Can't afford Bankruptcy fee - What now?

bankruptcyimminent

Hi guys,

I've tried researching but can't seem to find much in the way of what my options are if I cannot afford to pay for the bankruptcy fees.

My current situation is that I have somehow managed to collect approx £20k of debt over the years, all on credit cards and overdraft. I have no real assets of any worth, just a laptop, a camera and household items. I am a graphic designer/photographer by trade and as such use my computer and camera as a tool of my trade.

I have recently become unemployed (from a minimum wage job to hold creditors at bay for a few months) but now am trying to find work and income any way I can. I'm living at home with parents who are supporting me with food/housing. I'm getting by right now by selling whatever I can via eBay but that wont last very long at all.

My creditors (5 Credit card companys and 1 bank overdraft) have been sending the usual letters since I became unemployed and stopped payments 3months ago. I have received default letters recently so I'm worried I will be issued a CCJ any time now. I havent even attempted to put together a statement of what I could afford to pay them back each month, as I have no work or prospects of any yet and the debt is too great in my opinion to make it worthwhile attempting to pay it back. If I had any money at all, it would make much more sense to go bankrupt than to pay off £1 a month for an indefinite amount of time.

The info I'm struggling to find is;

1. Is there any way of my creditors knowing my lack of assests? (If they did they would know it would make no economic sense for them to file for a CCJ - perhaps this is why I should've given them an idea of my SOA! Bit late to be realising this..)

2. If (and more probably, when) they file for CCJ's, I understand this will allow them to use bailiffs to seize property. I have nothing of any notable worth other than the tools of my trade being laptop and camera. What is the next step? If they seize the very thing I have any chance of making an income with then I'm really done for.

3. At what point do they stop chasing debt if you have nothing to offer? I appreciate a credit report only records the past 6 years, at what point would these creditors stop chasing the debt to thereby enable my 'new slate' to begin? I realise trying to figure out a path that doesn't involve bankruptcy is not really feasible but I'm just enquiring as I don't have many other options open to me right now.

I looked into charities to possibly pay bankruptcy fees but noticed this is on the whole for members of unions which I am not.

I've already filled out the fee remission form for court fees if I ever get that far.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

National_Debtline

Hi and welcome to the forum.

bankruptcyimminent wrote: »

The info I'm struggling to find is;

1. Is there any way of my creditors knowing my lack of assests? (If they did they would know it would make no economic sense for them to file for a CCJ - perhaps this is why I should've given them an idea of my SOA! Bit late to be realising this..)

You can't prove a negative! They're not going to come round and do an inventory of your belongings, so it's up to you to show them with your SOA that you have nothing worth selling that would eat into the debts.


If they went as far as court then you would be expected to declare any valuables - likewise if you petitioned for bankruptcy. It's very unlikely they'll just sue you all of a sudden without knowing for sure that you're in a position to repay your debts, especially as you're not a homeowner.

bankruptcyimminent wrote: »

2. If (and more probably, when) they file for CCJ's, I understand this will allow them to use bailiffs to seize property. I have nothing of any notable worth other than the tools of my trade being laptop and camera. What is the next step? If they seize the very thing I have any chance of making an income with then I'm really done for.

As above - the likelihood of court action is lower than you estimate. If it went that far, you would have to default on the payments set by the court before bailiffs could even be considered. Even then, county court bailiffs don't have powers to force entry. So, we are a very long way from the prospect of anything being seized.

bankruptcyimminent wrote: »

3. At what point do they stop chasing debt if you have nothing to offer? I appreciate a credit report only records the past 6 years, at what point would these creditors stop chasing the debt to thereby enable my 'new slate' to begin? I realise trying to figure out a path that doesn't involve bankruptcy is not really feasible but I'm just enquiring as I don't have many other options open to me right now.

Creditors don't necessarily ever have to "stop" chasing a debt if it still exists, and hasn't been wiped by a bankruptcy, for example. You're right that debts only remain on your credit file for six years (a CCJ would show on there for a full six years, too).


Debts can become unenforceable if court action isn't taken within 6 years of you stopping payments and contact, but that's not really relevant here right now.

bankruptcyimminent wrote: »

I looked into charities to possibly pay bankruptcy fees but noticed this is on the whole for members of unions which I am not.

I've already filled out the fee remission form for court fees if I ever get that far.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

You're right that help with the bankruptcy costs might be hard to find - there are some links in this thread that might be useful although the info is not very up to date.


One other thing to bear in mind is that in October, the debt threshold for Debt Relief Orders (DROs) will increase from £15K to £20K. DROs cost only £90 to apply for and may offer you an alternative if you can hold out until then:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/37%20EW%20Debt%20relief%20orders%20(DROs)/Default.aspx


Dennis
@natdebtline

Depth_Charge

Hi

Useful information on grants for bankruptcy fees from the Debt Camel site

http://debtcamel.co.uk/help-with-bankruptcy-fees/

Best wishes

DC

owlet

If you contact one of the free debt advice companies like step change, they will work with you and give you a reference number. You give your number to your creditors and just tell them you are working with eg Stepchange & this will buy you a few months while you look into your BR fees. They will probably advise giving your creditors a token payment of £1 a month in the interim.
I did this and my creditors gave me between 3 & 6 months to get sorted. It was a godsend to be honest because it took me several months to save my fees.
Don't tell your creditors you are going for BR though because they will probably hound you to try and get more money before it's too late.

maxmycardagain

Just 1 note

If your unemployed you wont need tools of the trade....