Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

StepChange_Pavan

wabmeburr wrote: »

Thank you for your response. I have been looking further as I am still concerned. After speak to Step Change and they confirmed to me that the car infact belonged to my mum (or the finance company) that it would not be included. But then I have also found this:

2) How does the official receiver establish who owns the vehicle?

(Amended January 2013)

Obviously, before the official receiver can take any action regarding a vehicle, he/she must be certain that the vehicle is the property of the insolvent. The registration document is usually a good indication as to the ownership of the vehicle although the document in fact only shows the identity of the registered keeper of the vehicle.

To ascertain unconfirmed details of the registered keeper(s) of a vehicle, and vehicle registration and licensing details enquiries will need to be made with the DVLA. Applications for details of a vehicle history need to be made on form VQ615.

Form VQ615 should be completed in black ink and in capital letters. The form needs to be completed correctly in its entirety otherwise it will be returned by the DVLA. Guidance on completing the VQ615 is available HERE. Box one of this form is where details of the official receiver’s office making the request should be entered. Where two offices are twinned by one official receiver it is the official receiver’s primary office address which should be inserted in box one and the text in the first paragraph of the template should be completed accordingly. Box one also requires the ‘Data protection registration number’ of the official receiver making the request. A list of the individual official receiver’s registration numbers is available HERE.

Once the form has been completed, a certified copy of the bankruptcy/winding up order should be attached to it and the enquiry sent under cover of the ‘DVLA enquiry letter’ (template available HERE) to Vehicle Record Enquiries, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1AJ. Where an official receiver’s office is not twinned with another office, or a twinned office is the primary location of the official receiver in a twinned office setup, the second paragraph of the ‘DVLA Enquiry letter’ should be removed. The DVLA will no longer accept searches submitted on form VQ4 or on Insolvency Service headed paper.

Forms can be ordered from the DVLA stores department by sending a fax, on headed paper, to 01792 783 525 and clearly stating how many pads of form VQ615 are required (a pad contains 50 forms). An example completed form is available HERE.




3) What if an owners identity is uncertain, or has proven to be a third party?

Where the official receiver is uncertain as to the identity of the owner of a particular vehicle, the bankrupt/director and any third parties involved should be asked to produce further proof of ownership e.g. purchase invoice, copy of any loan agreement, sight of bank statements showing transfer of funds, etc.

If the vehicle proves to be the property of a third party, the official receiver should generally take no action to realise it. This could be true for example, where a bankrupt is shown as the registered keeper of a vehicle but it was bought by a parent or spouse. However, where the vehicle is subject to an ongoing finance agreement which means that the finance company is still the owner, the official receiver may still realise the vehicle if appropriate (see paragraph vii).

Otherwise, as long as realising the vehicle will result in a net benefit to the estate, the official receiver must take all the necessary steps to do so.

This has now got me worried again as I have read it that they would still take the car as it is on HP and I drive it. I was advised to put myself as the keeper as it is at my house and my place of work more than my mums as she only uses it occationally. The insurance also prefers it thay way. Arghhhh

Hi Wabmeburr and thanks for your question.

There are 2 options depending on the type of agreement your mum has. You should double check this as it’s easy to confuse a loan agreement with hire purchase.

If it’s a hire purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement:

The car belongs to the HP company until the last payment is made and the relationship is between your mum and the company. She’s letting you drive a car that doesn’t technically belong to her so it shouldn’t affect your bankruptcy.

The only issue here could be the amount you spend on travel (petrol and maintenance costs, etc) – for example would it be cheaper to use public transport?

If the car was bought with a fixed-sum loan agreement:

This means your mum is the legal owner of the car. In this case, there might be an argument that she’s gifted the car to you and it’s become your property, even if she’s still paying the fixed-sum loan.
The fact that you’re the registered keeper suggests that this is the more likely option and your mum is on your insurance (which is fairly common as it can work out cheaper).

In which case it isn’t really a gift – it’s an arrangement you have for convenience and to save money – and your mum can argue she still ultimately owns the car.
It’s also worth considering who pays for what – do you both pay towards repairs and upkeep or is it just you? Again, if you share costs, it isn’t really a gift.

There isn’t really a clear answer I’m afraid and it’ll depend on what the official receiver asks and how they view the case. We can’t guarantee how it’ll work out, but given what you’ve said the car should be ok.

I hope this helps but if you need some more clarification you can call our support team and they’ll be able to help.

Kind regards,
Pavan

wabmeburr

Thank you so much. I have spoken to my mum and she says the car is HP. She does not own the car until the final lump sum is paid, or she has an option to hand the car back or swap for another car. So she doesnt actually own the car. It is definatley not a loan. I am really scared to go bankrupt as I do not want to cause any problems to my mum as she has really tried to help me out

floppyjoe_2

Hi


I would like some advice on my credit report pls. I was declared bankrupt in January 2008 and discharged July 2008. I have just obtained my credit report from Experian, it no longer shows the bankruptcy order but I am confused with the status report from creditors that formed part of the bankruptcy. M&S store card shows as £4CR going back 24 months. Two other creditors are still on my credit file and one showing a default payment, again part of the bankruptcy order. I intend to write to all creditors concerned but wonder if it is now standard practice for creditors not to mark a credit file as "Satisfied" but leave it on there. I believed they would automatically be removed and why are they showing after 6 years from date of bankruptcy order, or will it happen 6 years after date of discharge?


