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"Have you EVER been bankrupt"?
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Posts: 3 Newbie
Hi,
This is my first post on MSE so please bare with me. As a reader, I've found MSE to be an immense source over the years so thanks to everybody for contributing!:beer:
I recently passed the 4 year mark since I was declared Bankrupt and at the end of the summer I will reach the 4 year mark since I was discharged from my Bankruptcy.
As always it was a long story and I did everything I could at the time not to reach that situation. No excuses though! It was a very straightforward Bankruptcy with everything on the table. I had no assets or dependants and I was discharged just under 6 months later.
Since then I have done everything I can to build up my credit in preparation for the future. I have a credit card with a £2500 limit. I did the APS credit builder and that was settled 3 years ago even. I have 2 bank accounts, a savings account, mobile phone records and will be applying shortly for another credit card (suitable for me). Everything for the last 4 years has been paid on time. Since that day my credit files have been great. I've always been on the electoral roll. I've hardly move. No credit searches etc.. I am also very fortunate in that I have a well paid job.. Personally I have not experienced any real negative effects post Bankruptcy and ironically it really did give me a second chance in life after some very difficult circumstances at the time.
I am membered up with the 3 main CRA's; Experian, Equifax and Noddle (Call Credit). I know Credit Scores provided by the agencies have no baring on how lenders assess me for credit but laughably Experian have me as almost Very Good whilst more realistically Equifax & Noddle report me as Poor.
I have complied all their data and I am now in the process of making corrections with them all. There are a fair few disparities. E.g. Data (such as dates) from certain defaulted accounts differ on some of the reports. It really is ridiculous that these companies hold our fate in their hands yet there are so many mistakes with data that could effect us. Anyway it's all a process as I see it. The Experian file is now almost fully corrected and personally they have been very helpful. I hope to have this all completed in the next couple of months and then after it will simply be a clock watching exercise for the next 2 years.
I am also gradually learning about the National Hunter and will shortly be submitting an Advanced SAR (Subject Access Request) to see what data they hold.
The ultimate goal of this whole exercise as with all my fellow recovering Bankrupts is the future!!
With our credit files all displaying correctly and with our endeavours to demonstrate we are again credit worthy and have a good history, we finally come to that day 6 years later when our negative history is removed from our credit files. A second chance!?
So a few years from now.. I've been good, I've saved up and with a 20-25% deposit I go to the bank to apply for a Mortgage. As I complete the application I come to THAT QUESTION..,
"Have you EVER been declared bankrupt"?
It's on EVERY mortgage application. So now I have a choice. My files are clear.
Do I answer YES or NO? (Allow me to answer that rhetorically)
Everywhere I have looked on this forum everyone generally comes out and says "be honest", "its fraud if you don't" etc. Good sentiments and good advice! I appreciate that and I would always want to be honest!
Allow me to speculate.. After all the advice we have received from those in the 'know' about rebuilding credit the application finally goes to the Underwriter (Undertaker might be a better word in our case :cool: ) and they look at the file.. hmm.. He's 38 years old. No Mortage history?? Old First Time buyer! :P Oh he did APS. Cool but that's for Credit Building.. hmm.. Oh he's got a Credit Cards with nice limits and well managed.. hmm.. But it's a Vanquis Card & a Capital One Card..hmm.. Those are high interest rate cards for people with bad credit new pas? Why didn't he get a Barclaycard etc? hmm... but his credit file is kosha.. Nothing adverse on his credit file.. This is all a bit weird isn't it? Nothing on the Insolvency Register.. (Obviously as its gone off there within 3 months of discharge. Why bother checking there anyway as it's on the credit file along with the default/s for 6 years).. hmm.. I know what.. I'll just go online and check that special London Newspaper where ALL bankruptcies are published and archived for all of us to see for EVER! It takes a few minutes digging but its there. Unless your name's Smith or Jones in which case you might be lucky as that'll take a bit longer.. Hopefully it's a friday afternoon! :P
Now I've heard Underwriters say they don't go to such a level (unless they are suspicious) and that people tend to fib on that question. After all if you've got 6 years of good stuff and the bad stuff has gone then in a way you've satisfied everyone that your a good bet, so long as your employment, wages and all other factors get a tick too.. So it's not as if vengeance is part of their thinking. But is that really the case???
