Bankruptcy SOA advice please

TheGardener

MoominTroll wrote: »

I also had a deficit and no surplus but was made to enter an IPA agreement. You apply for bankruptcy thinking that will be the end of it, but it's not. There's another three years of making payments you can't afford to make before you can even try to get back on your feet, and you pay £680 for the privilege.

If you believe the IPA is putting you at risk of further debt and you do not have sufficient to pay reasonable expenses then you should go back to the OR and ask for a reassessment. If you post your SoA on here we can try and give some assistance with it?

Minkym00

The OR has guidance on allowable spend, it’s not their personal view. It’s better that the OP be aware of that I feel.

luvchocolate

We are aware of the guide lines and Debt Doctor has successfully challenged many proposed I.P. A.

WhenIam64

“
Oh, ok.

To be blunt though, if you’re asking for £520 per month for food and groceries (inc your meals at work) for only two people, I would be surprised if you weren’t pulled up on it. I spend that on a family of 5.
Originally posted by Minkym00

Though the Stoozing SOA is useful in that it has aspects such as interest rates that are not usually asked for, the Stoozing SOA does not match the Standard Financial Statement (SFS) that Banks, Utilities and others use. There is one here:

https://cornwall.cabmoney.org.uk/quickfs.asp

They've added "rules of thumb" which I presume is based on ONS figures. Groceries for a couple are suggested at Couple (Up to approx £505). So £520 is toppy but not outrageous.

If you are going to write to anyone official, it is better to run it through the SFS first.

TheGardener

WhenIam64 wrote: »

... the Stoozing SOA does not match the Standard Financial Statement (SFS) that Banks, Utilities and others use. There is one here:

https://cornwall.cabmoney.org.uk/quickfs.asp

They've added "rules of thumb" which I presume is based on ONS figures. Groceries for a couple are suggested at Couple (Up to approx £505). So £520 is toppy but not outrageous...

I would agree that the cabmoney one is quite good - what the stoozing one has in its favour is the ability to post on this forum with a easy one click 'format to MSE' button. It's also really helpful if most posters use the same format so consistent advice can be given.

nikki702

The OR has allowed me £300 for groceries and £40 for pet food. I suppose every OR is different.

nikki702

Just to update my thread...

The OR gave me an initial IPA of £153 per month. Which I would never have been able to afford. My expenses were cut down a lot by the OR.

It was eventually reduced to £73 per month, then I realised I had forgot to add something and it was then reduced further to £50 per month.

Debtdoctor was advising me via email and the OR offered me to resubmit my figures which I did.

I finally have no IPA. This will be reassessed before my discharge from BR

I just wanted to thank Debtdoctor for the amazing advice given. I am now able to live my life debt free :j

debt_doctor

Thanks for posting the update Nikki.

Yes it was an interesting one, the examiner originally disallowed quite a lot in the comms and leisure category. This was unfair and not in line with the SFS.
When reminded of the rules of the SFS that the IS have adopted about 18 months ago, they backed down, and quite rightly accepted Nikki's expenses.
I wrote the 'clever words' to the IS, but the pressure is always on the bankrupt, as they are personally involved.

Well done Nikki, happy to have helped.

DD

Minkym00

That must be a relief!

Didn’t you have gambling debts too? Did anything get mentioned about that?