been to ashamed to apply for council benefit and now

nellsbells

and now received a letter this afternoon telling me i have
been made bankrupt for out standing council tax.
Im self employed with business account (soletrader)
I have a current acount using 50% of authorised O/draft

I did get council HB and CT rebate form a couple of weeks
ago but didnt fill them in as someone told me HB etc rules
where changing in the next tax year.

So question 1)what happens to my business account
2)what happens to my business debtcard
(the type where all monies owning are
paid off complety every month)

didn't know this was going to happen so could start new accounts etc

question 3) if it where at all possible to clear these debts assp what
difference if any would that make

question 4) just done the entiledto calculator and would get a
lot in benifit to pay off arrears and keep uptodate with
the forcoming years payments
question 5) have a friend that could be able to pay off arrears
either in full or a percentage as if have read on some
of the posts today which has to be at least 25% of
outstanding arrrears and I would paid her back

hope this all makes sence Im shaking with fear and so annoyed with
myself for not swallowing my pride and getting benifits long before now

PixiePie

Hi Nells,

Sorry if this isn't the case, but I thought Council's tend to issue CCJ's for unpaid council tax - not make you BR as making you BR costs them loads of money whereas the CCJ just costs the small court fee - I know when there were lots of disputes about our Council Tax and therefore it didn't get paid they said it was going to court and we would be issued with a CCJ. Has this already happened and they are seeking/have obtained BR as a result of CCJ's being issued? Am slightly confused.

If you have gone BR you have to stop using all accounts immediately (but you should have been told this in the paperwork that tells you you have gone BR) as you are a sole trader there is no difference between a business account and a personal account - you are liable for them all personally and therefore the same rules apply.

Best thing to do - call the council on Monday and ask for an explanation - are you currently BR or not? Or is it a CCJ or a summons for court for a CCJ? If it is just the summons, no worries, it can all be sorted before it gets to court and everything will be ok. If you are immediately wanting to check if you are BR or not, go to the Insolvency Service website where all BR's are listed and do a search under your name (think links get taken out on here, so just do a google search for the Insolvency service and make sure its the GOV address not a commercial one trying to sell you debt management.if you are allowed to pop a link in try https://www.insolvency.gov.uk/ ). That will immediately tell you if you are BR or not - if you are your name will be there along with your details (address, profession etc etc).

Once you know if a) you are or aren't BR and b) on Monday what the council say, ring either CSSS, or a CAB financial advisor etc (look in one of the other clever people's signigtures here for the OFFICAL places to look for help). They can help you and for free and will give you personalised advice - personally I found the CSSS more than helpful and very very nice.

What happened with our CT was we managed to pay it off in monthly installments in the end with a larger installment at the end of the 10 months to make up for their mistake. It didn't go to court after all, despite a date being set and everything, and everyone was happy (well......lol). All of this because of a misunderstanding, although they never accepted this and we have the most evil woman (on a par with my OR) at the council who deals with our CT.

Chin up - it is unlikely they have made you BR if this is the first you have heard of it happening....

nellsbells

got the letter from solvency account this afternoon

suelees1

Our council uses this completely inappropriate enforcement as well. It stinks.

Councils are under pressure to clear debts by the end of the financial year. Look at the timing of yours!

However it should be the absolute last resort so they should have been in touch with you numerous times in the past to try to collect it. You definitely should have been served a bankruptcy notice.

Thre are circumstances where a court might annul a bankruptcy order. For example if the Order shouldn't have been made and another (I think) if the debt and any costs associated with the bankrupcy have been paid in full.

I'm not an expert by any means so try either of these two free agencies for help. Be aware there are other websites with similar sounding names who've jumped on the bandwagon but they charge a fee. Be careful if you search for them instead of using the link.

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

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

maxmycardagain

nellsbells wrote: »

got the letter from solvency account this afternoon

not sure what you mean, they cant have made you BR without informing you beforehand and id think the council have cut their own throats making you bankrupt just for council tax, whats the total you owed them?

calm down dear, its a commercial

take stock

have you been issued with a county court bankruptcy number?

or is it some piece of offical looking paperwork aimed at making you panic?

JCS1

suelees1 wrote: »

Thre are circumstances where a court might annul a bankruptcy order. For example if the Order shouldn't have been made and another (I think) if the debt and any costs associated with the bankrupcy have been paid in full.

For an annullment on the ground of payment in full, then all debts (loans, credit cards, overdrafts, etc) as well as petitiond debt and petition costs have to be included.

Other grounds are that the order ought not to have been made, and if they did not follow correct procedure with issuing you with the correct paperwork this might be an option.

Leaflet at: http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/Canmybankruptcybecancelled.pdf

johnny_storm

I have not claimed (or been entitled to any) benefits in since i started work 18 years ago.

But I tell you something, DONT be ashamed. I have started to realise thats its the clever people who claim and the stupid who work hard to pay for everyone else.

Good luck!

nellsbells

JCS1.maxmy ,suelees1
having a friend look at the paperwork that came today it seems
a sheriffs officer should have served me with papers but they didn't
so maybe in deed it was a rush though for the end of the year

Persolv0

nellsbells wrote: »

JCS1.maxmy ,suelees1
having a friend look at the paperwork that came today it seems
a sheriffs officer should have served me with papers but they didn't
so maybe in deed it was a rush though for the end of the year

Hi Nells(sorry i cant help with your questions but...
just noticed you said Sheriffs officers...am i right in thinking your in scotland as if so the contact for officials is different than the rest of the uk..... heres the link to the Accountants for Bankruptcy scotland website for more info and contact details http://www.aib.gov.uk/


best wishes