv_cats

jones160312 wrote: »

NDL told me to save the £52 we can afford to pay creditors and not pay them. I've got cccs bankruptcy team calling me tomorrow. CAB told me they are full and can't help me .

Together my husband and I are on 18.5k after tax but that includes my smp, child tax credits and child benifit so not sure if we are classed as low income

Table of gross annual income limits
Gross annual
income with:
Single Couple
No children £13,000 £18,000
1 Child £15,930 £20,930
2 Children £18,860 £23,860
3 Children £21,790 £26,790
4 Children £24,720 £29,720
£2,930 for each additional child
Note: Gross annual income is defined as an applicant’s total income from any and all sources
for the year, before any deductions such as tax, have been made.
Section


http://hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex160a-eng.pdf

sniggings

jones160312 wrote: »

NDL told me to save the £52 we can afford to pay creditors and not pay them. I've got cccs bankruptcy team calling me tomorrow. CAB told me they are full and can't help me .

Together my husband and I are on 18.5k after tax but that includes my smp, child tax credits and child benifit so not sure if we are classed as low income

I thought it was based on if you receive any income related benefit, not sure if household income is taken into account. so you may be ok., I sure someone will post the correct answer for you soon.

It all helps but the court fee is the smaller part of the total cost, I think it's £175, the BR fee at £525 is payable by all.

(think those figures are correct?)


Edit, I luv cats has beaten me to it, seems it is total household income, with maybe some benefits not counted as aposed to what I thought it was, any means tested benefit.

tiggerbodhi

Hi,
I had the same feelings and felt stressed about going BR, but from recent personal experience my only regret is not doing it sooner! it honestly is a relatively easy process, if you are filling in the forms yourself look at the examples online, you must get them right and don't leave any box empty, put N/A, the "the process" is fill in the forms, take them to the court (often they have set hours to do this) hand them in, you then get called in for a clerk to check through them, mine was very nice and very helpful, if all OK, it is basically presented to the Judge in his tea break to flick through and sign off, I then went back in the afternoon to meet the same clerk who will give you your signed paperwork or (in rare circumstances) take you to see the judge to answer any questions he/she has.
For me it was a weight lifted, walking out knowing that in the worst case in 3 years would be debt free, not afraid to open letters, answer the phone etc, seeing balance reducing by silly amounts working out it would be 20 years even if I put all my disposable income into it, the one fear is that the OR "takes all your stuff and all your disposable income" but how much "disposable income" do you have now? and only seizes assets that are worth selling.
Stop paying the creditors except for the ones that go "legal" fast and can jail you, Council Tax, TV licence, my personal experience is that most credit card co's etc take months to get anywhere near legal action, they don't like it as once they have they can no longer change your payments, if you are still with the original creditor, ie the Card issuer, they rarely go legal themselves but sell the debt on so the timecales are months in my personal experience, use the spare money to save up for your BR fee's.
Good luck with whatever you decide, try to get to see the CAB, speak to CCCS etc, you wont be allowed to petition without being able to say you have.:):)

jones160312

Well I have just come off the phone from cccs who have advised to go BR. I just need to save for the fee which may take a while as we have nothing to sell that could help us. Thank you to everyone who has posted :-) I'm sure I'll post again with other questions

IF

Hi jones160312 There are a number of charities that may help with bankruptcy costs and fees depending on eligibility. You will usually need the assistance of a recognised Debt charity in completing applications and be patient can take a while to process too.

Click on the blue links below:-

• Severn Trent Trust Fund and other water trusts
• EDF Energy Trust
• Royal British Legion
• Some Trade Unions
  
  • Trades Union Congress
  • Union Finder from Worksmart
  
  
• Turn2Us enables you to search for charities
• ssafa (ex forces)
• payplan

Kimbles76, Thread is useful to know too - Click here


Best wishes
If...x