jumperjohn

I do live in the real world and all I see is my tax bill going up. The quote was 'So how are unemployed people meant to afford the extra £30 or £50 to their rent (other than begging for a 'Discretionary Payment' by applying)?' I realise that people need help and I support that but this chap was asking how someone unemployed could find the extra cash. There are too many people happy to sit back and I'm so glad benefits will be reduced and capped. When this happens hopefully only those who need it will receive it and those who can work will work. I've been unemployed, in the 90's, and the benefits were there to help while in between jobs, unemployment shouldn't be a career choice.

'So how are unemployed people meant to afford the extra £30 or £50 to their rent (other than begging for a 'Discretionary Payment' by applying)?' Get a job? Seriously guys, go out and get a job.

The clues in the previous answer...........

What is the point of a rhetorical question?

Have you considered an eye test? If you’re short sighted this is made worse at night by 10 times. What car do you own? Maybe you need something with better headlights, buy a car with Xenons, they light the road a lot better than ‘normal’ bulbs. Practice night driving when it’s quiet. Get up really early or drive late at night and just go for a drive, the more you do this the better you will become.

Last year there was an auction for DVLA reg numbers. There was one that I fancied, in fact I really wanted to buy it but my wife talked me out of buying it. The plate was sold for £1000 and I thought that it was an oppertunity lost. A few weeks later I saw the plate advertised through regtransfers, the plate was selling for £30,000, it has now sold. I won't take my wife's advice in future.

My glove box is empty as I own no gloves.

I love watching the police shows where they catch uninsured drivers and take their cars away. If only this number plate recognition system was available a few years ago. I was knocked off my bike by an uninsured driver. He pulled out of a parking space hit me and sent me sliding down the road, luckily I didn’t hit anything, my bike hit a lamp post. I stayed a night in hospital to have a wound cleaned of grit. I joked at the time that the driver’s insurance is going to take a hit for this, this was until I found out he was uninsured. He should not have been on the road and with him not being on the road I could have been at home not in hospital taking up a bed and costing the NHS money. It took around 18 months to get compensation from the loss of my bike, injures and cycle gear. The compensation was paid by the MIB, a central fund which each and every one of us pays into, around £30, through our insurance. The more illegal drivers the police get off the road the better for all. I hold no sympathy for anyone getting their car confiscated because they do not have insurance. Crush their cars!!!!, rant over….

A plane did crash in America due to load calculations based on a weight model from the 1950's I believe. It was a small 20 seat aircraft and most of the occupents were overweight. The plane took off, failed to climb and crashed. No one survived. Since that crash, around the year 2000, the model for calculating the average mass of people has been increased.

Try BMV- bmvcarcare.co.uk He came to my house and repaired a gouge from my front bumper, excellent job.

The steel industry in Sheffield is worth hundereds of millions. Forge Masters have full order books for the next few years worth £100 million + per year. I work for a steel company in Sheffield and we have a lot of work, more coming in and not enough skilled Engineers to fill vacancies. If you're an engineer, and I mean a qualified, degree educated engineer not a 'bin man engineer' or 'washing machine engineer', or other such title, then the future is bright.

You don't have to take a company car, you can opt out as many do due to the increase in payable tax. Is it a company car that is being offered or is it a pool car for you to use? If its the latter then use the pool car and keep your private car off the road, keeping the miles down is good, and see what happens in Sept.

No. Bankruptcy stays on your file for 6 years from the date that you are bankrupt it is then cleared from file. IVA is an agreement which lasts 5 years, it is on your file for this time plus for an additional 6 years after the IVA has finished, therfore 11 years.

The example was not about insurance or the lack of, it was to give instances of how people can get caught up in debt. Take out a mortgage, get insurance, yes of course it goes without saying, however, the original post was about bankruptcy and the person was asking for advice. Unfortunately advice such as get insurance, and the like doesn’t help. For example ‘I went skiing and broke a leg’, response ‘Ooh, you shouldn’t have gone skiing’. Can you not see how this response is non useful. How and why this person is in difficulty is not for us to judge.

Stays on your credit file 6 years then wiped off.

The idea is that by declaring bankruptcy you surrender all assets to help clear the debt. If you earn £400 a week and debt payments are £600 a week then there is no reasonable way that the debt will be cleared. Once a person is bankrupt an official receiver is assigned to the case. It is the Official Receiver’s, ‘OR’, duty to secure as much money as possible to pay the debt back to creditors. It is bankruptcy law that says the OR can include a payment order for up to 36 months to recoup some of the debt. For e.g. a person earns £400 a week and outgoings are now, after bankruptcy, £150 the OR may well want a payment, say £60 a week. Even though legaly after the bankrupt person has been discharge that person no longer has the debt the payments continue for the full term. Anyone on benefits or low income, however, usualy do not have a PO atachment.

How can anyone reply or comment to this great piece of advice. You do give a wondeful insight into your understanding.

