Bankrupt in Scotland - So many questions!

[wildheart83]

Firstly, sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I wasn't sure where else to post.

 

I went LILA BR last year after being made redundant and being unable to secure employment quickly.

 

Shortly after this I managed to get another job, but it was on minimum wage so wasn't asked to enter into an IPA.

 

Now I have managed to get a better paying job, I will inevitably be asked to make payments which I accept. But I'm not sure how this works - I have done a lot of reading on this, and there's a lot of info stating that any new IPAs only look for a minimum of £20 per month surplus. Is this for the whole of the UK or just England and Wales? On my new salary (with increased expenditure that goes with it) I will now have a surplus of £86.

 

Also, I have read a lot of people saying their tax code changed for the tax year in which their BR went through, but mine didn't change. Is this something that happens to everyone and I've just slipped through the net, or does this only happen if you're on an IPA.

 

Thanks in advance

[IdaInFife]

There a lot of changes now. Until your IP looks at your income and expenditure it will be very hard to guess what they will see as a reasonable amount. When I went BK nearly 10 years ago now my trustee came to my house and he was brilliant - included things i didnlt think of like extra money for vet bills etc.

[wildheart83]

I completed an income / expenditure when I applied for BR, and also at the halfway mark. I'm now 6 weeks away from discharge and have sent an updated income / expenditure showing my increase in income.

 

I have included everything I can think of, so I suppose it's just a waiting game.

 

The AIB (who is my trustee) has said this "if we need any more information regarding your incomings and outsgoings we will supply you with a Current State of Affairs or a telephone interview." so it's still not exactly clear what's likely to happen.

 

They also said that they will pass the information onto the relevant department, who will be in touch in the next week or 2. Fingers crossed there's a backlog and it takes more than 6 weeks

[bluedogx]

What they ask you for depends entirely on the statement of affairs you provided them. For instance - if you have £500pm for food and housekeeping and there's only 1 or 2 people in your household they will reduce it.

 

Whatever they ask of you, make sure you can afford it before you sign the IPA

[wildheart83]

Thanks for that bluedogx, it's very helpful!

 

I was allowed to keep my mobile contract in my initial application for BR, and also on my halfway SOA.

By the time I have paid tax, national insurance and now the dreaded student loan payment (!) I am approximately £200 better off, but the only reason I sought a better paying job was because I was asked if there was any chance I could pay more to the house.

 

Although I don't have a formal tenancy agreement with my parents, I do pay rent to pay towards their mortgage and bills. We all know that gas, electricity and food has gone up lately, and my mother's income has been cut almost in half - 30 hours per week down to 17.5 is sore on anyone's lifestyle, but moreso when you're on minimum wage.

 

Will the AiB want to see proof of this? I'm not sure how I can prove this when my parents don't know I'm BR.

[Crocdoc]

It is unlikely that they will seek proof as they fully expect non -dependants to contribute to the family home. I would suggest that you ask you local CAB to draw up an accurate financial statement, sign it and forward it to the Scottish Accountant in Bankruptcy when they conduct their review.

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Thank You

 

[wildheart83]

That's a relief, thank you!

I included an updated SOA showing my increased rent and other outgoings in my email to them.

On the whole I haven't found my local CAB to be particularly helpful, so I shall do a paper copy of the SOA I emailed to them, sign it and hopefully that will be accepted by them without having to go through a telephone interview.

[wildheart83]

I now have 4 weeks until I'm discharged, and today I received an IPA for £120 a month. My SOA showed a surplus but nowhere near that, so what do I do now.

The really worrying part is the other letter that's looking for 3 things:

1. All documents relating to your car including insurance documents (this was sent to them in February, surely it should be in my file?)

2. Break down of my transport costs for the month

3. Tenancy agreement (letter signed by parents to confirm you are resident in their home)

 

I'm worried about the 3rd one as my parents absolutely cannot know about my BR, they will throw me out, no doubt about it.

 

I really don't know what to do next, just when I thought I was moving on with my life, this comes out the blue. According to the letter I have 7 days to send them everything and I don't know what I'm going to do.

