Well it’s finally over!  Nearly 4 years after I faced up to my debt problems I made my last IPA payment on 28^th June.

There were a few hiccups at the end as the OR decided I hadn’t made a payment in September 2007, and even when I sent the bank statement showing that the payment had been made they weren’t happy.  They are going to take it up with Clarke Willmott (who were collecting the payments at the time) so hopefully that’ll be the last I hear about that.

The best part was that on the same day as the OR was querying the bank statement Moon Beever sent a letter confirming that I only had one more payment to make at the end of June!

It was a strange feeling when the last payment went out.  I was obviously pleased, but in a funny sort of way it was an anti-climax.  I don’t know how I expected to feel though!!!  I always said that I would buy myself a present to celebrate, and I think that’ll be a watch as I’ve managed to jam the winder on mine!  That and another tattoo!

It’s been a long 4 years with a lot of ups and downs, but I think it’s changed me as a person.  I still want things straight away, that’s just me, but I realise that I now have to wait!  I also appreciate what I have more than I used to.  I’m lucky as I’ve got a nice home, a lovely partner and the one and only Harry Puss.

I’ve also made some brilliant friends thanks to this forum.  I’m not going to mention you all by name as I don;t want to upset anyone by missing them out!  You know who you are though, and thank you for everything.

I would say to anyone thinking of bankruptcy that it’s not as bad as people think, but it’s also not the easy way out.  Talk to 2 or 3 IPs and make sure it’s the right decision for you.

It’ll seem strange when all of my money is mine as for as long as I can remember I’ve been paying my debts, an IVA or an IPA.  I have a few things in mind to celebrate, one of which is a new tattoo!

After posting on the forum that I’ve got nothing to write in my blog Julie suggested I post about doing the Race for Life for Cancer Research UK.  This will be the 5th time I’ve done it, and as usual I’m doing it in memory of my Dad and Uncle, both of whom died of cancer.

The difference this time is that I want to run it.  It’s only 5k so it’s not far, but please bear in mind I’m 1 1/2 stones overweight and hate running!  My training so far has been hit and miss, but I went out for a little run (sorry trot whilst gasping for breath!) last week, I ran on the treadmill at the gym on Tuesday and I went for an outdoor run again yesterday.  Today was a day of rest!

 I really want to do this, so feel free to shout at me every now and then!

I did get accepted for a Vanquis credit card a couple of months ago.  It was scary to use a card again, but it felt good when the balance was cleared in full!  It has an interest rate of 34.9% apr, but as I’m paying in full each month it doesn’t matter.  Hopefully it’ll help my credit rating in the long term, which is all I really wanted it for.

Thanks to everyone who has left me comments on my blog, and especially those who were so lovely when my mum was ill.  I’m sorry I never approved or replied to them, but it was as much as I could do to keep up with the forum.  Mum is much better now, almost back to her old self.

On the subject of blog comments, I’d just like to say thank you to the idiot who has left rude comments on my blog.  It’s given me something to laugh at, and made me realise that my life really isn’t that bad – at least I’ve got more to do than insult other people.

There have been a lot of posts recently about ‘cleaning’ your credit files, so I thought it might help if I posted what I’d done in a bit more detail.

Before you start the clean up you need to get copies of your credit files from the 3 main agencies, Experian, Equifax and Call Credit:

Experian Ltd
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham
NG80 7WF
Tel: 0870 241 6212
http://www.experian.co.uk

Equifax
Credit File Advice Centre
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US
Tel: 08705 143700
http://www.equifax.co.uk

Callcredit PLC
Consumer Services Team
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ
Tel: 0870 060 1414
http://www.callcredit.co.uk

I found the letter below on another forum, and it definitely works.  The wording is for after bankruptcy, but it wouldn’t be difficult to alter it for after an IVA:

Your address:
XX XXXXXXXX XXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXX XXX

Data Control Officer
e.g. Next Retail Limited
Desford Road
Enderby
Leicester
LE19 4AT

Dear Sirs Re:

Account Number xxxxxxxxxxx After consultation with both the Information Commissioner and the Credit Reference Agencies, I am writing directly to you to request that you formally update my credit files in accordance with the Data Protection Act. I was declared bankrupt on <Date of your bankruptcy>and subsequently discharged on <Date of Discharge>, and <name of creditor> was included within the Bankruptcy. For your convenience I have attached both my bankruptcy Order and Discharge Notification.

