Bankruptcy

[Surfer01]

There is a chance that I may be forced to resign from my job on a "constructive dismissal" basis. I probably will be able to sue and win however in the interim I have about £15000 of debts that have to be paid.

At present credit file okay. I have the option of trying to pay these debts or declaring myself bankrupt. The issue is at present the wife and myself live in a touring caravan permanently on a site and the caravan is on HP. This is being done to try and pay off some of our debts without incurring CCJs etc.

The concern here is that if I go bankrupt will we also lose the caravan and our home or can the caravan HP be transferred into my wifes name. The caravan cost new about £18000 and second hand value is about £12000 at present. We owe less than £4000 on it.

In addition, her car is registered in her name and has been since purchase but it is also on HP and the HP is in my name.

As I am in my late fifties I cannot really see me getting another job quickly and ageism will form part of my claim. I don't really want people banging on our door in the middle of the night or being hunted by bailiffs for non payment.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[nathal]

you can negociate an underpayment plan with creditors or lenghten the hp term

[gizmo111]

As Nathal says you can enter into agreement to reduce payments for a while. I would suggest that you post here TMF: Dealing with Debt where you will get a wealth of good advice and ideas of your options.

 

Best wishes whatever you decide.

[cadencealex]

If you go bankrupt, you changing the caravans name to your wife will get you in trouble - they can go back 5 years too - a solicitor told us that only about 2 weeks ago.

 

They can't take your home off you, I am sure that it would work pretty much the same as a house (an asset) and as your wife lives in it with you, she will have a 50% claim to the caravan, so therefore would be expected to 'buy' you half of it to continue living in it.

 

However, seeing as you don't have a home to lose (meaning a 300k house or similar - which to buy half would be beyond your wifes predicament) ... it might make more sense to go bankrupt?

 

We saw a solicitor recently who told us to go bankrupt but there are so many things that can be done before we get to that stage, that we told him no way!

[Surfer01]

Up to now we have more or less managed our debts but now my disability has caught up with me and at present I am on SSP and have been so for the past 3 weeks. The job that I have was a temporary role through a recruitment agency but only finishes in December 2009. The chances of me getting back into back are pretty slim. I am 60 and my wife is 57.

Between the wife and myself we have the following joint loan; Firstplus balance £5600 outstanding. In addition, jointly we have two current accounts, Nationwide overdraft £1000 (all charges) done the SAR etc now on hold. Other is A & L no problems.

All the other debts are in my name, NR loan o/s £5000, Toyota Finance £6650, CC debt £1300 and these total to about £16000 and includes a HP agreement with a balance of £2800. Total value of the caravan is £10,000.

Regarding the HP agreement which is on a caravan, would it be possible to transfer the HP agreement into my wife's name in order to keep the caravan as we will be living in it full time for the next few years and then declare myself bankrupt as there is no ways I can afford to pay my debts and I do not want to be carrying them for the rest of my life.

[loobyloo85]

I am not an expert, but if you transfer an asset or give an asset away, this could be classed as a transaction under value in bankruptcy. You may be best off keeping it in your name, and speaking with the OR to explain the circumstances and the significance of keeping this caravan i.e it will be the place where you will be living in a few years time. You should be fine to keep this, especially if it is of a low value.

[Surfer01]

We have 5 creditors and between them we owe approximately £18,800. Two accounts are in joint names, one for £6000 with Firstplus and another for £750 the latter being an overdraft with Nationwide. The rest of the loans are the big ones and are in my name only.

We have a caravan if we sold it that would realise approximately £8000 but it has been up fopr sale for over a month and no takers although it is being offered at below market value. I my wife has a 1996 Volvo 440 worth about £500 which she uses to get to work and I have a 1997 Toyota HiLux 3.0L worth £3000. We live in a rural area with no transport.

The Toyota is taxed as a disability vehicle and I use it to get around and attend hospital and interview appointments. I sometimes use it to transport my mobility scooter.

I am aged 60 and since the company I worked for went under having great difficuty obtaining a job due to my age and disability. My wife has been off work for the past two months and has to go for further tests as she may may rheumatoid arthritis the same as myself.

We get housing & council tax benefits, I get DLA plus at the moment ESA for the past 2 weeks due to a relapse in my heath. The other incom has been my wife's SSP plus occupational sick pay which is due to stop next week and at this point there is a strong possibility that my wife will not be able to return to work.

If the caravan was sold plus her car it would only take at the most £8500 off the debt leaving us with over £10000 of debt. We have been making reduced payments via CCCs but when my wife comes off OSP our income reduces by another £100 per week making it very difficult or nearly impossible for us to meet our obligations.

