Can you add a link to the tweet so that we can spread the word?

Hi, I was declared bankrupt in 2009 and as it is approaching 3 years the OR is asking for valuations and settlement figures for the house. It looks like after paying off the secured loans (£130k) there will be anywhere between £0k and £15k equity in the property. This is based on 3 valuations by estate agents: £130k to £135k £140k to £145k but test the market at £150k Asking price of £140k to £150k to acheive a minimum figure of £135k These are the figures in the letters from the estate agents, but I have no idea how the OR will interpret them. Will they take the highest amounts, add them together and divide by 3, or take an average from each estimate? Once the have a figure, I know that there are 3 options: Do nothing, there isn't enough equity Place a charging order on the house Force a sale Lets say they decide the property must be sold. Who sells it? Is it me that has to sell it, or do I move out and the OR sells it via auction? This is what I really need to know, as I will no doubt have to go to court and I would like to be able to point out that if sold at auction it would possibly achieve a lower price than on the market. If I am the one who has to sell it, what if I can't find a buyer? What if potential buyers see that the windows need replacing (something 2 of the estate agents didn't care about) and that there is damp throughout? What if I am only offered a price well below the ORs valuation? I could realistically stay in the property for the next 10 years putting potential buyers off, but I would rather get it all sorted out now. So, if anyone can tell me who does the selling in this situation I would be most grateful.

The trouble with distance learning courses is that it often takes a while for you to decide if you are able to complete the course. I took one with Computeach (cost me in the region of £5000) a few years ago and got the materials after the cancellation period had ended. They initially sent me the wrong course materials but I got the right ones in the end. Having started the course I found the materials were full of errors but it was too late to do anything about it, so I persevered. Luckily everything clicked and I got my new career in IT, but for many it ends in disappointment. My advice is to look on the web for a beginners' course in your chosen subject. Often these will be free and after taking these courses you will be able to decide if it is something you want to pursue. If you do, then you can take a full course with a reputable provider. If you don't want to pursue it, you won't have lost thousands of pounds in some cases. I wrote a training manual a couple of years ago for those looking for a career in software development. It teaches the basics of the Microsoft C# programming language and is free to anyone who wants it. Just go to http://www.jambalian.co.uk/JAM/Books.aspx, scroll down to the C# manual and click the image.

Didn't find that group on Facebook. However, if anyone is looking to pursue them through the courts, try looking into their fiduciary duty to do their best for their customers. It might be worth a shot. Fiduciary duty means they have a duty to ensure that anything they do on your behalf is for your best interests. It might be argued that not properly vetting a person's ability to complete the course may be a breach of their fiduciary duty. I may be wrong, but it's worth investigating....

Thanks, I can only offer them about £500, which is a lot less than the £4000 they value it at. Let's seer what they say.

Hi all, I went BR late last year and recently got a letter saying my share in the house is just over £4,000 and they are inviting offers. I have no chance of raising that kind of money, so does anyone know what the next step would be? Will they apply for a charging order or apply for a forced sale? I have had a look at their technical manual here: http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/freedomofinformation/technical/technicalmanual/Ch25-36/Chapter33/Annex/annex_2.htm and according to that they won't apply for a charging order before 2 years and three months after my BR date. Is this always the case? According to that document, they will take into account certain figures when applying for a charging order, but using those figures it works out that my share is -£160. I am so confused as to what to do. Should I just offer them £500 (all I can get my hands on) or tell them to go for the chanrging order? Any advice would be appreciated, especially from those who have been through this.

Thanks for the advice. I contacted the OR last week and told them.

Hi, I went bankrupt in December last year and during the next few months I was alone in the house, so used very little electricity or gas. We got our bill earlier this week saying that they owed us £490. The next day a letter said that our direct debit payments would be going down to £50 (from £99) a month because based on last year’s usage they expect my bill for the next 12 months to be around £600. I don’t think this will be the case as I will have the wife and two kids here this year, and the heating will be on almost constantly during the winter. I am going to ask them to put the direct debit payment back up to £99 per month because of this. Then today I checked my bank and the £490 the Gas company owed me has been paid into my account. Do I need to declare this £490? If I use it to repair my car would this be seen as reasonable?

I became totally depressed on Champix and despite having stopped the treatment I still haven't had a cig but the depression hasn't gone.

Hi all, I went bankrupt at the end of last year and recently got a valuation for the house. I thought it was in negative equity but it turns out that the agent expected it to make about £155,000. I owe the mortgage and secured loan a total of £138,000, leaving £17k equity. My question is, will the OR look at the £155k valuation and the £138k owing and come to the same figure of £17k equity, or do they take off a percentage for a quick sale (for example, it was valued at £155k, take off 10% for an auction sale, so it's worth £140k-ish)? If I decide not to buy the beneficial interest, what will the OR do? Will they tell me to sell the house and set a specific minimum sale value, or do they repossess it and sell it themselves? Has anyone ever been in this situation?

I have been on Champix since the beginning of this month. During the first 10 days I went from 30 a day to about 7 or 8. On the 9th of February I gave up and for the first 7 days it was easy, but then I really got the craving last night (was watching the football and we went 1-0 down within a couple of minutes). One thing that has been a good side effect is that I used to drink about 4 or 5 cans of lager every night (yes, every night), but have only had 2 cans in the last 7 days. I just don't feel like drinking any more. I do tend to munch all day and I have had bad stomach pains for the last 2 days. Apart from that I have no real problems with Champix, but I am constantly thinking about cigarettes. Not craving, just thinking.

