Thank you Melanie. I am still astounded at how much time you, and other IPs invest in these forums.
I agree that people often respond better to others in similar situations to their own, but I really do hope that everyone out there going through any debt problems appreciate the time and effort you put into helping us all. Some people are paying huge amounts of money for the advice you are willingly giving.
And I don't want to mislead people, going BR is often not the right decision and it is very important that people have access to IPs to help them make the right choice for their circumstances and their future.
I am sorry for not keeping you all updated over the last few weeks. I had my interview with the insolvency office on 17/11 (my birthday...) and it was absolutely fine! I didn't sleep and was really scared but he was lovely and just wanted to understand my financial position without judging etc!
Since then I have had several problems (such as still being taken to court over a debt even though the company was informed I was BR) and the OR has given me enormous amounts of time and advice to help me through things like this.
Another thing worth mentioning, the OR actually increased my budget (for things like dry cleaning and electricity to accomodate the market increases and the fact I have to wear suits to work). Their ethos is that people have to be able to live on what they are left with, there is no point in making it so hard that I would have to look for credit again - it defeats the object! And it was nice to have them be so understanding.
The other thing I wanted to mention was my flat. Obviously this has been a big concern for me, but the OR has no interest in trying to sell it due to the current market and have offered me the option of taking it out of the bankruptcy. I am so relieved! But none of this would have worked out if the OR hadn't been so understanding, and if I hadn't been completely honest with them. I held nothing back and made my income statement as true to form as I could, so they have appreciated my honesty and effort.
The one thing I have learnt, be honest with the OR, they dont really care how / why you are in this position (unless there is fraud or gambling involved) and they really just need as much information as possible to deal with the debts, not to judge you!
The other thing that I know from experience, if you spend time helping the OR as / when they need info they will be more than happy to do the same for you. My OR has been brilliant and I am so pleased with how everything has worked out.
Very good post Sallya. I am so glad to see that your experience of bankruptcy is turning out to be so positive.
It will be a great help to posters on here who are not sure what to do, and for anyone hovering in the background.
Good luck for the future.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
That's a great post Sallya, I'm glad your OR was fair and as Jan says, it will be helpful for others thinking about bankruptcy. Good luck for the future.
It is refreshing to read a complimentary post for a change about the Insolvency Service. These people work very hard, and most offices are understaffed, so thank you for sharing those comments with us.
Melanie, we've had a few chats over this forum, and again i dont want people to underestimate the value they get from people like you dedicated to helping!!! You deserve more thanks than you can imagine! but yes, thankfully for me the OR has been wonderful and I actually do feel llke I could get my life back, its not been easy but I knew that.
Tomorrow I am meeting up with one of the other BR's I met at court, and i really hope his experience is as painless as mine...
Can you tell me why a company can go in to adminstration on a friday and start a new company on the monday with a slightly different names, same building same eevrything and do it several times, how do they get away with it.
I had a customer who went in to liquidation, but becasue him and his wife owned the building and machinery and not the company, nothing could be liquidated
In truth James - I probably have more corporate insolvency experience than personal, as this is all I did for the first 15 years of my career - and I still do a fair bit of corporate insolvency work! To be a really good IP, you do have to have an all round knowledge and experience in my opinion.
The point you raise is a good one - we call it phoenixism in the profession - and it was hoped that the various changes in insolvency legislation we have seen over the last few years would go some way to limit directors of companies being able to do this. In truth, there is nothing to stop them acting as you suggest - given that a limited company is a separate trading entity, and therefore if it falls into insolvency the former officers are free to set up in business again, so long as they pay a fair market price for the company's assets and are not subject to any disqualification proceedings.
I do accept that this may be very frustrating for creditors and employees who are on the receiving end, but we do have to balance this with the fact that business failure is a fact of life in an enterprising society, and it would not be right to stop people from having another go, so long as they do not become serial offenders. HMRC are very good at monitoring this in fairness.
Just wanted to add to what Sallya has said about the insolvency service.
Provided that you work with them and provide all the information - often before before being asked - then they can clearly see that you are cooperating and not trying to hide anything.
I am also seeing a huge rise in court action AFTER bankruptcy relaring to CCJ's , interim and final charging orders.
Even though we write to all the creditors with a copy of the bankruptcy order, and in several cases the OR has written as well, the creditors are either VERY slow in actioning this or have decided to keep going or just don't understand.
Councils pursuing Commercial rates for individuals, and NR for charging orders for the Together part of the mortgage are the most common.
Paul Johns
Reviva UK
Assisted Bankruptcy Specialists www.revivauk.com
yes, I can agree with that, I had a charging order that was awarded after the bankruptcy, and four months later, hubby got court papers for a credit card debt, both cases were NROck! They were informed on numerous occasions of the bankruptcy but carried on anyway [:0]
What upsets me most about these cases that go to court even after bankruptcy is that I now have to add the court fees etc to my debt, and I feel that its a little unfair (both to the court and to me) that more costs are being accrued when its been made perfectly clear to all involved that I am not in a position to pay them. And as the OR has said to me, even if I could pay it isn't the right thing to do as that is seen as favouring one debt over another which goes against the bankruptcy agreement.
Presumably the charging order isn't worth the paper it's written on! What a waste of their money.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
Yes, you're right Kallis - the charging order is completely meaningless if someone is bankrupt. I got an "apology" letter from the law firm involved, however I am now considering telling them to pay the court fees etc as they have openly admitted that they were wrong to go to court (esp as they had advised me there would be no court case due to my bankruptcy). But its a shame it even has to come to this, I seem to spend at least 5 hours a week talking to / writing to my creditors about my bankruptcy because they continue to send me threatening letters etc. Its a waste of my time and theirs but doesn't seem to stop them.
Having said that, perhaps the courts need to have better procedures in place so that they aren't making judgements against bankrupts. But as to how they could manage this...? They are so busy and have so much paperwork to deal with perhaps they are right in hearing cases on "good faith" and relying on the baristers / law firms involved to only bring relevant cases to them?
Perhaps these companies are hoping that they can get the order in before you go Bankrupt.
I think I would write once to the creditors, and then ignore all the letters.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.
Bob Marley. http://kallis3.blogs.iva.co.uk
