Secondry statement of financial affairs

hButterflyH

:(Hiya,

When I completed my Statement of affairs at the start of my bankruptcy I didnt end up having to send in any proofs at all. The OR was happy with the info I had written on the form and didnt require me to send anything in. I was given an IAP and this was then cancelled when I sent in proof that my fuel bills had gone up.

Having read through loads of posts on here it seems usual for them to send another one towards the end of your bankruptcy. Do they ask for proofs for this one?

My reason for asking is that although my original statement was factual at the time. I have since dramatically cut down my shopping bills for example in order to be able to live. I am very careful with my fuel. Have got a less expensive contract for my phone etc

Will this then go against me if they then want proof of my statement?

Just when I think the worry is starting to go, another question pops up!

Thanks

OutofDebt-NOT-OutofDanger

No they won't ask for bills unless they think they are unreasonable. HOWEVER you are required to state everything truthfully - remember that this is a legal document and the penalties for not being truthful are harsh.

hButterflyH

Everything was 100% truthful. I just dont want to end up with a IPA again because I have managed to reduce my shopping bill down so much and walk or take public transport where possible to save on fuel. I bulk up my meals and stuff so that I have a bit extra aside to take my daughter to the cinema once in a blue moon etc. Thats all I ment.

doseduk

hey - I can't answer your question sadly, since I've had almost exactly the same worry... I'm looking at AD (all going ok) in March 2013 - from Blackpool office, and an examiner dealing with a likely BRU/BRO who works at Stockton office told me they usually send out an IPOQ (essentially an update on SoA details, income and essential expenditure figures with a view to an IPO/IPA or charges thereto). - towards the end of the bankruptcy. Saying that, the examiner at the blackpool office told me they'd probably send the questionnaire out (IPOQ) 'a few months in' - unless he was thinking of early discharge cases.. Either way I heard nothing, and still haven't, now 3 months away from AD.

It's odd with bills - are there any bills with say, energy suppliers, water suppliers which you feel you might need to pay a bit more towards to make sure it covers usage. Within reason. At the start of my BR i went mad reducing my outgoings - then realised basically I was probably just making the likelihood of parting with all the stuff I was living a little uncomfortably to save, just going to creditors anyway.

So I was careful to make sure I wasn't being excessive, but rang my energy and water suppliers and put my bills to something that would realistically, not excessively, cover my reasonable usage. In other words, instead of sitting in the cold with the heating off, and constantly being neurotically on edge about even watching TV or something.. I just relaxed a bit, and thus had less chance of having anything spare.

Fuel as well - if you've been allowed a car, they're expecting you to use it. I appreciate its good - for your finances, health, the environment and everything really, to avoid excess car use - but if you already have a car, you've paid most the overheads - public transport might not be hugely cheaper, if at all. Use google directions to find the miles between the places you would reasonably drive each month, use this: http://www.fuel-economy.co.uk/calc.shtml to work out how much that'll cost in fuel, and don't feel the need to somehow lessen it.

Obviously, once your year is up and you've no IPA, your finances are yours again and you can save whatever, ring your energy company and bring the bills back down if you feel you really want to try to save that money.. but, there is a certain counter-intuitiveness to bankruptcy, I realised, that in the same way there is nothing that would make an individual want to progress and earn more, there is not really anything that would make somebody want to save money, fuel, energy, etc..

Could I ask, if you feel like sharing details, when you expect to be discharged? I only ask as I've been very anxious about the same thing really, and so depending on who is first in terms of AD, if one of us hears about the 'near discharge' IPOQ first, could let the other know.

It is awful to have to sit and speculate whether youre going to have something as imposing as an IPA brought in, whether they'll accept figures etc etc - when I was talking to my mum for the god knows how many'th time about this exact issue, she said how she was sorry i was stuck in this worry abotu it, and asked "when will you be able to sort of, rest knowing one way or the other" - i quoted my automatic discharge date in march 2013 and she sighed at how long it seems.

But i'll get there, and im sure you will too and hope very much it is without problems, or indeed an IPA

speak soon, thank you for your post x

hButterflyH

Thanks Doseduk, it seems that you will be there before me. My AD is due in July. I apreciate your reply. You seem to understand where I am coming from. You have given me food for thought!

hButterflyH

Hi all,

I just wanted to bump this post really to see if anybody else has any thoughts please on my origional question?

A good example of what I mean. I currently pay aprox £25 a month for home insurance. Co-op have quoted me £19 a month yet in order to keep my outgoings the same I am having to add on bits to the insurance to bump up my premium to nearer £25. Doesnt really seem logical to me but far better to keep out of the IPA zone.

luvchocolate

I understand completely in April our tax allowance goes up and I will be £18 month better off, glad that the electric has increased so I can afford to put up my dd in May!!

OutofDebt-NOT-OutofDanger

I had a similar situation, but the best piece of advice I received was

"While you have to be honest about your expenses, you are under no legal obligation to minimise them providing they are reasonable".

Which I took to mean that as a single person a 1-2 bedroom property is reasonable - but the location (and therefore the rent) was really down to me! So rather than take the cheapest option, I rented in a better location (naturally there were also more expensive locations but chose to ignore those)

Knowing that I would be borderline for an IPA, it actually made sense to not buy the cheapest insurance (chose number 2 or 3 on the comparison sites), seek out the cheapest utilities, switch to a water meter, survive on the absolute cheapest food or buy the most economical car I could find, etc.

The OR didn't ask if I had sought the cheapest deals and certainly wasn't concerned at the costs (which were of course all provable if they had asked).