considering bankruptcy help please

tracytaxi

Hi I wonder if I can get some advice.My husband is disabled as is my daughter, so I am the only worker. I am self employed taxi driver taking home for 60 hours a max of £150 per week, but having been off sick this week my finances already fragile are in a mess. We owe approx £29k and pay on a dmp with payplan £115 per month , most of the 29k about 22k is probbaly in my name only. Stupidly I have some debts not in the dmp, paying it all and just about coping.
Had to get a new car for taxi driving in nov 2007 on hp, (you need a newish car could not get hp on 2nd hand car) as to how quick they devalue.The payments come out of the gross profit are £364 per month alot bettr than the £400 I was paying to rent a cab.
But I feel so ill , all these hours and only £150 per week.The overheads are high, over rent and fuel and insurance.Done it for 7 years, most of my debt with payplan is through it when one of the cabs packed up and LLoyds my old bank would not wait and called the loans and bank accounts in. I have asthma, sciatica, prolapse and a chest infection , need i go on,and depression.

If we both went bankrupt is there any chance i could keep the car for taxi driving? If not i would need to get another job before. The other thought was that if I did lose the job, we have no public transport to get the kids to school or me to work, and I could not afford to save with no job.
I wondered about my husband just going bankrupt, so what I pay payplan shrinks quicker.
sorry to go on just don't know what to do ,feel so tired and alone. We have a jointb bank account with Barclays, with connect card no overdraft and no cheque guarantee card, I also have a step account with Natwest, and somewhere a forgotten cop cashminder account. the benefits, dla, tax credits and my husbands incapacity benefit go into,the joint account.
I have three children 7, 11, 13 husband is 46 and has out of control epilepsy ,11 year old has development problems. Any help please, my mum is so ashamed of me can't talk to her , thanks

RAS

Hi tracy

It looks like this board is a bit quiet at the moment. It will hot up later I promise.

In the mean-time..

You need to get some professional independent advice from one of the debt charities, see here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

People here cannot advise you whether to go BK but if you do they will hold your hand through the form filling, through discharge and beyond.

They are a lovely bunch but as you realise BK evokes some strong emotions and occasionally the forum is disrupted by someone who hates BK. If that happens, do not respond and go look at another forum for a while. There are a few regulars who can deal with it.

And as someone who is not BK, let me just add that you have absolutely nothing about which to be ashamed. You have obviously been struggling with severe problems and done a sterling job so far.

re the car, Richard or fermi will advise you better, but since you need it for work, it should be OK.

Take care, take advice and have a good weekend.

tigerfeet2006

Hi and welcome to the board

Your first port of call should be to contact one of the Debt Charities; see links below. Their services are free; they have no vested interest to serve; their advisors are professionally trained and the advice they give will be objective and in your best interests only. CCCS operate a system of telephone appointments that are designed to be flexible and don’t require you to attend an office based interview. At the CAB you will need to make an appointment with a specialist Financial Advisor; other advisors may not have the specialist knowledge you’ll need. You need to do this as the judge will ask if you have taken professional advice.

http://www.cccs.co.uk/

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index.htm

If you’re advised that bankruptcy is the most suitable solution to your financial problems then we can offer the best support and anecdotal advice that you’ll find anywhere on the Web.

For more specific advice and support, in an environment that is managed by people with first hand experience of bankruptcy, and moderated to ensure that no deliberately inflammatory or abusive posts are made then please visit:

http://bankruptcysupportersclub.co.uk/default.aspx

Just remember, as desperate as you may feel at the moment, we have all experienced what you are going through at the moment and with the right support and advice things will improve. It’s not an easy route to take but it is a route that will put you back in control of your life rather than just reacting to events.

EDIT:CCCS are open till 8.00 and National Debtline are open to 9.00 tonight I think so pick up the phone and have a chat to them both. There is no such thing as getting too much information.

tracytaxi

Hi thanks for quick replies , Payplan is similar to cccs, and thats where my dmp is, don't feel I can own up to my "hidden" debts I should of told them about , these aren't massive but still feel wrong. CCCs said they could not help as we could not afford to pay enough for their dmp. Cab told me rather bluntly to go bankrupt.
it probably was not the best idea to get a car on hp in november I had better check whatb the agreement says, but I needed to work, and the previous cab was clocked and an insurance write off I found out during renting it.
The other worry I have is the home phone ,and internet and my husbands piper alarm which is connected to the phone. I am worried Bt will say bye,if I go bankrupt.my neighbour who went bankrupt said dont tell anyone about Bt.However the official r will see my payments to BT on my bank statements.
Alkso my tv and washing machine are both rented, and so the problems go on, ...

tigerfeet2006

You are now in a different situation to when you last spoke to CCCS. If you don't want to talk to them then ring NDL. You MUST get professional advice about all this. Payplan are not a debt charity and while they are good they have a vested interest in you.

