Should I go bankrupt?

[Teajunkie]

Before I was diagnosed everything was great handling my money issues that I had built up from years ago.
My credit cards didn't have any ppi so after I couldn't work I was stuck with huge bills.

i owe in total about £25k to credit cards, overdraft, store cards and other things.
i had been trying to keep on top of everything but just can't afford to keep up the payments anymore.

I have started to receive letters through the post and the missus is really worried now.
im not in a position to pay anymore and I'm worried that when my time comes it will all be stuck on my wife even though it's not her debts.

i can't work anymore due to illness and disability, my wife is my carer and I have three kids.
whats my best option.?

i have heard people being declared bankrupt and starting fresh so would this work for me?
i can never get credit or finance again due to the whole cancer tag I have gained so future credit is not an issue.

i only have a normal current account with a debit card and a £1.5k overdraft

[B B Leo]

after u complete a year of bankrupts then a further year ur debits are cleared. also the plus side is the weight of ur shoulders mate

[DavidF]

I would say in your shoes if you have no assets such as house/flash car ect then I would go for it. Also check your cards/loans for charges ect (Claim them back off your balance) and finally did any of your cards ect have ppi ?
If you can't go bankrupt for any reason like home owner ect then you can reduce your debts "legally" by challenging any charges and also challenging the credit agreement itself.....Long process but it can and does work.....depending on type of debt and when it was taken out ect ect.
Also aside from that if you are getting ANY phone calls of them demanding money then you can write to them and demand they stop and inform them that you will communicate in writing only......this helps give you space to breath as their is nothing worse than some spotty kid telling you over the phone that you NEED to pay XYZ or the bogey man will come and get you.....it's all bs mate.
I have been through this type of stuff personally when my life hit the skids a good few years back....(financial strife not so much health..). I can honestly say doing "something" about it even if it's to tell them to pee off really empowers you when you may have been feeling helpless. Depends how far shit has gone but it can literally give you your life back.......My whole episode changed my life outlook forever and fundamentally changed me as a person......Don't feel bad about this stuff - life has dealt you a blow mate, it's time to make the best of it and the people you owe cash too factor all this stuff in when they offer credit ect.

[piggzy]

Had to go bankrupt about 10 years ago. Sounds like a good option for you.
If things are too tight to pay the bankruptcy fee (ridiculous I know) of £700 then you can apply to get this reduced to only £125 which in your circumstances you would have no problem with I'm sure

It's all pretty straight forward tbh. pay the fee sit in front of a judge for 5 minutes, go see the receiver and job done.

You both need to go bankrupt tho or joint debts will just start chasing your wife.

Good luck

[DavidF]

Also you have a 1.5k overdraft.....change banks immediately...get a basic post office bank account and get your benefits paid into it.....do it tomorrow mate as that overdraft will cost you a fortune and will be literally taking food out of your mouth. Add the od to your list of creditors.

[Mobileman]

is your house yours would probably pay a big part in it, if not then id imagine bankruptcy would be best option if house is yours then possibly go down IVA route still keep home for you and family

have a good read over these sites and then speak to them once you have a list of questions you need to answer dont go to these companies that charge you etc

https://www.gov.uk/bankruptcy

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.u...land-and-wales

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/englan...ed_to_know.htm

[blaggard]

I did (DRO) best thing I ever did, the relief is unreal, a friend of mine went for close to £200k when his business failed and he was signed off in three/four years. . . .

A DRO is just £90 but has a max of £15k but is still handled by the Insolvency Service and therefore technically Bankruptcy. .

[JonEp]

My take on it ..

The first thing to do is to stop worrying.

If your only bank account is OD the second thing to do is open a second basic bank account at another bank to which you have previously has no connection with.

Now if taking into account your condition you are resolved that the debts are never going to be paid back accept it and then relax because from now on this position is never going to change you are going to default.

There are various ways to default and much depends on if any of these debts are secured debts, in joint names and if you own property.

Without knowing which applies I will give best case example , all the debts are unsecured, in your name and you rent.

If this is the case every single bit of paper sent to you chasing the debt is a paper tiger which you should just place in a cardboard box and ignore.

