Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
I'm i n serious debt which I feel I ca n no lo nger deal with. I have bee n sig ned off ill work for 3 years & o n morphi ne 6 times a day so have had to resig n from my full time job. I have 4 you ng childre n (8,7,2,1) & my part ner is worki ng full time. So far we have mai ntai ned payme nts o n all our priority debts however have bee n u nable to pay a n ything towards our n on prioroty debts & have had 2 creditors take us to court with a successful decree awarded i n their favour. Due to my ill health I am u nable to work so this will not cha nge for some time - our total debt is £65k with 8 creditors - I feel ba nkruptcy is the o nly optio n. I feel awful - upto 1 year ago we had never missed a payme nt o n a ny credit we have had over last 10 years - this is the 1st time & the stress from creditors pho necalls, letters, visits is u nbearable. Our past 9 yrs history cou nts for nothi ng.
I fear what will happe n to our home - it has negative equity as it is although all payme nts are up to date. Somebody has advised me if the property has negative equity it will not be sold by the trustee.
Does a nybody have a ny knowledge of this - I fear where I would go with my small kids & wa nt to keep thi ngs normal for them & keep a roof over their head?
Advice would be appreciated - I am seeki ng help from natio nal debtli ne who are great!
In the vast majority of cases yes. You as an undischarged bankrupt should not have any credit agreements over I believe £250 which your mortgage will be. I would recommend you send a section 77 (for fixed term loans) or a section 78 (for credit card type agreements) to your lenders and discover if they have firstly a legally enforceable contract against you.
I have done this before for several of my friends and family and in most cases I have found the banks do not have the legally enforceable contracts and for example in one case reduced what he legally had to pay from £72,000 down to £8000 a lot of the cases all of their debts were unenforceable.
There are some very valuable help on these forums to help you check the contracts but it certainly would be the first thing I would do.
why do you belive your property is in £65k negative equity.
If this is true then the trustees will not normally force a sale, no point it would cost them money to sieze and sell it, money they dont have, as it would come from the proceeds.
If you did make yourself bankrupt it should not affect your morgage, as long as its up to date. All the morgage company is interested in is you keeping to your aggrement.
I have been bankrupt twice, one forced, and one volentry, and still at home. The laws on bankrupcy changed in 2004 and you could be released from it in only 6mnths.
I think you should chat either to the CAB, or an insolvency practitioner first, and the sooner the better, you can find them on the internet, and the first 30min is usualy free.
With 4 children in the house and your own ill health the chances of any judge allowing a repossession order, especially when your mortgage is up to date is not worth worrying about.
When the Liberals and Conservatives were in opposition they both agreed that banks should pay back high bank charges to customers. Nothing seems to of happened since they came into power as a coalition. PPI insurance has been sorted now they should turn their attention to bank charges and help customers get exorbitant charges refunded.
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I know this is going to sound like a lot of work - which it is, no denying - but, as Liamgee suggests, go after your creditors and find out if your debts are enforceable! This is done by asking them to supply copies of the agreements you signed. People here will be able to tell you how to do this and help you to ascertain wherether the accounts can be enforced by a court. Please, please, please do not be worried about the phone calls, the threats: they are idle! All these people can do is take you to court but that is waaay down the line.
Do go to the CAB; they are invaluable. My wife and I, 5 years ago, went to the CAB and they helped us out so much that we felt confident to go it on our own. The CAB will write to your creditors and will act for you, but be informed that they are probably going to be snowed under given the level of UK debt and all this will take time.
But do CCA your creditors, that is, asking them for the signed copies of your agreements; they may be imporperly executed and thus unenforceable. My wife and I did that and we found that out of seven accounts, FIVE are unenforceable.
I don't know enough about Trust Deeds but I don't think you'll lose your home. Whatever you do DO NOT sign up with ANY firm offering to clear your debts for you!!!! People here will help you, as they have help me. And through that help you will gain strength and confidence. Sorry to sound like a yankee evangelist preacher but once you set all this in motion, by tackling it all, it won't seem so bad, Trust me: I was where you are. And there is a way out.
you alos have to consider your mortgage company, many compaies have it written into the mortgage terms that if you do become bankcrupt they can withdraw the mortgage and go for the sell.
when you have your own home BK should only be the very last option. the trustee will also look at your mortgage payments and compare that with local rents and if paying over that would also force their hand.
obvioulsy as you already have 2 decrees and if you have not paid them then they can go for BK.
can you list what creditors you have including the ccj's? and just give rough amounts?
ida x
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Help - Does bankruptcy mean losing my home?
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