A reader asked: I have received a letter saying we still owe £4,000 in council tax. The debt was included in my bankruptcy a few months ago but they are chasing my wife for the full amount, what should we do? This article looks at what happens to joint debts which are unsecured, not mortgages or secured loans. It covers all three forms of insolvency - bankruptcy, DROs and IVAs - because the … [Read more...]
Articles about Bankruptcy
This page lists all Debt Camel's articles about Bankruptcy in date order.
If you are thinking about going bankrupt, or are already bankrupt and have a problem, start by reading Debt Camel's Guide to Bankruptcy. That looks at how to decide if bankruptcy is right for you by providing you with the information you need. It also looks at the process of going bankrupt and what can happen when you are bankrupt. From "will I lose my house" to "how can I repair my credit record after bankruptcy" it covers all the common questions people have.
Pensions safe in bankruptcy after Appeal Court decision
Following an Appeal Court ruling on Horton vs Henry, published in October 2016, pensions are once again safe if you go bankrupt. The full judgment is here. The background to this case was: before 2000, pensions formed part of a bankrupt's estate and would be taken once the bankrupt reached pension age; the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act changed this. For people going bankrupt after … [Read more...]
Is my house safe if my new partner goes bankrupt
Ms P asked "I want my partner to move in with me but he may have to go bankrupt so we need advice on the timing. He has got a lot of debt trying to keep his business going but it doesn't seem to be working. I have a house with a lot of equity and we don't want this to be at risk at all. The question is if he moves in now and goes bankrupt in a few months, will that cause a problem? Or is it … [Read more...]
How to complete the online bankruptcy application
In 2016, an online Bankruptcy Application was introduced in England and Wales. When you submit the online Application it is checked by the Insolvency Service Adjudicator who makes the Bankruptcy Order. The online application is a huge improvement on the old court forms! As a result, more people are now choosing bankruptcy, see Court-free clickable bankruptcy 'removes stigma'. The online … [Read more...]
How to pay your bankruptcy fees
You can pay your bankruptcy application by debit card or cash. If you are paying by card, you can do this in instalments. The payment methods are all explained in the new online application. I'm going through it in detail here as you might like to understand how this will work but don't yet want to start a bankruptcy application. If you want to know more about the rest of the bankruptcy … [Read more...]
Must I tell Official Receiver what I spent money on
A reader asked if he has to give the Official Receiver details of his expenditure. If the expenditure is before he went bankrupt, the answer is "Yes, definitely - but this probably won't be in a huge amount of detail". But if he is worried about whether he has to report to the Official Receiver about his spending while he is bankrupt, the answer is "No, not normally". Expenditure before you … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy, IVA, DRO & your credit rating
If your debts are so bad that you are going to have to choose one of the three types of insolvency, you know this will wreck your credit rating, but how long will this continue? This article answers this and other you may have about the effect of insolvency on your credit record such as Will you ever be able to get credit again? What about a mortgage? Is bankruptcy worse than an IVA or a DRO for … [Read more...]
Repossession after bankruptcy – be careful!
What do you need to do if you want your house to be repossessed after you go bankrupt in England, Wales or Northern Ireland? Perhaps the house is unaffordable, has negative equity, or it's the wrong size for you. For whatever reason, you want to move out, are happy for the mortgage lender to repossess and may want to "hand back the keys" as fast as possible to get it all over with. The … [Read more...]
How IVA, DRO or bankruptcy affect affordability complaints
If you have been insolvent - bankrupt, had an IVA or a Debt Relief Order (DRO) - then you need to know how this affects a claim for a refund for a financial product. You can't make a new claim for a PPI refund - the deadline for this passed at the end of August 2019. But you can still make affordability complaints and other sorts of compensation eg for packaged bank accounts. New credit … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy – will the OR make me …. ?
Debt Camel's bankruptcy information looks at the major questions most people have about bankruptcy - will my job be affected, what will happen to my house etc. There are two other types of queries that people have: concerns about their assets, which I covered in a previous article, and worries about what powers the Official Receiver has to control people's lives, which I am going to be looking at … [Read more...]