Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

[Dazza001]

Hello,

i am in debt of around £19500 which are 3 credit cards which is all in my name and I have looked at my opinions and IVA and bankruptcy are my only options, I think my best option is bankruptcy I know it is a last resort but will struggle to pay the monthly cost of the IVA, I have a partner & son we get a bit of Housing Benefit and my partner gets the Tax Credit which she uses to buy my son his school clothes etc. it is only me that works so only have my income coming in. I would like to know how being made bankrupt would affect my son & partner as all the debt is in my name and how to start proceedings
Any help would be much appreciated

thank

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Welcome aboard

Bankruptcy is a very big step and usually a last resort. £19,500 may sound like a big sum but there are many people out there with much higher debts who haven't had to resort to bankruptcy, in fact, someone I know has debts of. £150k :scared:

An IVA is also a form of insolvency where you need to be able to keep up the agreed repayments for a period of time, normally five years, and a lot of the money goes towards the insolvency practitioner's fees.

Before going further, it would be useful if you could tell us a bit more about your debts. You say they are just three credit cards, I also have three credit cards I've not paid since 2010 and would not have considered an insolvency solution myself.

Could you give us a bit more details about those cards:

• Who was the original lender?
• Who is the current owner?
• Approx. date you took out each card
• When did you last make a payment?
• Did you receive a default notice when you stopped paying?

Are you a home owner?

• Was there any PPI on them?
• Have you ever requested a copy of your credit agreement for them?
• If so, what was the response?

[nemesis45]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Hello,

i am in debt of around £19500 which are 3 credit cards which is all in my name and I have looked at my opinions and IVA and bankruptcy are my only options, I think my best option is bankruptcy I know it is a last resort but will struggle to pay the monthly cost of the IVA, I have a partner & son we get a bit of Housing Benefit and my partner gets the Tax Credit which she uses to buy my son his school clothes etc. it is only me that works so only have my income coming in. I would like to know how being made bankrupt would affect my son & partner as all the debt is in my name and how to start proceedings
Any help would be much appreciated

thank

Good morning,

Are all your debts still in the hands of the original creditors or have some been sold on to debt purchasers?

nem

[jon1965]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

I know BR can look attractive but it can have impacts in ways that you don't think about for example if you rent privately, getting a bank account or even getting a job. They do not always happen but I was a boy scout (many years ago)and taught to Be Prepared
As FP has suggested answer the questions asked and maybe there will be other alternatives

[Dazza001]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Hello

The debts are still in the hands of the original creditors

regards

[Dazza001]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Hello

The lenders are Halifax, Natwest & Barclays

They are still the owners

Have had them for approx

Halifax - about 8 years - last payment made April 2015

Natwest - about 1 year - last payment made April 2015

Barclays - about 2 years - last payment made May 2015

Not received default notice as of yet

Not a home owner - private rented

No PPI on them

Not requested a copy of my credit agreement with them

regards

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Halifax - about 8 years - last payment made April 2015

Natwest - about 1 year - last payment made April 2015

Barclays - about 2 years - last payment made May 2015

How much are the approximate balances?

Not a home owner - private rented

One thing to bear in mind is that if you go bankrupt, your tenancy can be affected. In most cases the official receiver will inform your landlord and there are clauses in some tenancy agreements with regards to tenants going bankrupt, potentially preventing you from staying in your home.

Even if you don't have a problem with your current tenancy, bankruptcy can make it hard to move home if you need to, in the future, and it will also make it difficult to open a bank account. It can also affect your current or future employment, these are all things to consider before making a decision. I'd say BR is more of an option if your debts were something like a mortgage shortfall or debts to HMRC, that sort of thing.

[Dazza001]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Hi

Halifax - about 8 years - last payment made April 2015 -approx £10,500

Natwest - about 1 year - last payment made April 2015 - approx £2,500

Barclays - about 2 years - last payment made May 2015 - approx £6,500

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Personally I wouldn't consider bankruptcy over those balances, I've got similar ones on three cards and wouldn't have gone as far as that. Have you received default notices for them yet? I'd suggest keeping the DNs in a safe place and, if you are yet to receive them, keep them stapled to the envelopes they came in.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Hi

Halifax - about 8 years - last payment made April 2015 -approx £10,500

Natwest - about 1 year - last payment made April 2015 - approx £2,500

Barclays - about 2 years - last payment made May 2015 - approx £6,500

As this is the largest amount and also the oldest card, I'd suggest sending a CCA request to the Halifax and see what they come up with. If they can't provide you with a copy of the agreement the account would be unenforceable for as long as the breach remains. If there was not a properly executed agreement to start with, the account would be unenforceable, provided the card was taken out before April 6th 2007. You'll find the CCA request letter here: http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...=7670#post7670

You could do the same for the other two as legally you are entitled to request a copy of your agreement at any time, however, they are too recent for the above to work IMHO.

If the Halifax one has the potential to be unenforceable, you'd be left with just the other two to think about and I shouldn't think it worth going bankrupt over them. You could just try and negotiate a reduced monthly payment you can afford. They will, of course, place defaults on your credit file, if they haven't done so already, they will very soon. Defaults are meant to be recorded three to six months after you stop making contractual payments and will stay on file for six years. This will make it very hard to obtain credit but the impact of defaults is nowhere nearly as big as that of bankruptcy.

Only those companies that share data with the credit reference agencies (such as other lenders and debt purchasers) will be able to see the defaults whilst bankruptcy is a matter of public record. Your landlord and employer won't be informed of your defaults and you can carry on using your bank account(s), etc. :thumb:

[jon1965]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

I know BR seems a great option in that it will clear everything a way and 3 years ago it did to me (with 3 times your debt) but two birds ( a parrot and a posh one ) persuaded me that there were other options to consider first. I am glad they did as I have pretty much only 1 debt that keeps poking me but I suspect that they are trying to raise some money as they seem to be taking everyone to court at the mo .

It all depends on what you have to loose, remember as well that if you are working the official receiver does not leave you much money to live on and takes huge chunks in fees

[Dazza001]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Have just had a default notice from Natwest yesterday it says I have 17 days to respond
what's the best way to respond to this and I will ask Halifax for CCA

Cheers

[jon1965]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Can you post up the Dn - personal details

[Dazza001]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Hello

Sorry as new to this is it ok to publish personal details

[jon1965]

Re: Hi everyone - Bankruptcy Advice

Sorry I meant minus personal details.