Would you judge someone if you found they were bankrupt?

[rabbit12345]

This question. How would you/would you judge someone who had applied for bankruptcy?

Firstly as a friend or an interviewer.

I know aibu for not giving further details but I wanted a response based on the bankrupt fact not the reasons why etc..I will explain why though after considering the responses.

OP I asked about a debt management plan, because I used one. Me an dp had combined debts of 45k. Mixture of car loans, over drafts, credit cards, store cards, personal loans- it all added up.

We couldn't see anyway out, and was at the end of the road when I went over my over draft (which was 2k).

We went with a debt management company, and reduced our monthly payments to £700. We are now debt free.

I will NEVER have credit again.

Sorry meant to say, I went over my 2k overdraft and they cancelled it on my payday. I lost my £2300 wages in one day. So could not pay anything. No money for petrol to get to work, no food, nothing. The £300 only went partly to nursery fees.

Nope, not at all. I went bankrupt at 24. Mixture of being stuck in low paid NMW zero hour jobs, serious physical disability meaning I was off sick a lot but denied any benefits and had to resort to paying bills and rent on credit cards while I went through the long process of tests and treatments, and having to find lots of money I simply didn't have to bury my mum (I was 22, had nothing. Funerals and headstones are THOUSANDS).

Can happen to anyone. There is no safety net in this country for a lot of people who are made redundant, can't work due to disability, or are faced with sudden unavoidable costs. It was one of the best things I ever did, I only had £7k debt (doesn't sound a lot to most but it was unimaginable amount to me) but I wouldn't have been able to pay it off and was drowning in the repayments so it got worse every week.

Zero judgment from me.

Stepchange were absolutely amazing and supported me every step of the way.

As an interviewer it would depend in the job. As long as I wasn't wanting you to manage a business or a budget it wouldn't bother me at all.

As a friend - no i wouldn't care at all.

PS that was five years ago. I worked hard at uni and retrained to earn a better wage and get some more financial security so it won't ever put me in that position again. I manhsd to open a credit card and a token overdraft in the past year or two to try build my credit rating up and haven't amassed a penny of debt with either. I thank the stars I was able to get out of the hole and learned a lot.

I judge people whose company goes bankrupt and then they immediately start up a new business free from their previous debt. Without a thought for the people they owe money to.

I judge them harshly.

I've worked in the debt management sector before. I'd never judge someone for being bankrupt. Never. There are SO MANY good reasons why it could happen that area completely beyond the individual's control.

@Rabbit - Don't despair, there are always options - look into an IVA. Less stigma, with bankruptcy you have to declare it for the rest of your life e.g. when signing for a mortgage or insurance policy. IVA, much less so. If you own your house, and have a source of income, definitely an IVA is the better route.

We live in a country where people don't go to prison for debt any more. That's for a good reason. So don't feel ashamed - it's why credit companies charge interest.

It's not just financial jobs that will turn away bankrupts.

Years ago, I worked in recruitment in the public sector and private sector (the latter for care roles). Our procedures were that we didn't touch undischarged bankrupts or the insolvent due to safeguarding concerns. Such as whether someone could be vulnerable to blackmail / or just selling information from police databases or service users files. Or mention it to a service user in a care setting and be handed a prized family heirloom or pointed out a money stash to help (or worst case, help themselves).

I wouldn't have judged in those roles, I wouldn't have been able to progress your application. I would judge if you kept quiet and I found out while vetting you.

As a friend, it would depend on the reasons for it.

Ok now I see why you’re asking, I’ll give you my two pennies worth,
I am speaking from the experience of going through a bankruptcy with my husband.
Having seen him go through it, and negatively being impacted by his decisions and picking up the pieces, I would now judge because a year later he’s been given lines of credit- 3 credit cards. No debt and his bankruptcy was very easy for him, he never paid anything to the official receiver and was able to put his head in the sand for another year then it went away.

That being said, he was given a fresh start which has been amazing for him.

I’d also like to say, unless you work as a company director or in finance the bankruptcy shouldn’t affect you.
DH is now (13 months after BR) a director of a limited company and he regularly applies for jobs- a quick google of his name shows him to have been bankrupt and he has a responsible job where he often deals with companies money etc. He hasn’t been affected by his bankruptcy so please try not to worry. This may work out as the best thing you’ve ever had thrust upon you

You’re not allowed to discriminate like that Chaucer and your recruitment company are lucky they didn’t get sued. Hopefully they’re not still doing it

OP please please please visit the bankruptcy board on the money saving expert forum, please! That's all I'll say on this but really it's only money life goes on, don't let it eat you up inside

@Leafyhouse you cannot tell the OP that IVA is definitely a better option, you have no idea what her situation is! OP get proper advice please before you go either way. Also Leafy I am a mortgage advisor and the most common question now is "have you been declared bankrupt,entered an IVA or made any voluntary arrangements in the last 6 years" hardly any lenders still ask "have you EVER been bankrupt" so actually it's all the same now.

Cherry - yes you could back then for safeguarding reasons. And I know that right now, you cannot answer 999 calls or be a policeman where I live if you are.

Would it especially anger you that when it came to carers being assigned to service users, we were exempt from sexual discrimination law: e.g. a male service user could receive personal care by both male and female carers while female service users could only receive personal care from a female carer...

Thank you for your comments and words of encouragement. They have helped so much.

As a friend, I doubt it.

If I were interviewing them it depends on the position. Everyone deserves a chance to get back on their feet, but some roles I'd be put off by the fact.

Personally? Not really unless they had an irresponsible attitude and then I probably wouldn’t be friends with them anyway.

At an interview? Unfortunately it precludes you from doing my role, so yes.

Yes. I would.

I know two people who have been in this situation. One I really do not judge. Yes, he didn't always make the best decisions but he couldn't have known what was going to happen, and he did his best.

The other, I'm afraid to say, I do judge. But I didn't until he proudly told me he'd never paid taxes (I think the bankruptcy was coming about because HMRC had finally caught up with him). He wanted my advice on the best way to get through bankruptcy, as he knew I'd been involved with my other friend.

Friend 1 had had bad luck. Friend 2 had been deliberately cheating the system. Friend 1 got sympathy, Friend 2 most definitely didn't.

You didn’t say you only discriminated for care roles.

Yes, for both. If they had paid back every penny after going bankrupt then I'd maybe think differently.

A lot of companies now do financial checks that need to be passed before employment.

@Yellow because yes of course people that go bankrupt have the ability to then pay the debt back after? That makes no sense. Unless you mean years or decades later when they MAY be able to afford it,although generally unlikely

It depends. I would if they were trying to avoid the consequences (above all to keep the house when it is the only asset of significance).

We are too generous to bankrupts; the trustee should always be able to cash in any life insurance and pension plan for he benefit of the estate. If you don't agree, imagine you were in business and a big customer defaulted. You would want every penny collected which could be.

I work in finance and it would cause me difficulty in obtaining work but it would not be impossible. My dp is in an dmp. He got into debt the same way I did but had less opportunity to repay it than I did expartnersdebtstakenon so, no I would never judge. We all make mistakes op. Do NOT feel ashamed for looking, and taking options.

kursk I would definitely judge you, from what you've said. Declaring bankruptcy as you leave the country so you can have a fresh start?? So you just walk away from debts and leave other people short, while you sail off into the sunset to start a new life? That seems wrong to me. How can you afford to move to a different country? Surely some of the relocating money should have been given to the people you owed?