Fraudulent brankruptcy

[majik]

Hi

My ex husband has made himself bankrupt but i believe that he has lied to do it.

He was declared bankrupt on 28th March this year but i have only just found out as he claims to have "Forgoten" that i was a creditor.(Contract was signed by him 5 weeks prior to his bankruptcy and he has had 1 LBA and 2 lots of CC papers since then !!!)

He was declared Bankrupt as he owed £9,245 and claimed that he had nothing of any value and that he could not service this. (£2.5k worth of stuff that i know about 42" plasma in his room, £500 golf equipment and several collector items !!!)

I believe that he lied as his annual income was £15,500 in 2006 and he has been promted since then.

He claimed that his problems started in February 2007 when we split up and his "Household income reduced" This was not the case as i made no contribution to either secured loan or mortgage payments. All household bills were split in the 2 months i lived there.(i was only named on the mortgage as he informed me i had to as we was married, I naievely accepted without question) He also claims that he had to take 3 months off work due to this split. I know he took 3 weeks off work and was on full pay during the whole 3 weeks.
Also please note that he left the property in April 2007 and moved back into his mums. He put flat on market and found buyer in October 2007. Once he had found a buyer he stopped paying mortgage/secured loan.

He also claimed that he cannot afford to pay these debts. He would pay a maximum of £300 per month to pay these debts and is paid just over £1,000 per month after tax. Also he has not paid 1 creditor for 1 year anyway so its not like he tried and it all got too much etc.

Is it normal for someone to be bankrupted for such a small amount when they can quite clearly afford to pay all their debts off ??

He owes me £3160 and i have 3 contracts from him stating that he will put the joint debt into his sole name. (This debt is all the charges and missed payments to NR that he informed me was paid) He failed to do this (should have done it by 18/4/200 and i had to pay £3100 to remove my liability etc.
How can i get this money back and will i have to wait 12 months before he is discharged to start legal action again to claim this back.
Currently have case ongoing against him for Breach of Contract which has cost me £60 so far in court costs.

Sorry i know this is a lot of questions but i need all the help i can get. He can easily pay these debts and he has just chosen not to and attempting to take an easy way out etc.

[fiveyearplan]

Yes, people can be bankrupt for that amount. Its all relative, you say servicing his debt would cost £300 per month and his net income is £1,000 per month, what about his rent/mortgage, utilities, living expenses.

If a court adjudged him bankrupt and he doesn't have any assets, you will get nothing back. He could actually get into trouble if he paid you anything as that would be favouring one creditor over another.

Sorry you've lost out but I don't see any way you will ever be repaid. Better to just draw a line under it and move on.

Good luck.

[majik]

Not sure if this posted in correct place, Can a mod please move if required.

[majik]

He lives with his mum and pays a subsidised rent (£ 200 p.m approx)

He has no kids/car so to service all his debts and pay his rent would still leave him over £500 a month (Based on a salary 2 years ago He has been promoted once in this time)

His debts are
£3,160 to me (Can pay monthly @ £50)
£2,950 to Northern Rock @ £78 per month for 30 years
£3,000 to Black Horse payable over 36 months £?? (100 at most ???)
£245 Credit card @ ?? say £50 per month for 6-8 months

Total including rent is £500, Leaves him £500 to eat,socialise etc which is more than most !!

[majik]

Also he signed contracts with me (Dated October 2007, January 2008 and February 200saying he will put £6k shortfall into his sole name by 18/4/2008, This was dated 19/2/2008 5 weeks later court declares him bankrupt.

Surely he would had to have started the bankruptcy petition before he signed contract so its also Fraud/Deception ???

[palomino]

There do seem to be some irregularities here. It depends on what he declared when he petitioned for bankruptcy.

