OR interview next week

timmbleaddams

Hi all,
Both me and wife lost our jobs, then our home, now we're bankrupt. We are currently living with my wife's mum and have our interviews next week.
I was offered a job yesterday and the OR rang my wife this morning to tell her our interview is next week. My wife told her that I was starting a job next week and asked if we could do it this week. The OR said no because the systems are down.
My wife said that next week might be difficult because of my new job and the response was an abrupt, "You have a legal obligation to have this interview!", so my wife asked if she could do it early as I have to set off at 8am. The response was "I will call at 7:30, but if it runs over, it runs over!"
This is going to put me in a difficult position with my new employer. Any thoughts?

Also, we are paying my wife's mum rent - but we cannot stay here much longer as our kids are sharing a bedroom with us (they are aged 12 and 15). I see that most landlords will want 6 month's rent upfront for BR's. Should the OR let us save for this?

Thanks in advance for any pointers help :-)

National_Debtline

Hi timmbleaddams

Are you and your wife due to be interviewed jointly or individually?

The OR cannot force you to stay in a particular property, and seeking/moving somewhere that will more adequately accommodate 2 adults + 2 children is not regarded as extravagance. The interview is your opportunity to highlight issues like this one. It will help if you can cite specific examples of local landlords quoting 6 months' advance rent, so call around and get as many details as possible ahead of the interview.

Regards

Dennis @NDL

timmbleaddams

Thanks very much for your reply Dennis. We are getting interviewed jointly and I will ask mention this, because like you say, it is not an extravagance - we need a roof over our heads that accommodates two teenagers.
It's just that from my initial dealings with the OR I don't think she's going to cut us much slack (although I might be wrong).

macbabypam

Sometimes the OR interview can appear very daunting but once you actually get down to it the OR is usually quite reasonable. It is not their job to make things as difficult as possible for you or leave you in a a position that is unreasonable for you and your family. They must only realise as much of your assests to benefit your creditors as possible.

This interview will give you a chance to explain your financial situation and your needs to provide a home for your family. It's a stroke of luck that you have managed to land a job so take some comfort that maybe your luck is changing for the better.

Going BR is a massive upheaval and an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved, but try to look at it as a positive move in as much as you have taken some control back. Things will get better and you will look back on this period as one of your darkest times but your future will be much brighter.

Good Luck

egrescrimp

timmbleaddams wrote: »

Thanks very much for your reply Dennis. We are getting interviewed jointly and I will ask mention this, because like you say, it is not an extravagance - we need a roof over our heads that accommodates two teenagers.
It's just that from my initial dealings with the OR I don't think she's going to cut us much slack (although I might be wrong).

Just remember, the OR isn't there to make your life difficult! if you need money for basic things like finding accommodation then they should account for that. You may be asked to provide proof of any deposit you save and pay, so keep that in mind.

When I had my initial 10 minute chat I was left feeling a little uneasy but during my interview the atmosphere was very different as we worked through how things happened and what needed to happen going forward.

Try not to worry, you won't be interrogated like you are in Guantanamo bay

After the interview you'll probably feel a great sense of relief and wonder why you got so concerned/worried about what they may or may not say.

timmbleaddams

egrescrimp wrote: »

Just remember, the OR isn't there to make your life difficult! if you need money for basic things like finding accommodation then they should account for that. You may be asked to provide proof of any deposit you save and pay, so keep that in mind.

When I had my initial 10 minute chat I was left feeling a little uneasy but during my interview the atmosphere was very different as we worked through how things happened and what needed to happen going forward.

Try not to worry, you won't be interrogated like you are in Guantanamo bay

After the interview you'll probably feel a great sense of relief and wonder why you got so concerned/worried about what they may or may not say.

Haha Thanks so much for that, I do literally feel like I am going to get waterboarded. I don't know why because we were a victim of circumstance rather than deliberately building up debts.

It was the other way round for me, the first fella I spoke to was dead nice and reassuring, yet the OR seems (so far) like she's going to destroy us. But, like you say, hopefully it won't be as intense as I am expecting and we can save up the deposit for somewhere to rent.

I gotta say, this forum has been really helpful for me. Thanks for the replies.

timmbleaddams

macbabypam wrote: »

Sometimes the OR interview can appear very daunting but once you actually get down to it the OR is usually quite reasonable. It is not their job to make things as difficult as possible for you or leave you in a a position that is unreasonable for you and your family. They must only realise as much of your assests to benefit your creditors as possible.

This interview will give you a chance to explain your financial situation and your needs to provide a home for your family. It's a stroke of luck that you have managed to land a job so take some comfort that maybe your luck is changing for the better.

Going BR is a massive upheaval and an emotional rollercoaster for everyone involved, but try to look at it as a positive move in as much as you have taken some control back. Things will get better and you will look back on this period as one of your darkest times but your future will be much brighter.

Good Luck

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. Thanks for you kind words, I can tell you that reading this thread has made me feel A LOT better.

egrescrimp

timmbleaddams wrote: »

Haha Thanks so much for that, I do literally feel like I am going to get waterboarded. I don't know why because we were a victim of circumstance rather than deliberately building up debts.

It was the other way round for me, the first fella I spoke to was dead nice and reassuring, yet the OR seems (so far) like she's going to destroy us. But, like you say, hopefully it won't be as intense as I am expecting and we can save up the deposit for somewhere to rent.

I gotta say, this forum has been really helpful for me. Thanks for the replies.

I honestly wouldn't worry they just want to know how you incurred each debt you listed as an unsecure creditor and then they go over your SOA and any assets you have.

Call over

Have a pot of coffee ready before the call and remember, the debts gone now! you can begin to relax and look to the future

debtinfo

timmbleaddams wrote: »

Hi all,
Both me and wife lost our jobs, then our home, now we're bankrupt. We are currently living with my wife's mum and have our interviews next week.
I was offered a job yesterday and the OR rang my wife this morning to tell her our interview is next week. My wife told her that I was starting a job next week and asked if we could do it this week. The OR said no because the systems are down.
My wife said that next week might be difficult because of my new job and the response was an abrupt, "You have a legal obligation to have this interview!", so my wife asked if she could do it early as I have to set off at 8am. The response was "I will call at 7:30, but if it runs over, it runs over!"
This is going to put me in a difficult position with my new employer. Any thoughts?

I think you worry because you only see it from your side of the fence. lets look at it from the other side.

The OR has an internal target to interview you within 10 working days and a legal duty to publish their report within 8 weeks which includes as well as interviewing you collecting all the other information from other sources that they need, much of which they wont know they need until they have interviewed you (who knows what your going to say and what they will need to check out).

You are not the only person they will be interviewing that week or even that day. each of them will also have a compelling reason why they need a particular day or time and why they cant make the time the OR wants.

Every day the OR's go to court to have public examinations for people who did not attend there interviews of the next one they were scheduled for or the next one etc etc. they probably all said they had a good reason for missing or rescheduling that first one so you can forgive the OR for being skeptical.

Finally the OR's normal office hours are 9 till 5. they have scheduled one for 7:30 at your request, that seems to me like they been fairly generous with their time. Maybe this examiner is one of the ones that has had their office closed recently and now has to travel large distances to get to their new office, what time are they getting up to fit in your 7:30 interview. as to saying that they will start and see how long it takes, well alot of interviews are about half an hour but the OR really has no idea how long it will take. it depends on what comes out in the interview so they arnt going to limit themselves in case something important does come up.

Any way just some thoughts to show that there is more to it than thinking the OR has it in for you :-)