A rejected mortgage application on your credit file doesn't exactly get you off to a great start on the next attempt. A CIFAS marker would kind of ruin the day even more!
So.. The honest route.. YES! Ok govner you got me.. But I've been good see.. REJECTED!
Obviously we'd do our homework and not apply to most of the high street banks as a lot of them have a policy of rejecting ANYONE who says yes REGARDLESS! (Should we not be campaigning/lobbying for this question to be removed from applications? They have years worth of data to assess us so why should we get rejected or charged silly rates in the name of dogma! We technically have to answer YES for the rest of our lives regardless!)
That then takes us to Building Societies (nothing wrong with them at all, in fact often better than the banks) and then the Sub Prime market. I've read some great posts on here by guys who have literally contacted every lender to see where things might work out and yes a lot of us get mortgages post bankruptcy but at higher rates etc.
Do we ever get back to normal? How can they justify higher rates after so much time in the clear? Simply even on the basis that you were honest and told them yourself? Maybe after showing them the certificate and them assessing your case on a merit basis you get access to their better products?
Sorry if I've come across negatively. I knew there would always be big consequences as a result of this. Any answers to any of my questions or experiences from people ahead of me would be graciously received!!
Have a nice day!
This is my first post on MSE so please bare with me. As a reader, I've found MSE to be an immense source over the years so thanks to everybody for contributing!:beer:
I recently passed the 4 year mark since I was declared Bankrupt and at the end of the summer I will reach the 4 year mark since I was discharged from my Bankruptcy.
As always it was a long story and I did everything I could at the time not to reach that situation. No excuses though! It was a very straightforward Bankruptcy with everything on the table. I had no assets or dependants and I was discharged just under 6 months later.
Since then I have done everything I can to build up my credit in preparation for the future. I have a credit card with a £2500 limit. I did the APS credit builder and that was settled 3 years ago even. I have 2 bank accounts, a savings account, mobile phone records and will be applying shortly for another credit card (suitable for me). Everything for the last 4 years has been paid on time. Since that day my credit files have been great. I've always been on the electoral roll. I've hardly move. No credit searches etc.. I am also very fortunate in that I have a well paid job.. Personally I have not experienced any real negative effects post Bankruptcy and ironically it really did give me a second chance in life after some very difficult circumstances at the time.
I am membered up with the 3 main CRA's; Experian, Equifax and Noddle (Call Credit). I know Credit Scores provided by the agencies have no baring on how lenders assess me for credit but laughably Experian have me as almost Very Good whilst more realistically Equifax & Noddle report me as Poor.
I have complied all their data and I am now in the process of making corrections with them all. There are a fair few disparities. E.g. Data (such as dates) from certain defaulted accounts differ on some of the reports. It really is ridiculous that these companies hold our fate in their hands yet there are so many mistakes with data that could effect us. Anyway it's all a process as I see it. The Experian file is now almost fully corrected and personally they have been very helpful. I hope to have this all completed in the next couple of months and then after it will simply be a clock watching exercise for the next 2 years.
I am also gradually learning about the National Hunter and will shortly be submitting an Advanced SAR (Subject Access Request) to see what data they hold.
The ultimate goal of this whole exercise as with all my fellow recovering Bankrupts is the future!!
With our credit files all displaying correctly and with our endeavours to demonstrate we are again credit worthy and have a good history, we finally come to that day 6 years later when our negative history is removed from our credit files. A second chance!?
So a few years from now.. I've been good, I've saved up and with a 20-25% deposit I go to the bank to apply for a Mortgage. As I complete the application I come to THAT QUESTION..,
"Have you EVER been declared bankrupt"?
It's on EVERY mortgage application. So now I have a choice. My files are clear.
