£117,000 in debt.

pug_in_a_bed

I love the way that bramley manor site says 'helping your friend', makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...

'We can provide your friend with a debt-free future. Help your friend today by contacting us at your earliest convenience, or better still help your friend to make contact with us today at'

Somethings not quite cricket anyhow, stick with the CAB and free services, you'll do so much better in the long run.

dell_2

I'm as guilty as any....

Can we get back to helping rather than judging (or bickering)?

Turning_into_scrooge

Not many creditors will accept money to pay off a loan etc or even a DMP if the arrangement to do so is though a fee paying debt management company. This happened to friends of mine. They went for a consolidation loan from a fee paying company and ended up in a worse situation as their creditors refused it due to it being fee paying. They ended up having their house re possesed. They have since said if they had only know about CCCS and NDL they wouldn't of lost their house and would of had a manageable DMP and wouldn't still be paying off the consolidation loan which is going to be round thier necks for many more years to come as they can't get a loan elsewhere to pay this off due to their credit rating.

crystal_clear

Once again i find myself back here to give clarification !!!
I am sorry but to all those saying keep well clear of this Bramley manor
Yes i agree there is no need to look at them if just going to go on a DMP as i would assume they are a fee paying company and why pay for something if it can be done for free ... but my post was directed soley at Purple if she was to go bankrupt such as my friends are being forced down that road and had resigned themselves to the fact they were going to lose all debt except secured they were going to lose there home in the process...... little did they know that having taken out the second mortgage has left them little equity in there home and the OR / courts may decide that taking the home would serve no purpose so providing the mortgage and second mortgage dont go for forclosure they would be safe and could continue to pay both those (but all other debts in there IVA would be gone within bankruptcy)but after talking at length with Bramley they feel that even if they were to keep the house they would still be better off financially taking out a fresh mortgage through this company and apparently it is a guaranteed offer not just pie in the sky ....
I do hope this puts a stop to all the backbiting......
If Purple can go through CCCs or any other free same for a DMP then go that route dont pay anyone for a DMP but if bankruptcy is the only other option she has and it looks like she is going to lose her home then thats where my suggestion to go sound them out comes in ........ Hey this may not be for Purple but lets be fair here
Purple has her own mind and can see things for herself stop pre judging and allow her to take onboard whatever advice she wishes I am sure given her current situation she is glad of any ideas
Like i was always told DONT KNOCK IT TILL U TRIED IT !!!!!!
I really hope this has cleared any doubts others had or reasons to pull down my suggestion as a last resort and yet again i do not work or have any contact with this company or any other similiar I too have my own problems and have my own post on the boards but no one can help me with mine as i am in a catch 22 situation (off work sick) But if i can put in something that may help someone else I will Please dont knock me for that its not nice I am just trying to helppppppp with other ideas if needed as back-ups

Turning_into_scrooge

I'm sorry Crystal my intention was not to bickbite or cause offence it was just to show what happened to people i know. If the OP has all the informatin to hand about how something can go then they can make a clearer decision. And yes i know you are trying to help :A

