The "what do you need to know before you go bankrupt?" thread!

savagevixen

jobby wrote: »

Would it not be worth putting cat situation down as a debt and then if it is raised taking about it to OR?

having not included an overpayment (also known as debt but doh didn't think of it that way) we now still have a tax cedit DEBT to pay off despite being bankrupt

Just a thought

We sent in the details of our Tax Credit overpayment, after we filed for BR. The OR advised me too, and our Student Loans, as there is no definate rulings on these, and if the OR deems that repaying any debt will put the Bankrupt in a state of hardship, then they can be included in the BR.

Definately worth a try!!

Richard_S

savagevixen wrote: »

We sent in the details of our Tax Credit overpayment, after we filed for BR. The OR advised me too, and our Student Loans, as there is no definate rulings on these, and if the OR deems that repaying any debt will put the Bankrupt in a state of hardship, then they can be included in the BR.

Definately worth a try!!

Hey Foxy,

That's interesting, we had a large Tax Credit overpayment and I assumed that would always be treated as exempt in bky. We're in an awful state of hardship at the moment so I think I'll contact our O.R

savagevixen

Richard_S wrote: »

Hey Foxy,

That's interesting, we had a large Tax Credit overpayment and I assumed that would always be treated as exempt in bky. We're in an awful state of hardship at the moment so I think I'll contact our O.R

Hey Rich
We included Council Tax Overpayments, Housing Benefits Overpayments, and Tax Credits, as they were all debts, that we were repaying, that had caused us financial problems in the first place. The judge agreed the HB+CT were included in BR, but the other was added after advice from OR so hopefully it will be ok:rolleyes:
Vix

ClaireLR

oh dear,

I took my car to be valued yesterday to 2 places and they both told me around £1500. I dont think I took it to the right places though, both were second hand car dealerships and both seemed not very interested when I told them I wasnt looking to buy a car, only to sell mine.

What type of garage did others take theirs to be valued at? The one place by me that I think would have done what I wanted and given a true written valuation (the other 2 places didnt give me a written valuation and one didnt even look at the car) has closed down.

Any advice?

Richard_S

Hi Claire,

I think the problem you've got there, apart from apathetic car dealers, is that there's no benefit to them in spending time giving you a written quotation. If you draft out a pro-forma letter allowing you to fill in their name and address, and then when you do find a more helpful dealer, then get them to sign the form for you. Could you try the "maiden in distress" approach; most guys are complete suckers for that approach.

Good luck,

Richard

gettingitsorted

Claire dont forget if you actually need your car and can give reasons for keeping it then you stand a good chance of keeping it

morning rich x

allofadither

ClaireLR wrote: »

oh dear,

I took my car to be valued yesterday to 2 places and they both told me around £1500. I dont think I took it to the right places though, both were second hand car dealerships and both seemed not very interested when I told them I wasnt looking to buy a car, only to sell mine.

What type of garage did others take theirs to be valued at? The one place by me that I think would have done what I wanted and given a true written valuation (the other 2 places didnt give me a written valuation and one didnt even look at the car) has closed down.

Any advice?

Shame about that Claire, but don't fret too much about it...the question of you losing your car may never crop up. I only went down this route cos the OR told me first off that my car was going. And, what I forgot to tell you also (sorry ) was that the OR never actually asked to see my written valuation, so it could just be case of blagging it if necessary. If I were in your shoes I'd concentrate on the fact that you need it for work.

ClaireLR

Hi all,

Well Ive been in touch with the insolvency helpline today who I mentioned earlier in the thread. I spoke to them about my SOA and they were very helpful!

They told me that it's mostly ok other than follows:

TV licence - I'd put £22 as I'm paying direct debits and the first 6 months is £22 a month then £11 a month, she said that it should be ok as long as I explain why.

Phone - £40. She said to say it's your only form of communication (i.e. no house phone) and that I need it to keep in touch with my dad.

Breakdown cover - £22. She said if I explain it as a form of insurance (which I suppose it is in a way) then they may let me keep this amount(!)

Internet - she said did I use it for work, I told her no, so she said realistically they would probably wouldn't allow this. Then I thought, sometimes I do use it for work - I'm a secretary and sometimes bring work home with me to type and then have to email it, I can't use discs due to the data protection act so technically I do need it! Also planning on doing a course soon ECDL (anyone know about this?) which I understand needs to be done partly on the net and I will have to do in my own time so theres another reason!

Holidays - I put £40, she said that she wasn't sure about this. Anyone put this on their SOA and had it allowed?

Now she also told me that as I live in a flat rented from housing association, that I should check my tenancy as some associations won't allow bankrupts to live in their properties. I was shocked about this and can't find my contract (I'm so organised, you can see why I'm in debt can't you) so I'm going to have to call them on Tuesday.

Now another thing that she mentioned baffled me and I'd like some advice on this one. IPA's. Now I know about them so when she asked I said yes I am aware of them, then she asked do you realise you wont be paying any tax. I said yes I understand that to. She said do you know why? I said yes because it goes to the OR instead of the taxman to help fund the bankruptcy (did I make that up?? Sure I read it on here somewhere!???) Well anyways she said no it doesn't go to the OR, it's extra for me in my take home pay?!?! I said I didn't understand why. She said something along the lines of the OR can then take this money and use it towards an IPA. I think I got confused because she then said if you change your job before the end of the tax year your tax code will go back to normal but if you stay in the same job then it's an NT tax code and that extra goes in your pay packet.

Now I think I've got this wrong somewhere because it doesn't seem to make any sense. Can anyone shed any light on this??

ClaireLR

Where is everyone tonight, how dare you all go and leave me!! LOL!

I have another question, I have just been on the insolvency website looking at the forms. I need to know, the bit where it says, what has caused you to be in debt, I don't really know what to put!

I mean, I know why I'm in this mess, because I have no willpower with money! But I haven't got a clue how much detail they're after. It says no more than 4000 words but to be honest I could ramble on about why i'm in debt for at least triple that!

how detailed a statement should I put? The fact they re saying no more than 4000 words leads me to believe they want quite a lot of information.

God this has really depressed me, it's really made it hit home that I've run up £23000 worth of debt in about 5 years and have naff all to show for it. How sad.

allofadither

Are you sure it says 4000 words....I seem to remember 200 being the limit.

Anyhows, keep it short and to the point...bullet point style. The OR doesn't want an essay cos they can't be bothered to read it all. You will get asked about the reasons for debt/BR in your interview. :eek: