Is bankruptcy my only option?

[wurzelyzf]

Hi all, i've only just found this forum whislt doing a search for Bryan Carter lol.

My situation is this,i have approx £18k of debt,credit cards,loans to pay credit cards,tv,computer etc etc mostly brought about by trying to run a home with a wife a children. Used my credit card to pay for bills and shopping etc and it wasn't until it was maxxed out that i realised how bad it was,no doubt a common situation. I have a Debt recovery plan with payplan in place but 4 weeks ago i was made redundant so no longer have any income other than income based jsa which is currently being assessed.

I have made the token payment of £1 each to payplan but realistically cannot afford any more but this will carry on forever,we're no better off now than we were 2 years ago when all this started in fact worse now due to my being unemployed.

My wife does not work due to being a full time carer for our disabled son and she also owes £14k for the same reasons as me.

My question is,is there a better option than bankruptcy?

To be honest my credit rating is through the floor so i'm not worried about that,i rent my house so they can't take that,no longer have a car so really i don't have anything to lose,also as i understand it this would make all my debts virtually disapear and in 6 years it's all forgotten about.

Reallistcally i'm not going to get a well paid job in my career (welder) any time soon as there just isn't the work at the moment so my situation isn't likely to change in the near future.

Sorry for my rambling but i have absolutely no idea about financial issues,i have been told that debts can in some cases be written off but wouldn't know where to start on any of this.

Many thanks in advance from this non clued up newbie.

[WelshMam2009]

You can typically get discharged in a year although it stays on record for 6.

 

In your situation, with no assets, I would be inclined to go along a bankruptcy type route rather than DMP or CCA.

 

There is also a new alternative called Debt Relief Orders but your debts must be less than £15k and your assets less than £300.

 

If the debts are split between yourself and your wife then this may be something you may wish to consider along with bankruptcy.

 

Either way, you need advice and I would be inclined to make an appointment with CAB.

 

Best of luck!!

[wurzelyzf]

Thanks for that,luckily all my debts are in my name only so my wife is at no risk. I even recently sold my rusty little peugeot to pay for the bankruptcy charges. Pretty confusing because nearly all my creditors have passed the account's to dca's but i assume i just list the original debt and if it's anything different they will adjust it themselves?

[WelshMam2009]

Thanks for that,luckily all my debts are in my name only so my wife is at no risk. I even recently sold my rusty little peugeot to pay for the bankruptcy charges. Pretty confusing because nearly all my creditors have passed the account's to dca's but i assume i just list the original debt and if it's anything different they will adjust it themselves?

 

Just try and be as specific as possible. I would be inclined to name the original creditor and the debt collector as it may be unclear as to who actually owns the debt.

 

Again CAB should help you with this. Just don't pay anyone to do it for you. You can actually fill in the forms online yourself now. But get advice first and see what CAB can offer.

 

To be honest, I think it's short term pain for long term gain.

[loobyloo85]

Hi there. There are other options available to you such as the DMP or an IVA, but you would need enough disposable income in order to go down this route. With you not currently in work, your bankruptcy should take about 12 months, as I cannot see them asking you to pay into an income payment order for the 3 years. It is on your credit file for 6 years, but as you say, this is then cleared after this time. You do not have anything to lose by going bankrupt. You could enquire more about bankruptcy at the CAB or your local court.

Best wishes