Bankruptcy and running a small business

greenparrot

Background:
In July 1989, my then wife and i took out a secured loan for £19,000. Unfortunately we split and divorced in 1990. The split was very amicable, i handed over my part in the house to her for a small sum. I wrongly assumed this would also end of my liability for the debt. I then backpacked around Europe for 9 months, on my return i lived in many rented properties in the South. My ex wife had subsequently gone bankrupt absolving her of any liability to the debt, she lost the house in the process - the house the debt had been secured against.

Today i received a County Court claim form, they are claiming 15,325.00 (inc court and solicitor fees) The debt has finally caught up with me, it has ballooned up to 59,580.01 :eek: , luckily the accruing interest stop after a period or it could be a lot more. I'm contemplating going bankrupt but before i do i'm looking for any advice.

My main concern is that i'm a director of a small company, that i have spent many years building up, i take a nominal weekly wage of £250. If i file for bankruptcy what implications will this hold for me as a director of a company? Could they say i should pay myself more and hence pay back a larger monthly amount? Can they make any claim against the business or force me to sell my interest? I might decide that if bankruptcy causes too many hassles for me and the business i will offer a monthly payment of £50.

Any help would gratefully appreciated.

Roy

meech78

As far as i know, you are not allowed to be a company director if you go br. You can be a company secretary but def not a director, even if it is a small business.
My advice would be to call up CCCS and ask them for their free advice, they are very helpful and will help you with any questions you have...don't worry, they don't take your phone number or anything so won't chase you! You can also pop into your local CAB office and they would be able to offer you advice on this too.
Hope that helps and best of luck!

greenparrot

Spoke with some very nice people at National Debtline. They pointed out that i might have an escape route under the Limitation Act 1980. I visit their site, completed a few fields in a form and downloaded a templated letter, it even warns the debt agency against harrassment.

So cool