I suspect that last statement will provoke various responses here but let me explain.

If the debts are unsecured and you don't own property and have no intention or the means to pay the creditors only recourse is to send you chasing letters, seek a judgement from a court, make you bankrupt or most likely sell the debt on.

Both court and bankruptcy costs the creditor money and they rarely throw more money at a bad debt when there is far more advantage in selling the debt on.

Don't be worried if a debt is sold on at this point your not really the target. They of course would like you to pay the new company in full but the reality is that they have bought your debt for pence in the pound but once on the books they are able to write off the full debt against tax which is why investment companies buy so much bad debt.

Don't fall for company's that try to sell you IVAs or DROs or DMAs.

Absolutely no point if you have no intention of paying the debt off. Don't be tempted to pay another penny to anyone in relation to your debts. For one reason every time you pay you reset the limitations Act 6 year clock.

Once you are happy in your mind these debts are not going to be paid you will soon realise its not you who has a problem after all you've had the benefit of the money its the creditors that have the problem and you will soon find after a year or two you have a few boxes of letters to take to the recycling and may have had to change your telephone number but aside from that nothing much else will have happened.

[Teajunkie]

Just to add I was applying for a mortgage just days before I was diagnosed with both me and wife working we stood a fair chance.
Unfortunately my diagnosis meant I will never be able to have finance ever again.
i have worked since I left school and so has the wife, so debts were always paid right up until I hit rock bottom back in 2001 at that point I lost my job and things went south real quick.
i didn't manage to get another job for almost a year so the debts had built up.

I don't own own home I have always rented private until I had problems after chemo with walking when the hospice council and doctors along with the OT basically made me move to a council bungalow so I had wheelchair access.

All my debts are just that my own in my name only apart from the joint account with the overdraft.
im thinking of taking wife off my account so she doesn't get stung if the shit hits the fan.

Thanks for for all the advice really appreciate it.

[JonEp]

Just to add. Ring macmillans they have some amazing schemes including having energy bill debts written off and a small monthly payment to cover them all in total with no large bills. All sorted in minutes in one phone call and effective the same day!

[Teajunkie]

That's one thing we have never missed is household bills.
gas electric water TV license etc is always paid no matter what.

macmillan will only help once and they helped when I couldn't get upstairs anymore buy paying for a sofa bed which was an absolute godsend.

I dont not want to scrounge off of charities they have more important people to help.

[JonEp]

Your not scrounging! , All the energy companies put into a pot which mcmillans administer to cover energy bills in circumstances such as yours subject to certain benefit criteria. Energy companies write it of against tax too.....

[piggzy]

I dont not want to scrounge off of charities they have more important people to help.

That is exactly what those charities are there for. To help people in your circumstances. How many times have you dipped in your pocket and donated to whatever charity.
Time you had a little back and I don't think anyone would disagree.

[blaggard]

My take on it ..

The first thing to do is to stop worrying.

If your only bank account is OD the second thing to do is open a second basic bank account at another bank to which you have previously has no connection with.

Now if taking into account your condition you are resolved that the debts are never going to be paid back accept it and then relax because from now on this position is never going to change you are going to default.

There are various ways to default and much depends on if any of these debts are secured debts, in joint names and if you own property.

Without knowing which applies I will give best case example , all the debts are unsecured, in your name and you rent.

If this is the case every single bit of paper sent to you chasing the debt is a paper tiger which you should just place in a cardboard box and ignore.

I suspect that last statement will provoke various responses here but let me explain.

If the debts are unsecured and you don't own property and have no intention or the means to pay the creditors only recourse is to send you chasing letters, seek a judgement from a court, make you bankrupt or most likely sell the debt on.

Both court and bankruptcy costs the creditor money and they rarely throw more money at a bad debt when there is far more advantage in selling the debt on.

Don't be worried if a debt is sold on at this point your not really the target. They of course would like you to pay the new company in full but the reality is that they have bought your debt for pence in the pound but once on the books they are able to write off the full debt against tax which is why investment companies buy so much bad debt.