A bit of a sweeping, ignorant statement. Most people have a debt which think can manage, this debt can become un-manageable because of all sorts of reasons. Bereavement, divorce, business failure, accident, job loss, illness etcetera. Who is at fault from the short list that I produced? The partner in a joint mortgage dies, is the deceased at fault? The chap who has a family and is the bred winner becomes ill and cannot work, how do you prevent an illness? An accident leaves a person with a long recovery process, should they have been more careful? Should people like this be made to pay back what they owe? Most people borrow and are happy and glad to pay back what they owe. It gives a sense of achievement to pay off the final instalment for the car, and to pay the last monthly mortgage payment is a great feeling. Sometimes, just sometimes life can stop you in your tracks and turn everything upside down, there has to be help for times like this. Bankruptcy is a solution for many people, a final place to go after all other avenues have been exhausted. Bankruptcy is relief from a debt burden caused by events they wished they could have changed and prevented.

Hello Shazbat, The Official receiver,OF, may have included a PO attachment to the bankruptcy. A PO is a payments order, this is usual if for instance your income exceeds your outgoings. For instance if you take home £400 per week and your outgoings are £150 then there is a suplus. The OF can order you to pay into the bankruptcy, say £60 per week for a maximum of 36 months from the date of the bankruptcy. If you leave a job and do not earn wages in the the full 36 months, the period of payments do not get reduced. For example, if you have paid eg £60 a week for 12 months then don't work for 12 months you will still have to pay for the remaining 24 months when you start work again. I hope that this makes sence.

You're welcome!

Student loans used to be covered but there was a surge in graduates declearing bankruptcy and clearing their student loan debt. As a matter of course legislation was passed so now student loans are not covered. I belive all other govenment debt is covered, eg vat and tax debt. I want to add also that if you conform and comply with the official reciever then a personal bankruptcy may only last a few months and not a full year. It's a big decision but since the law changed on bankruptcy, eg 1 year from 3 year restrictions, hundreds of thousands have taken advantage.

There is some utter tosh written in this thread. I wish people would think and research before they post on a topic as important as this. Points to consider. If you cannot cope with your debt burden any longer and you have tried all other avenues of solving this issue, not IVA come to that later, then investigate bankruptcy. 1) CCJ’s ARE covered. Include ALL debt in your forms, however small. A CCJ will become a part of your bankruptcy. 2) BT will NOT cut off your telephone. 3) You may not necessarily lose your car if you inform them that you need it for work. You MUST disclose all assets, why, if you don’t then you could be placed onto a BRO, effectively an extension of bankruptcy for up to 15 years. Do not risk it, disclose all facts, be honest. 4) If you are a homeowner you may well keep your house. If you have children or dependents. If you jointly own a property your partner has the opportunity to buy your share of beneficial interest. This money will become part of your estate and given to creditors. This is good if you want to remain where you are. 5) You CAN get credit whilst you are bankrupt. Up to £500 is ok, anymore then that you have to inform lenders that you are bankrupt, if you don’t you are breaking the law. 6) You CAN open a bank account. You can become bankrupt in the morning and open an account in the afternoon. Co-op do a simple account, no facilities but you do get a visa electron debit card, more than enough. If you run the account successfully for a year after bankruptcy they will gladly open a current account for you. 7) A bankruptcy stays on your credit file for 6 years from the date you are declared bankrupt, it is then removed. An IVA will stay on your file for the duration of the IVA term, usually 5 years and then for 6 years after on your credit file, effectively 11 years. 9) You can down load the forms to fill in at http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/ This site will also inform you of what you need to know. Moneysavingexpert.co.uk is also a good reference point with forums too. I hope that this helps. Bankruptcy will free you from all debt, not student loans though, and it is a decision not to made lightly. If after you have investigated and you think it could be the way forward then do it. It is an opportunity to start again. Good luck.

Thank you, yes I do have good taste, but you're right we can't all have good taste.

I've got a VW Golf Cabriolet, and stuff what everyone thinks, hairdressers, girls car and other ignorant thoughts. It's only a Golf but on a sunny day with the roof down it is a wonderful way to spend a day out and about. My next car will be an Audi A4 Cabriolet, I’m already pricing up. They look great with the roof up and very sophisticated and exude class with the roof down. Buy one, I’m sure you won’t regret it. If buying second hand try - pistonheads.co.uk -, there are lots for sale. I would chose leather with an auto box, I don’t mind petrol or diesel, mpg isn’t a concern. On a side, my neighbour has just bought a VW Eos, take a look at these, a very nice car!

Can I clarify a couple of points. Harmful emissions. I think most will remember when Lead was removed from fuel as it is highly toxic, this was sensible. Today emissions from fuel still include Carbon Monoxide and several other poisonous gasses, reduced by Cats in exhausts, however, Carbon Dioxide is NOT a harmful emission, without this as all life as we know it on this planet would cease to exist. We are being taxed on our Co2 emissions due to the speculation of global warming. There is evidence for global warming and evidence against it. In fact a recent study suggested that average temperatures have reduced slightly since 1997. What is upsetting is that we are taxed according to our Co2 emissions, and from next year taxed at the showroom if you buy a large Co2 producing vehicle, up to £900. Why are we taxed on a ‘theory’ and if the theory is disproved will we be reimbursed our tax’s?