bankruptcy help

[ihatemylife]

first of all a bit of background about me , a few of you may remember my previous post about me being caught stealing from my employer and that i am a regular poster but this is an anonymous account so not to cause embarrasment to myself.

things have been fine for my daughter , she has had the help she needs and has stopped the self harming

i have stayed out of trouble but as expected i have been unable to get a job so i am on job seekers allowance.

i have always had trouble with debt, i am totally useless at budgeting and always spend way too much on everything and buried my head in the sand over repayments.
i need to sort my life out as i no longer know how much i owe or to who but i have had bailiffs and high court enforcement officers at my door lately over council tax arrears. i owe 2 local authorities about £5000 in council tax arrears and they are now un willing to accept anything but full payments .
please dont lecture me about paying things back as i know i am in the wrong but i cant go on like this so i feel the only solution is bankruptcy .
would bankruptcy clear my council tax debts or will they still apply ?

thank you in advance

[Asterix]

Have you been to the CAB?

Do they still help and advise with this sort of thing?

[GTIR]

Yes. My mate has just been to CAB. They do require lots of paperwork and they can be a bit anal but they've helped him.

[Martin4x4]

There are a few debts that are exempt, fines and court ordered (re)payments such are child support or repayment of fraudulent or over paid benefits and student loans. Unpaid taxes are included. I suggest you read the following.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...

[Chrisgr31]

If the bailiffs have been round you'll need to be careful especially if they have listed any items for taking and selling.

[MrsMiggins]

Have a read of https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/...

[surveyor]

Martin4x4 said:

There are a few debts that are exempt, fines and court ordered (re)payments such are child support or repayment of fraudulent or over paid benefits and student loans. Unpaid taxes are included. I suggest you read the following.

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http:/...

I don't think this is correct in regard to Council Tax. Take expert advice.

[PurpleMoonlight]

Yes they are included.

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/insolvency/personal-i...

[andy-xr]

Speak to Step Change. They're very good at organising things, and will communicate with your lenders for you. The best thing to do is start talking, debtors get nervous when there's no news, so any updates, any token payments, even £1 starts to make things look better.

I've worked with Step Change before for an IVA, they walked me through all possible options, from Debt Relief Orders through to bankruptcy and advised on what the best options would be.

Even with bankruptcy you wouldnt walk away without paying anyone anything, there's still a few hoops to jump through. Ironically it can cost you more money to go bankrupt than going through an IVA/Debt Mgmt plan

Give them a bell, complete their online form for initial advice and get half an hour on the phone with them, it'll be worth it and take a weight off your shoulders

http://www.stepchange.org/

PS - they're a charity

[bacon11178]

Another charitable organisation to try: http://www.payplan.com/

[andymc]

I think IVA is now looked on as just as bad as BR, you need to seek proffessional advice

http://www.bankruptcyhelp.org.uk/

[robinessex]

IF you don't own any property, which can be taken, then go bankrupt. Sure, some debts aren't cancelled by this, but if you ain't got a job, then you can't get money out of a stone.

[Pot Bellied Fool]

Did you sign anything when the Bailiffs called? If you signed a Walking Posession Order then they can come & grab stuff. Otherwise don't let them in but don't leave any windows open either. Certainly don't let them in 'to use the telephone' or any similar ruse.

Get some advice asap.

Plenty already been mentioned but also recommend http://www.oakdaleinsolvency.co.uk/help-for-indivi... - a commercial outfit but not an IVA farm, they'll have a chat for free & point you in the right direction.

Or put a post on The Fools Dealing with Debt forum - http://boards.fool.co.uk/dealing-with-debt-50079.a... - where a lot of people who really know their onions hang out.

[jesta1865]

andymc said:

I think IVA is now looked on as just as bad as BR, you need to seek proffessional advice

http://www.bankruptcyhelp.org.uk/

i think it is, but some professions don't have the luxury (if it's that) of going bankrupt, the BiB I am led to believe are in this boat.

I know someone who has dealings with PayPlan, he was in a state after his business failed (thanks to barclays not him) and they helped him a lot, seems to take a while and lots is done by snail mail, but it helped sort his debtees(?) out and stop the constant phone calls.

[s p a c e m a n]

In general bailiffs aren't the great big scary blokes that you see on TV, they're mainly just over worked paper pushers. Unless you leave the front door wide open all they want to do is throw a piece of paper through your letterbox to show that they've attended your address and move onto the next one as they'll try to charge £250ish for each visit.

They make their money from the initial fee and visiting your address, it's too much effort for too little gain to take stuff from your house. They're expecting you to phone up and pay them off in installments, of which they can turn up at your house every time you're a day late. Your debt won't go away if you ignore them but it's very unlikely they'll try breaking into your house, they'll just pass it back to the court that issued it.

[Chrisgr31]

s p a c e m a n said:

In general bailiffs aren't the great big scary blokes that you see on TV, they're mainly just over worked paper pushers. Unless you leave the front door wide open all they want to do is throw a piece of paper through your letterbox to show that they've attended your address and move onto the next one as they'll try to charge £250ish for each visit.

They make their money from the initial fee and visiting your address, it's too much effort for too little gain to take stuff from your house. They're expecting you to phone up and pay them off in installments, of which they can turn up at your house every time you're a day late. Your debt won't go away if you ignore them but it's very unlikely they'll try breaking into your house, they'll just pass it back to the court that issued it.

Whilst I agree that the bailiffs arent the big scary guys you see on TV because the boring world of most bailiffs doesn't make good TV!

However the rules on what they can charge for have changed! Only know them for business rates, and even then can't recall the exact amounts. However its something like £75 for a letter of enforcement, then its around £225 for a visit plus 7.5% of the value of the debt over £1,500, and then extra similar charges if they have to seize goods. But you'll only get 3 sets of charges irrespective of the number of visits.

Other debts work in a similar way

[Agrilla]

V

andy-xr said:

Speak to Step Change. They're very good at organising things, and will communicate with your lenders for you. The best thing to do is start talking, debtors get nervous when there's no news, so any updates, any token payments, even £1 starts to make things look better.

I've worked with Step Change before for an IVA, they walked me through all possible options, from Debt Relief Orders through to bankruptcy and advised on what the best options would be.

Even with bankruptcy you wouldnt walk away without paying anyone anything, there's still a few hoops to jump through. Ironically it can cost you more money to go bankrupt than going through an IVA/Debt Mgmt plan

Give them a bell, complete their online form for initial advice and get half an hour on the phone with them, it'll be worth it and take a weight off your shoulders

http://www.stepchange.org/

PS - they're a charity

Absolutely this.

[andy-xr]

Checking in, seeing if you've made any progress.

Also, was thinking about something this morning, if you're on the electoral roll then people will find you if you owe anything to them. Debt will be transferred to a specialist recovery company who'll look you up, so no need to go looking, they'll do the work

Every recovery company I've dealt with have been pretty decent. They just want you to acknowledge the debt in the first place, then give them an update on what you're doing about it, even if it's nothing.