Advice on Personal Bankruptcy please

[hibbs]

OK so this morning I had a relative ring me in tears, she has no one else to turn to etc. She has got herself into a terrible financial situation which she doesn?t know how to rectify. She is a single parent, hasn?t worked for the last 7 years and lives in rented accommodation, her only asset as far as I understand is her car which isn?t worth much. Somehow over the last 8 years she has got herself into 30,000 pounds worth of debt via credit cards and a loan company. There is absolutely no way she can pay this amount back and is currently receiving notes through her door from said loan company. She is distraught and worried for her son. She has spoken to a debt helpline and they have advised her to file for personal bankruptcy.

I have absolutely no idea what the above entails and feel helpless as I cannot offer her any advice and she cannot ask any of the other relatives as they are rather old and she doesn?t want to burden them with the worry of it all. I wonder if there is anyone here who can offer any sort of advice on how she should proceed please. If she goes down this route will they be entitled to take all her possessions? Will it cost more money to apply for bankruptcy? Any advice and I mean any would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[legalbeagle]

Hibbs - sorry to hear about that, it sounds very distressing. Take a look at http://www.government-debt-advice.org and their advice on Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA).

[hibbs]

Thank you, thank you. It is indeed very distressing and I feel awful because I have no idea what to do. I will ensure she looks at the link today. Thanks again.

[legalbeagle]

You're welcome. It sounds like an IVA, whilst a bit daunting, might be the way to go, depending on her income. It would stop the permanent pestering from various creditors, which is very distressing, and hopefully make her feel more under control. Sorry my posts are brief but it's better to read all the information carefully than for me to summarise! It's a good website - make sure she avoids ones that are effectively just from loan companies, and seeks help from government backed schemes.

Good luck.

[Acid Casual]

Very sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately I can't really offer a great deal of advice, but I really feel for anyone who has fallen into this position. It is easier achieved than most people would think. Two or three twists of fate and a great many of us could be there.

I do recall that my brother in law was in the exact same position and filed for personal bankruptcy. After the initial pain, stress, depression, resignation etc, he began to get his life back together and is (relatively speaking) doing a lot better now.

However, he was relatively young, had nothing to lose and no dependents etc. I would stop short of offering the same advice to your relative because I can't speak for her circumstances (implications of children etc) but for my brother in law it was a clean slate, although painful at first.

Really hope that she manages to battle through and come out the other end.

[Acid Casual]

By the way, it has just occurred to me - and maybe one of the more legally minded professionals can confirm/challenge this view, but if the loans company is an any way acting contrary to the spirit rather than the letter of the law (by being oblique in their terms or misleading) there might be a fair few loopholes to look into.

I'm sure I read of a case where this happened recently. The loan company was deemed to have acted illegally and the debt was written off.

Not to want to get anyone's hopes up unduly, but I'm sure the CAB or Consumer Direct might be able to help.

Just a thought...

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Martin Lewis' site gives lots of good advice for getting out of debt, including bankruptcy: money saving expert

[SteveT]

Citizens advice bureau is a very useful place to visit, they wont pay the debt, but they will be able to reassure her and

she would feel less isolated at this her most miserable and vunerable of times.

[woofmarkthedog]

Acid Casual Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> By the way, it has just occurred to me - and maybe

> one of the more legally minded professionals can

> confirm/challenge this view, but if the loans

> company is an any way acting contrary to the

> spirit rather than the letter of the law (by being

> oblique in their terms or misleading) there might

> be a fair few loopholes to look into.

>

> I'm sure I read of a case where this happened

> recently. The loan company was deemed to have

> acted illegally and the debt was written off.

>

> Not to want to get anyone's hopes up unduly, but

> I'm sure the CAB or Consumer Direct might be able

> to help.

>

> Just a thought...

_____________________________________________________

I think...

What you'll find is the debt is not enforceable/ collectable , it isn't written off

Set aside maybe , for now

Be very cautious here

W**F