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Hi everyone

A few of you may have already read a post or 2 from me but I'm sorry, I have a few more questions if thats ok please.

I am going for BR because my relationship of 5 years has broken up and I cannot afford to pay my debts anymore. I do not have any assets so I feel this would be the best option for me, a clean start so to speak. The problem is, I have this horrible nightmare that my bankruptcy will be refused. I guess everyone goes through this to some extent but my problem is that I was/am a bit of a reckless spender. My partner was on a good salary and therefore used to bring in a good wage each month, I got used to having that money and therefore bought things that I shouldnt have. Nothing massive, I dont have an expensive car (worth about £1500) and I have only had one holiday in 3 years. But things like clothes, meals out, takeaways, day trips that kind of thing, doing my weekly shop in Waitrose instead of Asda. As I said, reckless spending, but I never thought me and my partner would split. Has anyone ever been refused BR, does it happen often? Will i need to pay more towards it as I have been careless?

Can someone also tell me how long the process usually takes. I havent filled out my forms yet but when I have, what is the usual time scale from forms being sent to a court date and BR being declared?

I havent missed any payments on any of my debts yet but I am going to have to start this month. My partner has stopped giving me money and I cant afford to pay my loan/credit cards and bills. I have opened a new bank account so that I can stop paying the loan with my existing bank and save the money for the BR procedure. How long will it take for my bank to start chasing me for the loan payments?

I am still very concerned about my job. I havent been here long enough to confide in anyone. I cant find anything in my contract about BR/Insolvency, so I am hoping that I will be ok. I dont plan to tell them unless someone spots my name in the paper or accounts ask whats going on with my tax code. I am right in thinking that I am under no obligation to tell them unless it says so in my contract arent i?

Thats the most important thing to me, I dont care about anything else. I dont want to lose my job as a legal secretary. Its just a pain that I work for a solicitors because if anyone is going to read the legal notices, they will.

Can someone tell me what they print in the paper? Is it just your name or do they print other stuff?

My god so many questions and its all so scary.

One last one, will it be possible for me to chose my court date? I want to make it just after I get paid if possible so I can pay all my bills before my account gets frozen and hopefully get a new account opened before my nest salary date. Will this be possible do you think? If not will my employer question me asking for a cheque or maybe for my salary to be paid into my mums account for example?

Thanks so much for your help!

Claire x

Hi Claire

A bankruptcy order will not be refused just because you may have been reckless with the use of credit, but you may receive a bankruptcy restrictions undertaking or order depending upon the circumstances. These are generally quite tame, and merely suspend your discharge from bankruptcy for a longer time than the usual year. Given the facts that you have presented, I doubt whether you will be subject to either form of restriction.

The timescale for bankruptcy will depend upon how busy your Court is at the moment, and the way they run their listings. Some Courts require you to make a formal appointment, and others you can just turn up on the day. Ring the Court and ask to speak to the bankruptcy clerk to find out what the procedure is.

A judge may refuse to grant an order, however, if he feels that you could pay something to your creditors, and may suggest that you take professional advice with regard to an IVA. I am seeing the Courts doing this more and more often, to counter the generally accepted view that bankruptcy is an "easy option".

As we have told you before, you do not have to tell your employer about your bankrupty, unless there is something contractual which requires you to do so. The newspaper advertisement is tiny, and is generally made once per month covering all bankruptcies which have been processed during said period.

Good luck with it all!


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