I am also wondering if it is worth applying to open a normal current account and get away from a basic bank account.

StepChange_James

floppyjoe wrote: »

Hi


I would like some advice on my credit report pls. I was declared bankrupt in January 2008 and discharged July 2008. I have just obtained my credit report from Experian, it no longer shows the bankruptcy order but I am confused with the status report from creditors that formed part of the bankruptcy. M&S store card shows as £4CR going back 24 months. Two other creditors are still on my credit file and one showing a default payment, again part of the bankruptcy order. I intend to write to all creditors concerned but wonder if it is now standard practice for creditors not to mark a credit file as "Satisfied" but leave it on there. I believed they would automatically be removed and why are they showing after 6 years from date of bankruptcy order, or will it happen 6 years after date of discharge?


I am also wondering if it is worth applying to open a normal current account and get away from a basic bank account.

Hi floppyjoe,

The M&S balance suggests that they owe you £4. This sounds like a mistake, so if you contact them they should put it right on your credit file (or otherwise give you the four quid).

With it being six years since you were declared bankrupt I'd expect your credit file to look fairly empty. If you contact the companies they should update the dates of any defaults to the date of your bankruptcy and then they should stop showing on your file.

As for changing bank accounts, I suppose it would depend on how much you needed the extra features you'd get. Most basic accounts do all the essential things you'd need but if there was a practical reason for needing an overdraft it might be handy.

Even with the bankruptcy off your credit file it might be tough to qualify for some accounts. Even though you should soon have no negative information on there you'll probably not have a great deal of positive information either, so they'll see you as an unknown quantity.

If you're looking to improve your credit rating there's some good advice here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#improve.

Kind regards

James

rhonapops

Hi, I need to apply for bankruptcy (have done for about 3 years) but I've never been able to get the fee's together. The biggest debt is tax. Is it an option to contact the tax office and ask them to proceed with bankruptcy against me?

StepChange_Private_Messages

rhonapops wrote: »

Hi, I need to apply for bankruptcy (have done for about 3 years) but I've never been able to get the fee's together. The biggest debt is tax. Is it an option to contact the tax office and ask them to proceed with bankruptcy against me?

Hi,

Firstly we’d always recommend you get free, impartial advice to check bankruptcy is the best option for you. We can do that for you and then help you through the whole process.

There are trust funds that can assist with bankruptcy fees. There are usually more people applying for assistance than there are funds available but we have a team that can check for you and they have a good success rate helping people access the money they need.

You can either use our free online advice tool Debt Remedy or contact us to speak to a debt advisor in confidence. We can check bankruptcy is the best option and then look into any trust funds you would qualify for help from.

Thanks,
Jess

StepChange_Private_Messages

wabmeburr wrote: »

Thank you so much. I have spoken to my mum and she says the car is HP. She does not own the car until the final lump sum is paid, or she has an option to hand the car back or swap for another car. So she doesnt actually own the car. It is definatley not a loan. I am really scared to go bankrupt as I do not want to cause any problems to my mum as she has really tried to help me out

Hi there,

Bankruptcy cases are all treated on an individual basis so it's difficult to give any definite answers. but if you need to speak to a debt advisor please feel free to get in touch.

Take care,
Jess

MiaowMiaow

I am looking into BR
I have approx. 30k unsecured debt
I have a mortgage in negative equity, the mortgage is joint with my brother.
I can still pay the mortgage payments.
If I am BR and continue the mortgage payments I understand I can stay in the house is this right? I have had some legal advice but just want to check as so paranoid and stressed at the moment.
Then after 2 years 3 months if there was a small amount of equity in the property how would the process work to release that?
sorry but I am just confused.
Many Thanks

StepChange_Private_Messages

MiaowMiaow wrote: »

I am looking into BR
I have approx. 30k unsecured debt
I have a mortgage in negative equity, the mortgage is joint with my brother.
I can still pay the mortgage payments.
If I am BR and continue the mortgage payments I understand I can stay in the house is this right? I have had some legal advice but just want to check as so paranoid and stressed at the moment.
Then after 2 years 3 months if there was a small amount of equity in the property how would the process work to release that?
sorry but I am just confused.
Many Thanks

Hi and thanks for your post.

I’d recommend that you gather details of your income, expenditure, assets and debts and give our free helpline a call on 0800 138 1111 – Monday to Friday 8.00am -8.00pm and Saturdays 8.00am – 4.00pm.

We have a dedicated bankruptcy team that can talk you through the process, explain what will happen and even help you fill in the bankruptcy forms (this is all free of charge).

We should be able to lay any fears to rest and answer all questions regards your own individual situation.

I hope this helps.

Mat

Turmoil

Hi All

My first time here. I will be declaring Bankruptcy shortly. I now live with my current partner in rented accomodation for which I pay all of the house hold bills (Rent, Utilities, TVL, Water etc) I have always paid all of the bills since i moved here 18months ago. My partner does not contribute to any bills. She receives a full time wage, will this effect things when i declare Banmkruptcy?