New Accounts
Posted: Mon 3 September, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances 3 Comments »A big part of the bankruptcy proceedings involves having to change bank accounts, and that took a while.
I’ve moved from the RBS scumfucks (that’s a whole different story) now to Co-Operative bank, which I have to say is a major change for the better.
Changing banks isn’t an easy process at the best of times – obviously there’s a lot of necessary changes, for everything both coming in and going out, and it’s taken time to get it all sorted, but I think it’s now done.
In fairness, the process of getting the account itself sorted out was really easy. It’s just been the moving of everything that’s been a swine – the list included salary, insurances, direct debits, standing orders, bills, payees, and debit card details.
It’s another step though, and I think it’s now all done. There’s probably something I’ve forgotten, which’ll rise up to bite me in the arse, but for now I think I’ve got it sorted. We’ll see…
Changing Status – The Costs
Posted: Sun 12 August, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Thoughts Leave a comment »Of everything to do with the bankruptcy proceedings, I think I found the worst bit to be the costs involved. Yes, if you didn’t know (and why would you unless you’ve had to do it?) it costs a significant amount of money to declare that – um – you have no money.
It costs £175 for the court fee, to get everything processed. That’s not so bad, and I can pretty much understand that one.
The other costs is a stonking £525 for costs of administrating the bankruptcy. That one I have rather more issue with.
So all told, it’s £700 to pay in order to declare that you’ve got no money.
And yes, if you’re prepared to wait and go through the process of being declared bankrupt, it’ll cost you nothing (I think) but that takes significantly longer, so if you’re fiscally stuffed anyway, you’re just going to keep on juggling for longer.
Changing Status – Getting It Done
Posted: Sat 11 August, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Thoughts Leave a comment »Despite the bad advice from the Insolvency Service, getting the bankruptcy sorted was surprisingly painless – indeed, it was far easier than I’d been expecting it to be.
I had filled in all the paperwork before time, which obviously made life easier as well. The documents are all on the Insolvency Service website and the how-tos and advice are very useful.
Even at the wrong court, the people were really helpful. (We’ll gloss over the person from Bedford court who didn’t know the court’s postcode…) Bedford were also really understanding of the cock-up – one suspects it’s happened before – and did their utmost to get things sorted.
I’ve never actually been in a court building before – never done jury service, never done anything court-worthy (or at least never been caught) – so I was pretty nervous, it’s fair to say.
I was fully expecting to have to see the judge / magistrate, but as it turned out that wasn’t the case. I paid the fees (of which more in another post) and waited. I had to go round to the court waiting room while the usher(?) took the documents to the judge. They came back, with everything signed off – I didn’t even have to go in.
And then it was just the time to get the order typed up and processed, and that was it. Less than two hours, from entering the building to leaving it.
Changing Status
Posted: Fri 10 August, 2012 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Finances, Thoughts | Tags: Finances 4 Comments »So, while D4D™ was celebrating turning ten , my own life was getting changed too.
I spent the morning in county court (technically two county courts, but more on that in a minute) declaring myself bankrupt. It’s a huge decision, but it’s the right decision for me. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of months, figuring out all the options (or lack thereof) and what they meant for me.
It’s been a tough ride, this year. I’ve lost a relationship with someone I really cared about (and still miss), moved house, and changed jobs – including one contract boffing out on me and costing me quite a bit of money, although that change meant I was available for the job I’ve got now, starting with a contract and going permanent. And of course all of those changes just kept on adding kicks to the finances.
I don’t blame anyone else, or put the responsibility for it at any door other than my own. I’ve tried balancing and juggling things all year – probably longer, if I’m honest – but it’s been getting harder and harder.
Anyway, today was the day. I’d checked with the Insolvency Service which court I needed to go to (I live pretty much halfway between the Bucks and Beds county courts) and they’d said Milton Keynes. So I got there, and they said I was in the wrong one, and needed to be in Bedford. Nightmare.
Anyway, Bedford court were really impressive, and it all went really smoothly in the end. I went through the process – scarily, they’ve had over 140 others this year already- and everything was signed and typed up within two hours.
I know there’s a long way to go yet, and this is just the first step. I know it’ll take time to get properly sorted – at least a year – but this is A Good Thing.