Bankruptcy brings peace of mind, it enables ordinary people to get out of debt. It gives you the chance to start again, to get back on your feet, and so be able to get on with your life. Bankruptcy is very private, almost nobody will know if you go bankrupt.
I’m a former Chartered Accountant and I’ve been through bankruptcy myself when, a number of years ago, I tried to diversify my business interests. The wheels fell off and it knocked me over.
I was 30 years or so in my own practice but for about the last 10 years, in semi retirement, I have just specialised in bankruptcy, but only from the point of view of the person owing the money, you. In that time I’ve helped thousands of people, just like you, to sort out their debt problems.
Here’s a testimonial, quite unsolicited.
“Hi there Fred, just wanted to advise you of my progress since bankruptcy. This year I have bought a lovely house and now have a new lease on life. Thanks for your help. I haven’t forgotten you.”
So, if you’re behind in paying your debts, and now the awful worry and constant harassment and pressure at all hours the debt collectors is starting to wear you down, and even starting to affect your health, then its probably time that somebody told you about bankruptcy, or its alternatives, but from your point of view
In the pages of this website you’ll read that if you declare yourself bankrupt, you should be able to keep your car ( if you want to), see Information Note 2. Mostly if you’re paying it off and there’s a Bill of Sale over it as security, so then you simply just have to be up to date with your repayments when you go bankrupt, and be able to stay up to date.
If the car has been repossessed and sold, then if you go bankrupt you won’t owe any more money on it.
You’ll read that as far as you are concerned, bankruptcy will cancel your debt on things like credit cards and store cards, on unsecured overdrafts and personal loans, your income tax debt, any personal guarantees debt, on other loans debt, and if you’re in business, your unsecured business debt too.
Bankruptcy doesn’t cancel Centrelink debt, Child Support debt, some HECS debt and loans to do with your higher education (there’s a special term for it), or court imposed fines. You’ll read about these, and traffic fines, which are a special case, in these pages.
You’ll read in Information Note 1 that as a bankrupt you can retain a good slice of your income too, as after tax and after business expenses and after Child Support, the minimum amount that you can earn and keep during the (normal) 3 years of your bankruptcy is about $721 a week. If you have dependants, it’s more, eg. with 3 dependants it’s $952 net per week).
You’ll read that you can travel overseas if you are bankrupt. There’s a huge amount of wrong information about this in the community, and on other websites wanting your business (see Information Note 4). In about 10,000 bankruptcies I’ve only known of a few cases where the person going bankrupt had to hand their passport to their bankruptcy trustee. Overwhelmingly you don't.
I talk about the house in Information Notes 3 and 4.
If you are reading this website from overseas then in Information Note 4 I talk about how you can go bankrupt in Australia.
Throughout these pages I talk about your credit rating a lot. Bankruptcy and a Debt Agreement Proposal both damage your credit rating with the commercial credit rating agencies for 7 years so you will find it hard, but not always impossible, to get a loan again in that time.
Although the normal banking and finance companies may not want to lend to you again after your 3 years of bankruptcy is up, and while you’ve still got the balance of your 7 years bad credit rating in place, there are companies termed as Alternate Lenders who may help you. I can put you onto somebody who may be able to help you out here.
If you don’t want to go bankrupt but want to consider what some newspaper and television advertisements claim is a better alternative, called a Debt Agreement Proposal or a Personal Insolvency Agreement, then I talk about these in Information Note 3. Anecdotal evidence, and my own personal view, is that the benefits of these in some situations are oversold so that the promoters earn the big commissions and fees that they charge.
There’s no doubt that they are good in some circumstances, but I’ve got my doubts with others. Even some banks and finance companies are jacking up at the fees charged by some of these scheme’s promoters as they often seem to get more out of it than the banks etc who are owed the money do.
A lot of people tell me that they do want to pay their debts, but they can’t at the moment, and the system is just putting unreal and unrealistic pressure and demands on them. I was sent an article out of the Canberra Times (page 24) dated May 20, 2006 headed Petrol Prices, interest rates pushing more Australians into financial crisis. It gave an example of what can happen under new debt recovery laws introduced in late 2005 (I don’t know if it’s just an ACT law or if it applies Australia wide). It seems that this law change applies Australia wide.
The example showed that a person on a wage of $600 a week could be left with just $272 after their wages had been garnisheed by a creditor, ie, after the sheriff’s been around and a creditor has taken you through the legal system, you could be left with just $272 a week to live on, week after week, month after month.
Isn’t that just disgusting? I think that it’s worth noting here that bankruptcy, or entering into a debt agreement proposal, would prevent this happening. If the person above was bankrupt, they would have been able to keep the $600 in full. Bankruptcy law is more humane than debt collection law. Go to Information Notes 1 and 3 and work out the difference.
In my FAQ's , I talk about a choice that you can make to repay all of your debt, over time, but at your pace and at a rate that you can afford, if you want to, without your creditors being able to pressure or harass you, or charge you any more interest. To do this is purely voluntary on your part, as after you go bankrupt you personally don’t have to.
If you decide to go bankrupt and you want use my services then there are three choices, and their prices range from $143 to $396. I cover this in Information Note 5.
I prefer that you’ve read the whole site before deciding to make contact about going bankrupt as it also covers things like gambling, company directors and secretaries, compensation monies being free from bankruptcy, being in business while bankrupt, taxation, an insite into the debt collectors, buying your way out of bankruptcy (called annulment) objecting to the decisions and actions of your bankruptcy trustee, family law and property issues, and finally, getting insurance while you are bankrupt.
I also offer some assistance with the preparation of Debt Agreement Proposals.
You don’t have to become a paying customer to make contact, as this is a free information and advice service. Don’t feel uncomfortable about making contact if you just want information, or something cleared up.
Because I’m semi retired I’m not at my desk all the time so you’ll often get message bank (or your call will be diverted to my mobile).
You can email my associate Helen at helen@fredappleton.com.au and she generally responds within an hour or two. If email is out of the question, my telephone number is 02 66 511 311.
Up until now bankruptcy has probably been new and frightening to you, and there’s a staggering amount of misinformation out there about it. As you read these notes I’ll simply try to give you information and answers. You’ll identify with a lot of what I say, you’ll feel much better.
You might be interested in reading this testimonial that came to me, unsolicited, in April 2006.
“The relief that I felt 3 years ago filing for bankruptcy is now only matched by the end of my bankruptcy. It went so fast. What can I say other than you stop people from living in shame and pain with your knowledge. Don’t ever doubt that you aren’t helping people. Thanks…….”
The other testimonials in Information Note 6 are worth reading too. They’re all real, and are just a sample of what I regularly receive.
As I’ve said before if, after reading all of this information on this website you feel like getting in touch so that we can discuss your situation, by all means do so. Bankruptcy is a big step so print out and read the rest of this website first please, as this homepage is meant to be more than an introduction. You're under no obligation to me if you make contact by phone or email.
And thanks for coming to my site, at the end of the day I hope that it helps.
Fred Appleton
For more info, visit his website:
No comments:
Post a Comment