Few Q's before going BR

Ivyrose14

Hi everyone

So I have spent hours going through thread after thread to make sure I am aware of all the ins and outs of BR but I need to ask a few questions.

* I was self elmployed and now have just gone on to IS therefore my income is IS, Child benefit and child tax credits. Will I have to do an IPA or are all of the benefits classed as state benefits? I'm not sure if IS won't be touched but child related ones will be?

* can my creditors refuse for me to be made bankrupt? I'm pretty sure all will agree except one (old landlord) I feel sick with worry about what dirty tricks he will try?

I have no assets and myself and children have had to move in with my mum.
I'm struggling to raise the money for BR so I have seen comments to stop making payments to creditors but that fills me with worry that I'll have bailiffs at the door. I am
A victim of domestic abuse and my children have seen awful things and are so unsettled and afraid I can't risk some big burly man banging on the door and scaring them.

I have spoken briefly to NDL to get my options and can only see BR as the best option right now.
I thought I would feel some kind of weight lifted as I looked into this route but feel worse and worried, not sure what I am worried about although the OR part fills
Me with dread.

Due to such an horrific time of late my business has gone downhill so I have closed it but my accounts are a mess very unorganised and incomplete. I am worried the OR will penalise me for being reckless.

Lastly once I am discharged am
I truely free to do what I want? I am so stressed out that I feel I need to take time out of work and concentrate on my children and wil use the time being in BR for that but once discharged am I ok to go straight back into work?

Thank you for reading and any assistance would be very appreciated.

StopIt

Speak to the CAB ASAP.


If you're going BR you may as well stop payments to creditors right now, after all, if you're insolvent, you're unable to pay them once you've gone BR so why prolong the pain. Use the money saved to get your BR fee paid.


Getting to the point of bailiffs takes months, CCJs and even then isn't common.


If you're on benefits you're not going to be subject to an IPA but again, your local CAB can help guide you through the steps you need to take, pre, during and post BR.

Ivyrose14

Thank you for your advice I have tried to make an appointment with my local CAB but can't get one for 3 weeks so whilst waiting for that I am trying to establish what to do as I feel a bit in limbo whilst waiting as I feel so I'll with the stress of it all.

StopIt

Stop stressing, honestly you're not going to change anything other than hurt yourself.


You're doing the right thing, you've got an appointment with the CAB, so think of something else for the next 3 weeks.

HothHan

First of all, try not to worry about bankruptcy process, afterwards life will be better than what you're facing now.

Life is too short and your health is more important than debts.

I'll try and give you some advice and answer your queries, as I did a lot of research before hitting the submit button recently.

*An IPA will only be required IF you have a disposable income left over after you have paid for all living costs.

*The creditors can't refuse to make you bankrupt - once you hit the submit button, you will be approved or declined by the insolvency service NOT your creditors.

Before you decide speak to CAB or Stepchange and make sure it is the right thing for you.

Once you are sure you are doing it you may as well stop paying creditors, but keep paying rent and council tax etc.

You can also pay your Bankruptcy fee in instalments if that helps, but you can't submit the application until you've made the full payment of £680

Don't worry about the OR I was filled with dread too, but it was only 40 minute call with a very friendly and non judgemental person. They just want to know more about what led you to this decision and when you got in a mess and why.

Just be open and honest, I too had a failed business and my record keeping was absolutely awful! All my business money and debts ended up mixed together.
In addition, I was gambling and took out lots recent debts, trying to consolidate and borrow from Peter to pay Paul and so on.

This is considered reckless and I was told I'll still be released from Bankruptcy in 12 months but they might apply a BRU, but this means that some bankruptcy restrictions may last a few years after:

Which means you can't get credit of more than £500, be a director of a company or be a member of Parliament in England or Wales

Lastly , once discharged you are free of your debts (but you have to complete the IPA). You can go back to work before then though if you chose.

Hope that puts your mind at ease.

fatbelly

Ivyrose14 wrote: »

* I was self elmployed and now have just gone on to IS therefore my income is IS, Child benefit and child tax credits. Will I have to do an IPA or are all of the benefits classed as state benefits? I'm not sure if IS won't be touched but child related ones will be?

* can my creditors refuse for me to be made bankrupt? I'm pretty sure all will agree except one (old landlord) I feel sick with worry about what dirty tricks he will try?

