More Questions - Please help before my head bursts...

MrsMinxington

Hi,

I posted a couple of weeks back and got some very sound and useful advice from you chaps, hoping for some more help.

I was advised by the CAB prior to filing for bankruptcy that I should open a new account to transfer all my direct debits and whatnot over to. I have pretty much done this now, but having read a number of posts on here it seems as though its possible that the new account (nationwide flex) could still be subject to being frozen? When I attended the bank I was very honest about my circumstances and as I didnt have any CCJs or IVAs the guy took my application and the account was accepted but I did tell them that it was what I was planning to do, and also said that I did not want any overdraft facility putting on the account. Is it likely that they will freeze my account or close it down?

Also, I advised tax credits that I had changed accounts last week and yet this weeks payment still went into the old account. I rang them up today to check it was going into the new account, and not only had they not changed it over and the payment had already gone out (and indeed I later found was in my old account already) but they also had said they would advise child benefit and that hadnt happened either. I have been holding off closing all my direct debits off on the old account because I didnt want to alert the bank to the problem before it was absolutely necessary, for exactly this reason. I contacted child benefit and fortunately that payment had not yet been sent out so they were able to alter it and told me that it would go into the new account on Tuesday. Would it be wise for me to hold off still some more until I have concrete evidence that all the benefit payments I get have moved over? My concern is that a loan d/d to the bank I am with is due to go out, in a couple of days, and that will bounce regardless, at which point they will be alert to the fact that there is a problem and may grab hold of any further missent payments from the child tax credit people.

I dont know what Im supposed to do.


And then... I read an awful lot of very scary stuff earlier on one of those insolvency advice websites - and am a bit confused about some stuff. I owe a lot of money to a catalogue, all of the items have been purchased over a number of week terms, and in some cases I havent even started paying for them yet. Will they want any of those items back - or will the amount I owe for those items just go into the pot of b/r debts. As far as I could see it doesnt seem to be that the OR is interested in anything worth less than £1000, (of which we have nothing) but I dont really understand what will happen with the catalogue items.

Oh, one last thing - One of my Credit Cards has my husband as an additional cardholder - but the account is in my name, will he be liable for that particular debt?

The phone calls are coming already, Sygma bank are on the phone every day - and my caller display isnt functioning. Stress levels are already through the roof and it is becoming increasingly hard to process the information or think through things logically - there are probably very simple answers to the questions but its all just getting me down. So if you have those answers, simple or complex, I'd be interested to hear them. Thanks xx

savagevixen

MrsMinxington wrote: »

Hi,

I posted a couple of weeks back and got some very sound and useful advice from you chaps, hoping for some more help.

I was advised by the CAB prior to filing for bankruptcy that I should open a new account to transfer all my direct debits and whatnot over to. I have pretty much done this now, but having read a number of posts on here it seems as though its possible that the new account (nationwide flex) could still be subject to being frozen? When I attended the bank I was very honest about my circumstances and as I didnt have any CCJs or IVAs the guy took my application and the account was accepted but I did tell them that it was what I was planning to do, and also said that I did not want any overdraft facility putting on the account. Is it likely that they will freeze my account or close it down? You can make it clear to the OR that this is your new basic account, opened for your use post bankruptcy. The OR should then tell the bank they have no interest in that account and it should run as normal. Sometimes it is frozen and then re-activated sometimes it is closed. It would be better to have a back up, just in case.

Also, I advised tax credits that I had changed accounts last week and yet this weeks payment still went into the old account. I rang them up today to check it was going into the new account, and not only had they not changed it over and the payment had already gone out (and indeed I later found was in my old account already) but they also had said they would advise child benefit and that hadnt happened either. I have been holding off closing all my direct debits off on the old account because I didnt want to alert the bank to the problem before it was absolutely necessary, for exactly this reason.I changed all my direct debits after Bankruptcy, but then I opened my co-op cashminder post-bankruptcy, and had arranged for all TC/CTC/wages to go temporarily into my mums account. I contacted child benefit and fortunately that payment had not yet been sent out so they were able to alter it and told me that it would go into the new account on Tuesday. Would it be wise for me to hold off still some more until I have concrete evidence that all the benefit payments I get have moved over? My concern is that a loan d/d to the bank I am with is due to go out, in a couple of days, You can cancell any payments going out of your account, online. It will still take them a while to cotton on.and that will bounce regardless, at which point they will be alert to the fact that there is a problem and may grab hold of any further missent payments from the child tax credit people. The OR would instruct the bank to release these funds, as they are necessary for you to live of, sometimes banks don't honour it though.

I dont know what Im supposed to do.


