Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

StepChange_Allen

IMASMARTIE22 wrote: »

advise needed
9th Jun 18 at 12:04 PM

#1


hi everyone really need some help I will try and keep the post to the point:
I work 15 hours a week monthly wage 472.00 month I have had a lot of over time since I started there. they have now employed new people and moved bank staff on to permanent contracts so very little o/t if any available .
Tax credits was awarded 50.00 a month its now been removed due to a mistake saying I owe them 1200.
rent in arrears total owing is 1245.00 went to court so now the rent is 430 month [court action was when I had 3 jobs total wage under 800 pound a month then which was january 2018.
so few months not much has changed in fact its getting worse i just dont know what to do i now have enforcement notice issued againest me from a credit union that went bankcrupt/or liquidation i did send in court papaers explaining i cant pay the enforcement notice landed on friday june 8 i now have till sunday 17/6/2018 to pay the full amont well over 1200.00
it seems i cant win no matter what i do
i dont claim any benifits i have been told to apply again as im below what people need to live on [due to the over time ]
i was also told to go bancrupt [dosnt matter who told me] but how I have no money ?
advise would be welcome please

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

I can appreciate from what you've said that you're going through a tough time at the moment, and it sounds like you definitely need some debt advice. We can certainly do this for you.

Firstly, in order to give you accurate and tailored advice we'd need to gain a really clear picture of your financial situation by getting a budget put together.

Please have a look on our website in order to decide how you'd like to get started: www.stepchange.org/Contactus

I hope this is okay.

Allen

Hedgey2

Hello. I have found this site after going over and over in my head about should I go bankrupt. Over the years i have got myself into £50,000 worth of debt. I have no property and only an old car which i need to keep working. I am on a DMP for £32,000 worth of the debt paying £295 a month, the other £18,000 worth is through another company not covered in the DMP and £280 comes out each month from my salary. The expected date to pay off the DMP is 2027. And to clear the other is about another five years.
I am due to retire in three years and my income will reduce significantly. I already have a very poor credit score but want to eventually buy a property in my retirement.
I have no savings as such just a bit tucked away for emergencies with my car etc.

How impactive is going bankrupt? Does the official receiver take control of all of my salary whilst I’m going through the process?

Thanks in advance.

Former_StepChange_Joe

Hello

Thanks for your message and welcome to the forum.

It’s good that you’re thinking ahead about the changes in your situation, and how this might affect your DMP.

While bankruptcy can indeed write off all of your debts in full, it does bring some impacts with it.

It stays on your credit file for six years, making it harder to get a mortgage, re-mortgage, or onto a new tenancy.

The official receiver (OR) wouldn’t take control of your salary as such. They would have a degree of control over your budget, however. They might deduct an income payment arrangement (IPA) from your salary which is paid to the Insolvency Service.

Your employer wouldn’t be informed about the bankruptcy directly, but the IPA and the change in your tax code when you go bankrupt would mean that HR would find out. The current deduction from your salary may stop, depending on the debt that’s being paid by this.

Your vehicle would be treated as an asset in bankruptcy, and may be sold by the OR to raise money for the bankruptcy estate. To help them with the decision, they’d look at how necessary the vehicle is, how much it’s worth and whether it’s possible to use a cheaper one, or another method of transport.

However, there’s more to going bankrupt than just the impacts to your credit file, debts and assets. I’d recommend getting in touch with the Insolvency Service. They’ll be able to answer any concerns you might have about the impacts of going bankrupt, in more detail. You can get in touch on 0300 678 0015 Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm. You can also visit their website.

StepChange can also provide you with some free, impartial debt advice about the solutions open to you now, and can also take into account how any upcoming changes may impact these solutions.
You can get started with this by building a budget using the Debt Remedy self-help tool on the StepChange website.

Debt Remedy is available 24 hours a day and takes about 20 minutes to complete. The tool will guide you through creating a budget and will then offer the best debt solution for your situation.

I hope you’ve found this helpful. Take care.