 

Please can someone help? Thank you

[bluedogx]

I've often advised clients to negotiate. Call your case officer and explain about the documents and your parents. Is it an agency insolvency practitioner or the AIB?

 

B

[wildheart83]

It's the AiB. The way I see it, if I have to "prove" that I live at my parents' address outwith being on the Electoral Roll, then it leaves me no choice but to move out. I'll phone my case officer tomorrow and see what they say, i've done nothing but cry since I read the letters.

[bluedogx]

Are you really sure your patents would throw you out? I'm sure some compromise could be reached.

 

B

[wildheart83]

There is absolutely no doubt about it, that's for sure. I've never had a great relationship with them, this will just be the final nail in the coffin so to speak

[bluedogx]

Please phone the AIB. They should be sympathetic given your circumstances.

Could you get an appt with your money adviser quickly?

 

B

[wildheart83]

I don't have a money advisor, I work full time 35 miles from home and I don't think CAB or anything like that is open at weekends. Thanks to getting points on my licence a couple of months ago, my car insurance has just rocketed by over £300 a year. It's just all come at once and I can't cope with this. I'm trying to find a quiet room at work so I can phone them.

The other thing is, the end date of my IPA is down as June 2014, I thought an IPA only runs for 3 years including your BR year, I've got an extra year on mine?

[bluedogx]

Have your circumstances changed throughout the last year?

[wildheart83]

I changed jobs, and notified the AiB with my updated SOA. It showed my increased salary and also my increased expenditure. My parents asked if I could pay more to the house because my mum's overtime has stopped at her work.

[wildheart83]

Well I phoned AiB and my case officer is on holiday until next week and no one else will talk to me about it.

[bluedogx]

Put everything in writing and enclose what you can. Dint sign the IPA if you need to negotiate this but make sure you explain this too

[wildheart83]

The issue I have with putting things in writing, is that my parents have now worked out where the letters are coming from, thanks to the AiB putting their address on the envelopes. Do you know if the AiB would accept an alternative address as a postal / correspondence address in the short term?

Another thing I'll need to query with them is the fact that if I sign to agree the IPA, then I also agree to 6 month reviews of my IPA. I thought you just notified them of any changes as and when they happen. I'm not going through this rigmarole every 6 months if I then have to keep phoning them and checking things.

[bluedogx]

6 month reviews are just part of the process I'm afraid no matter how much you agree to pay.

[wildheart83]

Is it possible to have a correspondence address held by the AiB rather than your actual address?

[IdaInFife]

I wouldn't think so

[wildheart83]

Thanks Ida, the situation now is that I cannot face lying to my parents over this anymore. They are becoming increasingly suspicious of the situation, particularly the letters coming in from AiB and have made it clear that if I'm in trouble then they can't have me living under their roof.

I have some lovely friends who have offered to let me stay with them on the condition that I pay 50% of the rent and bills, and that I buy my own groceries etc. This is understandable, the way they see it, their house isn't a hotel and shouldn't be treated as such - I will also be using their gas / electricity etc whilst I'm there. This is only short term until things either calm down at home, or until I can find a flat I can afford on my own, or at least move into a shared flat somewhere.

 

Can the AiB stop me from moving out, if it is likely to worsen my financial situation?

 

I have already been off sick through stress of the situation at home, so for the sake of my mental health it might be a case of jump before I am pushed.

[bluedogx]

You need to discuss it all with the AIB. Hopefully they will be sympathetic to your situation.

 

B

[wildheart83]

Well I finally got to speak to my case officer, and after much panic and tears have sorted everything out.

 

At first I thought he sounded quite harsh, but on explaining things he became much nicer and more polite (almost human!)

I explained that if I could get a job closer to home then I would, but there's nothing going.

I also explained that whilst I understand that my parents' mortgage and bills etc are of no concern to me, if I was to live on my own then I would be much much worse off.

 

He also agreed that I could have all mail from them sent to my friends address (they've been brilliant throughout this, and were the ones who offered to put me up if I needed to.)

 

I've also agreed an IPA over the phone, at a more realistic amount than what they asked for, but I need to pay it for 34 months for some reason.