And then... I read an awful lot of very scary stuff earlier on one of those insolvency advice websites - and am a bit confused about some stuff. I owe a lot of money to a catalogue, all of the items have been purchased over a number of week terms, and in some cases I havent even started paying for them yet. Will they want any of those items back - or will the amount I owe for those items just go into the pot of b/r debts. As far as I could see it doesnt seem to be that the OR is interested in anything worth less than £1000, (of which we have nothing) but I dont really understand what will happen with the catalogue items. You will get to keep them I imagine. I had a Next account, and there was no mention of the items. As long as there is no evidence that you have recently acquired lots of things pre-bankruptcy, that you had no intention of paying for, you have nothing to worry about.

Oh, one last thing - One of my Credit Cards has my husband as an additional cardholder - but the account is in my name, will he be liable for that particular debt?It is your credit, not your husbands. Although his credit rating will be affected by your bankruptcy.

The phone calls are coming already, Sygma bank are on the phone every day - and my caller display isnt functioning. Stress levels are already through the roof and it is becoming increasingly hard to process the information or think through things logically - there are probably very simple answers to the questions but its all just getting me down. So if you have those answers, simple or complex, I'd be interested to hear them. Thanks xx

Don't worry, you'll be fine!

savagevixen

Then, after your deep breath, go here:


http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/index.asp?webType=0


and put in postcodes, or town names where you have lived and maybe (like me) you 2 could find many fellow bankrupts lurking, that you never knew were BR. And you will feel quite happy ( for a moment!)

wherediditallgo

savagevixen wrote: »

Then, after your deep breath, go here:


http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/index.asp?webType=0


and put in postcodes, or town names where you have lived and maybe (like me) you 2 could find many fellow bankrupts lurking, that you never knew were BR. And you will feel quite happy ( for a moment!)

I did that one day - you can't see it properly using Firefox, but with Internet Explorer everything's revealed. I found one of my old neighbours, as well as a couple of my new ones. I decided not to look any more - once I've got a bit of info, I then want to know more, such as how much they went BR for, did they get a BRO etc. Knowledge can be a dangerous thing...

One good thing I saw was Chris Eubank's info. I have friends living in his area, & for a long time it's been the talk of the town that he put some of his assets in his wife's name then made himself BR then they got divorced but still live together, but I found out that he was made BR by creditors. It was nice to put the record straight with my friends, even though there's not a chance he'll thank me for it.

user55

savagevixen wrote: »

Then, after your deep breath, go here:


http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/index.asp?webType=0


and put in postcodes, or town names where you have lived and maybe (like me) you 2 could find many fellow bankrupts lurking, that you never knew were BR. And you will feel quite happy ( for a moment!)

Oh. My. God. There is a steady stream of my neighbours and colleagues going bankrupt! I'm gobsmacked! That's cheered me up no end

user55

Mrs Minxington I was also advised by the CAB to open my new account ASAP. I opened an account at Nationwide and declared my impending bankruptcy when I opened it. I made it clear on my forms the purpose of the this new account, and told the OR in our initial phone call about it. It got frozen on Wednesday this week. The OR said they are desperately trying to get the CAB to advise opening a new bank account the day *after* bankruptcy to avoiud this situation. He said they do not tell banks to close or freeze accounts, it is down to the bank.

It has allegedly been unfrozen now, after a very very stressful 2 days. I've not tried it out yet though!

I'm not telling you this to scare you, but to prepare you for the probability. If I had my chance again, I'd have waited till after, even though that would have had it's own massive stresses and risks.

fermi

user55 wrote: »

The OR said they are desperately trying to get the CAB to advise opening a new bank account the day *after* bankruptcy to avoiud this situation.

That is incredibly useful to know, and backs up all the anecdotal evidence seen on this and other sites.

MrsMinxington

Thanks guys, I feel a lot better having read these posts.

Now, a couple more questions if you dont mind, because they just keep on popping into my head!

Roughly speaking, what sort of timescale are we looking at if I call the CAB man today and say "go ahead and start writing to my creditors" until the actual application for bankruptcy needs paying for? I need to budget for this £475 and so I need to know how long it is likely to be before I have to pay. As I understand it because we are a low income family - we should get a rebate of £150 but that I will have to pay the whole lot up front in the first place. So how long do these sorts of things take?

Secondly, in terms of income, do they take my income into account or the whole family? I ask this because my son gets DLA due to having a disability, and my husband gets carers allowance for both him and myself. Either way, we should meet the 0 surplus income point, Im just curious as to what is the actual situation with that.

Again, thanks for your help with this, its very reassuring to know you arent alone...

fermi

The only official timescale constraint on going BR is getting an appointment at your court.

The separate County Courts around the country differ in how they approach this. Some require no appointment in advance, so you just turn up on the day of your choosing. Others operate an appointment system where the wait can vary from days to weeks to months depending on how busy your court is.

You need to ring your court to find out how they do things.

If you get the fee exemption forms from the court in advance and take them to court on the day, you should not have to pay the £150 at all. Check with the court that you qualify for the exemption.

For income. Going BR is an individual thing, but the OR will need to know what income other members of the household contribute. This is just to make sure that you are not making an unfair excess or under contribution yourself.

Hope that helps.