Please give me some advice for a friend in need.

[Caz1974]

A few months ago my friend popped over extremely depressed and eventually told me about her piling debts.

Being a Cagger I offered her my advice and encouragement because she was going to pay some bloke £500.00 to make her bankrupt ( I don't know the ins and outs because it sounded fishy so I just said " No way" and planned to work through her debts one by one the Cag way.)

A bit of info she is on benefits and that is her only income,she doesn't own her own property ( it's rented ) and doesn't have a car.

Her debts are made up mainly from catalogues and store cards BUT she had a loan,credit card and overdraft from the same bank.

The first thing we did was send CCA's to all the catalogues and because she said she has been paying the loan off forever but didn't know how much was still outstanding we sent a SAR to the Bank.

Everything was going well until last week - she's recieved the normal letters from the catalogues with blank agreements etc.

The problem is the amount of the loan is now £13,000.00 ( growing daily) - I was in shock and so was she!When I asked her why it was so high she told me the bank have just kept consolidating her borrowing and because she was in a pickle she went along and accepted it each time and signed whatever was put in front of her.

We have written letters offering token payments to the Bank and she opened a different Bank account.

All offers have been refused and now interest and charges are being applied daily.

With it being such a large amount would Bankruptcy be the best option?

I'm in a little bit over my head here and feel guilty telling her not to go bankrupt in the first place:(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[tomterm8]

I would suggest that initially she just pays them what she can afford. Once the OFT test case comes through, we should see whether the charges can be reclaimed.

 

To be honest, I am going to assume the CCA is in place (because that seems highly likely if it is a recent debt). In which case, i would suggest that bankruptcy is a viable option. it does depend where the unemployment is likely to be short or long term.

 

Has she gone through the CCCS/ payplan?

[Caz1974]

Hi Tom and thanks for your reply,

Unfortunately it looks like her unemployment is going to be long term.

I've checked through all her statements and unbelievably there are no charges - she's managed to keep up all her monthly £300.00 payments on the loan until last month when she could cope no longer.

What exactly is CCCS/Payplan ? to be honest she's only ever visited the CAB and they were not in the least bit helpful.

Do you also happen to know how much it would cost for her to go bankrupt she's on income support and child tax credit at the moment so funds are tight and she's also worried that the recievers might take away her settee . I know it sounds silly but she's been going without food and essentials to try and pay all these back but couldn't cope.

[tomterm8]

CCCS - Free Debt Advice from the UK's Leading Debt Charity

Free Debt Management company | Debt Advice | Payplan

 

 

In your friends case, since her income is made entirely from benefits that can't be charged during bankruptcy, she is unlikely to have to pay anything. (Unless she has savings, which would all go to the OR).

 

Quite likely the bankruptcy would be discharged after 6 months.

 

OR's don't normally confiscate peoples old settee's they would go after any substantial assets, such as cars etc, but not if they are needed for work (and were only worth a reasonable amount).

 

I am not sure exactly whom you need to inform, I believe that there is no obligation to inform a landlord if you have already paid the debt.

 

National Debtline, for FREE CONFIDENTIAL and INDEPENDENT ADVICE call 0808 808 4000

 

Is a good place to start.

 

My understanding is that if you are on menefits, you are exempt from part of the cost of a BR order, but you would still have to pay a fee. Many people use their credit card. Call your local court to find out how much it costs.

[Caz1974]

Thankyou so much Tom:D

your advice has been invaluable x

[fermi]

Definitely no chance of the Official Receiver taking the settee, or any furniture for that matter (unless she has a house full of very valuable antiques ).

 

The court/judge would ask her who she had taken advice from regarding bankruptcy, and as tomterm8 suggests National Debtline, CCCS, PayPlan or CAB are normally fantastic.

 

Income support is one of the benefits that will allow her to apply for full remission of the £150 fee to the court.

 

See: http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex160a.pdf for the proofs required.

 

However, she would still need to find £335 for the Official Receiver's deposit, payable in cash to the court on the day.

 

As tomterm8 says, many people do end up withdrawing the cash on a card to find the fee. While technically this is a bad thing to do, the vast majority of the OR's turn a blind eye to that if it is clear that you had no other way to raise the funds.

[Caz1974]

Thankyou both it's really put my mind at rest.

[JonCris]

If the bank convinced her into taking 'managed' consolidation loans There may be a light at the end of the tunnel as these loans may be unenforceable & some monies already paid recoverable

 

It's a long one but I suggest you take the time to read the below thread & if necessary contact Gizmo the mod who knows about these loans

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/hsbc-bank/15457-who-has-had-managed.html?highlight=Managed+Loans

 

Bankruptcy is not the panacea that some claim & if at all possible to be avoided

[fermi]

Bankruptcy is not the panacea that some claim & if at all possible to be avoided

 

I don't think anyone does claim that.:o

 

(Unless you count the "dubious" companies that charge you a fortune to help you with it. They are vultures. )

[JonCris]

fermi I do & it's the company that the OP was about to pay £500 to

 

Not wanting to have a pointless argument but too many (even on here) do suggest bankruptcy as a solution when they shouldn't. Despite what sometimes claimed it will follow you around for years to come & affect your life in ways you may know nothing about - being refused for certain jobs for example

[fermi]

fermi I do & it's the company that the OP was about to pay £500 to

 

Not wanting to have a pointless argument but too many (even on here) do suggest bankruptcy as a solution when they shouldn't. Despite what sometimes claimed it will follow you around for years to come & affect your life in ways you may know nothing about - being refused for certain jobs for example

 

I agree, and it was that company (and others like it) that I was referring to here.

