Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

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  • been advised to go bankrupt however I own a asset that is approx £1000 but £2500 is due on it immediatly. If I dont pay it more fees are incurred costing more money. I can not afford to pay this but my friend has said that she would like it. Am I allowed to transfer it into her name? I wont be gaining any money from it as obviousbly she will be paying the £2500. So it will be a straight transfer.
  • dizzybee
    dizzybee Posts: 1,415
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    hi i have been advised to go for a DRO,i have received the post office slip to pay the fee and am just ringing all my creditors for final totals, i am right that i pay the fee then ring step change with all the details of final balances or do i ring with final balances first before paying the fee.
    thanks for your info.

    SPC no:076
  • Dear StepChange,

    I have been advised to apply for BR by a debt advisor at the Royal Courts of Justice (they do appointment consultations). I am unemployed with 25k+ unsecured and a mortgage with negative or very little equity.

    I cannot afford the BR fee. Can StepChange help me apply to charities who may be able to help pay the fee?
  • StepChange_Jen
    StepChange_Jen Posts: 102 Organisation Representative
    loopy1225 wrote: »
    been advised to go bankrupt however I own a asset that is approx £1000 but £2500 is due on it immediatly. If I dont pay it more fees are incurred costing more money. I can not afford to pay this but my friend has said that she would like it. Am I allowed to transfer it into her name? I wont be gaining any money from it as obviousbly she will be paying the £2500. So it will be a straight transfer.

    Hi there,

    This is a tricky one, if you do transfer an asset to another person it could look like you’re giving away the asset to avoid it being included in the bankruptcy.

    The OR will look at your financial history and has the power to reverse some past transactions if they are unfair to the client’s creditors.


    So, if the Official Receiver (OR) finds out about the transfer without it being on your form, it could be considered ‘unfit conduct’ even though you’re not getting any financial gain from it. A common example of this might be giving away an old car to a relative like a child, something you might do without thinking about.

    A transaction at an undervalue is where assets have been given away or sold for less than their true value. If this happens, sometimes steps could be taken to get the asset back from the receiver. The OR can reverse any transaction at an undervalue in the two years prior to bankruptcy order and this often applies if the transaction was with a friend, family member, employer or business partner.

    We’d always advise you to be completely honest when filling out bankruptcy forms.

    I hope this helps and if you’ve got any more questions let us know.

    Jen
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]

  • StepChange_Jen
    StepChange_Jen Posts: 102 Organisation Representative
    dizzybee wrote: »
    hi i have been advised to go for a DRO,i have received the post office slip to pay the fee and am just ringing all my creditors for final totals, i am right that i pay the fee then ring step change with all the details of final balances or do i ring with final balances first before paying the fee.
    thanks for your info.

    Hi there,

    Thanks for posting.

    Usually you’d be at the fee paying stage once your application has been confirmed.
    So we’d advise you get in touch with our DRO team to get some help with your application.

    Please give our DRO team a call on 0800 107 1339, it’s free from most landlines. A member of our team
    will be happy to help.

    I hope this helps,

    Jen
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]

  • StepChange_Jen
    StepChange_Jen Posts: 102 Organisation Representative
    youngbuck2 wrote: »
    Dear StepChange,

    I have been advised to apply for BR by a debt advisor at the Royal Courts of Justice (they do appointment consultations). I am unemployed with 25k+ unsecured and a mortgage with negative or very little equity.

    I cannot afford the BR fee. Can StepChange help me apply to charities who may be able to help pay the fee?

    Hi there,

    You have two options that might be able to get you some help with the bankruptcy fees.

    You can apply to trust funds to help with some or all of the costs of bankruptcy. Trust funds or ‘benevolent funds’ are one-off grants available from a variety of different organisations including utility companies, banks and charities. The trust fund website we’d recommend looking at would be www.turn2us.org.uk where you can search for local organisations to help you.