Don't fall for company's that try to sell you IVAs or DROs or DMAs.

Absolutely no point if you have no intention of paying the debt off. Don't be tempted to pay another penny to anyone in relation to your debts. For one reason every time you pay you reset the limitations Act 6 year clock.

Once you are happy in your mind these debts are not going to be paid you will soon realise its not you who has a problem after all you've had the benefit of the money its the creditors that have the problem and you will soon find after a year or two you have a few boxes of letters to take to the recycling and may have had to change your telephone number but aside from that nothing much else will have happened.

You can't lump a DRO in with IVAs, a DRO IS Bankruptcy in all but name, took me 3 days to arrange, cost £90 and once granted an instant Moratorium on your debts and you don't have to pay them, 1 Year later you are in the clear. The only thing is (unless they have change in the last 2/3 years) the max debt is £15k.
The Citizens Advice Bureau were shite, condescending, stupid cunts, I found a really good DRO Practitioner at Baines and Ernst.

[JonEp]

You can't lump a DRO in with IVAs, a DRO IS Bankruptcy in all but name, took me 3 days to arrange, cost £90 and once granted an instant Moratorium on your debts and you don't have to pay them, 1 Year later you are in the clear. The only thing is (unless they have change in the last 2/3 years) the max debt is £15k.
The Citizens Advice Bureau were shite, condescending, stupid cunts, I found a really good DRO Practitioner at Baines and Ernst.

That's a good point, the bit I was trying to get across was not to entertain the for profit debt management companies.

[burner1]

There's a ceiling limit on how much surplus income you can have at the end of the month on a DRO though which is currently £50 I believe so it's not like you can just list a load of creditors and be done with it.

[blaggard]

There's a ceiling limit on how much surplus income you can have at the end of the month on a DRO though which is currently £50 I believe so it's not like you can just list a load of creditors and be done with it.

You'd be surprised..... Like I said a GOOD practitioner....

[I Black Belt]

Do it would be my advice.
Friends of the ex wife spent everything they ever had on shit. House was a fucking disgrace, no pride and no moral codes, kids always hungry and dirty, yet the parents had the latest this and that. Boiled my piss and we fell out big time
So they declared themselves bankrupt and I think, stopped paying tax. Their tax went against their debts instead.
Lazy immoral cunts.
My point being, you deserve a bit of sunshine mate, clearly you've ended up in a position through no fault of your own, so good luck to you.

[Nightstalker]

I know nothing about insolvency or bankruptcy and I don't know you personally TJ, but what I would say, looking at this from another perspective is that you have both worked and paid taxes, you have both paid banks a handsome profit through either interest on loans when you were well and paying on time or lately through charges and interest. Now your situation has changed and whilst you have spent a reasonable chunk of your life making a profit for, and therefore improving their standard of living you need the favour returned. You have worked hard and paid your dues so why shouldn't you expect to be helped out a bit, don't forget they have had their fill, why shouldn't you expect to spend the rest of your time (Hopefully a bloody long time) without the worries of this shit hanging over you, you need to be able to be carefree to enjoy your time with your loved ones. So I say, if your partners in the clear then FUCK EM!!! give me back some of the quality of life I gave to you for all those years, they take all this into account anyway they don't leave anything to chance and they know they will write off a certain amount annually. GO FOR IT M8, get clear of it, you've paid your bit and are fully entitled to this.

[DejaVu]

I would just like to mention here too that I have had 4 companies chasing me, passing debts from pillar to post for nearly 14 years.

I still get the odd letter from one company or another who have changed names, changed letter heads, passed these debts on, etc.

I have not once acknowledged them, yet they still attempt to chase me.

The debt was written off years ago and my credit profile now is awesome. So as far as I'm concerned, for the £2.5k they think I owe from yesteryear, they can sing as loud as they like.

As all above said TJ.

Bankruptcy sounds like an ugly word and it used to be a 6 year stretch. Nowadays you can start repairing your finances within 3.

You aren't gonna pay off £25k in 3 years, so just jump in feet first. Make sure all assets are transfered to trusted family members and just do it. Best thing you will ever do. Thousands have done the same before you.