making that call

Mummy_george

tomorrow i am ringing to arrange a appointment for BR I am worrying myself to much so just need to make the date!

I see on here someone said they were with judge approx 30 minutes can anyone been through the process please explain what happens when i go to court.

once i been into court i obviousbly can withdraw no money from my accounts, im hoping to be given appointment late next week or week after if poss, am i ok to withdraw my money beforehand, its benefits?

shall i do new bank account now or after worried about essential direct debits

Mummy_george

sorry how long after should i expect to hear from the OR? will they havve to contact me again regarding restrictions etc or tell me there and then. sorry read so much my brains in overload

owlet

Hi Mummy george

It really is nothing to worry about.

Open your new bank account (s) now. You can go to the co-op or Barclays.

DON'T mention BR when applying. With the co-op you will get internet banking & with Barclays you won't (although a few have managed keep it after).

You must make sure they are basic accounts. The Co-op one is called cashminder, I don't know what the Barclays one is called.

It's a good idea to open a couple of accounts. One just for bills & the other for spending. Get your direct debits moved as soon as you can. Personally, I would do this before going to court to ensure it all goes smoothly. Remember it can take a week or so to get the new accounts up and running.

On your BR form say that this / these account (s) are your everyday living accounts and they shouldn't get frozen. If they do, it will only be a few days. My Co-op account wasn't frozen & Co-op said they weren't interested if the OR was happy.

Yes, withdraw your money before going to court. You need it to live on. It's not cash in your hand, as asked on the BR form.

On the day, have change for the car park & make sure you know where you are going. Arrive in plenty of time.

When you arrive at court you will go through security & go to the appropriate place.
The court official will check your forms and take your fees. He/she will then take your forms to the judge.

After this it varies. Some people actually see the judge and others don't. I didn't see the judge. The official just came back after about 15 min with the forms all stamped & it was job done and it was over. From what others have said, if you have to see the judge, it's still nothing to worry about.

The OR will contact you normally within a few days for a quick pre appointment chat. They will also arrange a time with you for the consultation.
The OR call is normally fine. They deal with facts and aren't there to judge you.
I only had one call from the OR the day after court. My case was very straightforward & I had no assets. The call lasted ten mins & I haven't anything since.

Make sure you choose a time when you won't be disturbed & don't be tempted to waffle. Just answer the questions and expect long silences while he writes everything down.

Step change will go through your forms on the phone if you want them to. I did this & was very helpful.

Have you sought independent advice on going BR? It's one of the questions you will be asked.

You will be fine x

Mummy_george

Thanks for advice, i do have a dormant account already but not with those two banks, I wonder if that will be ok???

I did seek advice and was suggested IVA however after lots of research have seen that as we have no assetts except a car worth about £400-£500 which wouldnt be ideal if I lost it but can deal wth it and then the kids caravan of course which is not ours that IVA would not be suitable as we are on benefits so income can change at any time, especially as i;m looking at being a full time student next year. I have spoken to someone who deals with debt through pm on here and they also said IVA shouldnt be a consideration. My local CAB area a bit of a nightmare trying to get appointments and it will be 2 weeks just seeing a standard advisor before we are even talking with the person that specialises in debt, I understand they are a charity and appreciate the great job they do but I just can not drag this out any longer, its making me so ill not slept properly in weeks. x

alastairq

i do have a dormant account already but not with those two banks, I wonder if that will be ok???

As a general rule, I will say 'no!'

So far of all the High St. banks, only Co-op & Barclays have proven to have no issues when a BAnkruptcy is petitioned.

Co-op have a rule of not opening CAshminder accounts to Undischarged BAnkrupts...therefore a CAshminder account needs to be opened ASAP, before a BR petition is sought [do not mention anything about BR]

Co-op will allow internet access, etc, whilst Undischarged.

