Ask a StepChange (formerly CCCS) counsellor a bankruptcy question

Hello

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

I’ll do my best to be as specific as possible when answering your questions but each bankruptcy is looked at on a case-by-case basis and the official receiver will make any final decisions.

1. You could get a restriction undertaking or order for ‘Incurring debt without reasonable expectation of payment’ if you pay for the bankruptcy fee using your credit card. Having said this it’s very rare for an official receiver to do this if you only use the available credit to pay for the fee.

There are alternative ways you could pay for the fee:

• Reduce or stop payments to non-priority debts to save the £680 and pay the fee in installments
• Sell goods or assets (ensuring that they are sold for their correct market value and proof is kept)
• Apply to a trust fund (Turn2us have a search tool you can use)

2. If your friend is making payments directly to the creditor for the sofa this shouldn’t cause any issues. If your friend gives you the money to then pay the creditor it may be seen as preferential treatment if you’ve fallen behind on any payments to other creditors.

Assuming the credit agreement is solely in your name this debt will be included and written off in bankruptcy. The means neither yourself nor your friend will need to keep paying.

3. If you can’t remember the name of the bank you could check your credit report for free using Noddle, ClearScore or MSE Credit Club. As you only closed your account this year I would imagine the bank will be able to provide the information you’ll need to complete the form.

For more guidance completing the form I’d recommend you call the Insolvency Service Helpline on 0300 678 0015.

Although you’ve started your bankruptcy application I’d recommend you get debt advice (if you haven’t already) just to make sure this is the right solution for you. You can create a budget and get advice online using our Debt Remedy tool. Here’s the link.

I hope this helps,

Linsi

Three7six wrote: »

Hi, couple of questions regarding bankruptcy online application. I've 2 credit cards with approx 700 quid available credit on them, would it be an offence to use that to pay the bankruptcy fee?
I had sofas on up through dfs, a friend took over the payments for me, is that going to be a problem?
Also, I had a joint account with a flatmate that was supposed to be for shared costs but we never bothered in the end so I used it for a bit to just put 'spendable' money in, then closed it earlier this year, I can't find anything on it such as statements who since I've moved, the form asks for accounts held in the last 2 years, how would I complete that?
Sorry:)