Health,Debts and DRO or Bankruptcy

britcan

Happy New Year to all.

This must be one of the hardest things i have ever had to do.

Firstly an insight as to why I think bankruptcy is my best option.

Sadly like many,I fell into the I got one credit card let me see if i can get another...and another...and another. You know what comes next. Things went fine until 3 years ago I was told I had about 3 months to live if I did not have heart surgery, and that the heart disease would be with me for the rest of my days. That caught me out as I had alsws been really active and fit for my age...67 in July this year and working full time. I was asked to remain in hospital until I could be given a local hospital.They decided a triple bypass would be best and all went well.

Now the problems started, going from company sick pay for 6 weeks to £97 a week on benefits. Chaos.So to pay peter we robbed paul..sadly paul was not happy and ran out of funds so we found another...and so it went on. I had given all I had in saving to help my Son in canada who ended up a druggy and got divorced from his wife. Although he has promised countless times to pay me back.

I managed to survive that ordeal but also being addicted to credit cards and buying things i did not need continued. I had no idea how bad it was until the other month...last night I pulled all 3 credit referance agency files and put this info on step change...£30,700 in debt. For the past 14 years I had also been living with blood cancer but it was stable, until late last year it changed. I went from 12 stone to 9 stone 10lbs in a year. Started and still on 18 month regime of chemo treatments, and still working although days are a good and bad mixture.

I had a thought that the job is driving me down as well due to the amount of stress and deadlines we have to meet. I manage a building with 60 private retirement flats and have to make sure all the fire and health and safety regs and routine maintenance things are done, as well as listen to all the issies people have. I live on site which is not always the best scenario as well.

So after putting in all the numbers on step change it said a dro was best, or bankruptcy is another options.It estimated i would have about £900 left over after bills. It said a dro could take about 2 years and 10 months to clear. Knowing I could still be hounded this did not go down well on my mind. I thought bankruptcy and paying any extra the officer asked for out of the £900 for a year would be better.I would then be debt free never to get another card for the remainder of my days. A year and i could be free to semi retire and get a social home local to here.

I just can't take this stress of the job,which I enjoy in a strange way, these debts and knowing i could work myself to death in this job.I guess having never been good with money has really come back to haunt me, like it is an addiction to plastic. I have had many strange thoughts, if you get my drift, these past few months about all this. I just want out of this situation.

I have no bank overdraft and have had a clean record with my present bank for over 7 years, but seeing what has been said on these forums I have opened a basic account with a bank that is not associated with my present one.

So I guess a DRO would not be my best choice considering my aim and bankruptcy would be the better option.

I have gathered so much information from these forums and would have been really up a creek without a paddle if they did not exist.

Appreciate the replys.

RAS

Hopefully some of the more experienced posters will be along.

Firstly do you have any debts with any bank etc that is connected to your current bank?

All the financial relief solutions affect your credit rating for 6 years from the time your debts are defaulted, NOT when you stop paying them.

A DRO is good if you have less than £30k in debts and your excess of income over expenditure is less than £75 per month. The fee is £90. 

Bankruptcy may be suitable if you over over £30k and costs a lot more. If there's more than £20 per month surplus, you'll pay and IPA for three years. You'd probably pay everything back if you have £900 surplus.

A Debt Management Plan entails making regular payments to your creditors, but once the debt is defaulted interest stops being charged and in time, you'd get some early settlement offers. There is no fee. It's important to get the debts defaulted as quickly as possible.

I have to say that with your health and living situation, I'd take advice and consider stop paying now, save up for a few months for a private rental and to get savings to get the debt below the £30k limit, retire and then do a DRO. After a year, you can take part-time work if you want.

Have you checked your pension situation?

sourcrates

Hi,
You are confusing a debt relief order with a debt management plan, if you only get £97 per week on benefits, how on earth can you have £900 per month left over ? doesn't make any sense.

Also you have too much debt for a DRO, the threshold is 30k, and your disposable income is well over the £75 monthly allowance.

I honestly think you have got confused with your budget as well, just tell us your actual income, we know you rent, and what your debt is, I can`t see you really having £900 a month going spare.

If its piece of mind from creditor harassment you crave, then bankruptcy would be my choice, but that would be subject to your actual amount of disposable income, if £900 is correct, then debt management would be a better choice.

MalMonroe

Hi, and welcome to the forum. 

As sourcrates says, above, it does appear that there is some confusion.

However, my suggestion would be to actually phone StepChange and speak to an adviser rather than fill in information on their website. That can be good if your case is clear cut but it doesn't appear that yours is.

I turned to StepChange a few years ago when I was in terrible financial trouble and I was allocated an adviser who helped me every step of the way to getting a DRO, which is now over. The advisers at StepChange are friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and best of all, non-judgemental.

Before you speak to them you will need a Statement of Account (budget, list of incomings and outgoings) and they will go through everything with you and give you their opinion about what they think would be the best action for you to take. Their advice is without obligation, it's entirely up to you what you do.

I honestly think that once you speak to a professional and get your tangled financial matters and debt untangled, you will be able to see a clear way forward. It sounds as if you've had some really bad luck in the past, with your health and your job and I really do hope you can get things sorted out. Someone else to talk to and offload your money worries to helps so much. They are not invested at all in your troubles but they will be able to see a way forward. 

I'm not saying it's easy, it won't be - but once you know what to do, things will start to feel better.

Then also your job, which you say you enjoy in a strange way, may also become far more bearable. 

I do hope so and wish you all the very best. Thanks for coming here for help, I hope some of what I've said is helpful.

