| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| nicki |
Posted - 21 September 2008 : 18:53:54
hi just thought i would let everyone know my story.i applied for an iva in january.i had £30,000 of debt,partly from when my partner was sick and i was paying for the 2 of us to live and also again when he was hit with a massive csa bill and half his wages were being taken.the other part was over spending on my part although i like to blame him more especially now he s an ex!!
the iva took ages to go through and the company were shocking and made a lot of mistakes which certainly didnt help my stress levels.it was finally accepted in april after i had to make a change after splitting with my partner in march and i made 3 payments (£320).i still struggled massivley and i realised i had gone in to this decision too quickly.i had £50 left to live on for the month and by week 3 i was borrowing again from my mum which i hated doing.it didnt help that i smoke although i cut down by half.i was constantly worried about money and my mum made a free appointment for an hour with a solicitor who was fantastc.she advised the iva was unrealistic and would in no doubt fail at a later date as there wasnt enough lee way (sure ive spelt that totally wrong)she advised me the best way forward would be to go bankrupt.this is the one thing that i wanted to avoid and had said at the beginning i definately wouldnt do.thinking things through though i came to the conclusion it would be the only way forward and that if i didnt do it at this stage it would probably still come to it later so i bit the bullet and got the forms.
i booked my date for two weeks later at court so it would give me chance to fill them in.the stress levels at this time were so high,i dont think i have ever felt so down in all my life and i dont mind admitting now that i did consider suicide although now its mostly over i cant believe i thought that.i went to court at the end of august and was there an hour in total.my mum went with me (bless her she has been my tower of strength throuhout all this )and when we walked out we were so stunned after all the stress of how quick it was.
i had a bit of a problem a couple of days later when my bank account with the hsbc was frozen but my o r kept e-mailing them and sent them a letter telling them that the money was my wages and i needed it to live on.they unfroze my account a week later,i withdrew my money and i then opened a co op account over the phone.(i have now recieved everything for that new account,i can have my wages paid in to it and pay all my bills out of it and it conmes with an electron card)
my o r interview was over the phone on thursday.i think i must have had about 2 hours sleep each night leading up to it last week!i was on the phone for 50 minutes i cant say he was friendly but he was polite.i had been worried about my I AND E (i did market researches on my friends and family what they spent in a normal month on food and thoght maybe i had put down a bit too much) but he allowed what i had put down.here what i put down i am a single person living alone in a rented council flat:
RENT £237 (THIS INCLUDES £20 EACH MONTH RENT ARREARS)
COUNCIL TAX £67
GAS/ELECTRIC £53 (GONE UP TO £72.50 FROM FILLING IN SOA)
HOUSE INSURANCE £5
T.V LICENSE £12
CLOTHES £40 (I HAVE TO WEAR A SUIT FOR WORK)
PHONE £30 (JUST HAVE MOBILE NOT LANDLINE)
TRAVEL £70
HOUSEKEEPING £225
GIFTS £10
HAIRDRESSERS £10
DENTIST £10
TOTAL £769
he accepted all this and rounded it up to £800 (mainly because of the gas and electric going up.i had £200 left out of my wage then and he said they would take £100 of this for 36 months.that was the end of the call,i came off and couldnt stop crying from the relief!!
ive had to get credit card and loan copies together this last couple of days and sent those yesterday morning and now feel i am nearly at the end.im just waiting to see when my first payment is going to be.
it was in my local paper the other day (the thing i had thought would be the most shameful thing ever )and do you know what it didnt bother me that much at all because for the first time in a year i actually feel free and feel i can start to live life with a smile on my face again.
so to anyone who is just starting out on this road stay strong you will piece your life together again,its not the end of things its the start of new ones.(sorry ive gone on and on!!)xx
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| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Needafriend |
Posted - 07 October 2008 : 18:17:45
Hi Nicki
Thats good news for you now that things are coming together and that finally you can get on with your new debt free life.
And again thanks for sharing your experience this is what this site is for. :-)
Good luck mate
Jo x
Your Mother Hen :-)
Please visit my blog for info on how I got here and other information to guide you through from my experience called:
"Mother Hen's New Debt Free Life with Links and added info on Bankruptcy!" available to view at:
http://debtfreejo.blogs.bankruptcyhelp.org.uk/ |
| nicki |
Posted - 07 October 2008 : 17:56:47
hi just thought i would let you know that my first payment has been set for the first of november.this has given me a free month of debt which is great!! so from going bankcrupt on the 28th of august my first payment is the 1st of november.just thought it would give people an idea of time scale.xx |
| BankruptC |
Posted - 21 September 2008 : 19:52:25
Hi nicki,
Just to add my thanks for posting your experiences. It really is posts like this that help people to understand what will happen during the BR process and therefore help to conquer the fear of the 'unkown' (which BR can feel like in many respects).
Thanks again and I'm glad the process has been smooth for you so far.
C. x |
| nicki |
Posted - 21 September 2008 : 19:11:03
the bit about it going in the paper really worried me but have you read the columns lately? the night mine went in i was one of about 40 people,2 of those lived close by to me!a lot of people reading that section would be too bored to go down the big list theres that many now.xx |
| nicki |
Posted - 21 September 2008 : 19:06:42
good luck with everything all the stages you go through are not as bad as what you expect them to be that i can tell you.also this site has been fantastic you realise you are not alone and it has some great info that i would have not found out otherwise.xx |
| Reviva UK |
Posted - 21 September 2008 : 19:06:10
nicki
thank you for sharing your experience. I am sure that although difficult for you it will be a great benefit to others to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Paul Johns
Assisted Bankruptcy Specialists
Reviva UK
www.revivauk.com |
| Snow Dog |
Posted - 21 September 2008 : 19:04:41
Hi Nicki
Thanks for sharing that with us. It is really encouraging, especially the bit about not feeling ashamed about your name going in the local paper. I have to admit this is something that is bothering me loads. |
| tracy_b |
Posted - 21 September 2008 : 19:03:13
Hi Nicki,
Thanks so much for your story. Both me and hubby going BR 0th Oct and although i wouldn't wish this on anyone i am so glad to hear stories like yours. It gives everyone the courage to go ahead and to cope with it.
Thanks
Tracy |