The debts are 4 credit cards and one Loan. She owes Halifax, HSBC, A & L, Co-op and Amex. The loan is about 2 years old, the credit cards from between 2004 and last year. The last proper payment was last August and reduced payments from September to November, nothing since. All of the letters are coming from the companies themselves except the Halifax, which is sending Albion after us, and Amex which has Newmans on the case.

Hi, My wife and I couldn't pay our non-priority debts since last August and my wife left me for a few months, with me paying her reduced payments for her. I have since gone bankrupt and therefore have bnot been able to make her payments. Does anyone know how long it is likely to be before her creditors start taking court action, and is there a way to prevent it? Should she start making reduced payments again?

Google "first plus complaints" where you will find nearly a 1000 other first plus customers with plenty of experience dealing with these people.

Thanks GottaDoit. I will duplicate everything, just in case.

I am completing the forms for myself and my wife and need to know if our assets should be listed on both forms. For example, do we both list the car on our forms? Do we both list the premium bonds?

I have already written to them asking why they didn't just send a photocopy of the signed agreement, like my other creditors did? I asked why they went to the trouble of photocopying 8 pages of a leaflet that doesn't bear any of my details and launching into a rant about what they are obliged to send under this and that law or regulation when they could simply have photocopied the 2 pages of the agreement and sent them to me. As far as I am concerned, they do not have the agreement (2003, was MSDW, then Goldfish, now BC) and they are trying to convince me that they have. We'll see.....

Well, thing are getting so bad that I am bordering on bankruptcy. My wife has left with the kids (gone back to her own country) and won't return until the debts have been sorted out. I think I will offer each one 10%, pointing out that if they don't accept they will only get around 1% from my assets (one 6 year old car and a house in £15000 negative equity. At least they have a choice.

None of my creditors have passed my debt to a DCA yet (it has only been about 3 months) but I was thinking of offering them a full and final settlement. Some threads I have read suggest that companies sell debts to DCAs for between 5% and 30%. Should I offer the companies that haven't supplied an agreement under my CCA section 78 request a F&F, or should wait until it goes to the DCA? My thinking is, if the DCA have purchased the debt, it will have been for about 30% Therefore I need to offer more than that in order for them to make their profit and accept. Others on this site seem to suggest waiting until the DCA purchase it. Any advice would be gratefully accepted.

Hi, I asked Barclaycard to send me a true copy of my credit agreement under section 78 and they sent a letter along with a photocopy of a credit agreement leaflet. They then waffled on about CPR not being applicable, even though I have never mentioned them in any letters. I know that there are some things which should appear on a true credit agreement (the prescribed terms) and they all appear in this leaflet. However, I wonder why they would send this leaflet (all 8 pages) and a full explanation of what they are obliged to send, rather than just photocopy the original agreement with my signature and send that instead. Surely the latter would be the best approach as it removes any doubt as to the enforcability of the agreement. Has anyone else ever recieved just a copy of the leaflet?

I have 15 creditors (some mine, some my wifes, some joint). We have told them that we can no longer afford to pay them and have had a couple of default notices through. Most of tm have refused our offers of reduced payments (about 10% of what we were paying). How long do you think it will be before I get a statutory demand through? And would it definitely lead to bankruptcy?

The thing is, I only opened a Lloyds account because I got a job in one of their companies. It was then sold to a private equity company which offshored my entire department and made me redundant. I have asked them to cancel the standing order but they have refused. The only money that has gone into that account for the last 11 months is their payment, as I have another main account. If I have asked them to cancel the standing order and they have refused, do I have a case for unfair terms, as they are manipulating my position to their advantage?

I got a letter from them yesterday. I had offered them £40 towards the loan and overdraft but they said "Thank you or your letter expalining your circumstances. Having looked at the information we do not accept your offer and will continue to take the full amount and apply charges and interest". Or something along those lines (I don't have the letter with me). What can I do under these circumstances? I have sent the £40 for this month, but every month they want to apply £215 in charges for the overdraft alone, and that doesn't include interest on the overdraft or loan. What can I do next? There must be another option open to me.

If you go to their website you see a button which says "Apply now". This tells me that this is an application form, not a credit agreement. If you complete the application they then tell you that in order to submit your application you must "sign" the credit agreement by ticking the 'I accept the terms & conditions' box. My question is, how can they ask you to sign a credit agreement before they offer you credit? Shouldn't they review your application, decide if you are worthy of credit, and THEN ask you to sign an agreement? If I walk into a bank and ask for a loan, they go through all the checks, decide if I am a suitable customer, then print off an agreement to sign. They DO NOT ask me to sign an agreement and THEN decide if they want to give me the loan. I haven't tried applying again, but if you try applying and then get to see the terms and conditions, do they conform to the regulations? Do they show the credit limit, or lack of one? If no credit limit, did any of your statements state that a limit had now been implemented, or did the first statement show a limit that was not shown on the terms and conditions?

Zhan, still reading through your original thread but have a question that I hope someone might be able to answer: Can they ask you to commit to a credit agreement BEFORE you are granted said credit? For online applications they ask you to complete a form and tick to say you agree to the terms and conditions. Are there any regulations that say " once credit has been granted", "once the decision has been made to grant credit" or anything like that? I think my main point is, can they really ask you to agree to what is effectively a contract when they give you nothing in return (if your application is refused)?