Do I answer YES or NO? (Allow me to answer that rhetorically)
Everywhere I have looked on this forum everyone generally comes out and says "be honest", "its fraud if you don't" etc. Good sentiments and good advice! I appreciate that and I would always want to be honest!
Allow me to speculate.. After all the advice we have received from those in the 'know' about rebuilding credit the application finally goes to the Underwriter (Undertaker might be a better word in our case :cool: ) and they look at the file.. hmm.. He's 38 years old. No Mortage history?? Old First Time buyer! :P Oh he did APS. Cool but that's for Credit Building.. hmm.. Oh he's got a Credit Cards with nice limits and well managed.. hmm.. But it's a Vanquis Card & a Capital One Card..hmm.. Those are high interest rate cards for people with bad credit new pas? Why didn't he get a Barclaycard etc? hmm... but his credit file is kosha.. Nothing adverse on his credit file.. This is all a bit weird isn't it? Nothing on the Insolvency Register.. (Obviously as its gone off there within 3 months of discharge. Why bother checking there anyway as it's on the credit file along with the default/s for 6 years).. hmm.. I know what.. I'll just go online and check that special London Newspaper where ALL bankruptcies are published and archived for all of us to see for EVER! It takes a few minutes digging but its there. Unless your name's Smith or Jones in which case you might be lucky as that'll take a bit longer.. Hopefully it's a friday afternoon! :P
Now I've heard Underwriters say they don't go to such a level (unless they are suspicious) and that people tend to fib on that question. After all if you've got 6 years of good stuff and the bad stuff has gone then in a way you've satisfied everyone that your a good bet, so long as your employment, wages and all other factors get a tick too.. So it's not as if vengeance is part of their thinking. But is that really the case???
A rejected mortgage application on your credit file doesn't exactly get you off to a great start on the next attempt. A CIFAS marker would kind of ruin the day even more!
So.. The honest route.. YES! Ok govner you got me.. But I've been good see.. REJECTED!
Obviously we'd do our homework and not apply to most of the high street banks as a lot of them have a policy of rejecting ANYONE who says yes REGARDLESS! (Should we not be campaigning/lobbying for this question to be removed from applications? They have years worth of data to assess us so why should we get rejected or charged silly rates in the name of dogma! We technically have to answer YES for the rest of our lives regardless!)
That then takes us to Building Societies (nothing wrong with them at all, in fact often better than the banks) and then the Sub Prime market. I've read some great posts on here by guys who have literally contacted every lender to see where things might work out and yes a lot of us get mortgages post bankruptcy but at higher rates etc.
Do we ever get back to normal? How can they justify higher rates after so much time in the clear? Simply even on the basis that you were honest and told them yourself? Maybe after showing them the certificate and them assessing your case on a merit basis you get access to their better products?
Sorry if I've come across negatively. I knew there would always be big consequences as a result of this. Any answers to any of my questions or experiences from people ahead of me would be graciously received!!
Have a nice day!
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Comments
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That's one long post and having read it I'm not sure what the question is. Do we ever get back to normal? For general lending then probably yes as I don't believe most banks, things that require a credit agreement (mobile, credit card) ask the question if you've ever been bankrupt so given it falls off your credit file in 6 years you should after rebuilding your credit get normal rates etc. mortgage on the other hand it will always be there.0
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You have to answer yes. Your BR is on the London Gazette website for ever. If you answer no you have never been BR when asked then when the solicitor does the BR search your mortgage offer will be withdrawn. You lose the house you want and the chance of trying for another in the near future is zilch.
When you eventually look to get a mortgage, don't go to a high street bank, go to a whole of the market adviser. There are a few on the board who have got mortgages post BR so it is not impossible.BSCno.87The only stupid question is an unasked oneLoving life as a Kernow Hippy0 -
Only you can see who your credit card is with, this info is not shared with people who search your credit record
Vanquis or Coutts, makes no difference0 -
It has always been my understanding that after 5 years there is no legal requirement for a person who has BK to declare it to anyone.
My advice however is phone the OR office and talk to them or talk to an Insolvency Practitioner... please don't listen to advice doled out on the internet, most people know little and pretend they know a great deal more to an often dangerous extent.
