Do I go bankrupt or not?

Question

I'm considering making myself bankrupt, i have debts probably around the £3-4k mark, including stuff like insurance companies, BT, Energy supply etc.. i also have finance on a car which was for £4k.

I know my credit isn't great at the moment and to be honest i can't afford to start paying any of the debts off as my income is completely tied up with bills. So making them an offer isnt even an option.

How much would i be looking at to end the finance early on the car? is there a certain percentage? or a fixed amount? ive only had it since Nov 2007. or would i be better just handing it back, and going bankrupt?

If i went bankrupt what would happen with stuff like my catalogues, mobile phone etc (which are paid on time) would i lose them etc?

Or is there any other way to go about it?

Oh and im 21 and in full time employment.

Thanks

Answer 1

It's NOT a good idea - go for an IVA (visit the REAL Citizens Advise for help = do NOT go to some cowboy 'IVA Agency' or Consultancy' (and especially not the 'on-line' ones) = they charge thousands in fees and you end up worse off than you started .....)

NB. I don't believe it is possible anyway .. I seem to recall the MINIMUM your can go Bankrupt for is £15,000

Answer 2

talk to citizens advice, because 3-4K is not an amount you can go bankrupt for.  put some noughts on the end then you can.

CAB will help you draw up a budget and contact your creditors to help sort out freezing interest + charges and the like. most places will only consider this if they know you are serious about paying back what you owe, and having the CAB talk to them makes the point you are.

Answer 3

I beleive you can only declare yourself as Bankrupt if you are Self Employed of your own business, its quite a drastic decission to make as it will go against your credit rating for a few years, have you looked into an IVA its basically an agreement that is negotiated between yourself and the people you owe money to and it usually agrees to lower figure of settlement, search on google for IVA for more info on how & where to apply.

Answer 4

Ring Consumer Credit Counselling Service, their advice is spot on & they won't judge you, just listen to your situation & advise on best thing to do.

Answer 5

Go to Citizens advice and they will help you out of the mess. Dont go bankrupt !!!!  It will mess your life up for years, you wont get any credit it makes getting a mortgage almost impossible.  It should be the very last resort. Go get help now and you can sort it. good Luck

Answer 6

Any one can declare themself bankrupt, but seriously go and live a bit if your going to, 4k of debts is a measly amount to go bankrupt over.

Answer 7

for such a small amount i doubt they would accept a bankruptcy petition from you, more likely push you towards an ive in which you pay what you can each month until your credit is repaid. If the court was to make you bankrupt you wouldbe made to pay it all back through solicitors on a monthly basis anyway either through set payments taken from your wages or by taking your tax from your wages. also you would lose your car and this would be taken off of what you owed and the money shared out between your creditors. also youw ould be in bankruptcy for a year and unable to obtain credit in anyshape or form, for a further 4 years after that inital year.

is it really wortht he hassle, go to a debt management company and get it sorted out instead. cos unless you have £500 in cash you cannot go bankrupt anyway cos u gota pay up front.