Taramitz

Hiya

This is the first time on the forums but I felt as though I had to give some support to purple. There is always someone worse off than yourselves, we are £160,000 in debt, mostly made up of four loans and 17 credit cards!!!! We have a business and it was doing well until about 3 years ago, but we kept going, using credit, thinking things would get better. They haven`t. At the beginning of this year we realised we were at the limit of our cards and couldn`t afford to pay them or the loans. We hadn`t realised how much they all added up to, and how much credit we had been using to support the business, and that`s the truth. Anyway, that`s another story. I decided to write to all our creditors and explain that business had been bad and asked for a reduced payment on them all. Most accepted. A couple of months later I sought the help of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS). They arranged an interview over the telephone and from there sent me an Income and Expenditure sheet and loads of helpful information, all for free. Before we went to them we were seriously considering bankruptcy. We were told that most Insolvency Practitioners will have a first meeting with you free. We contacted two local ones and went to see them with our problem and the advice and support they gave was useful and interesting. You do not have to pay them anything or promise to take on their services but what they can tell you is amazing. We live on the business premises and should we opt to go bankrupt we would lose everything, house and job. We hold a lease to the premises and the contract states that if we go insolvent the lease would be null and void. We would not then be able to sell the lease, which is our only asset (this is worth approx. £50,000). Our premises have been on the market since last October because we could see the way the business was going and even if we sold it there would not be enough money to pay our creditors. We could not go on a DMP or IVA because when we do eventually sell this business we cannot guarantee getting straight back into a job and therefore the programme will be broken and someone then would make us bankrupt. We are trying our best to avoid bankruptcy as we do not want to lose everything we have built up over the last 12 years and come out of the business with nothing. Anyway the CCCS have been very helpful in keeping the wolves at bay and I am constantly in touch with our creditors. One today phone me and asked if I could raise 30% of the debt owing to them (about £12,000) and if I could they would write off the remaining 70%. Some creditors are willing to take far less than what is owed, at least they would get something. If you declare bankrupt, then everything is taken from you and shared amongst your creditors. We have read a lot of things to do with bankruptcy and quite honestly I cannot see how the Official Receiver will let you keep your house to be remortgaged by someone else. Your house is an asset and this will be siezed to be sold off to pay your creditors. You should obtain a book called `A Guide to Bankruptcy` from the Insolvency Practitioners. One bit from it reads "If you own your home, whether freehold or leasehold, solely or jointly, mortgaged or otherwise, your interest in the home will form part of your estate which will be dealt with by your trustee. The home may have to be sold to go towards paying your debts." It also says "When you are discharged ............. these assets are still controlled by the trustee who can deal with them at any time in the future". Believe me, the thought of bankruptcy is frightening because of the power of the Official Receiver. Since April 2004 the discharge time for bankruptcy is 12 months maximum, unless you incurred debts knowing you couldn`t repay them or show negligence in obtaining credit when you shouldn`t have. We did the credit card shuffle; 0% interest things and everything but we went deeper and deeper. Now I have destroyed all our cards and am just trying my best to negotiate with everyone to try and keep us out of the courts. The worse ones in business is the VAT and tax, they stop at nothing to get their money. So far we have managed to pay everyone something every month and are hopeful of selling our business within the next six months, but believe me it has been hard work, constantly having to answer the telephone and writing letters and negotiating. Some of our debts have been passed from the credit card companies to debt collectors, but then all I do is send them all the info from the CCCS and write and say it won`t do any good taking us to court as they would get no more and we are just about hanging on. Sorry this is a bit long but just trying to give you some support and help in trying to help yourself WITHOUT PAYING ANYONE ANY FEES. At my lowest point my parents sent me a card with this poem on it (they do not know how much debt we are really in). I have put this on my pin board above my desk and read it when I receive another demand or phone call. It kept me away from the bankruptcy courts and we are still in business, which incidentally is actually picking up!!!! Keep battling and keep your pride and I hope you keep your house and home. If you want any more advice please email me.

DON`T QUIT

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you`re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don`t you quit.
Don`t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you`re hardest hit -
It`s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Ember999

Taramitz wrote:

