A question about : Questions about bankruptcy... (sorry for long post)
Hi all, some time ago now I put my first post on here telling the tale of the extremely deep and dark hole that I had somehow managed to dig myself into. I got a lot of positive feedback and now a few months later things have settled down slightly. My DMP with the CCCS is now under way and I pay Ј258 a month to them to sort everything out for me. It makes things a little tight, but I get by (though coming up to christmas it has been a bit tough).
I still get a couple of calls most days, but they all come to my mobile now and most I just ignore as its always the same old story of threatening action and demanding more money and I keep telling them the same thing. The letters have reduced hugely too, though I had a nice one from one of my creditors the other day threatening me with something called a 'charging order' against my property and also an 'attatchment of earnings' plus the usual threat of sending debt collectors around and getting a warrent of execution so they can send the bailiffs in, but generally its the same old unpleasent threats...
Anyway, the CCCS think that such actions are unlikely with my regular payments going through, so I just have to sit tight and wait and see. Some of my creditors have agreed to a reduced plan already, others still seem to be holding out and continue to threaten me as previously mentioned.
That just brings you up to date with how things have gone since my last post, I have a few questions for you experts about bankruptcy and especially anyone on here that has actually gone through it if any of you can take the time to give me some feedback.
Basically due to the huge amount of debt I have, in the long term I wonder how things are going to go. Its currently going to take me 25years to pay back what I owe at the above amount and I don't see how I can continue like this for such a long period of time, even if I manage to increase my payments a bit, the cost of living seems to keep going up and up above and beyond what miniscule pay rises I get once a year and I was considering bankruptcy as the way I see it, in 2-3 years time it could be over and done with (thoguh i aprpeciate my credit history will be effected for many years after, compared to 25 years of payments and having no life to speak of with a young family to bring up I don't know that I have much choice in the long run.
1) What are other peoples views on this?
2) Regarding Bailiffs trying to collect money from posessions during my dmp, am I right in saying that they cannot take anything that I do not personally own? For example, my wifes car which is registered to her and she paid for, the washer/dryer which she bought quite recently when our old one needed replacing, etc...
Also, in the case of bankruptcy, is it the same situation, i.e. if I declared myself personally bankrupt, they would not require my wife to hand over anything that she essentially owns?
2) Has anybody who has gone bankrupt managed to hold on to their homes? We are essentially about Ј20,000 in negative equity based on a good estimation of our properties value and on a jointly mortgaged house due to our original mortgage and a consolidation loan we took out when I was at my lowest and thought it was the only solution that is also secured on the house.
Early on in my talks with the CCCS they said something about being bankrupt and having no equity in your house (they used a proper term for it...), which I got the impression meant that if we wanted to stay where we live now and were happy to pay the jointly secured money on our property as normal that we shouldn't have too much of problem holding on to the property, but it was a bit vague!
It might sound crazy to some people, but despite being into negative equity, we really don't want to walk away from our home to get out of it if I were to declare myself bankrupt. We really like the area we are in (it is semi rural, close to a nice school and our places of work) and despite my level of debt, myself and my wife are both on a good wage and we are well settled there with our little girl. The main mortgage is fixed for the next two years, so at least we know what we are paying there, though the secured loan has crept up a bit. If I didn't have to pay Ј258 a month and wasn't obliged to increase it with any further pay rise I get, then we could be quite comfortable again in a couple of years time, especially when we don't have nursary fees to pay anymore.
I emailed the CCCS about it again, but just got a reply from their department that deals with bankruptcy saying they could only deal with such questions over the phone, but as I work mon-fri 8-5 by the time I get out they are shut and I much prefer email as it gives you something to refer back to and look up again and again. Hence why I thought I'd ask on here.
Incidentally, the CCCS have been very good generally speaking, emails about the day to day running of my accounts are answered very promptly (within 48hours normally), but even when I have managed to find the time to call them in their working hours, it can be hard getting through to them.
3) Can anybody who has gone bankrupt give me a feel for how things went and if they have since had any regrets?
What did it really cost?
Were there any complications?
Did you have to move out of your home?
Did you have somebody around to value your property?
Did you have somebody come around to examine your posessions for value or actually take things away?
What things CAN'T they take?
Did you lose your car?
Did you have to go to court in person and if so what did you have to do in your court appearence?
I have read the leaflet supplied by the CCCS about bankruptcy (which I believe is a government publication), but it just seems to give the cold hard facts and I wanted some real life examples.
Any feedback on the above would be greatly appreciated, sorry once again for such a long winded post...
Kindest Regards
DesperateDad
Best answers:
- please jump over to the bancruptcy club thread and have a read through it should answer most of your questions
- Echo what gis is saying - most of your questions will be answered already, and any that aren't - just ask.
See you in the club DD - No membership required, guests always welcome.
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