Hi Steve2577 I'm sure we're both on the same side here, but in a Scottish bankruptcy, an individual's home contents and personal effects remain with the debtor as they're protected by the law and cannot be taken by a Trustee, other than antiques, valuable collections and top-of-the-range home media equipment etc. Therefore a misinformed posting is not helpful to individuals looking at their options, although you meant well. As I said earlier, best speak to an Insolvency Practitioner or authorised money advisor as soon as possible. Kind regards M

Hi mctavish33 Life is too short to worry about what your creditors may or may not be doing to you next, ending up in jail (you won't), scared to open mail, answer the phone or the door bell. If someone is in a position where they can't pay, such as yourself, they should seek professional help from a local Insolvency Iractitioner, Citizens Advice Bureau or local authority money advice team. Some of the information on these forums are incorrect and although they do a fantastic job, there is nothing like picking up the phone and speaking to someone who deals with people in debt day in day out who are not going to judge you or give you more pressure. Check out Yellow Pages or google for someone with an office in your area. We've seen so many people who have been through sequestration and been given a fresh start, which is what the bankruptcy legislation is there for. Start saving up £100 if you can and be pro-active by considering going down the LILA sequestration route without waiting for a creditor to sequestrate you as they may not but the chasing letters etc will continue for years. There are people out there who will assist you with the forms for free if it is too much of a thought for you to complete it yourself, although for every page of questions there is a page of notes so it's very straightforward. It's never worth someone taking their life or hiding abroad because of their financial problems; the law is there to help. All the best. (ps an expired Statutory Demand for Payment can be used by an individual in Scotland to sequestrate him/herself, it's just that it's not very common) M Scottish Executive: Web site currently unavailable.

Hi WhatALife I'd strongly recommend you make an appointment to see a local Citizens Advice Bureau or local authority money advice service, or indeed give a local Insolvency Practitioner a call to chat through your situation. There are people out here who are trained to guide you through the maze of debt solutions and point you in the right direction. You can google debt advice in your area to find such advice, or check out Yellow Pages etc. Good luck G

Hi Porrohman65 I'd suggest getting in touch with your local Citizens Advice Bureau or local authority's money advice centre as they will go through the options with you. It may well be that a debt payment plan through one of these bodies (ie for free!) would be a good option for you just now as they would ask your creditors to stop interest and charges for a period of time. All the best. G

Ms J In our firm, we are happy for the debtor to retain their car if doing so allows the debtor to pay a contribution to the trustee. We generally have no problem with the HP company if the payments continue to be met as they are better off than if they had to sell the car at auction and lodge a claim with the trustee for the shortfall. I would think the AiB would allow you to keep it if your income increased, thereby leaving you with surplus income to make a monthly contribution to her. Good luck! G

Co-operative Bank are very debtor friendly, and in our experience Clydesdale Bank (some branches anyway!) have been happy to open a basic account without a credit check for individuals during/after their insolvency period. Again in our experience, Lloyds TSB have not closed accounts during the insolvency period for any of our cases. All the best.

You could also dig out a copy of the income and expenditure statement which was sent by your Trustee to yourself and all your creditors as part of the estimated outcome statement at the start of your TD, and use this as the basis if your circs haven't changed too much. G

There's a link on this site to a style letter to creditors which stipulates that acceptance of the full and final settlement is subject to the creditors agreeing to marking the debts as having been settled on the credit reference agency files. You might want to check that out too. Kind regards.

With £18K of debt and net salary of £1400 per month, your debts are going to take a very long time to completely clear, even if you can reclaim or stop interest or charges. I'd strongly recommend that you seek advice from a local Insolvency Practitioner or money advice centre. If you are in Fife, there are some excellent Insolvency Practitioners in Dundee who would be able to give you confidential, impartial advice at no cost. However, there are IPs in every city in Scotland and also some of the smaller towns who are willing and able to have a chat with anyone in your situation. You've taken the first step by researching some of your options online but you really can't beat sitting down with someone with many years of experience in dealing with individuals in difficulty to help you work out the best path for your own circumstances. Good luck.

Please don't make this decision on your own - there are plenty of people out there who can give you guidance based on your own individual circumstances, at no cost to you. You've taken the first step by researching some of the options but I'd recommend that you now seek advice from a local Insolvency Practitioner or money advice centre. You haven't mentioned the option of a Trust Deed which falls in between full bankruptcy and debt repayment/settlement. It definitely helps an individual come to a decision having discussed their situation with a trained adviser. Good luck.

Adam20 - I'd also suggest you open a new basic bank account if you haven't done so already, and have your salary paid into this. G x

Hi Karrie 2129 Well done for coming to this forum and also for calling CCCS, you are doing the right thing by being proactive and sorting this out. You can see by the many people who post in this forum that you are certainly not alone with this type of problem and there are people who can help. I'm presuming that you're in Scotland, and if so did CCCS mention the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS)? If CCCS write to your creditors but for any reason are not able to stop interest and charges, then the DAS scheme will. Give CCCS a go and see how they get on. If however interest and charges are not being stopped, then you need to reconsider at that point as the debt may not decrease at all, or only slightly. Did CCCS give an indication of how long the debt management plan would take to pay off all your debts? If this is for an extremely long period of years, you may also wish to consider sequestration or a Trust Deed but CCCS would also be able to advise you on these. I'm sure the CCCS dmp will be successful, though. I wish you all the best. G

Well done for taking the bull by the horns since you've realised the debt management plan is barely reducing your total debt. Did Payplan manage to get your creditors to stop adding on interest and charges? I presume not if the debt's hardly going down. There's also a DAS scheme in Scotland (Debt Arrangement Scheme) which can be done through your local CAB or Trading Standards Department which does freeze interest and charges and I wonder if you've considered this. Sequestration (and possibly even Trust Deeds if you live in Aberdeen) will cut down any wages arrestments even if Stirling Park do know where you work so that would be the end of that concern. Which bank(s) do you have current accounts with, and are they in overdraft? It may be worth opening a new basic bank account with an insolvency-friendly bank such as Clydesdale or Co-operative who do not freeze or close bank accounts upon their customers' insolvency. http://www.aib.gov.uk/MainNav/Services/debtorportal I would also suggest calling one of your local Insolvency Practitioners or money advice teams who will give you impartial, confidential advice which is best suited to your individual circumstances. Try googling DEBT ADVICE in your area and go to see someone in your area who can give you best advice. If Trust Deed or sequestration turns out to be the best option for you, then this is certainly not the end of the world. The legislation is there to help people like yourself who have got into difficulty to give you a fresh start. Good luck.

Thanks, Ida gx

Does anyone know if an offer to settle would be accepted by a creditor in respect of a bank overdraft? Many thanks g