Considering BR - what's the single worst thing for you?

Dubluv

I'm up my ears in debt, 120k, after I lost my job and house in 2010. An ex colleague of mine went through BR and the thing he hated most was the newspaper advertising it. I would dread that too. Is there any single worst thing I should consider before I start looking into this seriously.
D

rossireps

the worse thing,un neccessary worrying i did. it was nothing like as bad,as my head imagined it.

tigerfeet2006

It's not the norm for them to publish names in the local paper any more so don't worry about that.

Get in touch with one of the debt charities linked in the first post of the Look Here First sticky and get some free professional advice on your situation, I suspect from the snapshot you have given us that BR is probably your best option. The board will try and help you and support you all we can.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1056083

SteveABC

The worst thing was struggling on for two years and spending endless days deliberating "shall I", "shan't I".

I'd be two years further down the line if I hadn't done that!

Just prepare to have any excess, or surplus income form an IPA for three years, which can be tough, but it only lasts for 36 months, so there is an end in sight. Can you say there is an end in sight for the current debt?

sniggings

my worse was knowing my name was going in the paper but that was before I went BR, after doing the deed, it wasn't the big deal I thought it was going to me, yes a couple of people saw it (yes some people enjoy reading the names every week) but I also had a couple of people come up to me and say they too had gone BR in the past, it was lke a little club, but as Tiger says, the rules have changed now and the names don't have to go into the local paper, they still go in the London paper tho, it's now upto the OR on a case by case basis but as said I was so happy at getting rid of the debt, walking out of court that day, I could have walked around town wearing a sandwich board with I'm BR and now debt free written on it.

alastairq

Hi..wish I'd done it sooner?

A lot sooner?


For me, the most awkward part of having to petition BR is the knowledge that...by the time it all clears away, I will really be too old for a mortgage.

Which may..or may not, be a blessing?

BY circumstance, I find myself in that half-light of older age where I won't have the useable amount of income for a reasonable retirement...but may have just a bit too much to take advantage of the benefits available?

Looks like I'll still be working come 75?

Which will annoy all the younger people?

fiveyearplan

Looking back I can't really think of anything that BR held me back from doing or anything I regret. If I can't remember any of them then either a) I'm getting old or b) it wasn't bad enough to stand out

I'm going with b :-)

KaiserBill

I am the same as a couple of other people here. I struggled for a couple of years to avoid it. Finally I had no choice. I had to go bankrupt - once I reached that point I went ahead and did it - I was forced into it.

And for me that was it. It was nowhere near as bad as I expected. After I did it my situation has got much better. That was over six years ago now,so my credit history is now all clear again.

I have now started to rebuild my credit history. I have just got my first post BR credit card. It is an Aqua, one of the sub-prime cards. I pay it off in full every month, I only got it to get a credit profile.

So my only problem was that I did not do it much sooner. You will have to make the decision yourself of course.


Good luck. There is a lot of help available on here.

jez123cars

Gotta say the same as others "best thing i ever did" wish we had done it sooner, been 4 yrs since we did it, we had tried to pay of our debt through the CCCS (as it was) and after 2 yrs realised we would take 17yrs to pay off our debt.

The hardest part for us once we decided to go the BR route, after talking to the CAB, was saving enough money to actually go to the court.

The write up in the paper never bothered us at all, were not even sure it actally went into our local paper if it did no one we knew saw it.

The best bit of advice I suppose I could give you is "Do what you feel is right for you dont let others and their beliefs/feelings determine your future"

All the best
Jez

Dubluv

Thanks for the replies. I am probably making more out of it than it is. I suppose nothing can be worse than having a big repossessed sticker stuck on the window of your house.
I live in NI so they def do put you in the paper, although I never read those things and Im pretty sire people I know dont but coming from a finance background Im sure lots of my ex colleagues will find out. Although some have went through this already.
Ive got the number in my phone and Im going to make the first call tomorrow.
Another quick question - my partner and I got back together after a couple of years apart does she become singly liable for the mortgage as it was in joint names? Should she also consider this route?
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sniggings

if in joint names then it can't go into your BR, in as much as yes you will not be liable for it but it will pass to her to pay, so yes if she can't pay it , then BR may be her best bet but you both need to get hekp from one of the helplines, such as CCCS, CAB or debt help line as we can not really say on here what you or she should do, as we do not have all the facts.