Currently the information that you have recorded against my name with the Credit Reference Agencies is factually incorrect, and despite several written requests to your customer services , as yet your company has failed to correct the entries as required.

• It is requested that if you intend to default the account, the default entry must be <Date if your bankruptcy>, in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

• It is requested that you mark the account in some way as to indicate that it is settled or satisfied, in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

• If you have sold the debt on, according to the Information Commissioner, you are still liable to ensure that both you and the new holder are aware and that as the originator of the information it is your responsibility to ensure that it is corrected.

The Information Commissioner has indicated that I should allow you 28 calendar days from the date you receive this letter to comply, during this time you are requested either to update the Credit Reference Files correctly (of all three Credit Reference Agencies) or notify me in writing the reasons that you refuse to.

After the 28 days have elapsed the Information Commissioner has requested that I inform them if your company fails to update the records so that they may take any necessary enforcement action against your company.

I have copied the relevant information provided by the Information Commissioner as an attachment to this request.

Yours faithfully

xxxxxx xxxx

Enc:

Bankruptcy Order
Discharge Notification 

Frequently Asked Questions – Bankruptcy

I’ve noticed that an account that was included in my bankruptcy is marked in default later than my bankruptcy. Can I do anything to change it?

If the lender refuses to change the date of the default then you can contact us using the enquiry form on our website (http://www.ico.gov.uk). You will need to send us:

To find the address of the data controller (not necessarily the same as customer services) you can search on http://www.ico.gov.uk/ESDWebPages/search.asp

If your creditors don’t or won’t update your files you can report them to the Information Commissioner and he has the power to force them to do this.  Be warned it’s a slow process though!  The website of the ICO is http://www.ico.gov.uk/

My partner was paying more into the housekeeping that I was, but luckily our mortgage has gone down a little (a new fixed rate) so we’re now back to paying half each which makes me feel better – he’s self employed and his salary varies a lot each month.

I now have my new salary, and it turns out that I am earning £75 less a month.  I’ve completed the IPOQ and I’ll send it off to the RTLU tonight and hope she agrees with my figures!  If she does agree I think my IPA will only be reduced by £36 a month, but every little helps.

It turned out that we were all being asked to take a voluntary 7% pay cut, effective from April, in the hope that this will save jobs.  There have already been around 250 redundancies worldwide, so management are hoping that pay cuts might mean they don’t need to make any more.

We were given until the end of the week to decide whether to accept or refuse the pay cut, but I’ve already signed to say I accept.  I don’t feel I have a choice to be honest – I’d rather have a job paying 93% of my salary than nothing.  It was stressed that there may still have to be cut backs, but who knows what will happen further down the line.

I work in the electronics industry, and out major customers are the car industry, so we need a big turnaround before things will improve, so I’m not too optimistic.  We’ve been told the pay cut is temporary, but who knows?

I’m going to have to have my IPA payments reassessed as once the cut takes effect there’s no way I can afford to pay the same amount.  I phoned Moon Beaver, the company who collect my IPA payments (it changed from Clarke Willmott this month) and they said to phone nearer the time and they will send me a change of circumstance form.  I asked what to do about April’s payment as I’m paid on 25th and the payment is due by 30th and they said to put the money aside.  The only problem is I won’t know how much!  I’m just going to put aside what I can afford and hope for the best.

Years ago I had a full Nationwide Flexaccount with debit card, chequebook etc.  I stopped using it long before my bankruptcy, but never closed the account.  I declared it on my bankruptcy forms, but it was never frozen by Nationwide, and the OR never showed any interest in it.

