Considering Bankruptcy, any advice greatly appreciated

huskiewales

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forums but have been reading a few of the threads.

I've been in financial difficulty for about 5 years now, I owe about £25k to various creditors and have no way to pay back (which doesn't leave me pretty much broke).

I can't cover any significant payments on my wages and the only perceivable way I can be debt free is by going bankrupt. I keep changing jobs so that I can avoid paying a CCJ I have for £13k (included in the £25k amount) I know this is naughty but I can't afford the £90 a month they take automatically from my wages. Also, I haven't made a proper payment on any of my debts in about 4 years, basically moving about the country so they can't find me

I have been a bit extravagent in my spending and I know I'm entirely to blame - however, I also think the bank is partly responsible - they gave me a loan for £12.5k with no proof of earnings, when I was 18 years old, only just old enough to get credit! I also got issued a platinum card with a £3k spending limit at the same time.

I've noticed there isn't the same level of stigma along with going bankrupt as there was a few years ago so it is something I'm seriously thinking about doing.

My questions to those of you have recently declared bankruptcy are:

How do you go about doing it?
What's the process?
How long does it take from you handing in the bankruptcy forms to actually getting officialy declared bankrupt?
Do you still get hassled from your creditors?
Does the court request payments to be made from wages?
If I go brankrupt, do I still have to pay my CCJ or does that get included in the order?
Are bailiffs ever involved and will they come and seize things like TVs, PCs leaving you with just the bare essentials?

I'd be grateful for any advice any of you guys can give me. I'm currently saving for the £450 needed!

Cheers.

wherediditallgo

Hi, & welcome to the forum

Your first port of call should be one of the advisory organisations in my signature. They give free advice, won't judge you & will take your details to assess whether bankruptcy is the best option for you. It's important that you get professional advice - apart from the fact that the court or the OR will ask whether you've done so, it's in your interests to be as well-informed as you can be about it, as it's a very serious decision to make.

If you go to the Insolvency Service site here, you'll find loads of info on going BR, & you can also download the forms needed. Basically, if you are petitioning for your own BR, you complete the forms & take them to court - some courts will see you the same day, but others run an appointment system. Except in exceptional circumstances, you are made BR the same day you go to court. You may have a short interview with one of the OR's staff the same day, but you're likely to have either a telephone or face-to-face interview with one of the OR's staff at a later date anyway to go over your petition in more detail.

Bailiffs aren't usually involved, & you do get to keep home items like televisions, computers etc (provided we're talking about standard/ordinary ones, & not super expensive plasmas). Have a read through the forum - you'll pick up loads of info on this & other aspects of going BR. There's a sticky at the top of the forum which will help you with terminology, & another one giving info about bank accounts. Any other questions, feel free to ask.

huskiewales

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

I've approached CCCS a few month ago and at the time they advised that I go down the IVA route. However, I've recently changed employer and don't earn as much as I did back then - even then, the IVA only left me with a tiny amount to live on, I don't think I'd be able to survive on such a small amount for 5 years and I know you get penalised for missing payments on IVA.

I've also read as much as I can on various websites and to be totally honest, when I comes to process and real life scenarios, they are either quite vague, or they are aimed at business bankruptcy.

fermi

huskiewales wrote: »

I've also read as much as I can on various websites and to be totally honest, when I comes to process and real life scenarios, they are either quite vague, or they are aimed at business bankruptcy.

Welcome.

In that case you could try looking at these sites (if you haven't already).

http://bankruptcysupportersclub.co.uk

http://www.ladiesinthered.com

http://www.piggybankrupt.co.uk

But really, one of the best things is to just ask any and everything you need to know here.

huskiewales wrote: »

My questions to those of you have recently declared bankruptcy are:

How do you go about doing it?
What's the process?

Try here: http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/guidanceleaflets/dealingwithdebt/howtopetition.htm

and here: http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/guidanceleaflets/Guides.htm

How long does it take from you handing in the bankruptcy forms to actually getting officialy declared bankrupt?

At most courts it's all done on the same day. But you sometimes have to book that appointment in advance. You should contact your local court to see if there is a waiting list and if so how long.

Do you still get hassled from your creditors?

Some people do for a while. But the point of bankruptcy is there is nothing they can do. Once they know you are bankrupt they are breaking the law if they continue (although as always it's difficult to do anything about).
It's much easier to cope with if you know you can't be touched, plus most major banks and finance companies understand BR and give up quite quickly.

Does the court request payments to be made from wages?

The OR/trustee/court can ask you to make payments under an Income Payments Agreement if you have more income than you need for a reasonable standard of living.

See: http://bankruptcy.informe.com/income-payment-agreements-ipas-dt18.html

If I go brankrupt, do I still have to pay my CCJ or does that get included in the order?

The BR supersedes the CCJ so you no longer have to pay it and the debt it was for is included in the bankruptcy. The only exceptions to that are if it was for a government student loan or one of the other very few debts that can't go into the BR.

Are bailiffs ever involved and will they come and seize things like TVs, PCs leaving you with just the bare essentials?

No. Most normal household items like those are not worth enough for the OR to auction 2nd hand, so they simply don't bother with them. In fact the forms you fill in say that when you put valuable things down that you own that they should be "valuable antiques, jewellery, paintings etc" so it's not even worth putting down the things you mention.

The OR doesn't use bailiff's of the type you are thinking of anyway. If you do have anything exceptionally valuable you're more likely to meet someone from the auctioneers than a bailiff.;)

It's all a lot more civilised than most people imagine.