Many of us on this site have been in similar situations and I know that just being able to get things off your chest is very helpful. Stepchange can help - but you do need to actually speak to a person, in my opinion. Best phone call I ever made and didn't pay for.

As you can see, on sourcrates' signature above, there are details of all the free debt help agencies, not just StepChange. I just recommend them because they helped me so much.

Good luck to you. 

britcan

MalMonroe said:

Hi, and welcome to the forum. 

As sourcrates says, above, it does appear that there is some confusion.

However, my suggestion would be to actually phone StepChange and speak to an adviser rather than fill in information on their website. That can be good if your case is clear cut but it doesn't appear that yours is.

I turned to StepChange a few years ago when I was in terrible financial trouble and I was allocated an adviser who helped me every step of the way to getting a DRO, which is now over. The advisers at StepChange are friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and best of all, non-judgemental.

Before you speak to them you will need a Statement of Account (budget, list of incomings and outgoings) and they will go through everything with you and give you their opinion about what they think would be the best action for you to take. Their advice is without obligation, it's entirely up to you what you do.

I honestly think that once you speak to a professional and get your tangled financial matters and debt untangled, you will be able to see a clear way forward. It sounds as if you've had some really bad luck in the past, with your health and your job and I really do hope you can get things sorted out. Someone else to talk to and offload your money worries to helps so much. They are not invested at all in your troubles but they will be able to see a way forward. 

I'm not saying it's easy, it won't be - but once you know what to do, things will start to feel better.

Then also your job, which you say you enjoy in a strange way, may also become far more bearable. 

I do hope so and wish you all the very best. Thanks for coming here for help, I hope some of what I've said is helpful.

Many of us on this site have been in similar situations and I know that just being able to get things off your chest is very helpful. Stepchange can help - but you do need to actually speak to a person, in my opinion. Best phone call I ever made and didn't pay for.

As you can see, on sourcrates' signature above, there are details of all the free debt help agencies, not just StepChange. I just recommend them because they helped me so much.

Good luck to you. 

Hi MalMonroe,

Thank you for the reply.

I guess I did put things in a manner that seemed to confuse so many ggod people. After doing a statement of affairs on the stepchange site the options were bankrurtcy or debt managment plan. It said it would take around 2 years and 10 months to clear.

Here is a part that i seemed to make a little confusing.

I am 67, 3 years ago I was given 3 months to live, ended up having a triple bypass. I am also on an 18 month treatment regime for cancer. I also work full time. I am starting to get little niggling pains like I had 3 years ago, I think must be the stress of this and the job. I have also a weird thing called cramp fisiculation syndrome, which seemed to come about 6 months fater my heart surgery, and I have been told,after many tests, there is no known cure or remedy.

But on we go as best we can, although my military mental health setting is now slowly running low and i know a little depression has started to show its ugly head. Work keeps me going but when the day is over and at weekends this problem is always on my mind.

It was worked out that after our general household bills and living is deducted from wage,there would be about £900 per month which could be used in a DMP. Or there is the option of BR.

I am thinking of Br because i could not and don't think i will manage 3 years working. I would rather go 1 year BR, have surplus funds taken towards in a IVA is it called then come out the other side free of burden and worry.

I do not want to work myself to death whilst at work. I don't care about credit score as really won't want any form of debt ever again for the rest of my days.

I am just waiting for one more bit of information to come in before I call SC. I have pulled credit files from the 3 agencies with latest updates and this helped me to put the figures.

I have also spent weeks looking at info on here,although at times it was hard getting to find some of the latest updates.

These sites are a wealth of information,sure,it takes a little time to whittle it all down and learn from each persons experience but it is well worth the time.

Thank you for replying,

Britcan.

sourcrates

To be honest with you, I would not bother with any debt solution.

I`d just write and explain my medical situation to each creditor and ask them to take a commercial decision and write off the debts, you don`t need to be dealing with this on top of everything else.

That would be my strategy.

flipflopflo

There is a poster called @Cheesephetamine
 over on the DFW board who has successfully got most of his debt written off. If you post over there you will get advice on how to go about it. 

RAS

I'm with sourcrates on this on.

Work might be keeping you going, but realistically can you expect to keep working until you drop? 

And the whole plan seems to depend on remaining in work because you are in tied accommodation, with fixed living costs. Otherwise, you can't afford those monthly payments.

You'd be better working out how to retire, including finding alternative accommodation. That's probably the thing that is most important.

Then, write to your creditors, explain your reduced circumstances and medical situation and ask for a write off. 

And please don't mix up and IPA, Individual Payment Agreement, over 3 years in bankruptcy beyond the £680 fee, with an IVA, Individual Voluntary Agreement, for which the fees are £6-9k and they'd wring every last farthing out of you over 6 years.

If you search for the latter there are a lot of salespeople who'll snap your hand off for the commission alone and not explain the down-side. Don't talk to them.

Look at the various threads on write offs.

ManyWays

I agree that you should ask for write offs and say you have to give up your job because of health reasons. Your local Citizens Advice can help you write these letters, I dont think Step Change does. 

britcan

I have read that BR takes a year and if all is good you are discharged. There can be IPA put in place. Is this standard practice for the OR to do?

Next,please, if I started Br this April and then next year,say about june,gave up work due to the health reasons, what would happen to the IPA?

How can you be discharged in a year and yet have the IPA going on.

I know it's a lot of questions and I am sorry about this. All your knowledge is worth more than gold at this point.

RAS

The IPA, if issued, is adjusted to take into account any changes in circumstances. 

The sensible thing to do would be to explain your retirement plan when you have your interview with your OR. Although they may well ask given your age.