3 Years in..

money_fool

Morning all!

Well I'm 3 and a bit years in now and just thought I would give a bit of an update to prove there is life after you do the deed (not without it challenges at times – thank you HMRC!)

So what I can I tell you about the past 3 years since BR?
As I was assessed under the OR guidance in 2009 I feel I have had an easier ride than some of you. I guess the most important item is the house. We retained the house for £212, cleared all the missed mortgage payments and have been up to date with everything else for a while now (that’s a nice feeling). I never had an IPA, which really surprised me.

The car I brought just prior to going BR eventually gave up a few months ago, but it covered 60,000 miles while I had it so not too bad for £1,300 – I even got £270 for it as scrap. I borrowed a bit of a friend to replace it and that’s all paid back now as well. I could have got a loan from one of the companies specialising in lending to discharge BR’s but the APR was hideous.
If you are worried about having a reliable car during your BR just remember it does not have to be expensive or relatively new – just be prepared to have to learn a bit of basic car maintenance and you should be OK.

I did the credit file clean up a while ago. This took about 5 months but all accounts are marked settled now and the default/satisfied dates are pretty much correct – close enough that I cannot face the bother of sending more letters for the sake of a few weeks.

I have the ubiquitous Vanquish credit card and they have upped the limit to £3K now (just try and pay it off each month…). I have been on a PAYG sim for a while now but have just ordered a 12 month T-Mobile sim online which seems to have been accepted all OK. Orange/O2 and Voda did not want to know. It’s just one of those small steps to rebuilding a credit file which we all need to really have in this day and age.

The Coop basic account has been absolutely fine (sorry to hear they have changed some of the rules for this). Not having a check book causes a bit of a hassle a few times each year but it’s not worth getting bothered about.

The family is fine, kids are all teenagers now and I don’t think my BR had any negative effects on them. In fact I am sure making the decision to go BR has had a positive effect on family life. Don’t get me wrong, money is still tight, but it’s no longer the be all and end all that it was prior to walking into the local court building back in 2009 (and yes – I was bricking it )

I still get the odd statement from companies included in the BR – but no phone calls etc.

I signed up for the free Noodle reports and that is showing a health set of green boxes. I checked the other CRAs recently and they seemed to be pretty much in agreement.

So what can I say to all of you that are reading this? I put my BR experience on the forum some time ago (I guess it is still here if you do a search) and I still think pretty much the same now. Going BR is not as bad an experience as you may think. I know it will always be a ‘black mark’ against me and will be on record long after I’m gone, but in another 3 years’ time it will be off the CRAs files and be old news (until I have to get another mortgage etc.).

Its good to see so many of the folks who advised me are still giving up their time to help others on the forum – thanks to you all and maybe I’ll drop in again in a couple of years!

Just remember – BR is a big decision, but it is not necessarily a bad one

sfjnet

Thanks for posting this. I am 2 1/2 years in and my situation mirrors yours in a surprising number of areas. The only thing you have done that I haven't yet is the credit file clean up. I know it's important so I am getting under way now. All in all I agree with your take on things - it was a tough thing to go through but life after it's over is so much better than before. Cheers.

fermi

Thanks for that update.

fiveyearplan

Thanks for your update - I'm 4 years 7 months in myself and life is really good! Glad to hear you're doing well.

amstel2

Hello

Glad your doing ok. Like Fiveyearplan am aslo 4yrs 7months in. To be honest i found going BR incredibly easy, got an IPA (well finished) that was half i had prev paid on a DMP & subsequent IVA. Did not have a property only asset i had was a 4x4 that incredibly the O/R let me keep. Never bothered doing CF cleanup as like you all the dates seem ok & just get the odd meaningless statement.

Now have basic a/cs with 2 banks, a gold Vanquis card with £3K limit (pay off every month) & also use Cashplus cr builder facility.

Three yrs after discharge i inherited a house so no mortgage or rent to pay. To be honest in my opinion BR was the best thing since sliced bread i am quids in. Although i realise it's not like this for everyone but good luck to everyone who has done it or thinking about. Believe me their is light at the end of the tunnel.

I have had over £80K of debt & never felt guilty those robbing bankers & bullying debt collectors had it coming i beat them all.