SOA Advice and questions

debtnightmare2017

Hey all

I was speaking to my boss about my financial issues and she said this forum may be able to help me further?

After looking at my income, spending, debts and financial commitments I have no other choice but to make myself bankrupt. My debt has built up mainly through spending more than I can afford in "lifestyle choices" and also gambling. I know I may get a bankruptcy restrictions because of this but that's ok by me as they don't affect me too much. I don't plan on taking out credit in future so the £500 limit is okay and I'll never be a company director or start a company lol

Would it be possible to have a quick look at my SOA please?

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 5
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned.................... 3

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1031
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1031

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 400
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 0
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 35
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 10
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 185
Meals at work..........................20
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 200
Road tax................................ 22
Car Insurance........................... 90
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 30
Car parking............................. 20
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 30
Emergency fund.......................... 20
Total monthly expenses.................. 1144


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 2000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 2000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Various........................70000.....0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........70000.....0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,031
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,144
Available for debt repayments........... -93
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -113

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 2,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -70,000
Net Assets.............................. -68,000

I have many creditors so just put it under one but it all consists of payday loans, unsecured loans, credit cards and overdrafts and an invoice.

Also I have a few questions if anyone can help.
1) I have 3 cars in my name. 1 car is an old car that is parked in a field behind my house as it failed the MOT on quite a few bits. I have tried getting a couple of places to take it for scrap but they wanted me to pay. What happens to this do I just sign it over to the bankruptcy people?

2) Another car (my summer convertible) is worth about £4000, but it needs a new engine. There is an outstanding invoice for the car of roughly £2000 and I'm told it will cost around £1500 to fix so the car is only worth around £500. I have an offer from the garage of £300 for the car, should I take this to help pay for the bankruptcy or again leave it for the bankruptcy people to sort out?

3) My rent is £400 as I live with my parents (mother + stepdad) , however I also buy and cook all of my own food. Since them finding out about the money problems there has been constant arguments. Bailiffs turning up out of the blue wasn't best way to break the news to them!! I'm looking to rent a room using the spare room website and there are a few in my budget, hopefully I will get one for less money. Will the bankruptcy stop me from renting a room? I dont think it will as they will be private landlords.

4) There are 4 other adult people in my "household" that I had to list on the government website but only I have the loans and money problems, shall I delete them from there because they arent joint money problems?

4) Even without the debts I am spending more than I earn currently. I am trying to bring this down as much as I can and my dad and partner are helping me with money when I need it, do I list this as an income? Its only if I need it so no specific amount so I am confused lol

5) My partner lives nearly 200 miles away and doesnt drive. I drive to his every other weekend and he gets the train to me on the other weekends as he doesn't drive which is why my petrol is quite high. Will they stop me from seeing him or make him have to come to me all the time, it may ruin my relationship??? He works long hours too so the last thing I want to do is stress him even more especially now he knows my problems!!

7) On the government website it says about paying in installments but am i right in thinking it wont be submitted until all of the £680 will be paid?

8) Im on mimimum wage working full time in an admin role, will I be told to get a better job or ask for a pay rise? I have just come back to work after being signed off for depression caused by the stress as I am all over the place and last thing I want to do is go back to how I was a few weeks ago. I am getting councilling and on tablets but already the though of this terrifies me and my boss has been great, its a nice family firm so I dont want to leave really

Thank you all so much and sorry for all the writing and questions
Kerry xx

TheGardener

Hi - I well done for taking the first step in tacking this.
You need to talk to Stepchange or National Debtline - you need professional free advice and the judge in your BR will expect to be assured you have taken advice.

Your SOA - your expenditure needs to match your income, starting out with a negative balance will not work for you or anyone else.

It wont be a case of not planning to take out credit - you are highly unlikely to be able to get it for at least the next 6 years - not even £500. It could be longer if you get any kind of BR restriction order which is sometimes used where gambling has been a factor in the BR.

I would suggest getting what you can for the cars. Keep the one you use to get to work but you will only get to keep that if you a) demonstrate a need (rather than a want) for a car and b) if it is worth less than £1000. Using what you can get for the others to pay your BR fees, the OR will consider this reasonable. Given their value - the OR will probably take them anyway

I'm not sure about the other adults - the people on the form are usually partners and children. Your parents are not responsible for you so I would suggest you don't include them and simply state your payment to your parents for rent and food. Your 'rent' and food are high given you are living in a parental home.

Yes, BR can seem very grim at this stage but - ask yourself if your current and future position would be better? Br is intended to get you a fresh start, now is the time to tackle any issues with gambling and plan your future. Most of us come out the other side with our lives back in our control

debtnightmare2017

Hey TheGardener
Thanks for your reply x

I have been speaking with Stepchange and they have been great, they said it would be best to do the bankruptcy.

Ok so how should I change my SOA? I can try and lower some expenditure on the list to make it match my income but I would still be depending on help from my partner and dad.

Thanks so sell the car to the garage and maybe put the one in the field on ebay to see if anyone takes it? If I sell it to the garage though wont I get into trouble for settling that debt first, I think its called something like preferential payment of one company before the other debts? I also need the other car for work as there is no public transport.

I will take the other adults off the form thank you. For the rent it is roughly the same for other rooms in the area from what I can see online, my parents have always used this to try and teach us financial responsibility which I know I have messed up on!! Mum used to cook some meals too but now every conversation turns into an argument and I have effectively been disowned

Thank you so much for your help
Kerry xx

TheGardener

Sell the car at a garage that you don't owe money too - you need to get as much money as possible from the sales.