Joe

Hedgey2 wrote: »

Hello. I have found this site after going over and over in my head about should I go bankrupt. Over the years i have got myself into £50,000 worth of debt. I have no property and only an old car which i need to keep working. I am on a DMP for £32,000 worth of the debt paying £295 a month, the other £18,000 worth is through another company not covered in the DMP and £280 comes out each month from my salary. The expected date to pay off the DMP is 2027. And to clear the other is about another five years.
I am due to retire in three years and my income will reduce significantly. I already have a very poor credit score but want to eventually buy a property in my retirement.
I have no savings as such just a bit tucked away for emergencies with my car etc.

How impactive is going bankrupt? Does the official receiver take control of all of my salary whilst I’m going through the process?

Thanks in advance.

Hedgey2

Hello Joe, yes very helpful thank you. I will call the insolvency people and have a chat. I already use stepchange for my DMP.

Breamfod

I am suffering with serious mental health problems, i have some support from a mental health nurse and waiting for more from a psychologist . I am going through my esa review at present plus pip so its a very stressful time. I have been offered a non repayable grant for my bankruptcy fees and told by CAB today to go on line and do the bankruptcy form which I feel is beyond my abilities at present. I am hoping a housing support officer will be able to assist me. The CAB person said they had never done an on line application before (!) she has registered me given me the details to log in. Feel totally overwhelmed and unsure about the process.

9 years ago i saw CAB and they advised as i had no means to clear my dates and i couldn't pay fees for bankruptcy i have been paying £1 token payments on old credit card debts which have been sold on i believe. I have had a really big move so I don't have any records and only have balances on two of the six . On experian it only shows a couple of the cards as closed accounts obviously. CAB lady said as i have continued paying by direct debit (on their advice) i have basically acknowledged the debts . I don't really understand what she means. She said it doesn't matter if i don't have the figures of amounts owed as i can put estimates. is this correct? I am paying to the card providers not the debt companies. Do i carry on paying if i am going bankrupt? I only have esa money (pip is in application stage) . Due to being so unwell i said to her it will be difficult for me to deal with the court etc. do i have attend. She said i will get a phone call from the insolvency people i said i cant answer calls to people i don't know due to my anxiety. can i appoint someone? is there a way to send to the bankrutpcy people a letter from doctor that i have and also i have a form about my mental health and not being able to manage finances that the CAB gave that my mental health support has completed. basically help !

Former_StepChange_Patience

Hi there

Welcome to the forum.

It sounds like there’s a lot going on for you at the moment with your health and finances, I understand how difficult it must be to get your head around it all and why it all feels a little overwhelming and I’m sure that’s an understatement.

When the CAB lady mentioned that the debts have been acknowledged, they may be referring to the Statute of Limitations which basically means that a creditor could still potentially look to take further action for the debt before the bankruptcy order is in place.

When filling in the online application, you can try doing this in stages if this helps it be a little more manageable and there is always the Insolvency Service who can give you guidance too, their number is: 0300 678 0015 and their email address is: [EMAIL="iel.onlinedebtsolutions@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk"]iel.onlinedebtsolutions@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL].

It may also be worthwhile contacting them, when you feel ready to discuss your circumstances and see what your options are after you’ve submitted the application, whether this is an alternative means of contact, or a designated third party.

It’s really important to be as accurate as possible when filling in the application, so as close as you can get to the debt balances, the better it will be. Once the bankruptcy order is in place, you won’t have to continue the token payments, unless told otherwise by the Official Receiver.

I hope this helps

Patience

Breamfod wrote: »

I am suffering with serious mental health problems, i have some support from a mental health nurse and waiting for more from a psychologist . I am going through my esa review at present plus pip so its a very stressful time. I have been offered a non repayable grant for my bankruptcy fees and told by CAB today to go on line and do the bankruptcy form which I feel is beyond my abilities at present. I am hoping a housing support officer will be able to assist me. The CAB person said they had never done an on line application before (!) she has registered me given me the details to log in. Feel totally overwhelmed and unsure about the process.