    Each trust fund has their own qualifying criteria and most would require a supporting letter to help support you with bankruptcy. We’re not sure if the Royal Courts of Justice will be able to provide this, but you could ask them to find out.

    Alternatively, if you give our Helpline a call one of our advisors will be able to chat through debt solutions with you. We’ll ask for information about your income, budget and debts. From this, if we recommend bankruptcy as the best solution we may be able to supply with you a supporting letter from us and help with applying for trust funds. We’ll also be able to advise on where you might be able to apply for trust funds to help with the fees as well as help with filling in the application forms and lots of help and support. This would be subject to our own recommendation of bankruptcy, as we’d need to be able to look at your situation and see if we think this is the best way to deal with your debts. As a charity our advice is free, impartial and confidential so as long as you have some time we’ll be happy to help you.

    You can find out how to get in touch with us here:

    http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

    I hope this helps,

    Jen
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]

  • A few years ago my partner had cause to apply for Trust Deed via a Trust Deed Company. From day one we were unsure as the the procedure and never questioned taking out the Trust Deed or the fact the they, (the company) arranged his bankruptancy also.

    Now however, several years on, we are wondering if he should have been made bankrupt at the time if a Trust Deed was in place, which he never failed to make payment to. We also arranged to fight his PPI claim, for which he received an award, which went to the company to distribute to his creditors.

    Can someone please advise whether it was right to be made bankrupt of did he/we take "bad" advice from this company?
  • Hi,

    I'm currently going through BR it ends in August, my bills or rent etc are about 600 that doesn't include food, fuel etc.
    I want to know what I can earn and how much will be taken off of me
    to pay creditors, I've been looking at jobs that get me £1000 take home a month obviously my outgoings are around 600, so how much can I keep for myself as I understand I have to pay creditors if have money left over? Just wondering if it's worth going back to work.

    Many thanks
  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    Coffeemug wrote: »
    A few years ago my partner had cause to apply for Trust Deed via a Trust Deed Company. From day one we were unsure as the the procedure and never questioned taking out the Trust Deed or the fact the they, (the company) arranged his bankruptancy also.

    Now however, several years on, we are wondering if he should have been made bankrupt at the time if a Trust Deed was in place, which he never failed to make payment to. We also arranged to fight his PPI claim, for which he received an award, which went to the company to distribute to his creditors.

    Can someone please advise whether it was right to be made bankrupt of did he/we take "bad" advice from this company?

    Hi there,

    It does sound a little bit strange he's gone bankrupt after setting up a trust deed that he was up to date with. It's hard to say if he recevied bad advice without knowing the full circumstances.

    You might find it useful to talk the situation over with the Accountant in Bankruptcy, which is the Scottish equivalent of the Insolvency Service. Here are there contact details: http://www.aib.gov.uk/about/contact-us.

    Kind regards

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    Hi, I am having to face the decision to go bankrupt. I have £21k of debt that I can only afford to pay £70 per month, divided between the 7 creditors. I am terribly ashamed that it has come to this. The one thing that is worrying me more than the actual BR is my landlord finding out. He is a family friend who I have rented my home from for last 2 years. I signed an assured shorthold tenancy agreement on moving in. Is that still valid? Do I include that and hope as rent up to date the OC will not need to make contact. Thank you.

    Hello,

    I don't think there's anything to be ashamed about here. Money problems can happen to anyone and it's great that you're looking for ways to get things straight.

    It's a bit risky to go bankrupt hoping your landlord won't be notified. If you're up to date with payments then it's not certain that he'll be contacted but there's a possibility.

    Your tenancy agreement would only be cancelled after bankruptcy if there was a specific clause in there saying this could happen. Even then it would be at the discretion of the landlord. It's usually best to have a good read through your agreement to see if there's anything like this.

    If you've not taken any advice about bankruptcy yet I'd suggest getting in touch with us. Our contact details are here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx. We'll be able to tell you if bankruptcy is the best option and if it is we'll support you through the application process.

    Cheers

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

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