Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

maxine877

hi i went br in jan 2011 and discharged in jan 12. i have tried contacting debts on my file, some have changed to partial settlement and others have remained default. how do i change the defaults and do ccj's go into the br? also how do i get other peoples names off my credit report (another tenant from that property is on my file). equifax say the companies have to remove it and the companies say its credit file people. to top that off an old debt was passed around so fast from debt company to the next that it now shows as a new debt at my new address even though its from 2009. pls help

System

maxine877 wrote: »

hi i went br in jan 2011 and discharged in jan 12. i have tried contacting debts on my file, some have changed to partial settlement and others have remained default. how do i change the defaults and do ccj's go into the br? also how do i get other peoples names off my credit report (another tenant from that property is on my file). equifax say the companies have to remove it and the companies say its credit file people. to top that off an old debt was passed around so fast from debt company to the next that it now shows as a new debt at my new address even though its from 2009. pls help

Hi maxine877,

If you were discharged from your bankruptcy the debt would have been included in the bankruptcy. It will show that you have been discharged. The defaults and CCJs are included in the bankruptcy so you are not liable to pay them now but they are visible for 6 years after the time they were registered. You cannot have these changed now.

The bankruptcy will show as an insolvency on your file that you have been discharged from. This is what creditors will see and pay most attention to. This will show on your file for 6 years.
It’s my understanding that it is the credit file agencies (of which Experian is one) that are able to remove inaccuracies on your credit file.

It is unusual but not unheard of for defaulted debts to show as a new default when passed to a different company. This debt from 2009 will show on your credit file until 2015.

I hope this helps,

Jess

maxine877

hi jess
i have contacted the company who has created a new default at my new address for a previous debt that should been dissolved in the br. he said they would send this info to another dept that once month makes changes to credit file info? not sure if he was just fobbing me off or not. the old ccj's however look like they hadnt been touched by the bankruptcy they look active. i have tried to contact the centre who helped me but as its been done now they aren't interested in helping me.
i am trying really hard to make my credit file as nice poss with my br but i dont seem to be getting any where.

milkwood7

I also put this in the main bankruptcy forum

Hi

After years of fighting my debts and failed business ventures I have succeded in realising I have no other option, My debts are unsecured and amount to just under £70,000 this has built up over 13 years or so, I have been self employed since 2003, erratic income plus I dont have the discipline to put money away for a rainy day has led me to hell with creditors, most of my debts are on arrangements to pay where I pay £20 or so a month, this has been ok to a certain degree but its going nowhere.

My girlfriend of 5 years has been super understanding of my situation but she has now lost patience too, stupidly last year in my desperation i took out loans with wonga and 1 month loan, i couldnt pay them back so Itried arrangements but struggled with that, as of today 1 month loan is paid off as is wonga, unfortunately wonga had my card details and just kept taking funds in my account, including a PPI claim that I won.

My girlfriend found a bank statement of mine with all the wonga loans etc so she hit the roof as I did not tell her and lied to her about the extent of my recent debt, on top of this I stupidly took out a loan with amigo loans with my father as guarantor, this is £217 per month and its crippling me but I have to keep it up or my father gets the debt taken out of his account.

Another twist to my tale is I also have a loan from a old together mortgage from 2001 with my ex wife, her name is still on the loan and that is up to date too, so the only loans which are not in arrears are those 2.

My girlfriend has told me in the short term we have no future and that I need to sort myself out and she will see, i feel like im fighting a losing battle (we also have a child) she is moving back to her old house which she rents out and selling the one we live in, I am not on any of the deeds for the 2 properties. She needs space so I have to move out for a bit.

I need to sort my debt out as it looks like im losing my family, my debt is made up of 5 credit cards, 4 loans inc above, personal debt with friends (6k to my girlfriend, 7.5k to a friend and 12k to an old company I was contracted to) basically i was a self employed mortgage broker and I still do this now, i owe 12k to the old company in clawbacks of cancelled insurance policies that I sold, they are actively pushing me for repayment. all the other debts were made up of me using credit to live and then not repaying it back, last year I earned approx £8000 doing this plus I jumped from employed jobs from time to time to earn a more stable income, I am now in a job where i am employed and earn £1600 take home monthly but i cant keep up with everything, i dont have any money left over.

I need to go bankrupt, I have a few questions about the process, im really worried about how they percieve my debt? I have literally nothing to show for it?

I have no assets, mylast asset was my marital home which I was taken off the deeds in 2008, I have a car worth about £1000 and a laptop I paid £100 for on ebay for my mortgage work.

How do they look at my self employed income? one month its £1000 some months its nothing?

Do they need certified accounts from an accountant?

ANd my main concern is the process of the loans I have with my ex wife and my father, how will this be treated??

One of the businesses i started was a car sales yard, the £7500 debt to a friand is a motor trader who supplied me with cars, so my business account sometimes took in £20,000 or so a month when I was sellling a lot however most of the time £19900 usually went out to pay for debts etc!!

My girlfriend has offered to help with the £700 fee I just need to make sure I'm prepared thats all.

Sorry for the rambling, just feel like I need to give you as much info as I can, really scared right now.

StepChange_James

maxine877 wrote: »

hi jess
i have contacted the company who has created a new default at my new address for a previous debt that should been dissolved in the br. he said they would send this info to another dept that once month makes changes to credit file info? not sure if he was just fobbing me off or not. the old ccj's however look like they hadnt been touched by the bankruptcy they look active. i have tried to contact the centre who helped me but as its been done now they aren't interested in helping me.
i am trying really hard to make my credit file as nice poss with my br but i dont seem to be getting any where.

Hi Maxine,

This sounds like a frustrating situation. Hopefully the chap you spoke to at the company will be true to his word and deal with this for you.

