Bankruptcy - what will they take from my house and what to expect?

[wurzelyzf]

Hi Antarctica,sorry to hear of your situation. Hopefully i can be of help or atleast relief. I went Bankrupt yesterday (30.06.2009) and it nothing like as daunting as you think. I have recently found myself unemployed for the first time ever (i'm only 33 but never been out of work) therefore i am also on benefits and myself and my wife get the same amount of benefit as you. I had to pay the obligatry £360 for the bankruptcy but the court admin costs of £150.00 were wavered because i currently recieve jsa,the form you'll need for this is an EX120 form. All you need to fill in is your name and address and tick which benefit you recieve and thats it.

As for the actual bankruptcy form i was really worried about this but again it's really straightforward. I don't own my home so no complications there,i don't have a car or business either so really straightforward.

All you do is obviously write your name and address,list your creditors both secured and un-secured,how much you owe each and what each debt was for,ie; credit card, personal loan etc. Then add it all up (it'll be a shock at the end,i expected £17k but was actually £27.5k! It ask's for any bank accounts and whether they are used to have your income paid into regularly.

They'll need your income and expenditure but you are not required to list exactly where your income comes from,if it's all benefits then thats all you have to write.

After that there is a box where you are asked to write a brief reason as to why you have found yourself in this situation. Thats it!

No bank statements required, no letters from creditors etc.

I went in the court yesterday at 1.15pm by 2.15 pm i was on my way home again debt free.

You'll speak to the official reciever who will just confirm your name and address and contact number and thats it all done. Because mine was so straightforward i didn't even have to speak to the judge i just sat in the waiting room.As for your concern about what they can take,don't worry. Unless you have anything of considerable value they'll nothing. There is a section in the form that asks if you have any clothes or furniture etc of any exeptional value if you don't then they are not interested at all,your pc,laptop,tv,furniture and other household items are quite safe i assure you.

Sorry for the long reply,if you think of any other questions feel free to pm me or to reply on this thread. Good luck and don't worry it's no where near as daunting as you first think,i know. Dave.

[wurzelyzf]

You're very welcome. I agree it seems a bit ridiculous having to find so much money when you have no money but it is definately worth the effort. You can get some companies to make you bankrupt if you owe over £700 to them but it will take ages,you'll have to go through the ccj's balliffs and loads of time before they do that which is obviously very frustrating and stressful. Better i think to just put as much away as you can to raise the £360. If necessary go bankrupt one at a time,thats what we're doing. Now going to save up so my wife can do it.

When you do do it make sure you list EVERYTHING,including any unpaid energy bills,council tax.tax credit overpayments EVERYTHING. They might not be able to wipe everything but if it's down there then they'll certainly try.

[wurzelyzf]

If only we had thought of this before our Credit ran out then we could have used the credit to become bankrupt! - oh well!

lol,yeah thats exactly what we said too. Still,live and learn i guess.

[wurzelyzf]

There is another way to get the money,it's a little under hnded but it worked for me. Stoppaying your energy bills and use that money for the bankruptcy,then when you fill out your bankruptcy forms list those unpaid bills as part of your bankruptcy then when it's all done change energy providers.

I'm not saying this is what you should do as it's a bit desperate but then desperate times etc, this is what i ended up doing and it worked for me.

[wurzelyzf]

So basically telling you what you already knew. With reference to getting a loan ie provident,i seem to remember in the bankruptcy pack it mentions something about aquiring credit just before you go bankrupt,i think it says that it will still be payable,there is also the other opinion that if you take out credit in the knowledge that you have no intention of re paying it then it will count as fraud/dishonest behaviour and again will not be included and therefore still payable, i think?

[wurzelyzf]

Antarctica,well done! I'm so glad you managed to do it,proper weight off your minds i'll bet? The phone call is nothing to worry about,really just to check through the details on your forms and generally to assertain how you got yourself in the situation. He (or she) doesn't judge in any way just doing their paperwork too. Then they contact all your creditors. Actually i had 2 debt letter s arrive today,i called them and as usual they were very aggressive initially trying to get me to pay and telling me how much more it would cost if i didn't blah blah blah,then i mentioned that i was declared bankrupt and they immediatelt deflated,and when i gave them my ref no for the bankruptcy i thought they were gonna cry lol. Don't get me wrong i'm not proud that i went bankrupt as i would have preferred to be working and paid what i owed but at the same time i can't deny that i felt a slight twinge of glee when i shut them up. Can't wait for a letter from either Blair oliver scott or Bryan Carter and co. Well done once again to both of you,the worst is over now.