Court delay

truffsie

Hi I'm new here and would very much appreciate some advice. After much soul searching my sister has decided that her only option is to declare herself bankrupt. Problem is that we today discovered that there is a two month wait before she can present her petition at court. She has stopped the direct debit for a payment plan she agreed with a debt management agency a few months ago as she simply cannot afford to pay it and also has as I understand an overdraft with her bank which has reached the limit plus several hundred pounds debts in the way of unpresented cheques.

Her salary is paid into the bank and she is now worried that if the cheques are presented ( she is currently paying a fee every month so that they are rolled over to the next month ), she will go over the overdraft limit and also not be able to withdraw any money for essential living expenses for the next two months at least.

Plus what should she tell her creditors who will no doubt be preesing for payment when the DD is not fulfilled? Any advice you can give is very much appreciated.

rog2

Hi truffsie - first of all, did your sister take any professional advice before making her decision? If not, then she should talk to one of the Debt Counselling Charities, such as CCCS, National Debtline or the CAB - there are links on the DFW toolbar.
Assuming that she HAS taken advice, then she should arrange, as soon as possible, for her salary to be paid into another account - possibly that of a family member, or a trusted friend. If the court delay is two months, then the bank is not likely to commence any legal action in that time, other than to send letters, telephone calls or pass it to an external debt collector. Whilst it will be unpleasant to live with, two months will soon pass. Don't worry about any additional charges - these will be included in her bankruptcy.
Once she has been declared bankrupt, then she will be able to open a basic account, for her salary.
With regard to her other creditors, the best advice will be to ignore them.
Can she keep asking at the court? There are, sometimes, cancellations.

bobblebot

Hi there,
i had the same problems as you sister at my local court 2 month wait but got some excellent advice from folk on here. !st tell her stop using her current account and open a new one- nationwide basic account is good and OR lets you keep it-well mine did-had no probs at all. Cancel all direct debits and just forget about the other accounts and overdrafts. Then get her wages paid into the new nationwide account then she is completely in control of her oney. Ignore phone calls/letters unless they say they are coming to the house-just ring them and tell them you're going bankrupt and if your sister completes online petition on insolvency website she will get a insolvency petition number that she can then quote as her proof.
Then just sit tight, wait for the date and don't worry it is much less stressful than you would ever believe and the court officials are lovely and non-judgemental. Best of luck,

Jx

sarah0404

Hi, I am sort of in a similar position. I'm not going bankrupt, but entering into a Trust Deed, which is going to take a few months to be properly set up. I have just opened a new bank account (not connected to any of the companies I owe money to) and arranged for my partners salary and our child benefit etc to be paid into there. I don't know how often your sister is paid, but hopefully she can have a new account set up before she gets paid again. I just opened an account on Tuesday, and got all the stuff through the post today saying the account is ready to use - and we had a postal strike one day last week. Maybe you could offer for her salary to be paid into your account, and then give her the cash.

I've been living in my overdraft for months, so I've taken out what cash I can and cancelled all the direct debits and standing orders in the account. It shouldn't go over drawn because there is nothing to be drawn out of it. I have just not paid my credit cards. They will just give me a late fee and it'll probably take them a good couple of weeks to realise I am not paying. By then the trust deed should be under way. The only thing I am really scared about is my loan I have. There will not be enough money in the bank to pay it. i'll get charges and the bank will probably be straight on the phone to me. I guess I will just tell them I am entering into a trust deed and offer to return my bank card and cheque book. Very scary though!

Wish your sister good luck from me. Hopefully everything will be sorted out as soon as possible.

truffsie

rog2 and bobblebot, many thanks for your helpful replies.
Sister took advice from Payplan, UK Insolvency helpline and also an employee helpline arranged by her employers. All could offer no solution other than BR as debts don't exceed £15,000. As regards bank account, I've checked on Nationwide website and they won't consider cash account if any other bank account is in existence. Also, as me and hubby live 400 miles away we can't arrange for her to have salary paid into our account as I'm sure bank would query regular long distance withdrawals.
It's all a bit of a mess really.

truffsie

Sarah0404, many thanks and good luck with your dealings

Posthinking

truffsie wrote: »

rog2 and bobblebot, many thanks for your helpful replies.
Sister took advice from Payplan, UK Insolvency helpline and also an employee helpline arranged by her employers. All could offer no solution other than BR as debts don't exceed £15,000. As regards bank account, I've checked on Nationwide website and they won't consider cash account if any other bank account is in existence. Also, as me and hubby live 400 miles away we can't arrange for her to have salary paid into our account as I'm sure bank would query regular long distance withdrawals.
It's all a bit of a mess really.

Have checked with my daughter and the long distance withdrawals are not a problem per se. What she did query was, how would your sis make those withdrawals?

truffsie

Hi Posthinking, thank you very much for taking the trouble to make enquiries with your daughter. The only way I coule think off would be to give her my card, but of course this isn't legal so it' a bit of a catch 22 really.

Posthinking

sarah0404 wrote: »

I just opened an account on Tuesday, and got all the stuff through the post today saying the account is ready to use - and we had a postal strike one day last week.

And sorry folks but there's another one this Thursday:mad:

penguin83

Hi im the Section Manager of Insolvency and Enforcements at a County Court and they cant really refuse you. We have had people walk in half an hour before closing and had to get a judge to stay on and see them. If she is ready to go bankrupt and has had sufficient advice that it is best for her, I would keep pushing the court. Speak to the Section Manager, Office Manager then Court Manager and if necessary make an official complaint. I know it might seem drastic but they really shouldnt be refusing you x

Good Luck x

Posthinking

Wonderful advice. We need more like you contributing.