New to forum, need advice pls

princess1984

Hello
I have posted in DFW today but wondered if I would get a quicker response here.
Quick background, me and dp both work, I work pt as we have 2 children, our debts total around 25-30k and we're doing a DMP with CCCS for 20k of it (the rest was accumulated after starting DMP). I've now told them this and have received their reply, they say that we need to review our budget to sort out our options, and again they've mentioned bankruptcy as our current DMP will take 87years to pay off!!!
My questions are:

-What happens if you are tenants and you go BR? We have lived here 1 year, tenancy due for renewal Jan 09, agency not in town but landlord lives in town and would read the paper to know I've gone BR. Been late paying rent twice by agreement with them but always paid none the less.

-What exactly are assets?? I feel like we have nothing of particular value as everything is second hand bought or passed on by family, including this pc I am using now, my dad would go mad if it was taken away as he built it and lent it to us

-With our cars, we own one each. dp owns a R reg fiesta 3dr and I own a T reg Astra 5dr aka our family car. We both need them to get to work, we work in different areas and at different times so we cannot share and I use mine to drop off/collect children from childminder. Would they bother taking these cars as they're not exactly worth much??

-How much do you pay towards your debts whilst BR? Is it like the DMP where any surplus income is paid towards it?

-How long do you pay off your debts before it is cleared? I have read on CCCS site that if you owe over 20k it takes 3yrs, and elsewhere that you are discharged and do not pay beyond the first year.

-We will have to petition for our own bankruptcy individually. How on earth do you find the fees??? And how silly that I can't AFFORD to go bankrupt?!

Sorry for so many questions but its a big decision and a scary step!

princess1984

oops one more question...
atm I owe over 400pounds for the gas and elec bill, been given til 8th Sept to pay. Can this be included in the BR and will my energy provider snub me as a customer for not paying? Same with telephone bill.

Waspeze

Hi Princess and welcome i'll answer what I can!

princess1984 wrote: »

Hello
I have posted in DFW today but wondered if I would get a quicker response here.
Quick background, me and dp both work, I work pt as we have 2 children, our debts total around 25-30k and we're doing a DMP with CCCS for 20k of it (the rest was accumulated after starting DMP). I've now told them this and have received their reply, they say that we need to review our budget to sort out our options, and again they've mentioned bankruptcy as our current DMP will take 87years to pay off!!!
My questions are:

-What happens if you are tenants and you go BR? We have lived here 1 year, tenancy due for renewal Jan 09, agency not in town but landlord lives in town and would read the paper to know I've gone BR. Been late paying rent twice by agreement with them but always paid none the less. You will need to check your tenancy agreement, the OR is supposed to tell them but can sometimes be persuaded to keep stum as long as they see your tenancy agreement themselves.

-What exactly are assets?? I feel like we have nothing of particular value as everything is second hand bought or passed on by family, including this pc I am using now, my dad would go mad if it was taken away as he built it and lent it to us Assets are things that have a reasonable resale value that could be put towards paying some of your creditors.. your PC should be fine as well as any domestic stuff.. what they're really after is antiques, works of art, top of the range plasma tele's etc

-With our cars, we own one each. dp owns a R reg fiesta 3dr and I own a T reg Astra 5dr aka our family car. We both need them to get to work, we work in different areas and at different times so we cannot share and I use mine to drop off/collect children from childminder. Would they bother taking these cars as they're not exactly worth much?? You need to prove that they are essential not just convenient. price up (and time) hoe long it'd take on public transport etc. It's not just what they're worth it's how much they cost to run as well that the OR is interested in.

-How much do you pay towards your debts whilst BR? Is it like the DMP where any surplus income is paid towards it? anything from 50-70% of your surplus after all reasonable (not basic) living expenses have been taken into account and only if your surplus is more that £99

-How long do you pay off your debts before it is cleared? I have read on CCCS site that if you owe over 20k it takes 3yrs, and elsewhere that you are discharged and do not pay beyond the first year. if you get an IPA it's 36 months (income payments agreement.. what you pay when bankrupt)

-We will have to petition for our own bankruptcy individually. How on earth do you find the fees??? And how silly that I can't AFFORD to go bankrupt?! stop paying creditors and dmp and puit that money towards it? only pay essentials.. rent/mortgage and utilities

Sorry for so many questions but its a big decision and a scary step!

Hope that helps

Waspeze

princess1984 wrote: »

oops one more question...
atm I owe over 400pounds for the gas and elec bill, been given til 8th Sept to pay. Can this be included in the BR and will my energy provider snub me as a customer for not paying? Same with telephone bill.

