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Hi all,

I posted here last week regarding a letter received in my Bankruptcy pack to say that i would not need a telephone interview as all the details i had provided in court and via the on-line forms and my payslips/bank statements/loan agreements etc were all in order.
Well, today i received a call from my OR who confirmed that everything was fine and she had told me what my monthly payments would be and the call lasted about 10-15 minutes. The call was just going over a few basic things but was not the 1 to 2 hour phone calls that i know most people have gone through. I was surprised when she went through the I&E list that the only thing she needed to amend was in my favour as i had not put down the £50 holiday allowance which is allowed in BR, so instead of working out that i would be paying back approx £125 per month, i am actually paying £100 per month over the 3 years. All in all, i am very pleased (if that's the right word considering i am far from pleased to have got into such debt!) that i can now finally grab my finances by the scruff of the neck and take control. Much much relief i must say.

Having said all that, my question may seem a bit strange, but i know that you are only allowed £500 credit/credit card in BR, and i was wondering if anyone knew how to go about getting such a credit card (is it a credit card that is designed for bankruptcy people?). Now, please dont think i have got myself out of debt and havn't learned as this i far from the case! The only reason i ask, is because i have found recently it is almost vital to have some kind of credit card just to book certain things. For example, i am staying at a hotel in a few weeks and the only way i can book the room is by credit card even though i would be paying by cash when i arrive. Also, i am setting up a paypal account on e-bay and again i need a credit card to verify my details (again, even though nothing would be coming off the card). I just want a basic credit card that will enable me to do these things. Any one know which is the most basic of cards that is allowed in BR?

Thanks very much

The cynical insolvency practitioner in me is starting to think that bankruptcy proceedings are the positive alternative to voluntary arrangements rather than the other way round! I wish those creditors who are currently slating IVAs as being unsuitable for the majority of clients would wake up and realise that we now have a two tier system - where people who want to repay their debts are being penalised by unfair hurdle rates and expenditure benchmarking, and those who choose bankruptcy proceedings are not.

Sorry Swardy - this is in no way directed at you personally, just a little personal rant on my part about the way things are in our marketplace at the moment. I am pleased that you have come through the bankruptcy unscathed, and been treated with some degree of dignity by the Official Reciever's staff. Whatever anyone says, choosing to declare yourself bankrupt is rarely an easy decision to make.

You will not be able to get a credit card whilst you are bankrupt, so I fear you will need to muddle through without for a little while longer - I assume that e-bay is not wholly essential for you at the moment. I imagine you could get one of those pre-paid card, but that would seem to defeat the object as you have to put the money on there in the first place to be able to spend it.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Hi Melanie,

Thanks for reply and i'ts ok, i havn't taken it personally. I fully understand what you are saying and i had made 15 payments in my IVA before i took the very difficult descision to file for bankruptcy but unfortunately, as i have posted before, i had been told to put down certain amounts on my expenditure forms at the start of the IVA in order to 'make the IVA work' that were not true amounts so every month i was having to borrow up to £180 per month from friends and family to pay for everything. When i spoke to my IP just before going BR, i asked if this could be reviewed and explained the differences and was told for example that the Food/Housekeeping amount of £150 p/m was very generous and no other 'reputable' IVA company's should allow more than this. They couldn't move any higher on petrol/rent etc and would not even speak to my creditors with the amounts i was talking about (despite them being totally accurate), so i felt i had no choice. I would have been extremely happy to carry on with the rest of my IVA but at an amount that i could afford.

By the way, when i mentioned the e-bay account, this was not to go on a shopping frenzy! This was just to set up an account in which i could SELL a few old DVD's and records (about 20 of each). I would not be buying anything, so please dont think i have waved goodbye to my debts and am laughing at the system as i am deeply embarrassed and upset about the debts i have accumalated and the end result of Bankruptcy at the age of 34 with no assets to my name.

You have had absolutely no support from your IP to make your IVA work, or at least try and alternative offer, but to be frank they are probably only working to the extremely harsh current creditor benchmarking and hurdle rates, and I can now see why bankruptcy proceedings became your only resort. Having said that to say that no more than £150 for housekeeping per month is absoltuely ridiculous.

I imagine that you are now having a quite "two fingers to the system" moment, and who would blame you for that! We are living and working in interesting times at the moment, and are absolutely crying out for the new SIVA procedure to be introduced.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

Swardy, I'm doing a bit of selling on Ebay at the moment (Dave has told me I can't take all my 'rubbish' with me when we move!) and I am using my pre-paid card (although I don't think you can withdraw the money from Paypal onto it) and I have also set up my bank accounts - Nationwide (which doesn't have a debit card) and the Co-op (which does). Both were accepted ok.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

Hi Swardy
A pre-paid card is your answer.It works exactly the same as a credit card,you can book hotels,pay online etc
Try www.mycashplus.co.uk it is a prepaid mastercard.

I must agree with Melanie regarding allowances in bankruptcy compared to an IVA.Thy should at least be similar.
Regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp

Thanks very much Melanie, Skippy and and AndyDavie for all your help and advice. Much appreciated.