Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

StepChange_James

Jakefrom wrote: »

Hi
I would appreciate some advice please
I went BR in 2007 and was discharged 12 months later and now have my life back in order
I recently found out that I had a pension that I had completely forgotten about. ( It was opened in the late 1980's when the government were trying to get people to start saving for their pensions with an incentive of paying some money in.)
I can't remember if I made an opening payment/deposit but have never paid any money in since opening it. Moved on shortly after that and just forgot about it. Didn't mention it when I went BR as I just assumed it was worthless .
However, last year the pension company traced me. I didn't think about any ramifications/liabilities to my BR.
Even more surprisingly, it is now worth £21,000 !!
How do I go about informing the relevant authorities about this. I wouldn't mind cashing it in but not sure if I would be breaking the rules/law ?
Any help would be good thank you

Hi there,

I'd suggest calling the Official Receiver's office of the court you went bankrupt in and explaining the situation. They'll be able to tell you more about how this pension pot should be dealt with.

Alternatively you could call the Insolvency Service and they'll be able to give more general advice. Here's their contact details: https://www.gov.uk/the-insolvency-service.

Kind regards

James

Stacey1985

Don't know if I'm on the right page or anything here but here goes.


I'm a single parent living with my son and my parents, I split with my sons dad over 5 years ago, he carried on living in our home that we still have a joint mortgage on up until June this year everything was fine he was paying the mortgage no problem, however he then decided to move out and demand I pay half of the mortgage (I'm currently unemployed as I have just finished college) so now he hasn't paid the mortgage since June and he's applied for repossession, out mortgage is currently £91,000 the house has been valued you at maximum of £50,000!
I have nothing to my name and I will struggle to make any repayments on the out standing debt, I'm already with step to change for some catalogues and overdrafts I got into trouble with, but now I'm concerned I wont be able to cope paying towards the outstanding balance of our mortgage!
I was also hoping to get a council house or private rent house as my parents are starting to get a bit annoyed that Im still living with them after 5 years (it was only supposed to be 6 months)
can anyone give me any advice im thinking my only option is bankruptcy

Former_StepChange_Rory

Stacey1985 wrote: »

Don't know if I'm on the right page or anything here but here goes.


I'm a single parent living with my son and my parents, I split with my sons dad over 5 years ago, he carried on living in our home that we still have a joint mortgage on up until June this year everything was fine he was paying the mortgage no problem, however he then decided to move out and demand I pay half of the mortgage (I'm currently unemployed as I have just finished college) so now he hasn't paid the mortgage since June and he's applied for repossession, out mortgage is currently £91,000 the house has been valued you at maximum of £50,000!
I have nothing to my name and I will struggle to make any repayments on the out standing debt, I'm already with step to change for some catalogues and overdrafts I got into trouble with, but now I'm concerned I wont be able to cope paying towards the outstanding balance of our mortgage!
I was also hoping to get a council house or private rent house as my parents are starting to get a bit annoyed that Im still living with them after 5 years (it was only supposed to be 6 months)
can anyone give me any advice im thinking my only option is bankruptcy

Hi Stacey1985.

It sounds like you've been left in quite a difficult position, you're not able to pay the mortgage for the property, but also you'll be left with a shortfall to pay on the mortgage if it is repossessed, which could be a large amount based on your figures.

With bankruptcy, the shortfall from the property would usually be included as a 'provable debt', meaning that it would be written off in the bankruptcy. Even if the property hasn't been repossessed at the time you declare bankruptcy, any shortfall from the repossession and sale would still be included, even at a later date.

Obviously bankruptcy is a big decision, and losing your property in this way is a difficult thing to happen, so I'd recommend speaking to us to look over your options and get some more advice from us. We'll already have details about your situation which will help, and we can advise on the best way forward once we've had a chat with you.

You can find out how to contact us by visiting http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

I hope this helps, please get in touch if you need our help.