While I’ve been happy with my Co-op Cashminder account I’ve missed having a full debit card, rather than a Visa Electron, and I object to paying for a prepaid card.  As I knew no other bank was likely to consider giving me an account I decided to give Nationwide a call and ask if they could send me a card so that I could start using the account.

I’ve got a basic Flexaccount with Nationwide, which I opened after I was bankrupt, so I fully expected them to send me another cash card rather than a Visa debit card.  I was very surprised to see a nice shiny full Visa debit card when I opened the envelope!

When I went into Nationwide on Saturday I decided to ask for a chequebook as well.  After a nerve-wracking couple of minutes I was told it’ll be with me within 5-7 working days.  I don’t need to write a cheque very often, but every now and then it comes in handy, and it’ll be nice not to have to ask other people.

My salary will be paid into the full account, with my direct debits coming out of the cash account so I don’t have to worry about whether everything has been paid – I know what’s left is mine.

I now feel that I’ve got my financial life back on track.  I’ve got a full bank account, an ISA (Abbey) and an e savings account (also Abbey) – not that there’s much in either of them!  My credit files have been amended (apart from Tesco who I’ll be reporting to the Information Commissioner),  I’ve got 16 more payments into my IPA, which seems to be flying past, and I can’t believe it’s nearly 2 years since I went BR.

I hope no-one thinks I’m boasting or sounding smug as that’s not my intention.  I just want to show that there is life after bankruptcy, and while it’s not the solution for everyone, for some of us it’s the right decision.

I’m 33 years old, and for the first time in my life I’m scared.  I don’t mean scared as in not wanting to go to the dentist or because I’ve seen a spider, but I’m scared I’m going to lose my mum.  She had flu before Christmas, but this has left her with terrible pains in her shoulders, so bad she can’t sleep, and even has problems getting dressed. 

The doctor thought that mum had polymyalgia, but the blood tests came back clear.  She’s got all the symptoms – pain in her arms, unable to sleep, night sweats, depression, lack of appetite – but the doctor can’t treat her until they know what’s wrong.  Mum was given strong painkillers, but she can’t take them as they made her very sick.  She’s back on paracetomol, but this isn’t really doing anything for the pain. 

The thing that really scares me is the way mum has been talking – she can understand why people commit suicide if they have constant pain, and she can’t go on for however long she has left (her words) as she is.  She’s got another appointment with the doctor on Monday, but I don’t know what she’ll do if they can’t do something to help her.  I know mum has been very lonely since my dad died ten years ago, but I’ve never heard her talk like that before. 

I don’t know what I can do for her, partly because she won’t let me.  I’ve offered to walk the dog, but because I won’t do it at 7am in the morning I know she’ll do it anyway.  I offered to get some shopping for her, and she asked me to get a couple of things and then went herself the next morning and got the rest herself!  She might be 77, but she’s fiercely independent.  My dad had Multiple Sclerosis and she nursed him for 20 years until he died of cancer.  She then looked after her friend and her elderly neighbour until they died.  She’s good at looking after other people, but a lousy patient herself! 

To be honest, this sort of thing puts everything into perspective – it makes me realise that despite all my worrying about my debts, my IVA and being bankrupt nothing is more important than your family and health.   

Life is too short to worry, so I would say to anyone reading this – if you are in debt take steps to sort yourself out, and if you’re in an IVA or BR, be thankful that you have a second chance, and the chance to enjoy the rest of your life.

To be honest it’s going really quickly, and despite the credit crunch we’re still managing.  I thought I might need a payment break last week – I hurt my neck and had to go to the osteopath, but luckily Dave lent me the money and I only needed to go once.

 I did find out what I need to do if I need a payment break though – I need to provide Clarke Willmott with proof of the reason I need the break, and then they will consider it.  This would have caused a problem with the osteopath as I couldn’t get proof without going, and therefore borrowing the money, but hey ho, where there’s a will there’s a way!  I did ask what would happen if they didn’t approve the payment break as I would have borrowed the money, but I couldn’t get a straight answer.

To be fair to Clarke Willmott, every other time I’ve had to speak to them they’ve been very helpful and have sorted out any problems I’ve had very quickly.