Father Bankrupted by Lowell

[CleverClogs]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

It doesn't sound like the Practice Direction was followed in this case. :nono:

Isn't that the standard way that Lowells operate?

[labman]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

Does anyone have any idea what would happen in regard to the shockingly high trustees fees if the bankruptcy were to be overturned? They currently far outweigh the original debt and are probably climbing by the day.

Thanks for all your help folks

I think that's why you're in touch with Cel. I think it's the territory of a legal professional, not us amateurs.

What a mess though, I feel for you. :beagle:

[Stormcrow23]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

Served by hand?becomes an argument where the server says they served it and the served says they did no get served,who wins that one?

Well, they have billed us for the application and use of a sub-service, from the break down of charges they have added to the original debt. My Father as a retired man is in more often than not, but the house is a little off the beaten track - it is possible that Lowells operatives thrashed around the area then gave up, or made it to the house on a rare occasion that he was out, but I doubt they can have tried too hard if he has had no contact with them in person.

The letter informing him that the creditor was petitioning for bankruptcy was not delivered by the postman though - my father picks up his mail from a designated place, and the postman would not have deviated from this to ram an important letter through a gap in his back door frame. It also cannot have been served by hand to my father - again, the location it was found and my father's claim that he has had no contact with BW Legal / Lowells except letters.

[Stormcrow23]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

I think that's why you're in touch with Cel. I think it's the territory of a legal professional, not us amateurs.

What a mess though, I feel for you. :beagle:

Yep. Hoping Celestine can find us a way out of this. It just makes me highly anxious that the £££s involved are not static, but climbing in impossible amounts despite the trustee having done very little so far.

[labman]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

I can fully understand that. It does look from the above that things have not been done properly. Whether or not proving this will be an issue I can't say. It is stressful when you can see the bill increasing and it appears that nothing is happening. The trustee sounds a bit of a wazzock to me, and it seems their charges are horrendous.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

The letter informing him that the creditor was petitioning for bankruptcy was not delivered by the postman though - my father picks up his mail from a designated place, and the postman would not have deviated from this to ram an important letter through a gap in his back door frame. It also cannot have been served by hand to my father - again, the location it was found and my father's claim that he has had no contact with BW Legal / Lowells except letters.

Looks like there are TWO documents rather than one that were not served properly in this case. :ohwell: Before the Bankruptcy Petition, a Statutory Demand would have to be served as per post 30 above, and he'd have had 18 days to apply for a set aside.

[wales01man]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

Before a judge the question will be who is telling the truth regarding the letters,here lies the first major problem who is believed is impossible to predict

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

Before a judge the question will be who is telling the truth regarding the letters,here lies the first major problem who is believed is impossible to predict

Not really, that's the whole purpose of personal service being required in insolvency cases as opposed to the CCJ route, where court papers are sent by regular post.

The creditor has to show they attempted personal service as per the Insolvency Practice Direction, and it wouldn't be difficult to achieve: they would have used a process server and this would involve exchanging emails, documents, etc. as well as funds. :typing: :wof:

[wales01man]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

If they want to over turn this who but a Judge would do that

[MissFM]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

Yep. Hoping Celestine can find us a way out of this. It just makes me highly anxious that the £££s involved are not static, but climbing in impossible amounts despite the trustee having done very little so far.

I cannot believe that this is kosher. Are the trustees legal professionals? Who appointed them?

[wales01man]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

The whole thing makes you wonder all this for such a small sum no doubt they found out the worth of the OPs father wont chase the likes of me with a net worth of Zero?

[Stormcrow23]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

Looks like there are TWO documents rather than one that were not served properly in this case. :ohwell: Before the Bankruptcy Petition, a Statutory Demand would have to be served as per post 30 above, and he'd have had 18 days to apply for a set aside.

Yes, that is what is confusing me. I had a long chat with my father at the weekend over what had occurred and the approximate timelines. According to him he engaged in the three failed attempts to make payment, then received notice of having been made bankrupt after the event, later finding important paperwork informing him of the bankruptcy petition shoved through a gap in the door. At this point he gives up on trying to arrange payments, having been blocked from doing so, and assuming it is all over for him.

The charges from BW Legal show application and court charges for a sub-service, though I'm unsure which item of paperwork this refers to. BW Legal set out their chain of events to me over the phone, telling me that a sub-service was normally used, but that one of their operatives had met with my dad and confirmed his receipt - in fact it seemed very important to her to emphasise contacts being made which according to my dad never occurred. I assume it would be just as easy for them to fabricate imaginary meetings and exercise of good practice for the courts?

Although I'm getting this second-hand, common sense would dictate that if informed BW Legal were escalating to bankruptcy my father would have at least attempted to contact them and renewed his efforts to make payments. It would not make sense to allow it to rubber-stamp through rather than attend and inform the judge that he had made three failed attempts to pay, effectively blocked by BW Legal not supplying accurate information on their forms and ignoring his own direct debit form.

[Stormcrow23]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

The whole thing makes you wonder all this for such a small sum no doubt they found out the worth of the OPs father wont chase the likes of me with a net worth of Zero?

Yes, I would imagine so. Included in the BW Legal costs and charges they expect to be repaid from his bankruptcy is a £2.00 land registry fee, presumably checking if he had equity.

[Stormcrow23]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

I cannot believe that this is kosher. Are the trustees legal professionals? Who appointed them?

The trustee is a registered Insolvency Practitioner, appointed by the Official Receiver I assume - presumably as my Father has assets to be disposed of. It seems it is not unusual for their fees to climb into the tens of thousands in bankruptcy cases - particularly when conveyancing the bankrupt's house - leaving little to be returned to the bankrupt after everyone else has been paid off. The trustee here was informed weeks ago that we wished to pursue an annulment, and has done nothing to facilitate this and everything to obstruct it. He only disclosed an indication of his fees after my mother went to the Official Receiver - £6000+ for 'time, phone calls and letters', albeit that some of the phone calls were my parents pleading for an indication of his fees to determine if we could afford to annul on grounds of 'paid to the court's satisfaction' (information denied at the time).

[CleverClogs]

Re: Father Bankrupted by Lowell

The trustee sounds a bit of a wazzock to me

Specifically which bit?