Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

nikki3

please could you help, I sent a P Message late last night on here and I am waiting for a reply!!!
I would like to know if bankruptcy is my only option,
I have 4 credit cards all on 0% deals with approx. £22,000 gambling debt and a £10,000 loan with my bank.
I have been out of work for 3 wks now and have enough money to last till xmas.
Do I have to give up my house, mortgage is £130,000 house is worth the same, can I rent my house and live somewhere else?? will credit card companys force me to sell, as I cant afford to pay min payment after Christmas..... im bricking it, what am I going to do, please help anyone!!!

StepChange_James

nikki3 wrote: »

please could you help, I sent a P Message late last night on here and I am waiting for a reply!!!
I would like to know if bankruptcy is my only option,
I have 4 credit cards all on 0% deals with approx. £22,000 gambling debt and a £10,000 loan with my bank.
I have been out of work for 3 wks now and have enough money to last till xmas.
Do I have to give up my house, mortgage is £130,000 house is worth the same, can I rent my house and live somewhere else?? will credit card companys force me to sell, as I cant afford to pay min payment after Christmas..... im bricking it, what am I going to do, please help anyone!!!

Hi Nikki,

I've sent a reply to your private message, so it should be waiting for you now.

Hopefully the advice and links in my message will be useful for you.

There are a couple of extra questions in this post that I'll pick up here.

Renting our your house to tenants is an option but you'll usually need to get your mortgage lenders permission before doing this. That's not to say it would be a suitable option, without knowing more about your situation it's hard to say. If you get in touch with us for advice we can help you weigh up the options.

Credit card companies can't make you sell your house, only a judge can do that and it sounds like you're a very long way from anything like that (that's one of the advantages of unsecured debts over secured ones).

If you can't afford to pay the full amount on a credit card but you're willing to pay what you can afford (even if it's only a tiny amount) then there's not much these companies can do.

You might get some penalty charges for missing payments (usually about £12) and you'll also be likely to get letters and phone calls asking for you to catch up. But if you're getting advice from us or one of the other reputable advice organisations (http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help) then many companies will back off.

All the best.

James

BanditKat

Hi there,

Prior to bankruptcy do I need to contact all my creditors for exact figures of debt outstanding, or is this done by the OR in their investigations?
Thanks in advance, this is probably one question of many.

philnicandevan

BanditKat wrote: »

Hi there,

Prior to bankruptcy do I need to contact all my creditors for exact figures of debt outstanding, or is this done by the OR in their investigations?
Thanks in advance, this is probably one question of many.

Guestimates will be fine..obviously if you have figures for some enclose those..if not the OR's examiner will contact creditors once your bankrupt

the_clarkesta

Hi I am new to the site so apologies for any mistakes!

Long story short(ish)....I was paying into an IVA with Stepchange until I got pregnant last year and couldn't afford the payments on top of buying everything else. I was made redundant last week and received a payment of £4,000. I am now in part time employment at only 8 hours a week earning roughly £150 per month. The idea was that me and my partner could live off the redundancy money for rent and bills with my wage slightly topping it up until I could put my daughter in childcare at 12 months. My question is - when I make my application is there any way that I can show that we really will be reliant on this money or is it just the case that they will take it and its as simple as that? Also I now need to buy my daughter some new and costly items such as a new highchair and car seat but once I say I received £4,000 but only have say £3,000 is the court just going to see that as deception? I'm so sorry for the long winded questions but this is a situation I have been in for a few years now and its keeping me awake at night and I just need to get things sorted so I can start again for my little girl.

Thanks in advance.

System

the_clarkesta wrote: »

Hi I am new to the site so apologies for any mistakes!

Long story short(ish)....I was paying into an IVA with Stepchange until I got pregnant last year and couldn't afford the payments on top of buying everything else. I was made redundant last week and received a payment of £4,000. I am now in part time employment at only 8 hours a week earning roughly £150 per month. The idea was that me and my partner could live off the redundancy money for rent and bills with my wage slightly topping it up until I could put my daughter in childcare at 12 months. My question is - when I make my application is there any way that I can show that we really will be reliant on this money or is it just the case that they will take it and its as simple as that? Also I now need to buy my daughter some new and costly items such as a new highchair and car seat but once I say I received £4,000 but only have say £3,000 is the court just going to see that as deception? I'm so sorry for the long winded questions but this is a situation I have been in for a few years now and its keeping me awake at night and I just need to get things sorted so I can start again for my little girl.

