Well the news isn't great so far. I've been "let go" due to financial difficulties in the company. Thing is though that they are advertising for more staff for another store.

Excellent. Thank you very much for your help with this. It is very much appreciated!

Just giving this a bit of a bump as I want to get the letter away tomorrow. Can someone take a look at the draft I did a few posts up please? Thanks

My contract stated my employment was of a part-time casual nature. I was guaranteed a minimum of 24 hours over the phone though by the MD. So I imagine them sending me home was fine as I'm legally classed as casual. To be honest I just want my pay for the hours worked and I'll move on.

Hiya, yes I signed my contract last week. Unfortunately the manager took the whole contract and employment handbook with him so I have nothing to refer to.

I was thinking of of something along the lines of: Dear [managing director] I received my pay slip on Wednesday 1st December 2010 it shows that I am due to be paid the sum of [amount]. To date this money has not been credited to my nominated bank account. As you are aware, it is against the law for you to withhold my wages without my written consent. With this in mind I am giving you formal notice that unless I receive the above sum in my bank account within 7 working days (15th December 2010) I will commence legal proceedings. This may include a claim to an employment tribunal for unlawfully withholding wages which is contrary to Section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, or proceedings in a local court for breach of contract. I look forward to receiving your favourable reply by return. Yours faithfully, xxxxxxx

Hi all, I have been working for a company for 6 weeks now. I'm on a 6 month probation period. I am employed as a Sales Assistant and paid at an hourly rate for all hours worked, it's minimum wage. The company has opened 3 new shops in 2 months and I thought was doing well, but all the shops received an email saying that as the new shops were opened there was a shortage of money and if we didn't push sales, we were not getting paid. Long story short, pay day was the end of last month and I still haven't seen a penny of my wages. The manager is trying to bully staff by saying if you want paid, you better sell harder etc. I'm on an hourly rate and should be paid no matter what my sales figures are... The also sent me home early last week as the shops were so quiet, so my pay is cut with that too. The MD is driving about in a big range rover, living in a big detached house and walking about with his 2 iPhones stuck to his ear. I have since found out that my supervisor and manager, who are personal friends of the MD have been paid. So thats the story so far! I'm looking now for help with drafting a letter to demand my wages before I decide to go to an employment tribunal. I'm in NI if that makes a difference. Can anyone give me some pointers on how to set the letter out please, and any other advice would be much appreciated. In the meantime I'm going to be going on sick leave as I can't afford diesel to drive to work, and am in pain from a form of arthrittis that I have in my lower back. I was unemployed for over 2 years, and getting a job was a godsend to me. Now I have signed off JSA and not been paid I'm so much worse off and no bills are being paid. Thanks in advance...

Hiya rapterman, I'd say you are safe to ignore the creditor and just wait it out till the OR does his stuff, it's not like the creditor can take you to court or threaten you anymore! If you really want to, you could ring the insolvency service in Fermanagh House and ask their advice.

That is fast! Faster than mine anyway lol. I'd imagine the downloaded copies should be fine. There will be a number on your paperwork which should be a direct line to the person dealing with your case. Give them a ring and double check if you like. If the person is anything like the bloke dealing with mine, you'll find he is very helpful and decent!

Congratulations on becoming debt free and able to live your life again

I handed mine in at some office upstairs. I didn't have to pay the court fee as I'm unemployed. They just took the 1 copy of each form I had and said they'd ring me with a date. Got the call about 4 days before the hearing!

Good luck rapterman. I had the same bother trying to find the right office! You will find the master very pleasant, talking to her was just like chatting to the security person at the front door! Let us know how you get on.

To be honest, a solicitor would likely be cheaper for your affidavit. No need to make an appointment, just go to the court and take your forms and receipt from fermanagh house.

In NI the only court that deals with BR is the High Court, and they charge £30.00. I rang them to check when I was doing my forms.

Hiya rapterman, the Northern Bank over here will open an account for you after your bankruptcy is declared. I just got an account with them, you get a Maestro card with the personal access account.

Hiya rapterman, Once you click submit, that's it. you Can't edit it online, but you can save it to your desktop and edit it in MS word if you need to. That's what I did! As for multiple copies, I had 1 copy of each, and handed it all to a bloke behind a counter in the court. It was all in front of the master when I was in for my hearing. So as far as I am aware it's 1 copy of everything. Just to let you know they advertise your name and address in the Belfast Telegraph about a week after your hearing. It's in on a Friday night. My name, current address, and previous address were advertised. No big deal to me, but at least you know now! Good luck with it all, if it's anything like mine then I can say you will be well happy afterwards. Just shout if you need any help with anything. Cheers...

Hiya, I'm going through a divorce, so my solicitor dealing with that did it for me for free. If you want to use the court I believe there is a charge of £30.00. A solicitor should charge no more then a tenner!

