One sure-fire way to fight off your debt problems in UK is bankruptcy. It frees you from huge debts completely. Here are 11 most important facts about bankruptcy:
1. A bankruptcy order is made by a court only when a bankruptcy petition is signed. It is presented by the debtor’s petition and the creditors who are owed at least £750 by you or the Creditor’s petition.
2. In a bankruptcy you may have to pay three fees. i) A court fee of £120. In some cases the court may waive this fee in case you are on Income Support. ii) A deposit of £250 towards the cost of administering your bankruptcy. iii) The fee to swear the statement of affairs. I a County Court no there are no charges but for High court or before a solicitor, you will have to pay an amount of £7.
3. The bankruptcy petitions are generally made at either the High Court in London or a County court near to your area.
4. The court will hear your petition or may delay the proceedings. The court can also dismiss the petition. So you should appoint an Insolvency Practitioner- if the Court thinks that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement would be more appropriate. This will only be possible if your assets are more than £2,000; your unsecured debts are less than £20,000; and you have not been bankrupt or made an Individual Voluntary Arrangement in the previous five years.
5. The Official Receiver administers the bankruptcy as an officer of the court. He also acts as a Trustee of your estate unless a private sector Insolvency Practitioner is appointed.
6. Once a bankruptcy order has been prepared, you must provide the Official Receiver with information relating to your financial affairs such as, a list of your assets (property, pensions, insurance policies etc), amounts of each debt and to which creditor they are owed to, within 21 days.
7. Once you have been made bankrupt, you can go for a credit of £250 or more or conduct business or promote or manage a company without the court’s permission. You are even restricted from holding public offices.
8. Your bankruptcy will be registered with credit reference agencies and remain on your file for a minimum of six years.
9. A bankruptcy might end after one year. It depends on the court. Once you are discharged from bankruptcy, it may not necessarily free that person from certain all liabilities and does not mean that unrealized assets will be safeguarded.
10. According to the Enterprise Act 2002 under certain conditions, you may be discharged from bankruptcy after a year. There might be a limit of three years may be placed on the Trustee’s rights to realise equity in your home (formerly this was open ended).
11. If you are from UK, then your debts will be on your credit file for six years after the last activity on the account.
With a proper bankruptcy procedure, you can be free from those ruthless creditor attacks. So you can be debt free!!
