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Richard.jn
Starting Member
3 Posts |
 Posted - 27 September 2010 : 13:58:57
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Hi,
I declared myself bankrupt at the end of July 2010. The only real assets to my name were my motorbike to get to/from work (half the price of travelling by train), a shared car which my wife bought from our joint bank account to take kids to/from school (but registered to me for insurance/MOT/road tax responsibilities) and our house which is in negative equity.
During the interview with the OR, they said they are taking our car (Ford Galaxy worth £2k) which my wife bought through her ebay account and I supplied proof of this. We need a MPV vehicle due to 3 kids under 5 and for school, doctors and general shopping and travel. I said I cannot agree to this, so they said my bike will have to go and for me to use the Galaxy to get to/from work. Hardly practical, but I couldn't have my wife and 3 young children walk a hazardous way to school and our doctors is 3 miles away.
The train fares are now costing £220 per month, but fuel in the bike would have cost £90 and we cannot afford the extra costs.
Is it correct they took my bike to sell on? The bailiff said it was worth £1,500.
Many thanks
Richard |
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debtinfo
forum expert
2826 Posts |
Posted - 27 September 2010 : 19:00:48
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| basically you had two vehicles when only one is needed so they can take the other to sell |
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Bigal4787
forum expert
United Kingdom
641 Posts |
Posted - 29 September 2010 : 00:08:47
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Richard,
Firstly did you seek any advice from places such as the CAB etc before petitioning for bankruptcy?
Secondly I take it the bike was yours, and the MPV was bought and paid for by your wife(even if it was from a joint account), however if your wife bought it, why was it registered in your name, if your wife appears to have been the main user? This is the reason the OR has taken the action he/she did, as on paper you owned 2 vehicles.
However, even at £1,500 for your bike, it's very unlikely that the OR will get much for the bankruptcy estate, once the agents fees and other costs are taken out.
Big Al |
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Richard.jn
Starting Member
3 Posts |
Posted - 29 September 2010 : 09:52:39
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Hi Big Al,
We did try the CAB first, but their answer was to go to Payplan who we stayed with on a DMP for a year. With the arrival of our third child and reduced hours at work, coupled with the fact that after a year of DMP payments we owed more than the previous year despite the payments, we opted for bankruptcy. My wife gave up work to look after our kids as child minder fees worked out more than her takehome salary. We could not see any light at the end of the tunnel as the debts were mounting up, despite not borrowing any more.
The MPV was purchased by my wife but registered to me as I had 9 years NCB and am responsible for insuring, taxing and MOT'ing it (as stipulated by the DVLA). I do the long driving trips (closest family is a 100 round trip), whereas wife uses the car daily for school runs (Galaxy has 3 purpose built baby/child seats) and shopping, one reason why I cannot use it for work (plus it works out too expensive).
As the majority of the debt was in my name, it was only me that went bankrupt.
As I now need to find an extra £120 a month minimum for the travel due to no bike, it looks like we will now have to concede losing the house (mortgaged and in negative equity) to try and rent somewhere cheaper. This would not have been an option if I still had the bike!
There is also no way it was valued correctly. In all fairness, they would only get about £800 for it trade price.
Cheers
Richard
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Reviva UK
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
2452 Posts |
Posted - 29 September 2010 : 10:09:03
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I would recommend that you demonstrate that your wife purchased the car.
the log book is only to detail the registered keeper so that the Police who is responsible for the car on a daily basis.
the owner is completely different.
if you can demonstrate that your wife purchased it then it will be excluded from your bankruptcy estate
Paul Johns
Bankruptcy Specialists
Reviva UK
www.revivauk.com
08454 751 851
Real People ..... Real Debt Solutions |
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Richard.jn
Starting Member
3 Posts |
Posted - 29 September 2010 : 10:47:46
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Thanks, Paul.
The Galaxy car has been excluded from the bankruptcy and we have an exemption letter, however, I am now left without a vehicle to get to/from work. Using the car is not reasonable due to higher fuel costs, parking and congestion charge, besides, my wife is using it when I would need it.
I hate to sound greedy in what I want as we are reasonably comfortable and on more than one occassion we have been told our housekeeping figure is too low. But, I honestly thought I could keep the bike to get to/from work as public transport will cost an extra £1,200 a year minimum. We have had to make exceptional allowances to free up the extra travel cost and there is no way I could possibly save to get another bike. Also, I save over an hours travel time by using the bike which helps loads when needing to get home to see my kids before their bedtime.
Going forward, since we cannot afford to keep the house, we are seriously looking at handing the keys back and including the losses in my bankruptcy. However, as my wife is joint owner, I assume she will have to go bankrupt as well (since she is not working and not eligible to claim any benefits so no income). If so, strictly speaking she will have to put down she owns the Galaxy as it is her vehicle (afterall, if we were to divorce she will take it and I will not object).
Oh well, life would be boring without these little episodes! The next issue is the firm I work for going under in the next few months and I will be redundant ....
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