Hello from a newbie - I successfully annulled my bankruptcy & stopped my house from being repossessed

[DJ Brooks]

Hello

 

I have may times previously read posts from this forum but never felt I had any authority, experience or knowledge to write and place a post before now.

 

It has taken me a while to rebuild my confidence, self esteem and self worth after one of the most stressful periods of my life.

 

As a very proud, hard working person throughout the times of my troubles I did not ever seek help until it became a necessity legally and neither did I claim from the state or share my problems with my family. I am only telling you this so you can understand the type of person I am and whether this was the right or wrong thing to do is now irrelevant as what is done, is done. What I can say is that I did what was right for me but if I was to advise anyone else I would immediately and without hesitation tell that person to seek advice and help.

 

My troubles stared in 2004 after my business collapsed partly through my own stupidity, partly because I was ill and partly because of identity theft. The end result was I faced certain bankruptcy unless I could pull together £5,500 within 28 days.

 

Everyone who has been in debt, has debt or in financial trouble knows that this is near on impossible.

 

What made my situation worse, is that I was being made bankrupt over a fine imposed on me by a third party that was not a government official but by a membership association that I was not even a member of!

 

I tried to resolve the issues myself without involving a solicitor because frankly, I had no money to pay for one. I was ashamed of my predicament and ashamed that I had not prevented the situation. By not seeking proper legal advice I made a bad situation worse.

 

Despite being in court and the 'other side' admitting to having no contract or liability to impose a fine, in a moment of sheer panic, stress and if I am honest being bullied by the 'other sides' solicitor I made the fundamental error of agreeing to pay the debt in instalments in a futile attempt to avoid bankruptcy.

 

The District Judge awarded the 'other side' and I was made bankrupt.

 

It was a devastating blow. I don't have the words to express how I felt that day or for the few days to come but I did phone round every solicitor in the google list that specialised in bankruptcy and not one offered me any help or were prepared to fight my corner because I had made an offer to pay in the past.

 

The fact that this company had absolutely NO jurisdiction to fine me meant nothing. I simply had to accept the bankruptcy and face my car being taken, the humiliation of my home being repossessed and my lifestyle scrutinised. It was worse than horrific.

 

I am quite a determined individual and in the normal course of things can handle stress not too badly and through work I have learnt to thrive on it and use stress as a motivator. After 3 days of complete despair, crying and wanting to kill myself I finally picked myself up to face things.

 

I met with the official handling my bankruptcy and whilst even she was shocked at the why, the evidence and the amount being demanded by the 'other side' which had now increased to over £15,000 and counting as that figure did not include their legal fees nonetheless, the official procedure of freezing and claiming my assets begun.

 

Throughout this painfully shameful & hideous process I questioned whether there was any way around the bankruptcy and losing my assets and more importantly my home. I was given a leaflet.

 

I learnt annulment was the only way. In this department, I found no end of solicitors who would gladly prepare my case once I had paid their fees and the debt in full up front.

 

Obviously, being made bankrupt I was not able to borrow any money to save my skin and lets be honest, if I could have borrowed any money I would have done it before the bankruptcy, I was in a predicament but my determination had kicked in. I chose a solicitor, informed him that I would be seeking an annulment and would have the funds to cover his initial fee in his account by the end of the week. My solicitor had explained that it would take a couple of weeks before the cash was needed to settle ALL debts I owed was required so I had a little time. A fortnight to be precise to find in excess of £25,000.

 

When you are made bankrupt, in order to annul your bankruptcy ALL your creditors (not just the person who made you bankrupt) MUST be paid off in full before it goes before a Judge.

 

I am pleased to say I stopped my house from being repossessed, I still have my car and my bankruptcy was annulled because I raised the money to pay it off.

 

Throughout my ordeal, I learnt a very painful lesson which was get the facts clear, find out the law and seek advice before opening my mouth.

 

I now strive to pass that lesson on to try and help others avoid my predicament.

[citizenB]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[maroondevo52]

Hello

 

I have may times previously read posts from this forum but never felt I had any authority, experience or knowledge to write and place a post before now.

 

 

 

Hello and welcome DJ,

 

Good to see you here and like citizenB I would like to thank you for telling your story, please have a good look around the other forums and feel free to post when you can.

You sound like myself some 9 years ago when I first came to CAG for advice, doubting my confidence and knowledge to add my tuppence worth to threads.

I now feel at home on the forums and there's always someone to help you out whatever your problems.

 

I hope you take the time to post more, either on threads where you think you can add a comment or start more threads of your own on whatever subject you feel like.

 

I'm hoping you'll enjoy yourself on the forums and get to know the 'family' that frequent CAG.

 

Best wishes,

 

Scott.

[DJ Brooks]

Thanks for the welcome, I very much appreciate it and thanks Scott for your kind supportive words and advice