Thanks in advance.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I’d recommend that you give us a call and our dedicated team will look into this for you. If you’re thinking of going bankrupt it’s always best to take free and impartial advice first, and the OR dealing with your bankruptcy may ask about this.

Gather details of your income, expenditure and debts and call our free helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’ll be able to help and also check if you're claiming all the benefits you're entitled to.

Kind regards,

Mat

paulmac.

Hi all,
I was made bankrupt via a LILA (Low Income Low Asset) in Scotland in June 2012 with debts of £33,000. My problem is that after 1 month of being declared bankrupt i moved back to England and did not keep my trustee informed of my circumstances. I have had a lot of personal/mental issues that i have had to try and deal with and quickly the bankruptcy got pushed to the back of my mind.

It has taken me till now to face up to it and search my bankruptcy details. My discharge would of been June 2013 but i have BRO/BRU's issued, this is what help i am after. The only information listed from the AIB (Account In Bankruptcy) Register of Insolvencies is as follows:

BRO/BRU Information
Date of acceptance of bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date of order varying bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date of annulment of bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date of discharge of bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date bankruptcy restrictions undertaking ceased to have effect
Date of making of interim bankruptcy restriction order
Date interim bankruptcy restrictions order ceased to have effect
Date of making of bankruptcy restriction order
Date of order varying bankruptcy restriction order
Date of annulment of bankruptcy restriction order
Date bankruptcy restrictions order ceased to have effect

I appreciate that this is all my own doing and prepared to accept whatever may be coming, though i would appreciate some advice re. what stage i am at and what may be the consequences prior to contacting the AIB.

Thank you in advance
Paul

System

paulmac. wrote: »

Hi all,
I was made bankrupt via a LILA (Low Income Low Asset) in Scotland in June 2012 with debts of £33,000. My problem is that after 1 month of being declared bankrupt i moved back to England and did not keep my trustee informed of my circumstances. I have had a lot of personal/mental issues that i have had to try and deal with and quickly the bankruptcy got pushed to the back of my mind.

It has taken me till now to face up to it and search my bankruptcy details. My discharge would of been June 2013 but i have BRO/BRU's issued, this is what help i am after. The only information listed from the AIB (Account In Bankruptcy) Register of Insolvencies is as follows:

BRO/BRU Information
Date of acceptance of bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date of order varying bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date of annulment of bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date of discharge of bankruptcy restriction undertaking
Date bankruptcy restrictions undertaking ceased to have effect
Date of making of interim bankruptcy restriction order
Date interim bankruptcy restrictions order ceased to have effect
Date of making of bankruptcy restriction order
Date of order varying bankruptcy restriction order
Date of annulment of bankruptcy restriction order
Date bankruptcy restrictions order ceased to have effect

I appreciate that this is all my own doing and prepared to accept whatever may be coming, though i would appreciate some advice re. what stage i am at and what may be the consequences prior to contacting the AIB.

Thank you in advance
Paul

Hi there,

Welcome to the forum.

It’s natural to be apprehensive but you’re doing the right thing about facing your situation now and getting in touch with your Trustee.

Your situation is that you’re still bankrupt in Scotland as it was awarded in June 2012. You should be discharged now but the Trustee may still be in charge of your estate.

As you mentioned you may have bankruptcy restrictions. These will probably restrict your access to credit for a period of time. I can’t tell you which specific restrictions apply to you from the list you’ve provided. You’ll have to contact your trustee or the Account in Bankruptcy directly – they’ll be able to tell you.

It might be the case that there are no restrictions at all. Try not to worry, contact them and then you’ll know where you stand.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Jess

paulmac.

Hi Jess,

Thanks for the reply, just thought I would let you know I phoned AIB and was informed that I was discharged in June and there are no BRO/BRU's, seems I was doing a whole lot of worrying for nothing.

Thanks for your help
Paul

paulmac.

Hi Jess,

Thanks for the reply, just thought I would let you know I phoned AIB and was informed that I was discharged in June and there are no BRO/BRU's, seems I was doing a whole lot of worrying for nothing.

Thanks for your help
Paul