Help with preferential payments

Startingagain25

“You have kindly provided us with explanations of the advances you’ve made to.. and repayments back. 

 

Please be advised that the Official Receiver has reviewed all of the evidence and explanations that you have provided and has reached the decision that bankrupt has made the preferential payment to you over her other creditors.

 

As they chose to repay you rather than share the funds equally between all her creditors, the Official Receiver requests the return of these monies for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate under Section 340 Insolvency Act 1986.

 

I therefore look forward to receiving your proposal for the repayment of the full sum of £3540.

 

I shall be grateful to hear from you within 10 days by form of email”

is there any help or advice to how to respond to this? recipient is a family member and a pensioner with ill health. Money was paid in last year over different months but not because it was a loan per se Eg if they paid for a bed for my flat or a tv, I sent it back. I feel so guilty that they are being asked for money and I’m getting a clean slate 😔

fatbelly

Those are the rules unfortunately. The OR has a duty to your creditors to chase up preferential payments

If the recipient contacts her local Citizens Advice, they may be able to help her write a letter explaining her circumstances and (if appropriate) why she cannot repay.

Startingagain25

Annoying thing is one was a transfer to me which I transferred straight back but they are using it as part of the total amount? It wasn’t a loan or advance- just a transaction sent to purchase a ticket, wasn’t needed and returned on same day. That seems unfair to me but I don’t know who to raise it with! 

I really would not have gone bankrupt if I knew they’d chase family for payments like this. 

fatbelly

You can't raise it as an issue - the person being pursued needs to explain the circumstances.

I once had a case (I work at CAB) where this came into play and they pursued my client's son - who then became a separate client of mine. He was a young person on JSA, really couldn't afford anything and had no assets. After one letter explaining his circumstances they left him alone.

sammyjammy

How much money are we talking?  There is nothing to stop you paying it back a little over time or when your IPO ends.

flipflopflo

@sammyjammy it says in the OP it’s £3540. 

I think she should just write a letter to the OR telling them that they have got the calculation wrong and explain why and she is a pensioner and only has her pension so she won’t be giving them any money back. Or you could type it up and print it and she could sign it and post it. 

theoretica

Also, if the order of transactions meant the same money was passing back and forth between you then it seems particularly wrong they are adding up the total of all the transactions.

Forester50

Its a lot of money - seems totally reasonable for the OR to dig a bit deeper.

What was it that cost £3540 fairly close to bankruptcy? Have you got receipts for the stuff purchased that match the amounts and timings? If it was a quick in & out of matching amounts then that really supports the the OPs argument.