I located the Piggy Bankrupt site by accident whilst looking for information on the availability of bank accounts following bankruptcy. This was recently within the last month. I read as much information on the site as I could.
This site was different to me because it made me feel as if there could really be a light at the end of the tunnel. I was not at the stage where I felt confident enough to contact someone about the prospect of bankruptcy, hence wading through websites regularly trying to piece together what to do, is it the right thing etc.
I know deep down that bankruptcy is the only option for me. My biggest concern was my employment. I am a mortgage adviser and following bankruptcy I was scared that I will no longer be able to do this job. I had to be open with my employer and they are really helping me.
I liked the fact that this site gives you someone to speak with – Ann Marie. It made it all seem human to be rather than a cold phone number for a call centre. So, I felt comfortable calling her. I would urge anyone worried, frightened and not knowing which way to turn, in debt, incessant calls from creitors, unable to pay etc to do the same.
I have no connection with this site other than a person who is now arranging the bankruptcy. It is at early stages and I have a way to go but within the next few weeks all will be sorted out.
I can cope now that I know I have someone to guide and advise me. She did not judge me and is a straight talker within no emotional tie so that she can be detached and professional and see through my panic and concern.
There is a light at the tunnel, I now realise and if I had not made the call to Ann Marie, my sheer fear and worry would have just rolled on and on.
So my message is, ask for help, you might be surprised.
Hi, Steven here from Hertfordshire, Just like Mark “Piggy’s” experience, I came down from a successful career into ignominious bankruptcy. For many years between 1990 and 2002 I had been a successful computer programmer.
I had built my skills carefully around the business computing environment and between those dates had managed to move way up the salary ladder as the need and demand rose, particularly towards the so called year 2000 millennium bug fever. Having started at graduate salary level I made it up to a comfortable five figure salary with lots of benefits. I was the “Golden boy” unable to attend a Job Interview without successfully securing the job and a hefty pay rise each time.
Fine till I made a huge error of judgement in one of the jobs I took, finding myself effectively fired a short while before Christmas, massive bills, substantial credit debts, and the panic began to set in.
Somehow I muddled through nearly two years of ducking creditors calls, continuing to pay the mortgage, keeping the family fed via various relatively dead end jobs. During this time I worked part time at second and even third jobs, trying to earn enough to make all the payments. Even during previous years I had held at least one part time job on top of the full time computer career. I had resorted to using mailing addresses for most of my creditors.
I briefly secured one Computer job but it did not last and felt like more of a setback than the previous termination.
Eventually I ended up in a teaching role on a better but very low salary. I discovered that my debts were getting worse as due to mistakes on the part of previous employers I was now behind to the dreaded Revenue man. I was up to four bank current accounts with overfdrafts, several credit cards, a large loan that was falling behind, about to be joined by another loan to pay off the dreaded tax man.
I had ducked, dived and manipulated my way into the final blind alley it seemed. There was no way to get the payments any lower. There was no way to increase salary to meet it all, my relationship was failing miserably forcing me into moving out, thus incurring yet more expenses.
Naturally I continued negotiating with my creditors but they were now intractable about extending terms, or lowering payment amounts, they simply would not believe that my circumstances had worsened. So I started skipping payments each month which had the effect that some got paid and others didn’t.
Initially horror set in as the threatening demands came in but I discovered a key light at the end of the tunnel. After several missed payments, having sent apologies I can’t pay this letters to the creditors concerned, they started to negotiate with me, extending previously unextendable loan term lengths, reducing payments down to what I had originally offered and had refused. So for a short while I was paying full amounts, reducing interest AND capital owed. Amazing! All this because I followed some advice given to me.
The problem now was the spiralling extra living costs were pushing me back to the brink of arrears. At this same point in time it became apparent that I was now going to become a self employed small businessmen via an opportunity being offered to me, which I had accepted. So bang goes the regular salary thing making everything worse again. There are many who would call me selfish about this saying I should have stayed employed and struggled on. I care not, when you are this far down and somebody offers you a leg up at their own expense, you take it.
A short while into running the business, everything was piling up arrears again, money was not even coming in at the previous rate, the only thing I had managed to achieve was the transfer of the family home to the wife (securing the children’s living arrangements) and continued month to month survival of only the most basic living costs. Without my new friends around me I would have been on the street, without even a cardboard box.
Finally I referred myself to a debt advice agency, which clearly had vested interests in selling IVA’s etc, to see if I had any way out. I verbally detailed all the letters, negotiations, deliberate payment skips, etc together with the results and responses from creditors. I became aware of an intense hushed quiet on the phone. “Are you still there?” I asked. The advisor told me he was incredulous that I had negotiated £750 pcm payments down to £100 pcm payments via my system of letters. He said “Honestly I could not help you better, If I put you on an IVA or similar for the level of debt vs income you have you would pay more than you are now, I cannot believe you got the banks to agree to this its unheard of”. He advised me that my only recourse now was bankruptcy since I no longer owned any property or high value items it would be the cleanest way to rid myself of the millstone.
