Serious dept and bankruptcy advice

milfredo

Hi peeps,

As there is such a wide source of people on here, I thought I would see if anyone can offer some advice about some dept questions.

My friend has mounted some serious dept and is currently being chased left right and centre by agencies wanting payments. She wasn't in a position to pay for about 6 months after loosing her job and kept informing the deters of her situation and keeping them just a bay.

She is now in a low paid job and has signed up to the CCCS scheme to manage her repayments and she finally saw light at the end of the tunnel but the agencies are not accepting the plan as sufficient payment and are threatening court action.

I've got no experience of courts and neither has she. Obviously she can afford a solicitor - what does she do.

She honestly has nothing for them to take, no real assets to speak of - £200 car is about the most expensive item. She is absolutely petrified of being bankrupted that it is making her ill. Is it something to fear or is it part of the system to start to get things back on track?

Will these agencies issue a bankruptcy case as this would seem like they would end up with nothing. Will the letters just keep on coming, what is a CCJ and what does it mean? Would she be better of filling for Bankruptcy herself and what are the costs involved and what are the implications?

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

Will

MrsTinks

Hi Will,

First of the best thing would be for her to come on here and post her SOA for us so we can see what exactly she's up against. There is a world of difference between say £5000 debt and £50,000... Both in practicality and in law and actions that can be taken.
CCCS are a very good bunch of people and if they haven't advised bankrupcy then there is definitely hope.
A CCJ is a county court judgement - Payplan have a good list of FAQs and answers on this. PayPlan Link
She won't need a solicitor if the creditors DO take her to court, she can defend herself.
Most creditors will try and push her for money but few will take her to court for a CCJ once they start getting regular payments on the debts.
Going bankrupt is not something to be scared of, but it's understandable that she is deeply worried.
Start with getting her to post her SOA though and we can give a lot more detailed advise OR she can call CCCS and speak to them

milfredo

Silly question - what's a SOA?

MrsTinks

LOL sorry SOA is a Statement of Affairs - it's a list of income, expenses and debts really
One great tool can be found here: http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

CCCS_Sarah

Hi Milfredo,

Welcome to the boards. I can understand your friends concern and know it’s a worrying time. If your friend has been receiving letters threatening court action – these are pretty standard collection letters. County court claim forms are blue and white and will have the court crest on in the top left hand corner. If she was to receive these forms she would just need to complete her income and expenditure (can copy info of her CCCS budget) and make an offer of repayment (this would be same amount as she is already paying that creditor).

It is very unlikely that a creditor would make your friend bankrupt as this would mean they would be paying court costs plus writing their own money off – generally they would prefer a reduced payment rather than nothing at all.

Was Bankruptcy discussed with your friend on her appointment? She would be more than welcome to come back for another appointment to see if this is an option for her, and if it was CCCS would be able to give her the information she needs to go ahead with that. I wouldn’t be able to advise over the forum if bankruptcy is an option as I don’t have all the information.

Good luck to your friend and if you need anymore information from me just give me a shout.

Sarah

milfredo

Thanks for the information people, it's set home a few of my own ideas on the situation. I've passed on a link to this page to my friend encouraging her to post her own concerns and questions. She's called the CCCA about the latest spout of letters earlier today and sounds a lot less stressed than this morning, so they may have gone over a few things you've mentioned on the post.
Overview of things that might need doing / things to take on-board:
CCJ's - basically copy your CCCS application as this is a true declaration of your financial circumstances.
Bankruptcy is unlikely to be enforced from creditors as they incur the costs and will loose out in the long run.
Find out if Bankruptcy was discussed with the CCCS and maybe re-evaluate if it is a viable option or not and what is involved (anyone know the costs involved?)

Thanks again,

Will