Hi, I went bankrupt 2 years ago and I was worried about the bank and bills side of things too. I was told the worst, like no DD, having to have pre pay leccy and gas, closing all my accounts. None of that happened. As advised we had already opened a new account ready for after the bankruptcy. It was a Cooperative one. Our existing one was a basic Natwest. The Natwest one was never closed down I discovered and I use it now for budgeting. They didn't even want the new bank account details. All of my other bills have never been effected. Nothing happened with that at all. We didn't notify anyone and we weren't told to either. Since we have been bankrupt our main issue has been renting. We were renting at the time but now need to move and we cannot go with an estate/letting agent. We have to go privately which is quite difficult. You can rent through agents if you have a guarantor but they have to earn quite a bit. We recently got a low credit limit credit card to start build it back up. We pay if off on full every month, we use it for petrol. Anyway lots and lots of luck with it all. It was the scariest thing I've done but actually there was no need to be. It's never as bad as all the people make out. Just take it one step at a time. I can't give you advice on the forms as we had someone do that for us. Let us know how you get on xxxxxxxxxxxxx I also got discharged early, only 9 months after my court day but my husband went the full 12 months as he now has a IPA.

Lol! thank you for your advice, it has reassured me. I wil certainly be sending that above letter and it will be tempting to add the "Dear Fool" Thanks again xx

Thanks for quick reply. So they won't send anyone to the house or anything will they? Just want me to give in and give them some money?

Hi, I am also dealing with Fairfax at the moment and they are non stop with the calls and the letters. I have written to them to stop them calling and said I will only write or email. This has stopped the calls. However I owe them £600. It was originally a Barclay's credit card. I am in the process of petitioning for my bankruptcy. Court date is in January. I have explained all this to them yet I get a letter a day. They have now asked for my incomings/outgoings. Does anyone know if they will just keep sending letters and I should ignore them due to the bankruptcy in Jan? Any advice would be great. Funny really as I owe them the smallest amount and they are the only ones pestering me. Thanks for reading and any advice is gratefully received xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

HI I know it was a while ago you posted your reply but hope you still get told if people have replied to it! Anyway my husband and I are currently saving our money to get the fees for bankruptcy. We are nearly there. However we are concerned and confused as to what to do next. We have had companies who are willing to do the paperwork for us but charge up to £500! We want to know if this is needed. I'm sure we could manage the forms but I am really worried about the bank account and things like that. Gas and electric and my husbands work etc. How did you get help with things like that? I'm worried that we will get in a mess with things like our direct debits and rent standing order plus my husbands wages paid into our account etc. I would appreciate all help you have. We have enough saved £1100, but wonder if we need to save the extra £500 for someone to do it all for us. Also I am worried sick about the court thing. I suffer from anxiety as it is and worry too much anyway so the day in court terrifies me! Hope to hear from you soon, Charlotte xx

Dear questor My main advice with DLC is not to worry at all about what they say. I have been dealing with them for a while now,(see my above posts) And every now and again they will phone constantly and try and panic you. Never take the calls. Always in writing tell them that you will only accept written correspondence. Just keep insisting that you can only afford to pay the amount that you can and when you are in a situation to pay more you will as it benefits you as well as them. Just keep firm. Tell them you will report them for harrassment. They will try all sorts of tactics to make you pay more but stick to your guns they have pretty much no power expecially if u mantain a payment plan no matter how small the monthly payment. Good luck! xxxxxxx

Yes I did. I basically wrote to say that there was no way I could pay the £350 plus they wanted and had just paid £50 and would they accept it every month. Also included my incomings/outgoings to show I can barely afford that. And said I only wanted contact via email or post. It worked immediately. So I have 3 months grace atleast and by then my circumstances should have changed so I can raise the payment. I have a debt with Mercer's aswell who are working on behalf of Barclay's, they phone about 10 times every half an hour so I sent a letter to them aswell asking them to stop doing that . They also text me saying I have to call then urgently. So I will see if that works.

Hi just wanted to say thank you for all your help, DLC agreed to my payment of £50 a month, well for the next 3 months anyway but how great is that, takes the heat off. Thank you for all your advice I couldn't have done it without it xxxx

thank you so much for your help I got a great result today. They have accepted my offer, well atleast for the next 3 months but how great is that!? I couldn't have done it without the help of everyone on this site giving me the knowledge and confidence to take back control, thank you guys!!

Thanks for reply, I feel a bit more hopeful. Just wanted to ask exactly what you meant by "and my payment proposal (worked out via the pro rata method)."?

I've been talking with blackrain on the Egg/DLC thread asking for advice on what to do . He suggested more people would see this thread and offer advice. I have just had my Egg credit card cancelled and handed over to DLC debt collectors after I missed 4 payments. They have so far not excepted any payment that I am willing to pay and keep insisting on 5% or 10% of the debt, which would be £350 or £700 a month. Obvioulsy I can't afford this. They are doing the usual threatening to take me to court. I am going to write to them to insist on written communication only tomorrow and give them a list of ingoings and outgoings and a payment plan option. Also I will make a payment to show willing. Does anyone have similiar experience with either Egg or DLC and can anyone give me any advice at all? Thanks xx

Ok here's another question! Tomorrow I will make a last call to find out about whether Egg have sold the debt or not then I shall write to them as you suggested. So if I write to them saying I only want written correspondence from now on and that I am willing to pay £80 a month and will make a payment regardless. What then? Do I just wait to hear from them? Has anyone has any luck sorting out a payment plan that is reasonable without going to court?

Thank you again for all your advice. So to find out if they have bought the debt do I just phone DLC or EGG? And will they tell me the truth? Also what is the next step if i want to claim back my charges from Egg? Do they actually pay you them back? Do you mean charges like late payments etc? Sorry for all the questions, I just feel more confident to deal with these things when I know what's what. Thanks Charlotte x

Thank you for the quick reply. It has made me feel a bit better about the whole thing. I will do as you say and make a payment whether they like it or not. So when they say in 28 days if I haven't paid the full 5 or 10% they will take me to court , they can't actually do that? They haven't even asked for a list of my outgoings etc just keep saying I HAVE to pay the amount they are asking for, they also expect the 5% every month not just as an intial payment. By the way would it be better to pay Egg the £80 or DLC?

I really need some help. My egg card account has been handed over to DLC. I have spoken with them over 4 times in the last 2 weeks but they refuse to take a payment saying I have to pay 10% of the debt, which is £750 or 5% over £350. I have tried telling them that if I had that kind of money I wouldn't be in arrears! They say because I own a flat they can take the equity if I do not pay atleast the 5% every month. I am actually in the process of selling the flat, it has fallen throught 3 times which has delayed us and cost us money we can't afford. We were planing on paying our arrears with the little money that would be left over after the estate agents and solicitors take their money. What actual rights do they have and surely they should be accepting a payment plan from me? I can pay say up to £80 a month and then maybe more when I move out of London ( spending over £250 a month on petrol at moment and the new rent will be £300 less than the current mortgage) PLEASE PLEASE HELP!