I thus prepared myself, and again with friends help I raised the necessary cash fees, exempted myself from some of the court fees due to ultra low income, and sat in front of the judge. A short hearing in what felt like a school classroom, and then the MAGIC words. “I order you bankrupt, you must NOT pay your debts, you MUST report to the Official Receiver.”
I came out shell shocked. I no longer owed thousands of pounds, to faceless banks. I reported to the O.R., and did all I was asked too. After a massive telephone interview it was clear that I just had to behave myself for a year, not take any credit and all would be well.
I did make two critical mistakes during the period of undischarged bankruptcy.
- I didn’t make arrangements for a bank account.
- One of my creditors had sent my debt out to a collection agency who was telephoning me at work and threatening me. I should have just sent the creditor a copy of the bankruptcy order and then they would have gone away.
During that year I had no bank accounts, no credit cards, lived hand to mouth on cash and handouts from friends as I could get no state benefits apart from an HC1 healthcare costs form.
Post discharge I set up a Nationwide account, (Cashcard only of course) and a passbook ISA account. These made life a little easier, but not much, typically I was not an adult trusted with a debit or credit card so most transactions were simply beyond me.
I pleaded with them several times post discharge but the same answer each time, “Wait SIX years, then we will look at your circumstances then!”
I did find out about Cashplus account, not from this site, and although sceptical at first, I have to say the best thing I ever did. Easy and cheap to set up, and the credit builder function has partly restored my credit rating.
The business closed, I took a job at a local company, wages are not stupendous, but they are all mine. Nobody gets a cut except the dreaded tax man, and he doesn’t get lots off me.
Another little result, (Its always the small wins that make you feel so good, isn’t it, is that Nationwide recently wrote to me, and advised me that due to changing payment processes/acceptances etc, they were “forcing” my account to change from cashpoint card only to non credit scored debit card. “WOOHOO!”. I am an adult again with the ability to make direct payments from my salary, over the internet, and in stores round the country if not even the world!
I think the reason this card works is because it is not a cheque guarantee card and does not offer credit. You can only spend what’s in the account, and since this account has no overdraft facilities, bingo no need to pass the dreaded credit scoring to have one.
So between Nationwide, Cashplus, and a lot of hard personal graft over nearly eight full years I am an adult again with plastic in my pocket that is underwritten only by real hard cash paid into it. No opportunities to fall into my bad old ways, the cards simply get declined if there are insufficient funds for the transaction. I am debt free, owing nobody anything except that which I must pay to maintain a roof over my head and the luxury of personal transport, which is a bought and paid for vehicle that has reasonably modest operating costs.
I can only say to you all. Read the articles in here and get advice. Work out what you can pay and pay it. Achieve write off on the rest if at all possible. In my opinion yes bankruptcy is a big step, and causes you some terrible hassles and headaches but nowhere near as much as the knock on the door or the ring of the phone demanding money you don’t have for a debt you can’t service, which bought goods and services long since past any use to you or the drain of seeing your bank account empty long before you have paid all your priority bills.
Once you have achieved freedom from debt, like I did, your life will be so much fuller and richer. You will look forward to getting up for work in the morning, knowing that every penny you earn no matter how little, is yours to spend as you see fit, nobody having a call or a charge on it, not disappearing in a cloud of mounting interest repayments.
I actually thoroughly enjoy spending money either by card or Real Cash. Yes I have to be careful, and some months I do run very close to total budget meaning a day or two of no spending at all if I have stupidly treated myself to some luxury earlier in the month. I kick myself on these occasions as a reminder not to be tempted to try and “Borrow” some, to tide me over. I never want those Credit leeches on my back again. I will spend what I earn and no more than that. If I can’t pay for it totally at the point of sale I won\’t buy it even if somebody is prepared to offer me some true form of credit, which I doubt at this stage.
Ok I have to rent my accommodation and not mortgage it, but then lots of folk have to do that, don’t they?
Please folks I say again, focus on getting the credit leeches off yourselves. Credit is not a pot of money you can spend, it’s a sea of debt and interest you have to repay. They only lend it so they can make a huge income off of your repayments.
Believe me, if you get to where I am now, you will enjoy life so much more. You may have a little less luxury than you have been used too but the buy now pay now approach will mean that you will eventually own most of the things you want outright provided you set yourself realistic goals.
For those of you who have done it, WELL done and keep fighting your way forward. For those of you thinking about it, work out the numbers and make the right decision for you.
Good luck and better times to you all!
