OR Interview tomorrow HELP

owetoomuch

I have my OR interview tomorrow morning, I am really dreading it as I have nothing to show for my debts, I am actually feeling quite sick at the moment thinking about it, is there anything I need to do for this interview? It will be by phone.

allofadither

I know exactly how you feel. I was a bag of nerves before mine. BUT it will be OK. Here's what I did:-
1. Had a copy of my SoA handy
2. Had a big notice on the wall telling me 'not to ramble'....only answer the question you are being asked.
3. Had a cuppa and a choc biscuit straught after

Once it gets going you'll be fine. Fantastic feeling when it's over. :j

ClaireLR

Hi OTM,

well I don't have any practical advice really, just wanted to say that I'mkind of in the same boat, going BR on 6 July for around £23k, and I to have nothing to show for my debts. No big car, no flash jewellery or designer clothes, nothing. And I feel exactly the same as you, not sure what to say when they ask me why I had a loan for £14k, because I can't actually remember what it went on.

I think from other posts Ive read the general thing to remember is just be honest really, I'm sure there are others who are in the same boat as us. Ive been advised to find as much paperwork relating to your debts as possible (if you still have it), other than that I don't think theres much you can do, you don't know what they re going to ask so can't prepare responses!

Now take a deep breath, think how much better your going to feel this time tomorrow when you go to bed, and RELAX!! :-)

PS can you come and find me the night before my OR interview please and copy and paste this message??!

Seriously, hope it goes ok, let us know I would be interested to find out. x

wherediditallgo

ClaireLR wrote: »

well I don't have any practical advice really, just wanted to say that I'mkind of in the same boat, going BR on 6 July for around £23k, and I to have nothing to show for my debts. No big car, no flash jewellery or designer clothes, nothing. And I feel exactly the same as you, not sure what to say when they ask me why I had a loan for £14k, because I can't actually remember what it went on.

I think that's the case for a lot of us. More than the experience of going BR, more than having to deal with creditors, more than the worry, the thing that will ensure I never get into debt again will be knowing that I had precious little to show for it this time. I've got a very good music system & my keyboards, but not much else besides that. When you get into debt, the money goes on whatever's the pressing need at the time, whether that be a bill, food, getting the car back on the road etc.

Just be honest with the OR during the interview. They won't expect you to say to the exact penny & date where all the money went, but they will want an explanation of your lifestyle at that time & will want to know why you took the loan out. If the money went to pay off or reduce other debts, just say so. Unless your loan was very recent, they won't expect to see receipts or statements to prove that. Good luck to both of you.

Remmer

My OR was brilliant. One of the last questions was "Why are you bankrupt"...Silence from me, so she pieced together what had been said earlier and prompted me. She opened the interview by asking how I was feeling. I replied that I'd never been so scared in my entire life and there was a strong possibility I'd throw up at any second. She laughed and reassured me. After that it was ok really. The very best of luck to you.

owetoomuch

Well the interview is over, the gentleman was very nice and patient with me, he asked me why I was in so much debt and I explained that when I took out the loans I never looked at what I needed to live on, just could I afford the repayments, and never cut up the credit cards and ended up using them for day to day expenses. I have been given an IPA of £50 which I am pleased about as I want to pay something towards my debts and I have to let him know if and when I can afford to pay more. He also gave me his email address for any contact I wish to make with him which will be useful as I dont want to make these phone calls from work as I haven't told anyone there about my BR. None of the items on my SOA were cut back. So now hopefully I will start to feel a bit better about going BR.

NekoZombie

owetoomuch wrote: »

Well the interview is over, the gentleman was very nice and patient with me, he asked me why I was in so much debt and I explained that when I took out the loans I never looked at what I needed to live on, just could I afford the repayments, and never cut up the credit cards and ended up using them for day to day expenses. I have been given an IPA of £50 which I am pleased about as I want to pay something towards my debts and I have to let him know if and when I can afford to pay more. He also gave me his email address for any contact I wish to make with him which will be useful as I dont want to make these phone calls from work as I haven't told anyone there about my BR. None of the items on my SOA were cut back. So now hopefully I will start to feel a bit better about going BR.

Just out of interest, but how much did you go down for that he asked how you were in *so* much debt? I went down for £36k, and wasn't asked why I had accrued that much debt, more, how did this happen? I suppose its a moot point.

owetoomuch

Dont like to see it in print but not quite double what you went BR for, probably because I had nothing to show and couldn't remember dates, he just wanted to know if it was all recent I suppose, but in fact the first credit card I took out was over 10 years ago and it went down hill from there. I just have to face I cannot handle credit I will be a cash girl from now on will even avoid using electron card as nothing makes you think twice more than hading over your hard earned cash.

allofadither

Glad that part's over for you :j ....hope you're feeling OK now. Well done

ClaireLR

Well thats good doesn't sound like they grilled you to much!

Just out of interest, could you post a copy of your SOA if you don't mind? It's just so that I can see what amounts you put down for things and compare to my own.

Only if you dont mind though!

owetoomuch

Told the OR that my budget was worked out with the help of CCCS and that as I have been living of credit so long I didnt know what to put down and they helped me and cut back some of my first attempts at a budget.

Housekeeping (including food & Cleaning) £250
Electricity £80
Telephone Charges £50
Travelling to and from work and other essential journeys £101
Clothing £52
Council Tax £125

Under other essential payments £565 Broken down as follows:

TV Licience £11
Sky £21
Repairs £10
Appliance rental £17 (washing machine)
Childcare £100
Towards car expenses £40 (told him I didnt drive but would like to contribute to petrol and so on)
School/Work Meals £50
Pet Insurance £20
Tobacco £134 (thought I would get shot down for this but CCCS said as I was a smoker I should put it down)
School Trips £5
Hairdressing £10
Medicines/Prescriptions £7
Dentist/Optician £14
Newspapers/Magazines £8
Entertainment £20
Childs pocket money £10
Sundries/Emergencies £15

I hadn't put any money down for Christmas/Birthdays or Holidays but I would have asked for some if he cut down other items, he didn't even go through this with me, just asked if I felt I could afford to pay £50 IVA and that we would start with that and if I felt at a later date I could pay more I was to get in contact with him.