I'm struggling to raise the money for BR so I have seen comments to stop making payments to creditors but that fills me with worry that I'll have bailiffs at the door.
Due to such an horrific time of late my business has gone downhill so I have closed it but my accounts are a mess very unorganised and incomplete. I am worried the OR will penalise me for being reckless.

Lastly once I am discharged am I truely free to do what I want? .

If your only income is benefits there will be no IPA/IPO

Your creditors have no say in the matter. The adjudicator will declare you bankrupt

You pay by card these days. There are some avenues of help if you cannot find the money. They are a bit limited but they are here - just added another one some of my colleagues have had success with.

Bailiffs can only be instructed on a defaulted court order. You are a million miles away from that.

You're unlikely to have any problem with your accounts - the worst case is that your discharge gets extended (used to be 3 years anyway)

Yes, once you're discharge you're good to go, but the bankruptcy does show on your credit file for 6 years

How much do you owe?

LincsPaul

HothHan wrote: »

First of all, try not to worry about bankruptcy process, afterwards life will be better than what you're facing now.

Life is too short and your health is more important than debts.

I'll try and give you some advice and answer your queries, as I did a lot of research before hitting the submit button recently.

*An IPA will only be required IF you have a disposable income left over after you have paid for all living costs.

*The creditors can't refuse to make you bankrupt - once you hit the submit button, you will be approved or declined by the insolvency service NOT your creditors.

Before you decide speak to CAB or Stepchange and make sure it is the right thing for you.

Once you are sure you are doing it you may as well stop paying creditors, but keep paying rent and council tax etc.

You can also pay your Bankruptcy fee in instalments if that helps, but you can't submit the application until you've made the full payment of £680

Don't worry about the OR I was filled with dread too, but it was only 40 minute call with a very friendly and non judgemental person. They just want to know more about what led you to this decision and when you got in a mess and why.

Just be open and honest, I too had a failed business and my record keeping was absolutely awful! All my business money and debts ended up mixed together.
In addition, I was gambling and took out lots recent debts, trying to consolidate and borrow from Peter to pay Paul and so on.

This is considered reckless and I was told I'll still be released from Bankruptcy in 12 months but they might apply a BRU, but this means that some bankruptcy restrictions may last a few years after:

Which means you can't get credit of more than £500, be a director of a company or be a member of Parliament in England or Wales

Lastly , once discharged you are free of your debts (but you have to complete the IPA). You can go back to work before then though if you chose.

Hope that puts your mind at ease.

Hi HothHan

Sorry to thread hijack OP, but who was it who first told you officially about the possibility of a BRU, and at what point? I assume it is in relation to the gambling and recent borrowing rather than the state of the business accounts?!

I had recent borrowing due to consolidation but it was a genuine and valid attempt to reduce monthly payments which also happened to reduce the total amount of borrowing. So I am hoping this isn't seen as naughty.

Ivyrose14

Just under £22k

fatbelly

Ivyrose14 wrote: »

Just under £22k

Just too much for a DRO then ... unless some of the 22k includes student loan, social fund, magistrates court fine, csa arrears, statute barred debts - these are excluded.

HothHan

LincsPaul wrote: »

Hi HothHan

Sorry to thread hijack OP, but who was it who first told you officially about the possibility of a BRU, and at what point? I assume it is in relation to the gambling and recent borrowing rather than the state of the business accounts?!

I had recent borrowing due to consolidation but it was a genuine and valid attempt to reduce monthly payments which also happened to reduce the total amount of borrowing. So I am hoping this isn't seen as naughty.

Hi
I was told on the OR telephone interview that I will more than likely get a BRU, my gambling debts were are 30k which was about 40% of my total debts, so quite a big proportion. So yes it was due to the gambling rather than the shoddy business accounts or recent borrowing, "recent borrowing due to consolidation" shouldn't be an issue if it was genuine. I had taken out a lot of new credit in the last few years but when I explained that I did that to consolidate and pay off debts the OR didn't seem concerned about that.

There are a number of things that could result in a BRU being issued. The most common are:

Giving away assets or selling them for less than their true value
Preferential payment of your creditors (so paying only one creditor and ignoring the rest)
A significant amount of your debt is due to Gambling
Not cooperating with the Official Receiver (OR)

Thanks
Adam

National_Debtline

Hi all


ORs will generally distinguish between what might be seen (with hindsight) as poor decisions - e.g. debt consolidation - and reckless/irresponsible behaviour when deciding whether bankruptcy restrictions should be sought.


Dennis
@natdebtline