Can I file a bankruptcy petition but the what happens with the two joint accounts? What if we are unable to sell the caravan at this point. There is approximatley £1900 outstanding on HP. Total value of the caravan with all the bits and pices is well over £12000 but we are selling for just over £10,000.

We have used up all our savings so no money in the bank now. All thsi worry about meeting our obligations every month si really stressing me out and making me ill when all i want to do is get a job and earn some money instead of living off benefits. I have no idea how people can survive solely on benefits and strill go away on holiday.

Your advice reference bankruptcy would be welcomed. Thanks.

[cerberusalert]

I'm afraid any a/cs in joint names would fall on the other party.. it is joint and several liability and they would then come after your wife. However, if her debts are less than £15K she could apply for a DRO see; Debt Relief Order - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Don't forget if you own property such as a house this would be included in your Bankruptcy. Have a read through What happens when you become bankrupt? : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

 

Because of your circumstances you would be better seeking the advice of an Insolvency Practitioner, if you go through CAB they should be able to refer you.

 

Meanwhile other posters will no doubt offer opinions and advice.

[Surfer01]

Although we have the overdraft with Nationwide which consists of charges etc, we have a joint account with HSBC which is squeaky clean and have had thsi account with them for a year. My DLA, ESA and any other benefit like winter heating and wife's wages are paid into this account.

Regarding the two joint accounts, the total full payment on these two would amount to £100 per month which would still leave us struggling and would take several years to pay off both.

We would also appreciate advice on the caravan which is on HP and how it woudl be handled. Also if I was to go ahead with bankruptcy, what is the cheapest way of doing it and how much woudl it costs as I cannot afford to pay some company to handle the process.

Edited May 10, 2010 by Surfer01

[cerberusalert]

If you read through What happens when you become bankrupt? : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits and follow the various links it will answer most of you questions about cost and any fee remissions you may be entitled to.

 

If you declare bankruptcy any bank a/c you have or hold jointly will be closed & you would have to open one afresh but you would not be allowed any overdraft or credit facilities.

 

Unless your wife does apply for a DRO it would be wise for her to open another a/c solely in her name at another unrelated bank then your creditors will not be able to take enforcement through 'offsetting' between a/cs or obtaining a Garnishee Order for example.

[Surfer01]

I had a read through it earlier but could not find any info if you already have a CCJ against your name and where there is a still a large balance owing. This is what has really brought it to a head.

[cerberusalert]

You never mentioned you already had a CCJ.

 

You are aware that you can apply for a 'Variation Order' if you cannot afford the the payment?

[cerberusalert]

You could apply to the court for a 'variation order' because of your change of circumstances. If you ring your local court offices they'll be able to give you the info you need & cost (I think it's £30).

 

See; ø N245 form ø

 

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n245_0204.pdf

 

Do I have to pay court fees ?

 

You may not have to pay a court fee if:

 

a) You are on Income Support, or

 

b) Working Tax Credit, where child tax credit is being paid or there is a disability or severe disability element and the gross annual income taken into account for the calculation of working tax credit is £15,450 or less, or

 

c) Income based Jobseekers Allowance, or

 

d) Guarantee credit under the State Pension Credit Act 2002, or

 

e) Payment of a fee would cause hardship to you.

 

f) You are in receipt of "Legal Help" from a solicitor, or

 

g) You are in receipt of a "funding certificate" from the Legal Services Commission. You must complete court form "Ex160", (application for a fee exemption or remission) for each court fee you cannot pay for one of the above reasons.

Edited May 10, 2010 by cerberusalert

[Surfer01]

Thanks. The CCJ is very recent and the amount payable per month has not been agreed as yet, although there was a suggested figure based on my spouse being in full time employment. At the moment it is between the solicitor and myself to agree a figure prior to a hearing. The figure was based on what I was paying Toyota finance (loan not HP) through CCCs. originally on the loan agreement that ahs the CCj the original monthly payment figure was £192, then £160, then £130 and finally £97. Although we never missed a payment they still decided to go ahead with the CCJ. Now we will need to reduce the payments even further down to about £50 a month and at that rate just this one debt will take 12 years to pay off when I should be enjoying my retirement.

I feel very bitter because I worked darn hard for everything and we are now losing everything I worked for through no fault of mine and now no one is interested in employing me even though i have experience and good qualifications.

However altogether we are at present having difficulties paying our creditors due to the huge drop in my wife's income. We had no issues until the company I was working for went unexpectedly into administration.

We have tried to cope so far but it is now just getting on top of me not knowing which way to turn. We can't even afford to go out for a drive and are cooped up in the house all day watching Tv or reading a book as that is all yu can do

[cerberusalert]

Thread moved to the bankruptcy Forum.

[Surfer01]

Thanks for the help