say i will have to pay or go to court

[val.s]

i went to the CAB about 4yrs ago about all my debts,and they got me help i was to pay £1. per month,now some of my so i am suppose to pay full amount,but i cannot affrod to do it so they say i will have to p[ay or go to court,but im only on widows pension and income support,i struggle now to pay all them £1 per month as my income is only £104.30 per week.please try to help me as its making ill all the worry

[ianmillington]

You must be worried to post at this time Val. I'm posting a very quick reply before getting off to bed.

How much do you owe in total?

Assuming you have no assets, I suspect you should go bankrupt. I think you should be going back to the CAB for help to do this. You should not have any Court fees to pay but there is a deposit to pay to the Official Receiver. You may just be able to get some help with this - ask your CAB advisor.

Ian

[MelanieGiles]

Hi Val

The CAB have various charitable schemes they may be able to offer you which will also save you the deposit as well - so it would be well worth a visit to them to see what alternatives they could now offer you.

Also, if your debts are less than £15,000, there is some new leglislation in the process of being implemented called a Debt Relief Order, which would enable you to be discharged from your debts at no cost to you. It is hoped that this will be available over the next year.

[Adam Davies]

Hi
Just a quick question..why is part of the fee for bankruptcy called a deposit,under what circumstances is it returned ?
Regards

[carlmcmullen]

Very good question Andy....

Cant answer it for you, but i to would be interested to know why it is called a deposit.

I had a freind who went bankrupt and the clerk adjourned his hearing for 14 days becuase he was not satisfied he had made a good enough attempt to deal with his debts, and gave him 14 days to provide evidence that he had, he had tried to negotiate himself with creditors but failed so he got letters from the to say they would not accept reduced payments and the clerk made him bankrupt.

But had he not been able to produce this info would they have refunded his deposit ?

Also do BR hearings often get adjourned ?

[Skippy]

I was told that if the court wasn't happy with my petition and I had to go back on another occasion I would have to pay the 'deposit' again. I don't know how true it was, but that's not what I would call a deposit!

It always strikes me as ironic that you have no money so you need to go BR as you can't pay your debts, but you still have to pay £485 for the privilege!

[MelanieGiles]

It is called a deposit, because this money is deemed to represent the amount to be expended by the Official Receiver in assessing the case initially - ie it is supposed to cover the Official Receiver's own costs. Deposits are also paid by creditors when presenting creditor's petitions as well, and these days the amount of the deposit is very unlikely to cover all of the Official Receiver's costs which are now calculated at £1,710.

In my experience it is becoming increasingly common for Courts to adjourn bankruptcy proceedings if they feel that a debtor is merely trying to get out of paying for their debts - and rightly so so far as I am concerned. I have recently had several referrals from Courts who have been concerned that an IVA would produce a far better return for creditors.

If a bankruptcy order is not made, then the deposit is refunded as it is not required as a contribution to costs.

[OPTIMIST12]

I remember when I approached CCCS when first seeking advice it was agreed that Bankruptcy would not be appropriate in my circumstances. The lady with whom I spoke told me that if I DID seek to file for Bankruptcy then it was likely that the court / judge? would advise me to go down the IVA road instead. In any event CCCS had already agreed that an IVA would be a viable option so this was not an issue for me. It is interesting to read that courts are refusing to proceed with cases where it looks like a debtor is using BR in a way that will harm return to Creditors.

Quite right too!!! If an IVA provides a higher return and the debtor has the means to enter one - then I agree with the stance adopted by the courts. Surely Bankruptcy should be decided upon only when every other option has failed?

[ianmillington]

If the Court thinks an IVA is more appropriate it can appoint an IP to report on whether an IVA is viable.

Assets must be over £2k, debts under £20k and no serious financial difficulties in the last 5 years.

Ian

[OPTIMIST12]

How would the Court decide which IP to appoint Ian?

Would they select a local one or are there certain IPs contracted to the Court Service to do this work?

Just curious!!!

[ianmillington]

A local one on their rota.