Rory

cherylsteve11

We completed our IVA on march 10th 2015 and got the completed paper work, just wondering is there any way that we could try and claim back our ppi? and if so whats the best way of doing it.
tahnks

StepChange_Jen

cherylsteve11 wrote: »

We completed our IVA on march 10th 2015 and got the completed paper work, just wondering is there any way that we could try and claim back our ppi? and if so whats the best way of doing it.
tahnks

Hi there,

Thanks for posting.

In most situations it’s OK to claim back PPI after your IVA has finished however it’s usually best to check with your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) in case there’s something in your IVA agreement about making claims.

If you check with your IP and decide to go ahead with the claim, we have a blogpost about claiming PPI that you might find useful to read:

http://moneyaware.co.uk/2012/06/reclaim-ppi-for-free/

I hope this helps,

Jen

Curlygirl35

What will happen if you don't declare all your bank accounts on the bankruptcy forms and items such as a hire purchase car? I have two bank accounts one is being used solely and I don't use the other. I am considering only declaring my main account on the form so I can keep the other one. I also want to keep my car as I need this for work but if I declare bankruptcy i won't get to keep it. How will the OR find out if I have the other bank account and the car? I have no overdrafts on either or any money in savings. I haven't decided if I should declare myself bankrupt yet but I have been on dmp for the past 10 years and my debts are roughly the same. I know I sound unethical with my questions but I am s single mother I can't not have a car because I can't not work.

LoveLifeAgain

However tempted you feel at the moment, you must tell the truth to the OR it is the only way.
Someone will be along to explain how to deal with the car and the OR, all is not lost.

StepChange_James

Curlygirl35 wrote: »

What will happen if you don't declare all your bank accounts on the bankruptcy forms and items such as a hire purchase car? I have two bank accounts one is being used solely and I don't use the other. I am considering only declaring my main account on the form so I can keep the other one. I also want to keep my car as I need this for work but if I declare bankruptcy i won't get to keep it. How will the OR find out if I have the other bank account and the car? I have no overdrafts on either or any money in savings. I haven't decided if I should declare myself bankrupt yet but I have been on dmp for the past 10 years and my debts are roughly the same. I know I sound unethical with my questions but I am s single mother I can't not have a car because I can't not work.

Hello,

Thanks for posting. I can understand the question but I think LoveLifeAgain's answer is the right one. It's important to be completely open about all of your finances if you go bankrupt.

It's very likely that they'd find out about any information you witheld anyway, so it's easier on everyone to be up front.

It's not easy to say what would happen to your car in bankruptcy. Some policies have a bankrutpcy clause which means the agreement is ended if you go bankrupt.

If the agreement isn't ended by the finance company then you could ask the Official Recevier (OR) if you can keep the vehicle and continue the payments. They'll only allow this if they see the car as an "exempt asset" which means they think it's essential to you.

It sounds like you do need your car for work, which may help make this argument but it's down to the OR and if they think there are viable alternatives then they not see the car as essential.

If the OR doesn't see the car as an exempt asset then it's unlikely you'll be able to keep it. They either make you send the car back to the finance company and any shortfall is added to the bankruptcy or, if it's worth it, let you pay off the finance and then the car will be sold and the proceeds used by the OR. In this situation, unless the car is worth a lot more than the outstanding finance, it's usually the case that the car is sent back.

I noticed from your other post that your DMP is with us at StepChange Debt Charity. Please feel free to ask us any questions you like, even if you worry how they'll be recieived. We're not here to judge, we want to make sure you get the best advice possible and will give you the best answer we can to any questions you have.

So I'd recommend giving us a call if there's anything else you'd like to ask about.

Kind regards

James

zippo535

Hi

I would like to complain about a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, i have contacted the ICAEW, who are not prepared to look into my complaint who else can complain to.

StepChange_James

zippo535 wrote: »

Hi

I would like to complain about a licensed Insolvency Practitioner, i have contacted the ICAEW, who are not prepared to look into my complaint who else can complain to.

Hi there,

The Insolvency Service may be able to help. Here's a link to their page about IP complaints: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-insolvency-practitioner.

Kind regards

James