Self BR or let bank BR me

tony_baduk

My parents, who had a joint mortgage had their house repossessed last April. The bank has phoned my father to inform him there is a shortfall on the house sale and my parents still owe them £33,000.

So basically:

• Parents have had their house repossessed
• They're now living in rented accommodation
• My father, who is 61, is still working full time
• My mother, who is 55, is not well enough to work

My father also owes £6,000 to credit card companies.

Total owed approx £39,000

The question now is should he apply for bankruptcy or wait till the bank force bankruptcy on both my parents.

Applying for bankruptcy will cost approx £1,200 for both parents and they will struggle to pay this.

The bank is now phoning every few days to ask about his circumstances and if he is able to pay.

My questions are:

• Self BR or Bank BR?
• If bank go for BR then will this cover the other credit card debts?
• Who pays for the charges if bank BR?
• Is there any financial help available if parents decide to BR?
• If BR successful, will bank and other creditors stop chasing payments?

He is getting continued advice from CCS debt advice agency.

Thank you for your help.

If you need any further information, please ask.

HappyMJ

If the bank applies to make your parents BR then it includes all debts including the credit cards.

If the bank applies for BR then the bank pays but it can recover the cost from any money received.

If your parents own nothing then it's unlikely the bank will seek BR so you may have to go BR yourself to start again.

fermi

If they no longer own a house etc, then the bank would have to be nuts to pay to make them BR. Very very very unlikely that they would.

But still....

tony_baduk wrote: »

My questions are:

• Self BR or Bank BR? Self if possible
• If bank go for BR then will this cover the other credit card debts? Yes
• Who pays for the charges if bank BR? The bank.
• Is there any financial help available if parents decide to BR? Sometimes. Not as easily got as it used to be.
• If BR successful, will bank and other creditors stop chasing payments? Eventually yes. Can take them a while to get it into their heads.

piglet74

hi there

i cannot tell you what is the best thing to do, but i am sure someone with better knowledge of the system will be on soon to keep you right,

but i will tell you what i would do,

my parents were repossessed last year,

both 60,
living in a rented house
dad working FT
mum been in and out of work due to ill health, but back working part time at the mo

there was a shortfall in their home, (prob much the same figures as your parents) but to this day (about 7 months later) they have had no contact from the lender asking for them to pay it back

if they do, my advice to them would be let the bank / mortgage lender make you BR

i would be telling them to tell the bank, you cant take feathers off a frog, (among other things that i prob cannot type here due to decency)

now the house is gone, the shortfall is an unsecured debt, so what can they take in its place...

i would be changing their phone number too

after losing their home, there is no way i would let them try and save up £1200, even if they could!

i am not saying this is the right thing to do now, but its what i would do,

i hope it all works out for your parents, i can honestly say a repossession was by far the ugliest thing i have ever witnessed, and i would not wish it on anyone!

take care, and keep us posted

tony_baduk

HappyMJ wrote: »

If your parents own nothing then it's unlikely the bank will seek BR so you may have to go BR yourself to start again.

They don't own a house, they are renting. My father is a taxi driver and has his own car but taking this asset will affect his income. My parents have no other income.

tony_baduk

piglet74 wrote: »

i would be changing their phone number too

My father thought it might be a good idea to keep in touch with the bank to avoid any further issues so he hasn't changed his mobile number, would this cause any issues in the future?

HappyMJ

tony_baduk wrote: »

They don't own a house, they are renting. My father is a taxi driver and has his own car but taking this asset will affect his income. My parents have no other income.

No pensions maturing soon?

tony_baduk

HappyMJ wrote: »

No pensions maturing soon?

Father - personal pension is paying out - can't remember how much, not alot I know. State pension not for a few years yet.

My mother - no pension apart from state pension in a few years time.

piglet74

my parents didnt change their number, and they give their new address but i wouldnt advise anyone to do this, let them find you (this might be bad advise, but it is what i would do)

i think when u get to 60, have worked and paid taxes all your life, you should be able to wind down, not worry about the phone ringing, lying in bed at night not able to sleep due to money worries....

i think the bank should know better, how do they really expect to get money from your parents....they have taken the only real asset they had, what more do they want....the clothes of their backs?

again, thats just how i feel....but then i seen the pain of it all with parents,

tony_baduk

Apart from hassling or forced BR, is there anything else the bank can do recoup the shortfall in legal terms?

fermi

- A county court judgment. Although, again, if the have no property etc then that would be futile as well.

- Perhaps set off debt against credit balances held with the same bank/group if T&C's allow?

Apart from those, really is nothing much the bank can do apart from make a pain of themselves with letters and phone calls.