So I'd say ask an actual expert on something so fundamentally important - that's exactly what I have done in the past, anything I wanted to know or was unsure of, ring the OR.
I've always found the OR offices very helpful and pleasant.I am not offering advice, at most I describe what I've experienced. My advice is always the same; Talk to a professional face to face.
Debt - None of any type: Bank or any other accounts? - None: Anything in my name? No. Am I being buried in my wife's name... probably :cool:
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The irony of posting wrong advice and then telling people not to listen to the advice posted on the internet. :rotfl:Mr_F_Dorsetty wrote: »It has always been my understanding that after 5 years there is no legal requirement for a person who has BK to declare it to anyone.
My advice however is phone the OR office and talk to them or talk to an Insolvency Practitioner... please don't listen to advice doled out on the internet, most people know little and pretend they know a great deal more to an often dangerous extent.
So I'd say ask an actual expert on something so fundamentally important - that's exactly what I have done in the past, anything I wanted to know or was unsure of, ring the OR.
I've always found the OR offices very helpful and pleasant.
If the question is have you EVER been bankrupt gets asked the answer doesn't change after 5 years. If on the other hand they ask have you been made redundant within the last 5 or 6 years then you can honesty say no if that period of time has passed.0 -
Just a thought, but if you had your BR annulled, would you still have to answer yes as I have read that annullment is like BR never happened.
Not sure how that would work as the BR would still be in the London Gazette.0 -
Mr_F_Dorsetty wrote: »It has always been my understanding that after 5 years there is no legal requirement for a person who has BK to declare it to anyone.
My advice however is phone the OR office and talk to them or talk to an Insolvency Practitioner... please don't listen to advice doled out on the internet, most people know little and pretend they know a great deal more to an often dangerous extent.
So I'd say ask an actual expert on something so fundamentally important - that's exactly what I have done in the past, anything I wanted to know or was unsure of, ring the OR.
I've always found the OR offices very helpful and pleasant.
Oh the irony of this answer, first time I have ever seen 5 years used in answer like this. As the others have correctly stated, you have to answer yes if you are asked HAVE you ever been BR, there is no grey area in this matter.:pB&SC No. 298
Life`s Tragedy is that we get OLD too soon
and WISE too late!0 -
The simple and BEST answer is that you apply HONESTLY.
You end up with a Sub-Prime mortgage, paying 7%, when everyone else is skipping around paying just 1%. What's more, the Sub Prime locks you in for 3 years, so you can't go anywhere else for a whole 36 months. Instead you mutter but PAY your bonkers Sub-Prime mortgage for three years. Every month. No mistakes.
THEN comes the day when you are allowed to look around!! No longer bankrupt, with a glowing record of 100% payment schedule you may FINALLY be accepted by a High Street Mortgage Company. You can only hope that Interest Rates haven't drifted up to 7% in the meantime........!!!!!!???****
Welcome to our world!0 -
Thanks for the posts so far everyone. I just wanted to clarify a couple of things..tigerfeet2006 wrote: »If you answer no you have never been BR when asked then when the solicitor does the BR search your mortgage offer will be withdrawn.
Where does the 'solicitor' come into assessment of suitability for a Mortage? The 'Underwriter' decides finally if you get the mortgage or not. Did I miss something?
In that statement you also imply that a Bankruptcy search is conducted on everyone? If that were the case and they have an easy automated way of gleaning the data from the Gazette then why even ask the question in the first place?
I'm not trying to shoot you down. Those are honest questions.Only you can see who your credit card is with, this info is not shared with people who search your credit record
Vanquis or Coutts, makes no difference
This is the first time I’ve ever seen a statement like that? A Bank or other similar institution searching your credit file is NOT able to see who your credit cards, bank accounts, mobile phone etc etc are held with? That surely is not the case. They see everything. Please show us a viable source that states otherwise!0 -
Lying on a mortgage application saying you never been bankrupt when you had would be FRAUD.Still rolling rolling rolling...... <
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