Back again ..building up courage...:-/

mumofronnienreggie

I have posted a couple of times on here already, seems I need a few weeks each time to get brave enough to do it because I can't cope with what is looming ahead....

I have finally gone and made an appointment with the CAB but its not for a few weeks as they have advised that I needed to put a claim in for Income Support so that they can help and also so that I don't need to pay the smaller court fee. They also said that if I didnt then the OR would consider it to be surplus income and I would have to pay the amount to them for 3 years on a payment plan ... i basically dont have a real choice ....
I was trying not to be greedy as far as claiming benefits was concerned having always worked, never claimed.
I have an appointment with JC+ to complete the income support claim on the 28th of Feb ( another thing to feel sick about)

anyway - I am now in total panic ( as I know many of you have been at the stage :-) ) .....
I don't work now as I am a carer for my 10 year old who has aspergers .. the benefits I get are HB ( full), CTC, CA, CB , his DLA ( Care and mobility) and in a few weeks Income Support .. the issue I have is that we now have a decent amount of money coming in .... yes I earn this looking after him and it is needed to replace the stuff that he 'goes through' with his condition... he is knackering and its constant.. but i feel utterly guilty about not going out to work to earn my money....
I thought that if all the income came in from state benefits, that there would be no payment plan put in place ... now having total panic that they will put in a payment plan.
I just dont think I could cope with this hanging over me for another three years. This whole thing came about due to a DV relationship and I still getting my self straight emotionally and mentally from that .. so desperate for a clean start so that I can get on with looking after my boy and when I do get a full nights sleep, to have one without bad dreams.
if anyone could clarify for me about the payment plan I would be really grateful.

Another thing that is bothering me.. I had a car, value of £550 .. it recently started to go wrong.. is being sold now with a view to using the money to pay for the bankruptcy - my main concern being that I just darent have a care that is going to break down in the middle of no where with an autistic kid in AGAIN.... ( this is what happened) ... so, my mum bought one that I can use, but only until i get myself sorted.. but it isnt mine, but I have to pay for the keep, so it is registered in my name but she is the legal owner ( i know these are seperate so am okay with that) ... i have to pay for insurance, MOT, servicing etc and of course my petrol.
Is this going to be allowed? I live in a very rural area. I can not use public transport with my boy. The car has a value of about £1500 but as I say it is not mine.

Another thing - I am a member of a local private gym ( £40 a month) so that I can take my by swimming 3 times a week ( minimum). He cant cope with the public baths, too big, too busy, wrong lighting. I have to pay for him and his brother separately ( £5.50 in total £16.50 a week) but its really important .. without the swimming he foes into melt down - helps burn off some of his mental and physical energy and its is one of the few things in life he enjoys .. will they make me stop this?

I am so sorry this is so waffley :-/ I waffle when I get nervous and anxious and right now I am off the scale.
I don't know what to do with myself. Just need a hug and for someone to come and hold my hand for the next couple of months and walk me through this until this is all over.

Someone tell me I am not the only waffley, jitttery , anxious female on here. xxx

mumofronnienreggie

oh lord,,, CAB have just emailed to say that yes I can still be put onto a payment plan ..... dont think I can do this :-(

MikeJO

I don't know if the rules have changed but certainly when I went BR in July '10 with a benefit only income (DLA, CTC, CB, CA, IS, HB) there was never any question of paying an IPA.

The DLA I'm sure (not being means tested) is ring fenced for the care of the disabled person....so surely that will be disregarded.

As you qualify for Income Support the rest of your money amounts to what "the law says you need to live on" so I really don't see how the OR can justify making you live below that level.

coolcait

You might be getting bad advice from the CAB. Or, it might all be down to confusion.

You keep referring to "a payment plan". That's actually a completely different thing from an "Income Payment Agreement (IPA)" in a bankruptcy.

OK, that's maybe how you think of it in your own mind. But I can see that somebody in a CAB could find themselves in a conversation that goes like this:

You: Would I be able to go bankrupt?

CAB: Yes, we've looked through your income and expenditure, and all your debts, and bankruptcy would be a sensible option for you.

You [meaning an IPA]: But could I still be put on a payment plan?

CAB [hearing 'payment plan', not 'IPA']: Yes, of course, you could still be put on a payment plan [thinking 'if you'd rather try to pay back your debts through a payment plan, rather than going bankrupt']

You [thinking that this means you'll get an IPA]: :eek::eek:

If your only income comes from income-based state benefits, then you won't get an IPA. An IPA shouldn't be taken from DLA either, as it is intended for a specific purpose.

In a situation like that, it matters not a jot how you spend your money. The OR can't ask for an IPA.

As ever, this advice comes from a knowledge of the Scottish system, but I think that in this particular instance, the Scottish and English bankruptcy laws are pretty much of a muchness.

mumofronnienreggie

thanks for those responses guys . i have re-read over her emails and we were most definately talking about monies from benefits ... i asked / stated outright, that I had read that if all of my income was purely from benefits ( which it is), that they couldnt / wouldnt set me up on a payment agreement or order or what ever the correct phrase is but the one where you have to hand over all your surplus income .. her response.... that this wasnt the case and that yes they could :-0
panic set in straight away however I have calmed down a tad now .. ive gone back through the stuff i have read on here, the information in the stickeys and I feel a bit more re-reassured about this part of it.

I was a bit concerned because I also mentioned that I had accessed my credit file with Experian to make sure that I got everything ( i did equifax too but in all honesty there was heaps of stuff missing and it seemed to be very out of date :-/ ) ... her response was not to bother as they werent worth relying on!! again ... panic kicked in.

I am concerned about making sure everything is included and unfortunately, because I left a relationship due to domestic abuse, there are at least 2 things that I cant get hold of account details for but I am connected to them ... which leads me to the other question that I forgot to ask earlier on .. I am reading mixed information about debts included in the bankruptcy. In some threads I have read that even if you dont include a debt ( unsecured obviously) on the actual bankruptcy form ( so if something gets missed off by accident) that it is still included and that is one of the reasons that the bankruptcy has to go in the London Gazette because it gives creditors an opportunity to make a claim on your assets ( my assets being nothing more than a bag of grapes and half a bar of chocolate and they arent having my bloody chocolate!) .. and then in other places I am seeing that if you dont include it in the bankruptcy form, then its not included and they can still come after you ....
I am hoping I am not the only person who has had stoooooooooopid panics over this stuff...
l am thinking alcoholism and comfort eating is the only way to get through this lol!!!

Coolcait .. the little blue men with the freaky hair.. that is exactly what i did.. followed by mucho hyperventilating.. followed by a swift visit to money saving expert!! aaargggghhhhhh has anyone got a time machine that I can just wizz through the next couple of months with ,, actually sod that, lets go for the full 12 months when its all over!!

( another waffely one.. sorry :-/ )

coolcait

Well, the odd wee snifter here and there, and an adequate supply of Cadbury's mini eggs can take the edge off panic, IME. (All in moderation of course).

I don't think that the English system is that different from the Scottish one in these areas, but hopefully another poster can say for sure - one way or another.

IME -

- you can't get an Income Payment Agreement if your only income comes from benefits

- all the debts you owe on the date you go bankrupt are included in your bankruptcy, even if you haven't included them on the form

- the only exceptions to that rule are student loans, debts due to fraud, and a few other categories. Your average bank or credit card debts will all be included.

Hope this helps. Now, have a have a wee dram on me :beer:

mumofronnienreggie

thankyou .. god i could hug money saving expert tonight and all the lovelies on here .... im having a rather huge glass of the pink stuff.. for medicinal purposes ..... and i am on weight watchers so sadly the only chocolate i get is in my dreams .. what a time to pick to diet!! but i figure if this is as bad as it gets I may as well make it that and then I will really appreciate the good times when I get them!!

MikeJO

You're most certainly not the only person who gets a fit of the panics! I was unfortunate enough to only find this site the day after my BR (while searching for info on the OR interview) so much panicking that could have been avoided was done! Life would've been so much simpler if I'd rolled up here earlier.....the CAB in my case were superb but sadly not available 24/7.

SteveABC

I deliberated and struggled for over a year before actually doing the deed!

Oh, how I wish I'd done it sooner - my IPA would be finished now if I had!

The OR will not leave you with insufficient to live on.

Good luck and take care - it's really not as bad as you think it may be.

mumofronnienreggie

thankyou Mike and steve..
tbh whilst I do have concerns about the amount left to live on purely because having a 10 year old with aspergers, it is mind blowing the amount of stuff that I am constantly replacing ( bed needs to be changed again oh and his brothers. he has broken them both because he 'charges ' everywhere and we still have bed wetting issues, 3 toilet seats in the last 3 months, 3 mobile phones ( he takes them apart) , shoes every 6 weeks usually because he manages to rip the soles off, food bill - he steals food and also if hides stuff that he finds he can't cope with the texture of, he hates the hoover so will frequently 'take them to bits' ... the list goes on and on... how the heck do i explain that to an OR? Most of this stuff I replace second hand where I can so i cant present a pile of receipts ...its hard enough trying to get ppl i come into contact with every day to understand ..
the issue I have is a mental one.. I had 10 years in a horrid horrid relationship, took me 3 years to pluck up the courage to get out and i finally did it with a solicitor on one end of the phone and womens aid on the other phone and the police behind me. Sadly the majority of the debt accumulated from him not paying the mortgage and it getting r'pd ( said he was and hid everything so i didnt have a clue) , the rest is OD and a CC from trying to set up a home from scratch ( had to run out with the clothes on my back and he destroyed everything) ..and i also ( mentioned in another post) went on two courses to get some adult teaching qualifications under my belt .. god knows what I thought i was doing spending the money on a CC but I was in auto pilot.
I knew back then I was going to have to go bankrupt just purely from the work I was doing professionally but it was as if it was happening to someone else, no other way to describe it.. and i need a clean start...
so the possibility of having to have this around my neck for another 3 years is just horrific.. wouldnt matter if it was only a £1 i had to pay and they left me with everything else.. its the new chapter I need.. and that is why i totally did the 'blue head with scary hair' emoticon thing .
Having said that,, there are lots of men and women who go through a damn sight worse than I have and I am grateful for what I do have so no little violins playing just for me lol . I would just like to get on with my life now , and finally get to enjoy it, with my boys.

SteveABC

My son has Aspergers too, perhaps not as severe as what you described, (although mine used to like taking washing machines apart!), but I'm sure the OR would take these things into account.

If not, a letter from your GP would probably help?