9 years ago i saw CAB and they advised as i had no means to clear my dates and i couldn't pay fees for bankruptcy i have been paying £1 token payments on old credit card debts which have been sold on i believe. I have had a really big move so I don't have any records and only have balances on two of the six . On experian it only shows a couple of the cards as closed accounts obviously. CAB lady said as i have continued paying by direct debit (on their advice) i have basically acknowledged the debts . I don't really understand what she means. She said it doesn't matter if i don't have the figures of amounts owed as i can put estimates. is this correct? I am paying to the card providers not the debt companies. Do i carry on paying if i am going bankrupt? I only have esa money (pip is in application stage) . Due to being so unwell i said to her it will be difficult for me to deal with the court etc. do i have attend. She said i will get a phone call from the insolvency people i said i cant answer calls to people i don't know due to my anxiety. can i appoint someone? is there a way to send to the bankrutpcy people a letter from doctor that i have and also i have a form about my mental health and not being able to manage finances that the CAB gave that my mental health support has completed. basically help !

4f02

Ok in a nutshell...im £23k in debt through mainly gambling, ive taken steps to sort that out and yes i know im stupid.im 50yrs old and always worked

My income is £1900 pcm
With my board payment and debts i have without any money calculated for dentists or emergencies around £90 pm spare.i live with my gf i cant tell her she will throw me out simple as.
So my question is ..can i go bankrupt i know all the implications of it as ive been here before a long time ago.
Im fearfull of paying the money to do it and being refused.ive done the stepchange calculator and Br Is an option.

Ive no fear about being BR , ive got the bank account sorted ready to pay my wages into, i know im an idiot etc but i just would like to know if i apply wiuld i be refused.my debts are credit cards and personal high interest loans.all are up to date.but its minumum payments only and half of the debt on cards never comes down .im very worried and depressed

4f02

Oh and ive tried to negotiate myself and none of my creditors will drop my payments to help.natwest were just pathetic basically telling me to not pay and they wait for an offer.all i needed was a drop from 322 pm month to 225 and i could manage it for them.

Former_StepChange_Patience

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch and sharing what you’ve been through.

I understand how debts can make you feel but please rest assured, you aren’t stupid or anything along those lines. Gambling can affect anyone from all different types of backgrounds and ages, the most important thing is that you’ve been brave and taken steps to sort it.

However if you aren’t already in touch with Gamcare: http://www.gamcare.org.uk/ they may be a great source of support for you too. They can offer free counselling, advice and support.

If you were to consider bankruptcy, due to how the debt happened it may come under closer scrutiny, this means that there is a risk the Official Receiver may put a bankruptcy restriction order (BRO) or bankruptcy restriction undertaking (BRU) in place; this can apply for a period of 2 to 15 years.

You can find out further information about these here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/debt-solutions/bankruptcy-2/bankruptcy-restrictions-orders/

The fact you're taking steps to sort the gambling, will be a positive point, but there is still this risk.

If you’d like to talk about the budget you’ve done online in a little more detail, you can call us on: 0800 197 1704 and we’ll happily help as much as we can.

We’re here Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm.

I hope this helps.

Patience

4f02 wrote: »

Ok in a nutshell...im £23k in debt through mainly gambling, ive taken steps to sort that out and yes i know im stupid.im 50yrs old and always worked

My income is £1900 pcm
With my board payment and debts i have without any money calculated for dentists or emergencies around £90 pm spare.i live with my gf i cant tell her she will throw me out simple as.
So my question is ..can i go bankrupt i know all the implications of it as ive been here before a long time ago.
Im fearfull of paying the money to do it and being refused.ive done the stepchange calculator and Br Is an option.

Ive no fear about being BR , ive got the bank account sorted ready to pay my wages into, i know im an idiot etc but i just would like to know if i apply wiuld i be refused.my debts are credit cards and personal high interest loans.all are up to date.but its minumum payments only and half of the debt on cards never comes down .im very worried and depressed

927

Hello - I’m trying to post a question but I can’t for some reason. Can you tell me if car valuations are private or trade price please?