Income & Expenditure

up_the_creek_5

Hi

Planning to go BR later this yr & was wondering what to put for my I&E.

Do i put down things like: xmas & b/days; entertainment; holidays; cigarettes (smoking like a chimney at the moment). If i do is their a "going rate" that the O/R allows.

Also i have to live with my parents i pay room & board this covers rent & contributions to gas/elec, council tax, & some household insurances/service cover. Is there a going rate for this.

I ask all this as some other forums seem to say it is best to inflate living costs as the O/R will probably reduce them. Also should i bury the things mentioned in the first para in other parts of the budget. Also i normally spend £140 to £160 a month on food is this acceptable for a single person.

Should i tell the O/R that i live with my parents or should i class myself as a lodger in someone else's house.

Do i have to declare my Cashplus card can the O/R find out if i have one.

I just want to make sure of everything before starting on the forms. Can i also insist on a face to face meeting with the O/R instead of a phone interview.

Thanks

Conor_3

You declare ALL cards - he can find out very easily what you have. Put down all expenses. £40 a week on food is reasonable.

No point in lying because it won't get you anywhere and if the OR suspects you are, they can make life hell.

owetoomuch

Suggest you contact CCCS or similar as they will help you on what to put down, I am also a smoker and surviving on fags at the moment, the CCCS advised me to put down a certain amount as the actual amount I am currently spending would definitely not be approved. CCCS also had me put money down for things I didn't even think about so they should be able to help.

wherediditallgo

If I were you, I'd hide the cost of cigarettes in something else & definitely wouldn't actually name them on the SOA. From what I've gathered on other forums, unless you can prove an actual addiction to them (ie with a doctor's letter explaining the treatment so far offered to you), some ORs view them as an unnecessary expenditure that they'd expect you to give up if you couldn't afford them from whatever money you're left with after they've assessed your case. You can look at the 'trigger figures' here as a guideline.

Mike_St_Helens

Hi UTC

Here is a list of all the allowances etc that you should consider !

http://bankruptcy.informe.com/viewtopic.php?t=29

Thanks... Mike

wherediditallgo

I suggest you try to hide some of the sundry costs in other costs. Things like dental/optical costs are allowed for, but not magazines/newspapers & something tells me beauty treatments aren't either. On another forum, a guy had £108pm of sundry costs disallowed, as the OR felt they weren't necessary expenditures. Yes, you can appeal against their decision if you think it's unfair, but you need a certain amount of cahones for that, which I suspect many of us don't have by the time we've gone through the BR mill, as we just want everything settled & over with.