Havent paid outstanding credit card bill in 5 years

lilpenguinlost

I am looking for advice to pass onto a rather lazy friend of mine.
I will begin with some background information on him.

Approximately 5 years ago he was £12,000 in debt to 4 credit cards.
When he moved out from his parents' home into shared accomodation, he did not give any of the credit card companies his forwarding address under the assumption that his debt to them will be "blacklisted". Shortly after him moving out, his parents moved as well. His assumption seemed to be correct as he has not heard anything from the credit card companies since his move. He has not applied for any new credit cards since moving.

Over the last 5 years, he has probably had well over 50 different jobs - none of which have lasted more than 3 weeks. He moved from one shared accomodation to another for about 2 years, until he was evicted and eventually given a room on DSS. Currently, he has been claiming Job Seekers' Allowance for 4 months.

Someone has recently given him the idea that filing for bankruptcy is the "answer to his problems". He thinks that after filing, he will be "bankrupt" for 12 months, then his debts will magically disappear.

I have done some checking into bankruptcy. The sites that I have reviewed and found useful are:
debtadvisorycentre.co.uk
insolvencyhelpline.co.uk
insolvency.gov.uk
debtadvicebureau.org.uk

From what I have read, I can see that it is likely that his attempt to file for bankruptcy will be dismissed, mainly due to the fact that he has not made any attempt to pay back his creditors. I think the court will see his application as "an easy way out" and will hence dismiss it and forward him to an insolvency service.

Most sites I looked at were for businesses filing for bankruptcy. I can find nothing for someone in his situation.

What would be his best course of action, to get himself out of the debt problems? What an IVA be the best way to proceed?

Also, does anyone have an idea of how much he would owe to the credit card companies based on the fact that he has paid nothing for 5 years and that £12,000 was owed the last time he made a payment?

I feel a little foolish asking for advice on his situation, but Im sure that it is appreciated that there is little information available for people in his situation.

Any help will be very much appreciated.

Vijay

Little_Miss_Winner

Hi there,

What information does he have regarding, which companies he knows, and how much money he owes them?

makingendsmeet_2

lilpenguinlost wrote: »

I am looking for advice to pass onto a rather lazy friend of mine.
I will begin with some background information on him.

Approximately 5 years ago he was £12,000 in debt to 4 credit cards.
When he moved out from his parents' home into shared accomodation, he did not give any of the credit card companies his forwarding address under the assumption that his debt to them will be "blacklisted". Shortly after him moving out, his parents moved as well. His assumption seemed to be correct as he has not heard anything from the credit card companies since his move. He has not applied for any new credit cards since moving.

Over the last 5 years, he has probably had well over 50 different jobs - none of which have lasted more than 3 weeks. He moved from one shared accomodation to another for about 2 years, until he was evicted and eventually given a room on DSS. Currently, he has been claiming Job Seekers' Allowance for 4 months.

Someone has recently given him the idea that filing for bankruptcy is the "answer to his problems". He thinks that after filing, he will be "bankrupt" for 12 months, then his debts will magically disappear.

I have done some checking into bankruptcy. The sites that I have reviewed and found useful are:
debtadvisorycentre.co.uk
insolvencyhelpline.co.uk
insolvency.gov.uk
debtadvicebureau.org.uk

From what I have read, I can see that it is likely that his attempt to file for bankruptcy will be dismissed, mainly due to the fact that he has not made any attempt to pay back his creditors. I think the court will see his application as "an easy way out" and will hence dismiss it and forward him to an insolvency service.

Most sites I looked at were for businesses filing for bankruptcy. I can find nothing for someone in his situation.

What would be his best course of action, to get himself out of the debt problems? What an IVA be the best way to proceed?

Also, does anyone have an idea of how much he would owe to the credit card companies based on the fact that he has paid nothing for 5 years and that £12,000 was owed the last time he made a payment?

I feel a little foolish asking for advice on his situation, but Im sure that it is appreciated that there is little information available for people in his situation.

Any help will be very much appreciated.

Vijay

Your friends bankruptcy will not be rejected just because he has had no contact with his creditors. His debts will be written off in bankruptcy. He does need to seek proffesional advise from one on the debt charitys before doing the deed though as bankruptcy can be rejected if the judge sees you have taken no proper advise. If he has not responded to any of his creditors in the last 5 years, he could try hanging on just 1 more year as the debt will not then be enforceable. An IVA is not going to work for someone who doesn't have or can't hold down a job, nor is a DMP. He needs to either find £500 and declare bankruptcy or try holding out for another year.

Crokeria

Surely all he has to do is remain unfindable for another year, and after 6 years they can't chase him through the courts anyway. They will still send letters etc but there's nothing they can do. If he hasn't got the money there is very little they can do about it.