Bankruptcy Case Files

Miss G has run up debts of over £20,000. She lives with her parents and does not have any assets that she could sell. She has one child and has had her income slashed as she has had to go part time.She contacted Debt Support Trust and after all avenues were explored the solution for Miss G was Bankruptcy.

After paying the fee of £450 for the insolvency service for the Official Receiver. As her income decreased she did not have to pay court fee due low wages.

Bankruptcy was then granted. Miss G did not have to pay any money every month as her income is low. Miss G will be discharged from her Bankruptcy after 1 year. Miss G is aware of the impact on her credit file but there was no other solution available to her.

The Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

An IVA is the Equivalent of a Protected Trust Deed but is only available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. IVA's have helped thousands of people who face severe financial problems.

Ms E had went through a divorce over five years ago and lived with her grown up kids in a rented house through her local authority. She had debt outstanding at approx £40,000. Her debts were two loans and a couple of credit cards.

After the divorce there was only her income and Child Support payments from her ex husband. As the kids were 18 she didn't receive any child support and was struggling to pay her creditors. She was robbing Peter to pay Paul and had reached her limits on both credit cards.

After looking at all avenues Ms E has decided to enter an IVA.

The nominee looking after her case had sent out the proposal to Ms E and also to her creditors. Ms E had a disposable income of £300 per month. The monthly contractual payments for debt added up to £920 per month.
The meeting of the creditors took place and the vote went in favour of the IVA to go ahead meaning that in five years Ms E could look forward to a new beginning. Ms E now pays £300 per month into her IVA and will pay this until the IVA is complete at the end the rest will be legally written off. All interest and charges were frozen. (Unless the IVA terms are not met then these can be added back on).

Ms E could now see light at the end of the tunnel and had no assets that the supervisor would consider liquidating so she now had peace of mind.

To be suitable for an IVA you would need to meet the following criteria;

- Unsecured debt must be £12,500 or over
- You must have a monthly disposable income of £200 or greater
- You must live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland
- You must be in full time employment

Benefits Of An IVA

Your IVA would be legally binding meaning no further charges or interest could be added. It also means your creditors are not able to change their mind if they agree to your proposal

You will only be asked to make affordable repayments

An IVA enables a professional person (doctor, accountant, solicitor etc) to continue to practice whilst resolving their debt problem

Bankruptcy may affect their professional status. You may have to check your employment contract to ensure you can enter an IVA

You are likely to be able to keep your home within an IVA, usually
the Insolvency Practitioner will only be interested in any equity

You would face fewer credit restrictions entering an IVA compared to bankruptcy

Negatives Of An IVA

Any available equity in your house or other asset would have to be released for your creditors

An IVA is legally binding so defaulting on the agreement would result in your IVA failing, which could mean your creditors will proceed with bankruptcy

Your income and expenditure will be reviewed on a frequent basis which can mean your monthly contribution could fluctuate up as well as down

Your IVA would be noted within your credit file and it would remain there until you complete the IVA, and for a year after that

An IVA usually lasts for 5 years, whereas Bankruptcy would only last for 1 year

Secured Loans - Debt Advice And Support

Secured loans require a person to sign something in their possession against the loan. The reason it is called a secured loan is because the creditors can take possession of that which the credit was taken against if the loan repayments are not made.

When people secure credit against an asset they are generally able to get more in return. An example of this would be when someone takes out finance against the equity they own in their property. They could find that at time they are able to apply for more money than they would if they weren't to secure it against the property. This is usually because the creditor feels that the person is less of a risk and they will be able to recover the amount owed if they fail to make payments.

Many people have seen the benefits of secured loans and have managed to pay back what they owed without having their possessions being reposed. However this isn't always the case and in some instances a person can find themselves struggling to manage their finances if they lose a job or have other personal problems.

The main disadvantage of secured credit are those people who do not manage to pay back what they owe may find themselves at risk of losing their assets. Sometimes the temptation of a large sum of money can be too much to resist. This is especially true of those who have refinanced because they are in debt and unable to find another solution which could help them.

Those who have refinanced in order to repay other debts can find themselves owing even more than they did originally. There is a number of debt solutions which can help those who have found themselves in this situation. When trying to asses which of these solutions is most suitable it is advised to speak with a debt advice charity/company. The solutions which can help are;

General Advice - This is best for those who may need to cut back on expenses but are not suitable for any other help 

Debt Management Plan - this can arrange for regular payment to be made to the creditors

IVA - For those who are unable to pay back what is owed in full but is not suitable for bankruptcy. This is only available to people living in England, Ireland and Wales.

Protected Trust Deed - Similar to an IVA but is only available to people living in Scotland. The main difference is simply the criteria needed to meet the requirements for these solutions.

Bankruptcy - The final solution when all else fails is to petition the court to legal declare bankruptcy. This is only available in England, Ireland and Wales 

Sequestration - This is the same as bankruptcy except only available in Scotland. The only difference between these solutions is the criteria which is required to meet them.

LILA - A new debt solution which has been introduced to help people who could afford the cost of making themselves bankrupt, still manage to be declared insolvent. This is only available in Scotland

Debt Relief Order - Same as LILA except for the criteria need to be met. This solution is only available in England, Ireland and Wales.

The trade association whose members account for approximately 98% of all UK mortgage lending has stated that new house loans returned to the same levels as December 2007 levels. In addition, the remortgage market has seen a stabilisation of growth over the same period of time. According to data published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the number of loans that went to home movers rose by 15% from September to October 2009. A significant number within that group opted for a tracker mortgage loan, a loan where the interest rate rises and falls in line with the Bank of England base rate. This is believed to be an indication in borrower confidence that rates may remain low for the long term.