Bear in mind that when you petition for your own bankruptcy you have to provide lots of supporting documents (eg. payslips, bank books/statements, etc.).
If you decide you want to pursue this then your best bet at this stage is to discuss this with the Official Receiver for the area where he was declared bankrupt. I've found ORs to be quite approachable and helpful, although in your case they might be a little circumspect because you are not the actual bankrupt and there could be a suggestion that your motives are solely vengeful. But they should certainly be interested.
I would ring up the local OR (check your telephone book or The Insolvency Service Website) and say you suspect that your husband may not have declared everything in his bankruptcy petition. I would expect that they would investigate, including asking you lots of questions and asking you for proof where appropriate - but I'm not the OR so I can't say definitively.
Another thing to bear in mind is that the OR usually investigates the bankrupt's income and debts independently of the bankruptcy declaration.

[majik]

I have written to the OR and given them the additional infomation i have and requested some infomation from them etc, waiting for a relpy.

I also forwarded all infomation i had to judge in question who has replied saying i need to forward this to OR.

Main issue i have is there was court proceedings against him to reclaim what im owed that didn't start until April this year and are still ongoing ???

Basically he should have moved a 6k debt into his sole name by 18/4/2008 (3 Signed contracts to prove this), He was declared Bankrupt on 28/3/2008. So how could this money have been wiped out in his bankruptcy, it wasn't owed at the time ??? I have since paid £3100 to NR to remove my liabiity,(They threatened me with court action as my ex told me he was paying mortgage and it actually wasn't paid for 7 months !!) This is what i want back etc as the whole 6k debt should have been moved into his sole name by 18/4/2008.

Started small claims against him (19/4/200for Breach Of Contract (Claimed 1p and enforcement of contract) He failed to respond, Judgement by default issued on 13/5/2008. Warrent for enforcement issued on 1/7/2008. Letter dated 17/7/2008 from OR saying debt will not be paid. Enclosed copy of Official Receivers Report for Creditors (which i feel proves he can afford to pay his debt) He has never asked to pay a reduced fee to any creditor (3 listed) and has ignored 1 (Northern Rock) for almost a year.

How can the court still take money from me (£60 in total when he was made bankrupt at that court 5 weeks before any court action against him occured, I have already obtained a CCJ against him dated 13/5/2008, How could i get this if he was Bankrupt ??)

[fiveyearplan]

Majik, I think you should either take legal advice or give up. He was declared bankrupt therefore all his debts were cleared, including the one to you. You'll eat yourself up over this and its just not worth it for £3,000. You will lose the court case and be left with the charges. IF you're still unsure, go see CAB.

[majik]

Surely all debts owed on day of bankruptcy (26/3/200 are "wiped out"

The £3160.01 that i am owed occured on the 19/4/2008, 3.5 weeks after he was declared bankrupt.

He has already received a CCJ (13/5/200 and had Baliff's round trying to collect this debt (This is how i have found out about the bankruptcy) and i have only now been informed that he was bankrupt, the OR has just sent me a letter saying the debt is wiped out etc, I dont see how it can for 2 reasons :

1) It occured after he was bankrupt, so surely cannot be written off by earlier order ??

2) He has given me 3 signed contracts stating that the whole debt (£6k) would be put into his name by 18/4/2008, Last contract was dated 19/2/2008. (He was declared bankrupt on 26/3/200 Im pretty sure when he signed the last contract he was either in process of bankruptcy or at the very least had no intention of ever putting the £6k into his own name. Surely that in itself is reason to annul/cancel the bankruptcy or at the very worst get a BRO for. He has delibrately signed a contract with no intention of honouring (Deception/Fraud)


Can anyone tell me roughly how long it takes from enquiring about bankruptcy to being declared bankrupt.

I have still not had a reply yet from the OR but have sent them all 3 contracts as well as the solicitors letters informing that my ex Husband had informed him that all the shortfall was to be transfered to his sole name A.S.A.P after the sale. (Property was sold on 8/2/200

[MARTIN3030]

Maybe you should await the response from the OR ?

