Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

Thommo01

Right, I need advice because I need to answer questions fully loaded as I do not know how to deal with this. My partner is aware of some of the issue but not all & I need to get this sorted.
I am in 15k ish worth of debt, I have been ignoring it for years as had a serious down turn in income. I own a flat which I currently rent out, I am not making any money on it I am just covering the mortgage. It came to a head this week when a representative turned up at the flat looking for me, I have contacted the company& arranged to pay £50 a week off a secured 6k loan. I have another loan & a few credit cards. I am wondering if I should consider declaring bankruptcy as an acceptable debt management plan for myself would leave me paying it off forever.

StepChange_Pavan

Thommo01 wrote: »

Right, I need advice because I need to answer questions fully loaded as I do not know how to deal with this. My partner is aware of some of the issue but not all & I need to get this sorted.
I am in 15k ish worth of debt, I have been ignoring it for years as had a serious down turn in income. I own a flat which I currently rent out, I am not making any money on it I am just covering the mortgage. It came to a head this week when a representative turned up at the flat looking for me, I have contacted the company& arranged to pay £50 a week off a secured 6k loan. I have another loan & a few credit cards. I am wondering if I should consider declaring bankruptcy as an acceptable debt management plan for myself would leave me paying it off forever.

Hi Thommo01 and thanks for your question.

It’s difficult to say whether bankruptcy is your best option without looking at your situation in more detail.

I’d recommend that you get in touch with us so that we can explore all of the solutions that are available to you. You can visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly.

Alternatively you can ring our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 (free including from mobiles). We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturdays 8am – 4pm.
I hope this helps,

Pavan

StepChange_James

Tweeps wrote: »

If i went BR could i still keep some of my luxury items like my canal boat?

Hello Tweeps,

As a general rule of thumb luxury items are sold in bankruptcy and the money raised from the sale is passed on to the debts included in the bankruptcy, after fees have been deducted by whomever is dealing with the bankruptcy (usually the Official Reciever).

Whether a canal boat is considered a luxury would be a matter of opinion though, so it would be decided based on your sitaution, the value of the boat and what it was needed for.

If you'd like more in depth advice about bankruptcy then I'd recommend you get in touch with us her at StepChange Debt Charity, using the links in my signature below. We'll be able to tell you if bankruptcy is a good option and guide you through the process.

Kind regards

James

Sherah

hi, I am looking for some advice on IPA, its difficult to find anything about it. I am due to be discharged in august 14 and am currently in an IPA which is £90 per month. I am due for a review of my incomings/outgoings etc next month and have been preparing some figures and I get my spare income at between £20-50 per month (depending on whether she will let me have money to go swimming for health and fitness and if I increase my student loan payment). my question is can my IPA be stopped and cancelled if I don't have enough spare income. and is there a spare income limit that means you don't have to pay.
any advice will be helpful, thanks

StepChange_James

Sherah wrote: »

hi, I am looking for some advice on IPA, its difficult to find anything about it. I am due to be discharged in august 14 and am currently in an IPA which is £90 per month. I am due for a review of my incomings/outgoings etc next month and have been preparing some figures and I get my spare income at between £20-50 per month (depending on whether she will let me have money to go swimming for health and fitness and if I increase my student loan payment). my question is can my IPA be stopped and cancelled if I don't have enough spare income. and is there a spare income limit that means you don't have to pay.
any advice will be helpful, thanks

Hi there,

Thanks for posting. An IPA should only be put in place when you've got spare income in your monthly budget after covering all your essential costs.

The deciding factor will be coming to an agreement with your Official Receiver about whether you have a surplus or not.

According to this page of the technical manual: http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/technicalmanual/Ch25-36/Chapter31/part7/part7/part_7.htm it seems that the limit is currently £20 a month.

From what you've said it sounds like the £90 a month is no longer affordable, so hopefully your review will be a good opportunity to get your IPA to a more manageable level.

Kind regards

James

Sherah

many thanks. i'll send the figures in as i've got them and see what she days. she has been fair before so hopefully my IPA will reduce or stop

ggartside2

me and my wife have started the process of going bc on the advice of cab.
we both have mobile phone contracts and sky contract,my question is do we have to cancel these contracts.
thx

egrescrimp

ggartside2 wrote: »

me and my wife have started the process of going bc on the advice of cab.
we both have mobile phone contracts and sky contract,my question is do we have to cancel these contracts.
thx

No you don't

Your mobile providers may still cut you off, but may allow the contract to continue if no money is owed on the contracts. You can claim it as a valid expense, if it's an expensive contract you may need to downgrade the plan or look at making up the cost of the contract in another area of your SOA.

You can't claim for sky as a valid expense as it's a luxury so you'd need to account for it in another area of your SOA such as your groceries/housekeeping.

ggartside2

thx for answering my earlier question.
Me and the missus have just set the ball rolling last week for our br after advice from the citizens advice,we are both going br as one of our largest debt is joint £25k.
The only part that worries me is the statement of affairs form,been looking through it and jotting things down as i go through the "outgoings" part of it.
My monthly income just about covers our outgoings,but the wife has a part time job cleaning in the mornings earning £130 a week,now normaly we would use her wages for all the luxury stuff lol, not much,but theres no way i can swallow any more of that on the essentials,will the judge make me pay that extra money over as part of our br ?
thx
graham

egrescrimp

ggartside2 wrote: »

thx for answering my earlier question.
Me and the missus have just set the ball rolling last week for our br after advice from the citizens advice,we are both going br as one of our largest debt is joint £25k.
The only part that worries me is the statement of affairs form,been looking through it and jotting things down as i go through the "outgoings" part of it.
My monthly income just about covers our outgoings,but the wife has a part time job cleaning in the mornings earning £130 a week,now normaly we would use her wages for all the luxury stuff lol, not much,but theres no way i can swallow any more of that on the essentials,will the judge make me pay that extra money over as part of our br ?
thx
graham

The judge won't make you pay anything, it's not their job todo that They simply sign your petition and rubber stamp it.

The official receiver is who decides if you need to pay anything towards an IPA/IPO, but I recommend posting your SOA in a new thread and we'll see if you are maximising whats available to you