PLEASE RING NDL NOW.

EDIT: Now I've said all that I will have a quick look at some of your questions and see if I can answer any for you.

tracytaxi

thank you , I never knew that Payplan were not a debt charity, as they don't charge me or take a percentage, you are very kind

tigerfeet2006

tracytaxi wrote: »

Hi I wonder if I can get some advice.My husband is disabled as is my daughter, so I am the only worker. I am self employed taxi driver taking home for 60 hours a max of £150 per week, but having been off sick this week my finances already fragile are in a mess. We owe approx £29k and pay on a dmp with payplan £115 per month , most of the 29k about 22k is probbaly in my name only. Stupidly I have some debts not in the dmp, paying it all and just about coping.
Had to get a new car for taxi driving in nov 2007 on hp, (you need a newish car could not get hp on 2nd hand car) as to how quick they devalue.The payments come out of the gross profit are £364 per month alot bettr than the £400 I was paying to rent a cab.
But I feel so ill , all these hours and only £150 per week.The overheads are high, over rent and fuel and insurance.Done it for 7 years, most of my debt with payplan is through it when one of the cabs packed up and LLoyds my old bank would not wait and called the loans and bank accounts in. I have asthma, sciatica, prolapse and a chest infection , need i go on,and depression. Well done you for battling on under such adversity, especially for such a low wage.

If we both went bankrupt is there any chance i could keep the car for taxi driving? If not i would need to get another job before. The other thought was that if I did lose the job, we have no public transport to get the kids to school or me to work, and I could not afford to save with no job.
I wondered about my husband just going bankrupt, so what I pay payplan shrinks quicker. This is a bit of a minefield and you need to ask NDL/CCCS Ithink. If you did loose it and the job would it really be such a bad thing given the wage and your health.
sorry to go on just don't know what to do ,feel so tired and alone. We have a jointb bank account with Barclays, with connect card no overdraft and no cheque guarantee card, I also have a step account with Natwest, and somewhere a forgotten cop cashminder account. the benefits, dla, tax credits and my husbands incapacity benefit go into,the joint account I would resurrect the co-op cashminder account as it is one of only 2 accounts you can have as a BR. I have three children 7, 11, 13 husband is 46 and has out of control epilepsy ,11 year old has development problems. Any help please, my mum is so ashamed of me can't talk to her , thanks

There is no need to be ashamed, some very famous people have gone BR, there is a thread some where that I will bump for you to look at.

tigerfeet2006

tracytaxi wrote: »

thank you , I never knew that Payplan were not a debt charity, as they don't charge me or take a percentage, you are very kind

I have no gripes with Payplan and used to reccomend them to talk to in your situation. But I do feel you need to talk to someone who you have no ties with so to speak.

tigerfeet2006

tracytaxi wrote: »

Hi thanks for quick replies , Payplan is similar to cccs, and thats where my dmp is, don't feel I can own up to my "hidden" debts I should of told them about , these aren't massive but still feel wrong. CCCs said they could not help as we could not afford to pay enough for their dmp. Cab told me rather bluntly to go bankrupt.
it probably was not the best idea to get a car on hp in november I had better check whatb the agreement says, but I needed to work, and the previous cab was clocked and an insurance write off I found out during renting it.
The other worry I have is the home phone ,and internet and my husbands piper alarm which is connected to the phone. I am worried Bt will say bye,if I go bankrupt.my neighbour who went bankrupt said dont tell anyone about Bt.However the official r will see my payments to BT on my bank statements.
Alkso my tv and washing machine are both rented, and so the problems go on, ...

If you are not in debt to BT then you have no worries. Not sure about the tv and washing machine but I'm sure some one will be along soon who will. Can I ask why you rent them? Surely it would be cheaper to buy them?

Are you getting all the benefits you are entitled to? Check out www.entitledto.co.uk

Also sign up for your local freecycle group www.freecycle.org People advertise thing they wish to get rid of and you 'bid' for it and if the person chooses you then you go and collect it. The bonus is you don't pay for it, it's all free.

tracytaxi

phoned national debt line.
Just need to clarify what would happen to Bt phone account, paid monthly on direct debit budget account, can i keep this as it is, and the bank account question worries me. National debt line gave me some advice, sending leaflets re charity that can help with bankruptcy fees.

betterlatethannever

Yes, theres no reason to lose your Bt account. It can be hard to get an account with them once your BR as a new customer, but as your already with them its not a problem. The OR wouldn't question it nor would they tell BT.
You can continue to have DDs when Br too. The two main banks (co-op and barclays basic accounts both offer this service)
There is an allowance for the rental of equipment when you fill in the forms (have seen people with Tvs etc on rental) so thats not a problem either. But as Tiger suggest, get onto freecycle.
I hate to put a downer on things but the charities seem less and less willing and able to help with the BR fee, but its always worth trying.