[fiveyearplan]

Depending where you live and what court you go to, you could enquire one day and become bankrupt the next. Some courts operates on a 'just turn up' basis and some operate an appointments system. You say he signed a 'contract' 5 weeks before his bankruptcy that means the debt existed before his bankruptcy. What does the contract consist of.

Perhaps you should take Martin's advice above. I'm just concerned you are letting this eat you up. Don't spend anymore money pursuing this until you've heard back from OR.

[majik]

Am currently awaiting a response from OR and once we receive it will know more, anyone know how long they take etc, did phone them and was basically told that i shouldn't have paid the £3100 as it was written off in bankruptcy and the fact i did was my own fault (The fact that i only found out last week he was bankrupt is irelavent !!)

Only money spent to date is £60 in court costs (all before we knerw he was bankrupt) and the £3100 to stop action against my partner from NR. NR is now settled and partners name has been removed from debt etc.

Contract states that he will have put the full shortfall in his name by 18/4/2008. The shortfall in question is all charges and mortgage payments that he missed.

Debt exsisted before his bankruptcy but was in joint names, contract states that the debt will be transfered to his sole name by 18/4/2008

Reason im trying to speed things up is i believe that i have to appeal against this etc within a time frame (anyone know if this is correct). I feel this is why i was not informed sooner as i understand that it has to be within 12 weeks. (it's currently 17 weeks from being declared bankrupt but i have only known for 1 week)

[Hobbie]

majik,

As people have previously stated, wait until the OR's reply to you, as your repeating yourself over and over about the 'contract' and '18/4/2008'. You have quite clearly explained the situation and people have said to wait for the OR's report, but if you have been told that the £3,100 was written off in bankruptcy you can say goodbye to getting it back and also the contract that was signed by your ex will also be void no doubt and will have almost no legal standing.

[majik]

Ok although if debt was written off in bankruptcy why is court still persuing him ??

Secondly can i not apply for a bankruptcy order as he has agreed to take on a debt with no intention of actually doing it. The flat was sold in February on the agreement that this debt was transfered into his sole name !! So not only has HE ruined my credit (not making payments to NR and NR refusing to inform me as he asked them not too !!!!) and made me lose out financially but he has also got away with lying to a court. He gets to start again in a years time while i have to pay a loan that i shouldn't of had to get for another 3.5 years !!

If getting bankrupt is so easy why doesn't evryone do it ??

[Hobbie]

Because the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing? - The BR might not yet be registered (Although it is still valid).

I think all in all, you've still had a good run with your ex, you said you never contributed to bills or paid any mortgage payments, you lived an easy life in my opinion, I doubt he ruined your credit reputation, but a combination of both sides, as if it was joint, you will have both been responsible.

You have no direct evidence that he lied to the courts, and in stating that he has without facts is a serious matter in itself.

To declare yourself BR is quite simple, depending on the area you live, you can walk into a court and file for it and that is pretty much it, in other areas it takes much longer, depending on the courts work load.

And for you saying he gets to start again in a years time, while you have to pay a loan, well swings and round-abouts...

[majik]

The evidence that he lied is his Official Receivers report to Creditors which is all untrue.

I lived in the house for 2 months then he cheated on me and I WAS KICKED OUT. I have incurred my living costs + £3100 for a property i neither wanted or fully understood what was happening (i was named on mortgage as i was told by him i had to be as we were married !!), was refused access to the property to get anything back (he has now sold all my belongings and wasted the money)

He decided not to pay the mortgage or secured loan for 7 months, first i knew was being told via the phone that the house would be repossed if i did not pay all that was owed in a week. That was when i decided to look into it and managed to get flat sold 1 week before it was due to be repossed.

Bankruptcy registered (not sure what you mean) Its listed on insolvency's site etc and its the same court that has also been dealing with my current case against him. (2 judges in total i beleive)

I never paid for the mortgage or secured loan, i paid 50% of everything else including BT,Gas and Electric bills 4 months after i left as they were still in my name.