This can be included, however they may insist that you install a prepay meter which may break your tenancy agreement so be careful, you need to check this.

dalip

princess1984 wrote: »

Hello
I have posted in DFW today but wondered if I would get a quicker response here.
Quick background, me and dp both work, I work pt as we have 2 children, our debts total around 25-30k and we're doing a DMP with CCCS for 20k of it (the rest was accumulated after starting DMP). I've now told them this and have received their reply, they say that we need to review our budget to sort out our options, and again they've mentioned bankruptcy as our current DMP will take 87years to pay off!!!
My questions are:

-What happens if you are tenants and you go BR? We have lived here 1 year, tenancy due for renewal Jan 09, agency not in town but landlord lives in town and would read the paper to know I've gone BR. Been late paying rent twice by agreement with them but always paid none the less.Check your tenancy agreement to see if there is a bc clause.

-What exactly are assets?? I feel like we have nothing of particular value as everything is second hand bought or passed on by family, including this pc I am using now, my dad would go mad if it was taken away as he built it and lent it to us Assets are things/items of more £1,000 in value,anything below that the OR is not usually intersted in

-With our cars, we own one each. dp owns a R reg fiesta 3dr and I own a T reg Astra 5dr aka our family car. We both need them to get to work, we work in different areas and at different times so we cannot share and I use mine to drop off/collect children from childminder. Would they bother taking these cars as they're not exactly worth much??It is up to the OR if you keep them or not but get a parkers guide priceon them to see what their value is

-How much do you pay towards your debts whilst BR? Is it like the DMP where any surplus income is paid towards it? no you are allowed up to £99 surplus and anthing over that a % is taken. The allowances are a lot better in bc than on a DMP

-How long do you pay off your debts before it is cleared? I have read on CCCS site that if you owe over 20k it takes 3yrs, and elsewhere that you are discharged and do not pay beyond the first year.If any surplus income you pay a % for 36mths. If no surplus you don't pay anything. Discharge is 12 mths regardless from date of bc.

-We will have to petition for our own bankruptcy individually. How on earth do you find the fees??? And how silly that I can't AFFORD to go bankrupt?!Yes 2 X £495. IF bc is advised then stop paying all creditors and put that towards bc fees.

Sorry for so many questions but its a big decision and a scary step!

No worries. Welcome. Bc is far from easy,so don't expect a picnic;) .Get free legal advice first a couple of numbers which may be helpful in my sig. We will help all we can as the majority of us have been in your shoes and they are not very comfy:rolleyes: . Any others questions just fire away and we will do our best to help. D

maxmycardagain

cant see it, but are you private let tenants or council/HA? the later rarely have a problem with BR's and even PL's worry other than securing the rent monthly...


ooops, just read the LL bit...

princess1984

Some hugely useful advice here, thanks and keep it coming!!
My tenancy agreement doesn't mention BR so I'm hoping they won't have to know.
Maxmycardagain: I rent through a letting agency, but the owner of the property lives in my town so will receive the local paper. I hope they won't read and see their address!
For people already bankrupt, did you tell anybody or did anybody who knew you approach you about seeing it in the paper? Its another thing I'm worried about tbh.

Merry_Gentry

princess1984 wrote: »

For people already bankrupt, did you tell anybody or did anybody who knew you approach you about seeing it in the paper? Its another thing I'm worried about tbh.

Hi Princess

Welcome! :hello:

Me and H have just gone bankrupt - I know my name was in the local paper because my SIL saw it (she already knew) so I would imagine other people saw it too. TBH no-one has said anything, but I have been off work for the last week moving house. Anyone who is a friend already knows, and as for other people I kinda don't care!! It's the least of things to be thinking about because I am sorting my life out, and it's tomorrow's chip paper!

dalip

No body i know had the guts to ask outright, if they had seen it. I did mention it to my SIL and she had seen it but not said anything.:D It did worry me at first, i thought i had BANCRUPT stamped on my forehead,imagined i was getting strange looks,that neighbours were watching to see how many tesco bags i brought back from shopping,and so the list of paranoia goes on.I never went out apart from work for nearly 5 mths,would not even take my dogs for a walk in case i bumped into somebody i knew. If i did,meet anybody after dark:D i spent the whole time trying to read their expressions/manner to see if they knew. NOW i think oh why bother worrying about other people,think about my own life and how much my quality has improved.Sorry rambling,for long term users,my muzzle is back on.lolD

SkintyMcFlinty

I can't really answer any questions as I'm just a newbie too. But I will say that everyone on this board is a star and so very helpful and friendly to boot. I'm so glad that I no longer feel so helpless, or alone for that matter. What I can do is wish you and OH luck x x

princess1984

Wow ok so I guess the key is to keep our heads down and not ask unless questioned!!
Another question (and I think they'll keep coming!), I will be starting a degree sponsored by my employer, in September, I think I'll be eligible for the grants the university give, will they take this off me to go towards my debts? I hope someone knows! My employment will stay the same just that I will also be attending uni one day pw instead of being at home with my daughter.
I can't believe how helpful everybody who has posted has been, thank you so much.