Are you struggling with debt and seeking London Bankruptcy Advice? Bankruptcy Guide is your ideal solution. You may not have to make any further payments towards your debts and are likely to be bankrupt for just one year if you choose to go bankrupt.
Contents
- Our London Bankruptcy Advice Process
- What does it cost to go bankrupt in London?
- How long does bankruptcy last in London?
- Will your job be affected?
- What are the agreed bankruptcy living expenses in London?
- If you go bankrupt in London who will find out?
- Is your home affected if you go bankrupt in London?
Our London Bankruptcy Advice Process
The bankruptcy application process in London is not as scary as you might think. This is because you don’t have to go to court. You submit your application using the government’s on-line form.
Once you have completed your form and paid your fee (more on this below), you can submit your application.
You will normally be made bankrupt in 2 working days. Your application will be accepted as long as you are eligible. The key criteria you need to meet are that you:
- have lived in London (or anywhere else in England or Wales) for the past 6 months
- are insolvent
- have completed all your details correctly
Bankruptcy could be an option for you regardless of your personal circumstances. It does not matter whether you are employed, self employed, not working or retired. Our London Bankruptcy Advice is able to break all of this down for you.
What does it cost to go bankrupt in London?
Before you can submit your application, you will have to pay an application fee. The cost is standard whether you live in London or anywhere else across England & Wales.
You have to pay your fee on-line using either your debt or credit card. If you are borrowing the money from someone else, their card details can be used.
Everyone who goes bankrupt in London has to pay the same fee. There are no exemptions or reductions. This is the case even if you are on benefits or have a low income. You can pay in instalments. However, you can’t submit your form until the fee is paid in full.
There are different options for getting your fee together. These include firstly, borrowing the funds from family or friends. Secondly, you could consider selling something you own to raise the money.
How long does bankruptcy last in London?
Bankruptcy in London lasts 12 months. After just 1 year you are automatically discharged. That said, there are some implications that may affect you for longer.
When you complete your application form, you have to give details of your household income and expenses budget. You must ensure you record all your figures correctly. They will be checked to see if you have any surplus money. If your do, you will have to pay this towards your debts for 3 years.
Paying towards your debts after you are bankrupt is known as having an IPA (Income Payment Agreement). Your IPA (if you get one) remains in place after you are officially discharged from bankruptcy.
Your credit file will include a record of your bankruptcy. The record stays on your file for 6 years. During this time, your credit rating will become poor and you will find borrowing more in the future much more difficult as a result.
Your credit rating will recover after you are discharged from bankruptcy. However, it will not be 100% clear until the record of bankruptcy comes off your file. It is taken off automatically after 6 years.
Will your job be affected?
Bankruptcy is very unlikely to affect your job. So if you are working in London, in the vast majority of cases, you will simply continue working as normal.
The Official Receiver does not tell your employer. This means they are very unlikely to find out about your situation unless you actually mention it to them yourself.
If you work for a financial services company in London, you might be concerned that your job would be at risk. Generally speaking you don’t have to worry. You can continue to do most financial services roles. There is only ever an issue if your employment contract states you mist have a clear credit rating.
One of the roles you are not allowed to carry out while you are bankrupt is be a director of a limited company.
You don’t have to be working. You can go bankrupt and write off your debts if you are unemployed, on benefits or already drawing a pension.
What are the agreed bankruptcy living expenses in London?
The Official Receiver recognizes that your living costs in London are higher than in most other parts of the country.
Because of this, you can include certain expenses in your budget which are higher than would normally be allowed.
One example of this is your grocery toiletries expenditure. If you are single, your standard allowance of £250/mth would be increased to £300/mth.
As such, when you are completing your living expenses budget, you should include amounts which properly reflect your costs. However, you still need to be mindful that you will not be allowed unusually high expenditures unless you can reasonably justify these.
Need further advice about your bankruptcy living expenses budget. Get in touch today to learn more about our London Bankruptcy advice service.
If you go bankrupt in London who will find out?
Of course, the official receiver will tell the people you owe money to that you are bankrupt. However, very few other people will actually find out. Because of this, it is actually a very private debt solution.
Despite what you might have heard, your name does not appear in national or local London newspaper. Also, your landlord will not be informed.
If you have secure debts such as car finance or a mortgage, these lenders will also be told. However, that is pretty much it.
Your details are recorded on the insolvency register which is publicly accessible. There is also a permanent record in the Gazette archive. However very few people know about these records, let alone how to access them.
Your name doesn’t go in the newspaper if you go bankrupt. This means your friends and family are extremely unlikely to find out.
Is your home affected if you go bankrupt in London?
Going bankrupt in London will have little or no affect on your home if you are renting. You simply continue paying your rent to your landlord as normal.
The only time there could be an issue is if you have rent arrears. In these circumstances you should not go bankrupt without speaking to us first.
If you own your home (or any other property in London), bankruptcy may not be a suitable solution for you. This is because you might be forced to sell your property to realize your share of any equity.
Generally speaking, as a home owner, you will have to avoid bankruptcy unless you have no equity, intend to sell or return the property to the lender, or know someone who can raise funds on your behalf.
Written by James Falla
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June 15, 2024
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April 30, 2024
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March 11, 2024
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February 21, 2024
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February 20, 2024
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February 15, 2024
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February 14, 2024
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January 22, 2024
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January 15, 2024
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January 5, 2024
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January 3, 2024
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November 29, 2023
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November 9, 2023
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October 30, 2023
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October 19, 2023
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October 9, 2023
What we can do
Assistance with going Bankrupt
- Application form completed correctly
- Preparation for Official Receiver interview
- Ongoing 12 month support
Self Employed Bankruptcy
- Business income and expenses forecast
- Bank account advice
- On-going support with 3 line accounts
Switch from IVA to Bankruptcy
- Help with cancelling IVA
- Support through bankruptcy process
- On-going support during bankruptcy
Support if Already Bankrupt
- Completion of PIQB questionnaire
- Preparation for OR interview
- Assistance with OR info requests