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Hi all,

I was going through old forum posts last night and came across a post that essentially said that when you go into BR the OR will force you to sell certain household items. Is this correct? They also added that they go through your credit cards for the last two years. Is this how they identify the goods that you need to sell? It seems a very erroneous process if it is correct.

You are entitled to retain such domestic effects as you require for your basic domestic needs and for work. This includes clothing bedding, books tools and vehicles (the latter needs to be required for work or business).

If any of these items are of "excess value" then the OR/Trustee can claim them for the Bankruptcy but you can require him to replace them.

ianmillington wrote:

You are entitled to retain such domestic effects as you require for your basic domestic needs and for work. This includes clothing bedding, books tools and vehicles (the latter needs to be required for work or business).

If any of these items are of "excess value" then the OR/Trustee can claim them for the Bankruptcy but you can require him to replace them.

But how will the OR know what you have?

ianmillington wrote:

You are entitled to retain such domestic effects as you require for your basic domestic needs and for work. This includes clothing bedding, books tools and vehicles (the latter needs to be required for work or business).

If any of these items are of "excess value" then the OR/Trustee can claim them for the Bankruptcy but you can require him to replace them.

Bankruptcy.org.uk states.."If you don’t possess any such luxurious items, you will be safe from the bailiffs."

So if you go bankrupt you still get the bailiffs around?????

When you go BR you have to state any items you have of value on the forms.

The OR will look at the credit card statements and if there is something of high value that you haven't declared as an asset you will be asked about it, which is why it's important to be honest on the BR forms.

Once you have been made BR you cannot have any goods seized by bailiffs, so I'm concerned about the statement below. All unsecured debts (apart from court debts and CSA payments) are discharged the minute you become BR.

Hi vad921,

Unless you have a Picasso in your garage or the latest Flatscreen Plasma TV, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. As Skippy has mentioned the best thing to do is be honest on your forms, then if the OR needs to ask you they will.

iva experts wrote:

Hi vad921,

Unless you have a Picasso in your garage or the latest Flatscreen Plasma TV, I wouldn't be too concerned about it. As Skippy has mentioned the best thing to do is be honest on your forms, then if the OR needs to ask you they will.

No Picasso!But if only...! How far do they go back? How many years worth of credit card statements will we need?

It depends on how the OR feels about your case, it may be 12 months - 2 years. I wouldn't worry until the OR requests these documents from you. There is no point worrying about something that might not even happen.

I was asked for 12 months of statements but every case is different. If you don't have all the statements that are asked for, don't worry as the OR can get them from your creditors.

Thanks for the clarification. I got worried particularly with the reference to the bailiffs on the Bankruptcyhelp.org site. Bailiffs are so Victorian! I'm pretty much resigned to bankruptcy but my wife is not. Losing the house and it being public are two things she just cannot cope with. She is coming round as we have such a huge level of debt. God knows how, but we have.

I can't offer any advice about your home as I don't have property.

Regarding BR being public, my BR notice was a half inch high and at the back of the paper after the adult services! I don't think anyone saw it, and if they did, they didn't say anything.

Skippy13 wrote:

I can't offer any advice about your home as I don't have property.

Regarding BR being public, my BR notice was a half inch high and at the back of the paper after the adult services! I don't think anyone saw it, and if they did, they didn't say anything.

The notice was in tonights paper funnily enough. About 20 people crammed into a rectangular box no bigger than 2"x3/4". Must confess I only saw it because I was looking. I felt worse though as all were down as unemployed or housewives. I now feel an even bigger failure as my wife and I are on decent salaries!!!!!!!!!!

I think what makes it worse for my wife is that a women who as a child at the same school ours attend passes by every day. She will clearly be aware of the situation when she sees 'sale by auction' in front of the house. It will go through the school very quickly!

Newsprint today, chip paper tomorrow.

And any parent who holds views about anyonelse's misfortune, sets a very bad example for their child. Prejudice against anyone who has the moral courage to admit they have a problem and take steps to deal with that for the good and benefit of their family, deserves the contempt that attitude warrants.

Tell your wife to hold her head up high outside those school gates in the knowledge that she is putting her family before any silly, archaic views about someone else's private life.

Don't forget that possibly a third of the other parents ar in a real mess too ( gov figures) but they haven't yet had the courage to draw a line under their problems.

At least you willbe able to get on with your life and now your life will not be managed by money ( or lack of it) but rather you will be the master.

Well done & good luck

Thanks Melanie & Paul. You are a great help. I'm going to call that number at the top of this site today and speak with someone. It's bizarre how scary it feels. I'm not going to be comfortable speakng with anyone about it!