Help required in putting BR behind me

AmIdone4?

Ok, So Sad Angels post has inspired me to write this post. Over the past couple of years I have changed quite dramatically and have 'pulled my head out of the sand' in lots of different ways...

A couple of old traits that are slowly dying hard are 1) Asking for help (its took me ages to post this thread) - helping others is far easier for me, but asking for it... harder and 2) Sometimes falling back into my old ways of not giving constructive criticism to people I have made a good connection with - Bit dramatic for an Easter Sunday ay?

Well, I need to ask, so I'll do so and then I can get on with eating an Easter Egg, feeling slightly better I hope!

Sooooo, parts of the advice I received from the debt advice charity I used pre-BR were not the best, but the support I received was much appreciated and I don't want them to think I'm throwing it back in their faces...

BUT, the following are the bones of my contention:
A)
You did advise me that I would only be paying towards my bankruptcy estate for the duration of one year.The reality is in fact, should there be a surplus of £100 after your I&E has been worked out, then you are liable to an IPA (Income Payment Agreement), which will last for 36 months. I do remember that it was XXXXX who informed me that I would be paying for a period of 1 year when we had a meeting regarding the possibility of me going bankrupt in 2006.


You also advised me that Social Fund Loans were one of the debts that were not taken into consideration by the courts. In truth I have since found out that social fund loans are sometimes claimed back after BR by the DWP, but should non-the-less be included in the bankruptcy petitioners SOA (Statement of Affairs).

C) Not sure about this one...
That for loans and debts taken out before April 2007, if the client believes figures provided to them regarding their alleged debt to be irregular, or if the client has simply lost their copy of the credit agreement, then the DCA must provide a copy of the said agreement to prove details of the claim.
I couldn't be sure that amount they were asking for was correct, as the debt dated back to 2002 and a lot had happened since then... I did say to my adviser, after the DCA had not supplied the required details upon several times of asking, that if I start making payments, we will lose our leverage and they simply won't have to bother supplying the agreement... which I did and they didn't!

1) So if I have got any of the above points wrong please let me know... and

2) I know I need to let my BR advisor know about the shortcomings of the advice I received, both for me to move on, but also for anyone in the future who they may help. Considering I got on really well with my advisor, what do people think of including the points in a letter? I am really struggling here... I sound a bit weak for a bloke don't I... (I'm not usually like this though, had to get that in!:))

Massive post I know, any quieries/confusion, let me know??

Cheers:):easter:

fiveyearplan

If you feel you were given th wrong advice you should let them know. On the other hand are you sure you didn't hear what you wanted to hear? Either way if you talk it over with said person you can get on with your post BR.

Happy Easter!

lookingforhelp_2

Hi Amidone4?
Not really in a position to help with the above querie.......
Just wanted to ask if i may?
When did you go BR?
Have things got easier for you? (i mean stress etc....)
Myself and hubby went BR 27th feb still waiting for OR interview(Tuesday)
But i don't feel ant better yet?

Thanks Sarah

dalip

LFH
i went bc in nov and am only now begining to let go. I think some find it harder than others to let go. I also think the longer you have been in debt the harder it is to change a way of life that has become the "norm" for you. It will happen eventually but as the old saying goes"rome was not built in a day".

AmIdone4?

Hi LFH:),

I think it's probably too early for you to start feeling the benefits yet LFH, but once you have had your interview and the hassle of your debts being removed sinks in and you start to move on, you will definitely feel the benefit:):), as I've seen on many posts on here! Others who are actively feeling the benefits will be better qualified to talk.

For me, I went BR in November, and my BR was really just part of a bigger picture (massive changes over last couple of years), so I won't really feel the benefit until I start working again (been out since 2002) and actively living! Hope this helps:)

AmIdone4?

fiveyearplan wrote: »

If you feel you were given th wrong advice you should let them know. On the other hand are you sure you didn't hear what you wanted to hear? Either way if you talk it over with said person you can get on with your post BR.

Happy Easter!

Hi 5YP,

What did you mean about only hearing what I wanted to hear?

wherediditallgo

If you think you were badly advised, then you might have a case to speak up about it. However, before you do so, I suggest you consider this:

• Laws may have changed, as well as patterns of practice, in between the time you were advised (2006) & when you actually went BR (Nov 2007). Given such a long gap between the two events, the onus really was on you to get up-to-date advice rather than assume things hadn’t changed. There was also nothing to stop you contacting more than one advisory service, or a different one from the original one, in 2006 or at any point after that.

• If the advice you’d got about the IPA had been the 3 years of payments instead of 1, would that have changed your decision to go BR?

• Lastly, when we’re under pressure, we do sometimes hear what we hope to hear. I know that I told a friend the Co-op was BR-friendly but that she had to tell them she was BR when she applied for the account. She rang for an account, but didn’t tell them her BR status, thinking they’d realise because she’d asked for a basic Cashminder account - she wanted the account, & all she heard was that they'd probably give to her, not that she had to supply certain info in order to get it. They didn’t automatically give it to her - her application got referred & it took a good 3 weeks to sort it out.

If I were you, I wouldn’t be writing to them. With reference to my own case, I’d be thinking “1 year or 3 is still a darn sight better than the 13+ that I was looking at, & the much higher amounts I’d have been struggling to find for all that time.” You say you appreciated the support you got. In that case, as at least part of the problem may well have been down to you (not knowing dates, not updating your advice), I’d leave it at that & be grateful that I’ve come through the other side with their support & help. If you really want to write to them, tell them thanks for the support & help they gave you.

fiveyearplan

I meant that sometimes when we are in situations like that we only hear the things we want to hear and not the whole story.

lookingforhelp_2

Thanks Dalip And Amidone4?,
Sarah

wherediditallgo

lookingforhelp wrote: »

Myself and hubby went BR 27th feb still waiting for OR interview(Tuesday)
But i don't feel ant better yet?

Thanks Sarah

I didn't feel the grat rush of emotion I expected after going BR either. It took having my OR interview & knowing all the paperwork was dealt with before I felt really free. I suspect you'll be the same - until then, it feels like unfinished business.

lookingforhelp_2

Thought it was just me.Hubby says i'm not coping very well
But like you say the debt has been there for years:rolleyes: all the stress just won't leave me........plus i'm dreading OR interview.
Thanks Sarah