Hiya rapterman, Yeah the OR was a local bloke, they are based in Fermanagh House, Belfast, where you will pay your deposit if you decide to go for bankruptcy. I didn't have to enter into an IPA or anything as I'm currently unemployed. Yeah I'd say with relative certainty that your car is safe! It took me about 13 days from I left my forms in till the day of the hearing. I was exempt from the court fee, and they had to check my exemption with the jobs and benefit office so this maybe slowed my application down a day or two? I'm waiting on paperwork from the OR, I'll hopefully have it Thursday or Friday, there is some stuff in there that I need to sign and return. I was told it's a sort of contract that I sign that basically says I will co-operate with the receiver etc. Once I get it I'll post here and let you know what it was. As long as it's nothing confidential etc... As for DCA's.... well I can tell them to get stuffed now and know for definite that they will have to do just that :grin:

Well I had a call from the OR this morning. It lasted about 10 minutes! All he was interested in was a few minor details that he required to write to my creditors. I asked him if I needed an interview to go over everything and he said no. He was in the process of writing to everyone concerned with my BR and he'd be in touch if other information was required. I'm waiting on some stuff in the post that I have to sign and return. Basically he told me that he will conduct his investigation, close it and get me discharged! No timescale for that, but it all sounds very encouraging. He was a very pleasant person to speak to and answered all my questions with no bother at all. I'm allowed to keep my car as it's under 4K and can be exempted because I use it in the process of searching for employment. All in all it has been totally painless, and to be honest, was the best decision I could have made. Everyone I have met in the course of my BR has been very friendly and helpful, from the master in the court to the people I sought advice from. I'll update here again if anything of importance happens. To anyone from NI reading, if you are thinking about BR and you have taken advice that it is your best option, I can tell you that there is nothing to fear. Infact you have everything to gain from it. I'm free from debts that were starting to take over my life, I need to remind myself that it's all ok now and I don't need to ignore my phone ringing with witheld numbers etc! Can't wait till I'm discharged now!

Rapterman, if you check the links out in my thread on bankruptcy hearing in Belfast, the first link is to the insolvency service public portal. register on that and then you can fill the forms in online. Once completed you just press print, and they are all printed in order for you. Much faster than getting a form and doing it by hand! Remember also that the majority of advice here is for using English court forms, it's virtually identical, but you have to use the DETI insolvency service forms, not the English ones. There may be subtle differences, but they there! https://insolvency.detini.gov.uk/InsolvencyPublic/Security/SignIn.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fInsolvencyPublic%2feForm.aspx%3fForm%3dBankruptEx1&Form=BankruptEx1 Use the link above to create the login for your forms.

Hiya rapterman, Nothing as yet, I thought I may have got a call to confirm an interview or something. I suppose they are swamped at the minute and it all just takes time. I do remember that the master in the court told me I didn't need to make contact, and just to wait. I'm not sure about the work or home call, I'd presume that if you get a call on your mobile you can ask them to call on your home number, or your mobile when you know you won't be at work? I can't see them wanting to embarass you. Unfortunately I'm not working at the minute so I can't help you with that one! Once i have my interview I'll update here and let you know how it went. In the meantime if I can help you with anything just let me know. Cheers...

Hiya Rapterman, I rang my local CAB and they had a debt advisor who looked over my paperwork for me to confirm I filled it in properly. It's actually fairly straight forward. You can do the forms yourself online by setting up an account here https://insolvency.detini.gov.uk/InsolvencyPublic/Security/SignIn.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fInsolvencyPublic%2feForm.aspx%3fForm%3dBankruptEx1&Form=BankruptEx1 Once you have an account there you can take a look at the forms. You are not obliged to fill them in etc, unless you decide to go for BR. if after 6 months you haven't completed them, the account is deleted again. Take a look here too for more information if you need it Welcome to the NI Insolvency Service | Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) The court is the High Court in Belfast. It's the old building. When you go to pay your deposit for the OR you have to go to Fermanagh House on the Ormeau Road, you pay them and get a receipt, then you go to the court with your paperwork and the receipt and they ring you with a date. mine was about 9 days from I paid. The master in the court was very pleasant, she was obviously there to get the work done but was very pleasant and easy to talk to. If you have any specific questions or anything, feel free to ask. Cheers.

Surely they wouldn't want to offer a token payment as this acknowledges the debt and restarts the SB clock? As long as there are no CCJ's of course..

Thanks for that Dodgy Geezer. I was seen within 5 minutes of my appointment time and the whole thing took about 2 minutes! I have to say it was all totally painless. I went in and the master asked me if I knew the consequences of going BR, and did I take advice. I said yes, and her reply was, ok I've signed the order and effective immediately you are bankrupt. Your unsecured debts are now basically wiped and the OR will be appointed by the end of today. You have no assets so it will be a phone call interview. I will be contacted by the OR within 14 days and I've nothing to do till then... How easy was that! Anyway I'll update here again once I have my interview. Thanks.

Hi all, I've my hearing today in the High Court in Belfast. I won't give the time as it would only narrow things down and the court list would show who I am! I have to say I barely slept last night, have been at the toilet a fair few times, and can't eat I'm not even sure why I'm so nervous because I'm sure my interview with the OR will be worse than todays hearing. Anyway, anyone else in NI who is thinking of going bankrupt, I'll let you know later how it was....