Hiya

This is the first time on the forums but I felt as though I had to give some support to purple. There is always someone worse off than yourselves, we are £160,000 in debt, mostly made up of four loans and 17 credit cards!!!! We have a business and it was doing well until about 3 years ago, but we kept going, using credit, thinking things would get better. They haven`t. At the beginning of this year we realised we were at the limit of our cards and couldn`t afford to pay them or the loans. We hadn`t realised how much they all added up to, and how much credit we had been using to support the business, and that`s the truth. Anyway, that`s another story. I decided to write to all our creditors and explain that business had been bad and asked for a reduced payment on them all. Most accepted. A couple of months later I sought the help of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS). They arranged an interview over the telephone and from there sent me an Income and Expenditure sheet and loads of helpful information, all for free. Before we went to them we were seriously considering bankruptcy. We were told that most Insolvency Practitioners will have a first meeting with you free. We contacted two local ones and went to see them with our problem and the advice and support they gave was useful and interesting. You do not have to pay them anything or promise to take on their services but what they can tell you is amazing. We live on the business premises and should we opt to go bankrupt we would lose everything, house and job. We hold a lease to the premises and the contract states that if we go insolvent the lease would be null and void. We would not then be able to sell the lease, which is our only asset (this is worth approx. £50,000). Our premises have been on the market since last October because we could see the way the business was going and even if we sold it there would not be enough money to pay our creditors. We could not go on a DMP or IVA because when we do eventually sell this business we cannot guarantee getting straight back into a job and therefore the programme will be broken and someone then would make us bankrupt. We are trying our best to avoid bankruptcy as we do not want to lose everything we have built up over the last 12 years and come out of the business with nothing. Anyway the CCCS have been very helpful in keeping the wolves at bay and I am constantly in touch with our creditors. One today phone me and asked if I could raise 30% of the debt owing to them (about £12,000) and if I could they would write off the remaining 70%. Some creditors are willing to take far less than what is owed, at least they would get something. If you declare bankrupt, then everything is taken from you and shared amongst your creditors. We have read a lot of things to do with bankruptcy and quite honestly I cannot see how the Official Receiver will let you keep your house to be remortgaged by someone else. Your house is an asset and this will be siezed to be sold off to pay your creditors. You should obtain a book called `A Guide to Bankruptcy` from the Insolvency Practitioners. One bit from it reads "If you own your home, whether freehold or leasehold, solely or jointly, mortgaged or otherwise, your interest in the home will form part of your estate which will be dealt with by your trustee. The home may have to be sold to go towards paying your debts." It also says "When you are discharged ............. these assets are still controlled by the trustee who can deal with them at any time in the future". Believe me, the thought of bankruptcy is frightening because of the power of the Official Receiver. Since April 2004 the discharge time for bankruptcy is 12 months maximum, unless you incurred debts knowing you couldn`t repay them or show negligence in obtaining credit when you shouldn`t have. We did the credit card shuffle; 0% interest things and everything but we went deeper and deeper. Now I have destroyed all our cards and am just trying my best to negotiate with everyone to try and keep us out of the courts. The worse ones in business is the VAT and tax, they stop at nothing to get their money. So far we have managed to pay everyone something every month and are hopeful of selling our business within the next six months, but believe me it has been hard work, constantly having to answer the telephone and writing letters and negotiating. Some of our debts have been passed from the credit card companies to debt collectors, but then all I do is send them all the info from the CCCS and write and say it won`t do any good taking us to court as they would get no more and we are just about hanging on. Sorry this is a bit long but just trying to give you some support and help in trying to help yourself WITHOUT PAYING ANYONE ANY FEES. At my lowest point my parents sent me a card with this poem on it (they do not know how much debt we are really in). I have put this on my pin board above my desk and read it when I receive another demand or phone call. It kept me away from the bankruptcy courts and we are still in business, which incidentally is actually picking up!!!! Keep battling and keep your pride and I hope you keep your house and home. If you want any more advice please email me.

DON`T QUIT

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you`re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don`t you quit.
Don`t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you`re hardest hit -
It`s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Oh goodness me, thank you for your post. I have had the worst day of my life today and am sat up at the computer because I cannot even think of trying to go to sleep. My cat (my baby) who I have had for 13 happy years was today diagnosed with terminal illness. This came out of the blue and tomorrow morning the vet is phoning me at 9am to discuss the fact that I must be brave and let my beloved cat be put to sleep. I am crying as I read your post, for you, for me and for everybody out there on MSE for whom life is hard. I don't understand all the pain we all have to endure and I just wanted to say thank you for your post and your little poem. My life is devastated tonight and I cannot face the morning but I will try not to give up.
I hope it all works out for you all, I hope your business picks up Taramitz, thank you for your poem, it helped me tonight.

purple_octopus

:T
I am overwhelmed by the time and effort people on this thread have made in order to help and support me. Sorry for not getting back sooner, so many of you have offered information in the past few days I am reading all of your thoughts carefully. There have been no developments this last week in terms of us seeking advice.
Just to let you know though, that our current train of thought is not bankruptcy ,but concerns the possibilty of Mr Purple O buying this house once his is sold, it's early days with this idea, and we don't know its feasiblity, with the house having negative equity on it.
Please don't stop with your suggestions though, all information is very gratefully received. I will be asking for more help with the house idea as it unfolds

Kinds Regards,
Purple

fsdss

going back to the debt i'm no expert but could you rent out a room or 2 to raise extra income? or finding an evening job to pay off your debt quicker? my brother ( after losing his 3mth old girl to cot death) accumulated £24k of debts (through grieving with his wallet) with a threat of losing his home, and with the help of the citizens advice bureau, managed to get the debts frozen with a fixed monthly repayment and by letting the spare rooms out of the house took off alot of the financial pressure, after 3yrs of doing this he managed to clear his debts, and keep the house.

deemy2004

Thats good advice - rent a room out.