10 years ago I was made redundant and snce then I have not been able to get one.. the age thing. I am now 67. We went into financial problems an entered into a credit agreement/IVA. 5 years ago my husband went into shorttime, the bills accummulated and we had to sell the house to survive. We paid off a loan as well. We carried on paying the fixed amounts to our creditors and didn't tell them we sold. Did we do something illegal? I am really worried. We are now on benefits because my husband was made redundant after 10 years with a company and prospects of work are slim due to his age. Please can I have your opinion?
Hi M.29 and welcome to the Forum
It sounds more like a debt management plan you are on as you are paying each creditor individually. These are not legally binding and selling your home was not a crime. It is unfortunate that you did not seek advice from an IP firm as you would be more than likely debt free now but it may be worth seeking some free advice as if there are still debts and you have no assets you should seriously consider bankruptcy.
Just out of curiosity, who advised you to make reduced payments to creditors when you were aged 62?
Yes we still have debts and Eurodebt is paying them on our behalf every month, for the last 10 years. We are in rented accommodation but as you know we havent told them and as far as they are aware we still have a mortage. It only hit us that we could have done something horribly wrong when a year later we received the Statements of Account to be submitted to our creditors. We went into panic mode and decided to live it as it was. And in panic we have lived for the last 3 years! Can you tell me a bit more about bankruptcy? Do they take away all our furniture, Tv's, white goods etc and the miserable savings we have for emergencies? What can we expect if we do ahead with it? HELP!
Helen wrote:
Hiya M
Just wanted to welcome you to the forum an say Hi.
Do you still have dbts as Michael asks? Bankruptcy could be an option for you and if you no longer own your home.... do you rent now?... it could be the solution you need.
Post a bit more hun and we'll advise as much as we can
What are the statements of accounts to be submitted to creditors? 10 years of paying creditors in some sort of debt management plan with no end in sight is a disgrace. Your furniture, white goods etc are exempt in bankruptcy provided the coffee table is not a Chippendale. Your savings could pay the bankruptcy fees which would be £360 each if you are on benefits and qualify for exemption to the £150 court fee.
Bankruptcies seem very attractive options and I would be loathe to pay any more money to any firm or creditors until you get some proper advice.
Every year we get a statement from Eurodebt, showing all our income and expenditure,which we have to upadated, sign and send back to them. That is then submitted to our creditors and they accept it and we carry on paying. We got into this financial mess 10 years ago when I was made redudant and could no longer pay our debts. We sold the house and opened a small business which failed 2 years on so we closed it as we were throwing good money after bad. Our lives is a mess!
Can you suggest anybody that could give us advice on bankruptcy and what the pros and cons would be? Sorry to be such a PAIN!
Michael Peoples wrote:
What are the statements of accounts to be submitted to creditors? 10 years of paying creditors in some sort of debt management plan with no end in sight is a disgrace. Your furniture, white goods etc are exempt in bankruptcy provided the coffee table is not a Chippendale. Your savings could pay the bankruptcy fees which would be £360 each if you are on benefits and qualify for exemption to the £150 court fee.
Bankruptcies seem very attractive options and I would be loathe to pay any more money to any firm or creditors until you get some proper advice.
Your case is probably quite a mess at this stage and perhaps your local CAB would be the first port of call. Given that there may or may not have been payments made to your creditors over the last ten years and you have moved property, it could be difficult to find out how much you owe and to whom. This could be done post bankruptcy but there is also the possibility that either or both of you have debts as individuals of less than £15,000. If so debt relief orders could be appropriate and the CAB can prepare these for you.
Ring them and make an appointment and explain everything that has happened for the last ten years. You do not appear to have done anything wrong but it does seem your advice was dubious to say the least.
I would take Michael's advice and have a chat with the CAB, not knowing too much about bankruptcy myself I cannot comment but know there are other posters with correct knowledge who will be along very shortly.
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free 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
I would do as the experts have suggested, either speak to the CAB or an advisor at your debt management company. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can move on with your lives without the worry.
Good luck and please let us know how you get on xxx
