Help needed for my Mum

kellbells

My Mum & Dad are 64 & 68 respectively and have been in an IVA for the last 18 months with another 3 years to go.

Mum works a M-F 9-5 job. Has her salary and pension payable every month too.
Dad is retired and just has his pension.

She pays out nearly £1000 per month and is struggling to sometimes meet these payments. She's made contact with Kingsgate on several occasions (who have really been quite brutal in their dealings with her) asking if the payments can be reduced.

She does get told that she can reduce the amount for that month only but then has to catch up with the unpaid amount over the coming month or two.

She's been told time and time again by me and other family members about Bankruptcy but she is worried how this will affect her job, home, car etc.

Her home is rented from the council and her car is an X reg Honda Accord which she uses to get to and from work.

I wonder if anyone could shed some light on the implications of bankruptcy for me to then show her and hopefully make her 'see the light'.

Also, is it right for the IVA to take her & my Dad's pensions into account?

Thanks in advance.

Kelly

McKneff

Why not sit down with them, on here and do an SOA to see if they can budget better.








I really don't think you can understand the stigma that older people (including me) that bankruptcy has.


If she has salary and pension, and dad has pension, they must have a fair income into the household.
Try all routes first before bankruptcy.

kellbells

McKneff wrote: »

Why not sit down with them, on here and do an SOA to see if they can budget better.


I really don't think you can understand the stigma that older people (including me) that bankruptcy has.


If she has salary and pension, and dad has pension, they must have a fair income into the household.
Try all routes first before bankruptcy.

Thank you for your reply.

I fully understand the 'stigma' that is attached to bankruptcy but feel that it is their only other option as I truly feel this will end up sending my Mum inparticular 'over the edge'.

Yes, they have a fair household income but with all the other things they have to pay out for - shopping, phone, car, council tax, electric, gas, water rates etc etc their money just doesn't seem to stretch far enough each month.

I have told her to make an appt with the CAB to see what they can advise aswell.

Thanks again.

dancingfairy

I thought that the IP had the scope to vary the payments by up to 10% without the creditors permission. If she needs it changed permanently then she can ask for another creditors meeting. It doesn't sound right that they let her lower it one month and then want it back the next. If you need more help on that then head over to the IVA board and they can probably help you.
In terms of bankruptcy she doesn't have a mortgage so that shouldn't cause a problem. The OR will look to take cars over a certain value (1,000) I believe.
In terms of her job then unless the company has a clause about not employing bankrupts or requires credit checks or she works in an industry where it is likely to be a problem ie law, accountancy. politics then she should be fine. She can always phone HR annoymously or ask her union if she has one for advice.
In terms of going bankrupt then she will have to pay the fee which is about 700 pounds but given her high income she is likely to have to make a payment into her bankruptcy for 3 years.
It is worthwhile exploring how much she would have to pay but she may be better of finishing the IVA.
If she isn't having joy with the IVA company she could put in a written complaint to them if she feels she is being treated badly. Like I said I'm sure some people on the IVA board will be able to assist.
Best of Luck
df

McKneff

kellbells wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.

I fully understand the 'stigma' that is attached to bankruptcy but feel that it is their only other option as I truly feel this will end up sending my Mum inparticular 'over the edge'.

Yes, they have a fair household income but with all the other things they have to pay out for - shopping, phone, car, council tax, electric, gas, water rates etc etc their money just doesn't seem to stretch far enough each month.

I have told her to make an appt with the CAB to see what they can advise aswell.

Thanks again.

We all have those bills though, Im a pensioner and neither of us work, we have less then 1K coming in each month. They have got to be overspending or have a lot of debt payments going out. Like I say, site down with them and work out a budget, only then will you see what is going where. Bankruptcy under these circumstances may not be even appropriate to be honest and they may not be allowed.

longtermplanner

An IVA will usually take all sources of income into account.

It sounds as though she should probably not have agreed to the IVA in the first place, but it is a harder decision to decide to end the IVA and go bankrupt. She will almost certainly have to make payments to the Official Receiver for three years in she goes bankrupt.

Someone needs to go through their expenses and talk to them about whether the IVA payment is affordable and what amounts she might have to pay if she goes bankrupt. I hope she gets good advice from CAB.

When does she want to give up work? That would reduce her income, make the IVA even more unaffordable but would reduce the amount she had to pay in bankruptcy.

arcon5

Whats her job?
Whats her and his income?

alastairq

Bankruptcy under these circumstances may not be even appropriate to be honest and they may not be allowed.

Even if meeting minimum payments to service debt, that alone suggests the debtor is, in fact, insolvent.

The usual reason for a Judge not granting a personal BR petition seems to be if the Judge feels the petitioner actually does not understand the duties and implications of BAnkruptcy.

And not whether the petitioner might have another method of servicing their debts.

arcon5

Some courts the petition isn't even seen by a judge but less senior personnel authorised to rubber stamp it.

kellbells

arcon5 wrote: »

Whats her job?
Whats her and his income?

She works for a funeral directors in the office managing all the paperwork and staff and her income from that is £1300pm. She also gets around £600pm from her pension.

Dad's income is around £800pm from pensions.