If not, then you could look to involve the Information Commissioner's Office. They can deal with situations where there's inaccurate information on your credit file and the company who put it there haven't dealt with a request to put it right.

There's more information on them here: http://www.ico.org.uk/complaints/handling. With a bit of luck you won't need to use them but it's there as a back up if this new default isn't removed.

Hope this helps.

James

StepChange_James

milkwood7 wrote: »

I also put this in the main bankruptcy forum

Hi

After years of fighting my debts and failed business ventures I have succeded in realising I have no other option, My debts are unsecured and amount to just under £70,000 this has built up over 13 years or so, I have been self employed since 2003, erratic income plus I dont have the discipline to put money away for a rainy day has led me to hell with creditors, most of my debts are on arrangements to pay where I pay £20 or so a month, this has been ok to a certain degree but its going nowhere.

My girlfriend of 5 years has been super understanding of my situation but she has now lost patience too, stupidly last year in my desperation i took out loans with wonga and 1 month loan, i couldnt pay them back so Itried arrangements but struggled with that, as of today 1 month loan is paid off as is wonga, unfortunately wonga had my card details and just kept taking funds in my account, including a PPI claim that I won.

My girlfriend found a bank statement of mine with all the wonga loans etc so she hit the roof as I did not tell her and lied to her about the extent of my recent debt, on top of this I stupidly took out a loan with amigo loans with my father as guarantor, this is £217 per month and its crippling me but I have to keep it up or my father gets the debt taken out of his account.

Another twist to my tale is I also have a loan from a old together mortgage from 2001 with my ex wife, her name is still on the loan and that is up to date too, so the only loans which are not in arrears are those 2.

My girlfriend has told me in the short term we have no future and that I need to sort myself out and she will see, i feel like im fighting a losing battle (we also have a child) she is moving back to her old house which she rents out and selling the one we live in, I am not on any of the deeds for the 2 properties. She needs space so I have to move out for a bit.

I need to sort my debt out as it looks like im losing my family, my debt is made up of 5 credit cards, 4 loans inc above, personal debt with friends (6k to my girlfriend, 7.5k to a friend and 12k to an old company I was contracted to) basically i was a self employed mortgage broker and I still do this now, i owe 12k to the old company in clawbacks of cancelled insurance policies that I sold, they are actively pushing me for repayment. all the other debts were made up of me using credit to live and then not repaying it back, last year I earned approx £8000 doing this plus I jumped from employed jobs from time to time to earn a more stable income, I am now in a job where i am employed and earn £1600 take home monthly but i cant keep up with everything, i dont have any money left over.

I need to go bankrupt, I have a few questions about the process, im really worried about how they percieve my debt? I have literally nothing to show for it?

I have no assets, mylast asset was my marital home which I was taken off the deeds in 2008, I have a car worth about £1000 and a laptop I paid £100 for on ebay for my mortgage work.

How do they look at my self employed income? one month its £1000 some months its nothing?

Do they need certified accounts from an accountant?

ANd my main concern is the process of the loans I have with my ex wife and my father, how will this be treated??

One of the businesses i started was a car sales yard, the £7500 debt to a friand is a motor trader who supplied me with cars, so my business account sometimes took in £20,000 or so a month when I was sellling a lot however most of the time £19900 usually went out to pay for debts etc!!

My girlfriend has offered to help with the £700 fee I just need to make sure I'm prepared thats all.

Sorry for the rambling, just feel like I need to give you as much info as I can, really scared right now.

Hello,

Thanks for posting. I've had a look through your post on the main board and it looks like you've got some pretty good advice from the members.

I noticed that you've used our Debt Remedy tool and the advice was to look at an IVA. I'd recommend doing a bit of research into this option compared to bankruptcy. It's likely that there'll be good and bad points to each option and it'll be a matter of seeing which route suits your situation best.

If you'd like to talk to one of our advisors about your situation you'll find a contact number in your advice booklet you received as part of the Debt Remedy process.

Kind regards

James

Mondayblues

Hi,

Apologies for butting in with a random question. I am reading this board for advice etc. and I keep seeing 'BRU'. What is Bru please?

tigerfeet2006

Mondayblues wrote: »

Hi,

Apologies for butting in with a random question. I am reading this board for advice etc. and I keep seeing 'BRU'. What is Bru please?

A BRO or U is a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order or Undertaking. If you have a look at the Look Here First sticky there is a lotof useful information and links.

This is the information from the IS website.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/personal-insolvency/bros-and-brus

StepChange_James

Mondayblues wrote: »

Hi,

Apologies for butting in with a random question. I am reading this board for advice etc. and I keep seeing 'BRU'. What is Bru please?

Hello,

I think Tiger Feet has covered this one nicely.

In a nutshell, it's something that is used to extend the length of your bankruptcy. These happen if it's thought that you've done something dishonest or blameworthy.

The link Tiger Feet posted has some details of what this might include. Here's a cut and paste of them:

• Failing to keep or produce records which would explain a loss of money or property.
• Giving away assets or selling them at less than their value.
• Deliberately paying off some creditors in preference to others.
• Failing to supply goods or services which have been paid for (taking deposits).
• Carrying on a business when you knew or ought to have known you could not pay your debts (trading with knowledge of insolvency).
• Incurring debts which you knew you had no reasonable chance of repaying.
• Gambling or making rash speculations or being unreasonably extravagant.
• Causing your debts to increase by neglecting your business affairs.
• Behaving fraudulently, e.g. making a false claim to obtain credit.
• Not co-operating with the official receiver or trustee.

I hope this helps.

James

Mondayblues

Many thanks for the replies/help James and Tigerfeet