SAO Review Please - See post #32

Simon.G

I'll keep it simple.

I was made redundant in July and have been trying to find work ever since. Total household bills equate to around £3000 a month including £1000 or so of my own personal debt. We are desparate to leave London but cannot as we are tied to the property for another 12 months.

We have used all savings and have borrowed as much as we can from friends and family while I have been looking for work, however when the bills are due at the end of this month, the money simply will not be there. We can cover the household bills , but my personal debt will go into default (for the first time!)

The OH earns enough to cover the rent, bills and food, but not my personal debt, which equates to around £60K and has been built up over the last 10 years or so.

I have paid my dues religiously from my own earnings, but as I have no job I cannot pay this any more, and the OH cannot cover it due to the high cost of living.

As I am not earning and therefore have no money the only thing I can really do is to file for BR. How does this work in reality in regards to the OR etc? Can I explain that the OH is paying everything on the submission of the paperwork? I am under the impression that they will not expect the OH to pay into a payment plan on my behalf, is this correct? She is worried about that particular part as it puts more pressure on the situation.

For the record I have no assets other than a computer worth say £300 on the second hand market. I do not drive, I have no fine art or jewellery.

I am going to speak to the National Debt Helpline on Monday but plan to file for BR shortly afterwards unless something miraculous happens between now and then.

Any help is appreciated.

TheGardener

You do need to go to one of the debt charities as a priority, but in the meantime -be assured, your partner will not be excepted to pay for any of your debts at all. BR is personal to you and you alone.

Read the sticky posts at the top of this board and start to get a feel for the process and look though other posts and see how many of us have survived and gone onto thrive

Read, read and read some more. There is lots to take in to help your though the process. There are a great number of us who couldn't have don't it without the information and support on this forum.

tigerfeet2006

I would also say don't rush into it. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you even consider filing.

The second thing you must do after speaking to NDL is sort yourself out a BR friendly bank account.

TheGardener

Simon.G wrote: »

...but plan to file for BR shortly afterwards unless something miraculous happens between now and then...

As tigerfeet says - don't rush in, plan it properly. Once you stop paying your debts it can take a while for before creditors start chasing you so don't get rushed, you need time to plan. I took about 12 weeks to get organised - by then only one of my creditors had started to get serious so don't worry

Simon.G

Can someone advise on what "plan it properly" entails exactly?

The only debt I have is personal debt (rent, council tax bills etc are all up to date). All the bills have been put into the OH's name and I have no money coming in myself.

What "other" planning do i need to do exactly? Is there a checklist somewhere?

Any help is appreciated.

Aced2016

I used to work for a housing association where I helped our tenants plan for bankruptcy.

People used to think it was the end of the world ! But it's not !

However if it truly is your last resort (which it sounds as though it is) then do it. You sound like someone who will have their paperwork in order. You can get it all organised and submitted. Your partner will not be expected to pay to your debts.

I don't know what your career is but this will affect certain jobs, obviously within the finance sector.

But life's to short to worry so I would get things in place sooner that way you can reduce your stress.

Good luck !

ukamber1

Simon.G wrote: »

Can someone advise on what "plan it properly" entails exactly?

The only debt I have is personal debt (rent, council tax bills etc are all up to date). All the bills have been put into the OH's name and I have no money coming in myself.

What "other" planning do i need to do exactly? Is there a checklist somewhere?

Any help is appreciated.

Hi, I'm no expert but as others have said, if you are serious about going Bankrupt I would stop making payments right away, on your personal debt. Bankruptcy costs around £500-£700 so you will need every penny you can. The other thing to think about is it might be worth "financially disassociate" yourself from your OH. Then atleast when/if you do go bankrupt the impact on them is less. Before going Bankrupt, it might be worth looking into whether you might need to open a new bank account in "sole" name, that is "Bankrupt friendly" and doesnt have a overdraft attached to it. Often when the Bankruptcy starts your bank account will have a stop put on it while they look at what money you have....but dont worry, they will not expect your OH to pay into the Bankruptcy...

Lots of things to think about before you go ahead, as others have said, you need to think it over very carefully as it will impact your credit file for 6 years.....I'm no expert (nearly 7 years since I went bankrupt) so maybe someone else might jump on thread to confirm your best options...

Best wishes on whatever you decide to do..

Simon.G

Thanks for the advice,

The lack of any kind of work or even interviews is worrying. Nearly 3 months now and only 2 interviews. I cannot claim Universal Credit as the OH is earning well, so I really have no money coming in myself, and therefore no possible way of paying even a token payment to my creditors.

Just shows you, everything was being paid on time and was gradually coming down, then redundancy comes along and turns everything upside down. Becoming BR was never a thought, yet now seems to be the only option.

I have all my paperwork in order. Nothing other than my personal debt is in my name so the OH has nothing to worry about in that respect.

I am not in the financial sector and I am fully aware of the possible impact it may have on work etc.

My payments for November are due at the end of the month, and I have enough to cover either those (money borrowed from a family member) or paying for the BR. I am not sure where the BR money will come from if I pay my debts this month.

In regards to the bank account, I am already with Natwest for personal banking and have no overdrafts or debt with them. I have as it stands, a total of £65 in my current account. I have a savings account with a 0 balance, a second current account that me and the OH use to pay the household bills from (all bills now coming out of her her own personal account) and a sole trader account I was going to use to see if I could get something off the ground myself in regards to work / self employment. Hopefully one of those accounts can be left open but that's down to the Bank I suppose. I don't owe them anything and none of the accounts have OD facilities, so you never know, they might look favourably on me

Co-Op closed an account I had a few years back due to the fact that my credit took a nose dive, so I doubt I would get anything from them now.

Will have to see if Natwest will let me keep one of my accounts open, otherwise I'll have to put anything I get in the OH's.

Again, thanks for the advice.

fatbelly

Bankruptcy costs £680 and there is no low-income remission any more

Simon.G

Thanks fatbelly - I already have this figure marked off in my paperwork.

owlet

Your bank account needs to be a basic account. A standard account with no overdraft normally won't suffice. Nationwide flexbasic is good and you can open online. Barclays are another.

Cancel your debt payments now, if you are going br in a few months , it will be fine. You can use the money towards your br fees.

As already mentioned, if you can make all your accounts sole (not joint) it will be better for your other half because there won't be any financial association.

Don't rush into it, take a few weeks or even months to ensure that you are in a good position to proceed. It's no good rushing into it then discovering you can't access funds because your account has been frozen.

It's an easy process if you do your preparation first. Come back if you need any more advice.