BArclays will open a basic account once Undischarged...but will not allow internet access, for that period [1 year, usually]

All other banks have generally proved to be unhelpful in the extreme. [although that attitude may change in the distant future]

The car might be exempted as an asset, if you can demonstrate 'a need'....the caravan, as I have already noted, isn't your asset.....you are but the 'responsible adult'...not the owner of the asset...your kids are.

owlet

You do need to speak to qualified debt advisors such as Stepchange or national debt line. They are free. One of the questions you will be asked is if you have sought advice. Unfortunately, this forum doesn't count. If you haven't you are likely to be turned away because it's very important that you understand the implications of BR.

Don't rush to make the BR appointment or at least make the appointment for say the end of the month. It sounds as if you are rushing it a bit hun. Take a bit of time and get it right. Get your bank accounts open & get the paperwork and debit cards through. Set up your direct debits in one of them.
Ring step change & speak to an advisor. They will give you a reference number which you can then give to any creditors who are chasing. That will buy you some time. Don't mention BR to your creditors though because they will try to get money from you before it's too late. Just tell them you are working with step change (or who ever you decide to use).

Take a bit of a breather.

JaneDoeJohnDoe

Don't panic. Don't tell creditors you are thinking of BR. Depending upon how much is in any bank acct you may be able to keep it open if OR happy that it is solely for day-to-day stuff. Remember they can & prob will ask for all bank statements. A dormant acct to me on the surface sounds 'dodgy'. Talk to step-change. On the day my BR took about 1 hr tops. You go to the "BR counter" at the court. Some courts may ask you to make an appt. You then will go thru to a private room where a clerk will run thru the forms with you & take your BR fees. If you are on certain benefits you'll get a reduction but you'll need very recent proof - check with court BEFORE you go. Then in my case I went back to the counter about an hr later & got my BR court order. I was told that judge would only wanna see me if not happy & had query wanted to ask about. In which case clerk would have rung mobile.
A short while later the OR rung me on mobile for brief chat & then a few days later a real chat through of my case notes. All very professional - no problems.

owlet

JaneDoeJohnDoe wrote: »

Don't panic. Don't tell creditors you are thinking of BR. Depending upon how much is in any bank acct you may be able to keep it open if OR happy that it is solely for day-to-day.......

It's HIGHLY UNLIKELY that you will get to keep an account open unless it is a Barclays basic account or a Co-op cashminder account.

Occasionally people have managed to keep other accounts but they have been extremely lucky. It's really not worth taking a gamble, the odds are stacked against you.

The OR does not freeze the account, the bank does. Even if the OR says he has no interest in the account, the fact is that the bank will almost certainly freeze it unless it's one of the two mentioned above.

Mummy_george

Thank you both.

Maybe I should have worded better, its basically a bank account that we had years but was only ever a electron account and at the time some shops didnt accept that card so it was a pain if wanting to pay with the card. its not had any money in for quite a while.

alastairq

Mummy_george wrote: »

Thank you both.

Maybe I should have worded better, its basically a bank account that we had years but was only ever a electron account and at the time some shops didnt accept that card so it was a pain if wanting to pay with the card. its not had any money in for quite a while.

As I said earlier, ignore it.

It's pretty certain the bank will close it or 'freeze' it once a BR becomes known.

Do as advised above, get your ducks in a row before ever contemplating the BR petition..there's no rush.

Also, be aware, just because you make an appointment with the Court, it does not matter [to them,particularly] if you don't turn up!

BR cannot be pre-booked...all you would do is book a time slot.

[You never know, you might win the lottery the day before? ]

Mummy_george

Thanks appointment booked for new account to be opened this week, the not so lovely bank im with decided to allow a informal overdraft on my account for £150 to my loan company although i had rang them explained my situation and made a contribution payment to them so now next week im £150 down and being charged a daily fee, annoyed does not come close!!

Does anyone have idea of approx how many months/years OR will want bank statements for, i'm useless and throw as soon as they come in, so want to get all in order for the OR to avoid any delays so im not stressing myself.