 

(Unless you count the "dubious" companies that charge you a fortune to help you with it. They are vultures. )

 

Sorry that wasn't clear. There is no argument here.

 

Bankruptcy is something that you should only undertake once you have had professional and impartial advice that it is in you own best interests. Even then it is a serious undertaking.

.

.

[tomterm8]

Despite what sometimes claimed it will follow you around for years to come & affect your life in ways you may know nothing about - being refused for certain jobs for example

 

I don't think I was recommending bankruptcy, merely advising the OP to seek preofessional and free help if that is an option they are considering.

 

There can be other methods to solve your problems. Sometimes with debts of £12,000 you can arrange F&FS of far less than £1,000 if you are on long term benefits without property.

[JonCris]

tom don't be so sensitive.

 

No one was accusing YOU of recommending bankruptcy: I was merely stating that there have been occasions, both here & elsewhere, when contributors have recommended bankruptcy as if it's some sort of panacea which of course it isn't as many people, including an awful lot of ex students, are finding out to their great cost

[JonCris]

In fact it occurs to me that perhaps the site could have a sticky! where the benefits & more importantly the pitfalls of bankruptcy are explained to members who are considering it as a means of solving their problems

 

An additional thread could be started alongside where members could discuss their experiences & knowledge of bankruptcy

[fermi]

In fact it occurs to me that perhaps the site could have a sticky! where the benefits & more importantly the pitfalls of bankruptcy are explained to members who are considering it as a means of solving their problems

 

And vise versa. A lot of what the general public "know" about bankruptcy (or insolvency) and it's consequences is based upon myth and hearsay. Both the benefits and disadvantages are misunderstood by many.

 

I'm curious what you mean about "students", but I'd rather not divert this thread from the OP's situation with an extended discussion here.

[sisternumber1]

My daughter has just gone down the bankruptcy road, and for her it was the best option, rented house, no assets, will never work again because of her health. The only thing that I would advice is that the tenancy agreement is read. Nothing was mentioned in my daughters agreement about bankruptcy and she had always paid her rent and as long as she continues to pay her rent there will be no problems. We used this site and The National Debtline for advice and support. Its daunting but the peace of mind it has brought my daughter is worth it. The OR thinks it will be discharged as soon as he has completed all his paperwork (he says this could take up to 8 months)

 

Just offering support

[Caz1974]

Thankyou all for your input and I have followed your thread sister and think in the light of everything you've done extremely well.

I am going to see my friend armed with all the advice given and let it be her decision passing her onto national debtline's the best course of action.

One thing which get's me really angry is this particular Bank when I've looked through some of the paperwork again the last two loans applied where done so knowing at that stage she was living solely on benefits because all benefits were being paid into that account.I know it's equally her fault but when is borrowing large amounts of money to people who clearly can't pay it back going to stop from the Banks?

[JonCris]

And vise versa. A lot of what the general public "know" about bankruptcy (or insolvency) and it's consequences is based upon myth and hearsay. Both the benefits and disadvantages are misunderstood by many.

 

I'm curious what you mean about "students", but I'd rather not divert this thread from the OP's situation with an extended discussion here.

 

Simple - it's widely known that until recently many students were opting for bankruptcy as a means of escaping their debts/loans that they had accumulated whilst at UNIV.

 

As a result many who did go that route are now finding that they are being rejected for jobs they thought were theirs by right because of their degrees Many not realising that being made bankrupt at any time can be a bar to say a career in law or accountancy to name but two

[fermi]

Simple - it's widely known that until recently many students were opting for bankruptcy as a means of escaping their debts/loans that they had accumulated whilst at UNIV.

 

As a result many who did go that route are now finding that they are being rejected for jobs they thought were theirs by right because of their degrees Many not realising that being made bankrupt at any time can be a bar to say a career in law or accountancy to name but two

 

I see. Well, if someone with a degree in law or accountancy doesn't have the wherewithal to check whether bankruptcy is likely to prejudice their future career, then I not sure I would hold out much hope for that career anyway.

 

Those are two of the major areas where bankruptcy on your record can be a major no-no.

 

Any professional advisor who doesn't inform someone of those restrictions should think about a career change as well.

[Osborn85]

has she considered a IVA - insolvency voluntary agreement? I hear these things can drastically reduce whole sums and payments.. but she has to have sums close to 15,000 in the re, something that my friend pinky is not. I was looking aorund for ways to help my pinks and came across this IVA. Not helpful for her - only £6,000 but for you it might be an option.

[fermi]

Caz1974 stated that their friend's only income is benefits.

 

If that is still the case then it is unlikely that an IVA would be appropriate or even possible.