To balance the SOA - haircuts, holiday and emergency - if you haven't got anything left after rent, food and other expenses, then there is little point including it at this stage. You can only give the OR what you are actually paying on the day you go BR - if you move and your costs change then you submit another SOA.

You need to reduce your food costs - what you have put down is not unreasonable but the reality is you can't afford it. You have to present a budget that is within in your means. If you include your partner on the form, then the OR will ask for evidence of their income and will expect them to pay a percentage of the overheads - if they earn the same as you then 50% but if they earn more or less then a percentage that reflects the difference.
So are you and you partner living at your parents house?

debtnightmare2017

Hey thank you so much for your reply

I think if I sold it to another garage I may be able to get slightly more but then it becomes complicated.
I have an invoice with the current garage for roughly £2000, the car is still there and I have no way to get it back home. They havent charged any storage fees even though its been there a couple of months and I think if I try taking the car they wont release it until I pay them? Im soo confused

Ok I will take those out, I guess I can do without for a year and will find a way to get haircuts when I need to

I havent included my partner on the form as he doesnt live with me nor do we have any joint accounts or loans. He lives about 3 hours away from me and rents his own flat.

I have also just been told I can move into a new place too renting a room with an ensuite at a lush family house and for a good price too. My rent will now be £20 less and I am slightly closer to work (1 mile) so I dont know if fuel will change much

Thanks Kerry xx

National_Debtline

Hi there,


I can see that The Garderner has helped to answer a lot of your initial queries, I have put some further details in red below to try and help you. Please bear in mind that some of your questions are trickier to answer than others because they will be at the discretion of the Official Receiver (OR).

debtnightmare2017 wrote: »

Also I have a few questions if anyone can help.
1) I have 3 cars in my name. 1 car is an old car that is parked in a field behind my house as it failed the MOT on quite a few bits. I have tried getting a couple of places to take it for scrap but they wanted me to pay. What happens to this do I just sign it over to the bankruptcy people? Try and get a few valuations of the cars if you are going to sell them and keep a clear record of what you did with the money to show the OR. You also need to be aware that if a car is worth up to £1000 it is unlikely to be taken by the OR. Over £1000 it will be at the discretion of the OR. If your car is worth more than £1000 you may be asked to downgrade it.

2) Another car (my summer convertible) is worth about £4000, but it needs a new engine. There is an outstanding invoice for the car of roughly £2000 and I'm told it will cost around £1500 to fix so the car is only worth around £500. I have an offer from the garage of £300 for the car, should I take this to help pay for the bankruptcy or again leave it for the bankruptcy people to sort out? If you owe money to the garage and sell them the car for £300 you could encounter a couple of issues. Firstly, you are right, it could be classed as a preference payment. And secondly, would it also be classed at a ‘transaction undervalue’ because the car could be worth more. Tread carefully with this. You may want to call the Insolvency Service for more guidance – 0300 678 0015

3) My rent is £400 as I live with my parents (mother + stepdad) , however I also buy and cook all of my own food. Since them finding out about the money problems there has been constant arguments. Bailiffs turning up out of the blue wasn't best way to break the news to them!! I'm looking to rent a room using the spare room website and there are a few in my budget, hopefully I will get one for less money. Will the bankruptcy stop me from renting a room? I dont think it will as they will be private landlords. Some private landlords in this situation may do a credit check, if you move after you have declared bankruptcy then this will be on your credit file and may be an issue. You should speak to your prospective landlord about what checks they may do.

4) There are 4 other adult people in my "household" that I had to list on the government website but only I have the loans and money problems, shall I delete them from there because they arent joint money problems? The other people in the house don’t need to be jointly named on the debt to be listed.

4) Even without the debts I am spending more than I earn currently. I am trying to bring this down as much as I can and my dad and partner are helping me with money when I need it, do I list this as an income? Its only if I need it so no specific amount so I am confused lol It is not an income but you should try and ensure you are not spending more than your income or you risk building up more debt.

5) My partner lives nearly 200 miles away and doesnt drive. I drive to his every other weekend and he gets the train to me on the other weekends as he doesn't drive which is why my petrol is quite high. Will they stop me from seeing him or make him have to come to me all the time, it may ruin my relationship??? He works long hours too so the last thing I want to do is stress him even more especially now he knows my problems!! It is unlikely that this will be the case, however, it may be discussed because the OR is going to be assessing your budget for an Income Payment Arrangement so it may be asked to be reduced as a non-essential expense.

7) On the government website it says about paying in installments but am i right in thinking it wont be submitted until all of the £680 will be paid? That is correct. You can pay instalments and when the full amount is paid it can be submitted.

8) Im on mimimum wage working full time in an admin role, will I be told to get a better job or ask for a pay rise? I have just come back to work after being signed off for depression caused by the stress as I am all over the place and last thing I want to do is go back to how I was a few weeks ago. I am getting councilling and on tablets but already the though of this terrifies me and my boss has been great, its a nice family firm so I dont want to leave really The OR cannot tell you change jobs or ask for a pay rise – so don’t worry.

Laura
@natdebtline

debt_doctor

As The Gardener said, you would have to demonstrate a NEED for a car, otherwise it can be taken - whatever its value.


DD