Deborah received a CCJ claim form for £45,000 for VAT arrears. To avoid receiving a CCJ she paid this in full however this meant that she no longer had the money to pay for her self assessment tax. She then received a further VAT bill for £19,000, which she obtained a £15,000 loan, through her partner, in order to pay in full. From that point onwards she struggled to cope financially as her debt repayments were significant and she no longer had adequate funds coming in to maintain all of her household bills, plus debt repayments and amounts due for self assessment tax and VAT.
Deborah tried to refinance her property but was repeatedly turned down and she felt she had no further alternatives open to her. When she contacted The Debt Advisor she had £290,000 unsecured debt including £155,000 owed to HMR&C. Unfortunately HMR & C rejected proposals for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement due to the high level of debt and also because they had issued a VAT security notice and they felt her affairs had been neglected for too many years.
Deborah’s comments:
“James and Eileen at The Debt Advisor were extremely helpful and went out of their way to make a very difficult situation as painless as possible. On the day of the petition, Eileen went to court with me and was incredibly professional and supportive on what for me was an extremely anxious day.”
Situation before Bankruptcy
Deborah had £290,000 of unsecured debt and had an IVA rejected by HMR&C. She had tried every possible solution from informal arrangements and secured loans right through to the rejected IVA. Deborah never wanted to petition for bankruptcy and took every possible step available to her with the assistance of TDA to avoid such a course, however it became clear that Bankruptcy was the only viable remaining option open.
APPROVED BANKRUPTCY SOLUTION
Deborah found the Bankruptcy process quite intimidating, but with the help of the Debt Advisor she gained the confidence to Petition the court. She has now obtained her discharge and is in a lot better place without the noose of her outstanding tax debts around her neck preventing her from moving forward.
Deborah has admittedly found the process of trying to deal with her debts very difficult. An IVA would have been a more appropriate solution to deal with her debt. However, on the positive side, Deborah now has an end in sight and is paying monthly income contributions for a 3 year period.
It is now no longer necessary to file your petition at court. It is an online application which costs £680.00. The Business Debt Advisor can help you with these applications.
