Do I suck it up and opt for BR if my creditor won't budge?

Bluecar2

Not here to be judged, Just trying to offer real life experience,If people have nothing to offer dont say anything

mwarby

Indeed in this section of the forum in particular we have to try not to be to judgemental. Casting judgement on how we got into debt (looking back at my own debt issues, I was unbelievably stupid) isn’t helpful. We need to be supportive and arm people with what to expect when they start to deal with their debt

Bluecar2

People come in to this forum because they lay awake at night and are looking for answers to questions that are keeping them awake, Not for some bile from a bigot,

EverythingIWant

Jesus I am not a bigot, I had a hell of a lot of debt, personal debt, I am just saying people on a payroll have no option but to pay their taxes whether your drowning in personal debt or not. I managed to pay it all back and it was tough - sorry if you took it the wrong way, to often we just shout bigot at someone who has a differing opinion..  

Galloglass

Getting back on track ....

All solicitors have an inherent conflict of interest. They have to make sure that the client can pay their fees and must alert the client to this fact and the likely cost. If they haven't then you can take the issue up with them. Usually they have covered themselves with a "client care" letter - but not always. The OP might want to test their resolve by raising the conflict issue after checking the paperwork they were given.

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/ethics-guidance/conflicts-interest/

Making someone bankrupt is expensive and unless they conducted a SOA prior, they will not know if they will get any of their money back for the outlay. 

Hogues

Bluecar2 said:

From what I know of my own journey is that it would have been easier if i had done it myself, It just got dragged on with lots of postponements and the stress became unbearable, By the time i applied to do it myself they had already petioned so  was unable to do it, If you do it yourself it should just be a telephone interview but if it is petioned it will be a face to face interview, I have had no restriction applied yet and my discharge date is 12 months after the BR date, I am half expecting a BRU but will wait and see as they have until the discharge date to do it, but that can be applied in lots of cases if the OR believes you have been irresponsible with your money or debts

To ask what seems like a really stupid and basic question....  if it's done by a telephone interview, how does the OR make an assessment of assets?  Is it basically on a self-declared honesty basis???  I mean, I'll happily entertain anyone wishing to visit me at home, I've nothing to hide, but it seems a bit open to abuse!

mwarby

It’s based upon honesty as far as I know. The OR will take a view on whether what your saying stacks up. The OR can get bank and credit card statements going back for years though, so if you’ve purchased expensive cars or are a regular at sotheby's your likely to get caught out. Also the OR will probably have access to land registry, Experian and the likes and possibly other databases 

If the OR believes your being dishonest they can take you to court and I believe there are insolvency specific offences as well as more generic fraud type offences

I doubt this applies to the OP or most people on this forum. For most it’s a simple enough interview, the OR does the checks on statements etc and that’s it.

Note the OR isn’t going to be concerned about household stuff like furniture, TVs, laptops, games consoles, jewellery (up to a point, if you have obviously valuable jewellery worth discussing with OR) and normal household decorations 

luvchocolate

Mine was a complicated B.R....mutiple properties...declaration of trust with partner of the time. 
A trustee was appointed from quite a long distance from me they needed to meet me and actually came to my home..they did say it was the first time they at been invited to a client's home!
8 years later and we are still in contact as friends..my son thinks it's very strange. 
I know this isn't relevant but just to show how things can work out 

Hogues

Update:  So I've today been to see the CAB and I ran through it all with them.  With the input from all of you already plus having done my homework in other areas I was  reasonably up to speed already (THANK YOU all).  There's a minor complication due to me being a company director, but nothing we can't get over, so as soon as we've done some foot-work at companies house I've decided to self-declare BR and at least be 'in charge' of the situation rather than being messed around by others.  It's not entirely without it's issues, mostly to do with my ex-wife and our daughter, but for the first time in a long while I think I'm seeing some light at the end of a tunnel.

So - I've now got a whole bunch of other questions to ask in terms of how the OR is likely to see things:

1) My income tends to be project based, so I'll do a block of work that's reasonably well paid, sometimes overseas, and that will then sustain me domestically for a couple of months or more.  What it means though is that my account can suddenly see an influx of ££££'s which may seem attractive to an OR to take, but the reality is that I don't know how long that may have to sustain me for.  Also, right here and now ALL my work until JULY(!) has cancelled in the last few days due to CV19, so I guess technically I'm currently not working but have 'savings'.

2)  I still (sadly) need to keep paying out for professional time with my new lawyer on a pro-forma basis due to the shenanigans of my ex wife, and clearly they don't come cheap (typically £5-600 every couple of months) - to us it's 'essential' (it genuinely is, my ex has some serious issues) but will an OR agree?

3) Similar to the above, I'm currently having to pay some serious wedge (£100+ a session) for my daughter to have much-needed therapy (she's 9, btw) after what went on and continues to go on - is an OR going to see this as legitimate medical expense or treat it as a luxury?

   

Bluecar2

Cant comment on your last questions but good luck with your journey, If Bankruptcy really is your only way forward then you are far better doing it yourself and being in control, It is all based on honesty and you will be required to sign a legal declaration, The OR has plenty of legal power to investigate your financial history,