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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to buy stuff on credit when I know I am about to go bankrupt?

99 replies

dingdong05 · 08/09/2009 20:40

so, here I am, I am getting everything together to go bankrupt- got new basic bank account, details off all my creditors, rearrange all my direct debit payment etc
Suddenly, through the door comes a letter from my cc- they've increased my limit by £600!

With £600 I could pay off a debt to a small company (the rest is all credit cards) and buy that dishwasher I've been desperate for. Maybe even get a new, although cheap, carpet to replace the disgrace in the hall. Of course I'd need to do this before I sent in the paperwork, but that's no problem.

And really, what's £600 when it's added to the £12000 I already owe? Of course, when I borrowed the £12000 I did intend to pay it back, but know for a fact I won't be paying back the £600.

Assuming I am on benefits, have no other support and have been labouring under massive debts for years, AIBU to take advantage?

OP posts:
RumourOfAHurricane · 08/09/2009 21:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

hatesponge · 08/09/2009 21:48

you sound like a complete idiot, sorry. It's not surprising you are going to be made bankrupt if you view a dishwasher and new carpet as a necessity. Make do with bare boards if your current carpet's that bad, and buy washing up gloves or handcream for your chapped hands - probably about 99p for each.

I know several people who are going through bankruptcy who take a similar view to you - one has been made bankrupt twice (so far, wouldn't put it past him to do it again ) cos he's a feckless tosser, and another who got £10k due to redundancy, pissed most of that up against a wall going on hols and buying a car, rather than trying to pay off £30ks worth of debt - because why make any effort to meet your debts, just spend what you like, go bankrupt & you can start all over again....so seems to be the prevailing attitude among a section of modern society.

make me a bit as someone who doesn't even have a single credit card

BitOfFun · 08/09/2009 21:50

May I suggest this kind of luxury item as more appropriate?

PrincessToadstool · 08/09/2009 21:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LuluMaman · 08/09/2009 21:53

you seem mmore bothered about your hands than your bankrupcy

may i suggest you invest a couple of quid in some rubber gloves and hand cream?

hatesponge · 08/09/2009 22:02

lulumaman - great minds think alike - although I knew there was a proper word for them rather than washing up gloves

scottishmummy · 08/09/2009 22:06

when they throw book at her will have soft hands. how reassuring

Original poster
dingdong05 · 08/09/2009 22:24

before anyone tracks me down and sends the heavies round- i am not planning on doing this!

i don't take my situation lightly and am not happy to find myself on this route to bankrupcy. if i had any other options i'd take them. i have done everything i can to avoid it, including running up more debts by defaulting on the debts I have (something i have managed to avoid for the most part) but circumstances have changed.

i'm glad i asked though, i have learned more about the proccess and know why it's not a good idea, as well as it being wrong

OP posts:
Ninks · 08/09/2009 22:28

Pay for your BR on credit if need be, lots of desperate people do, but that's all. If you take the piss you'll probably get a restriction order.

Devendra · 08/09/2009 22:28

I would.. without hesitation if it were for winter coats and food

Ninks · 08/09/2009 22:33

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=136

These people are really helpful.

Bellared · 08/09/2009 22:37

Dingdong, I'm not sure if you already know this its just you have not mentioned it, but to file for bankrucpy can cost you about £450 and your name will appear in the local paper in the Public Announcements section when it does go through.

Ninks · 08/09/2009 23:05

The law has changed on that. Unless you are suspected of fraud and / or are a company it is in the public interest to name and shame you but it doesn't happen automatically for personal BR. It is at the OR's discretion and most don't bother because it costs them and in most cases isn't worth it.

I know the OP is probably a wind-up but no need to scare people!

And if you are on a low income it costs less than £450 to have all of your debts cleared. You can get a £150 discount on several grounds AFAIK.

A close family member did it a few months ago. So fecking WHAT if your name appears in the local rag anyway? Sign of the times, no? I'd be more ashamed to be a thieving M.P and it didn't bother them for long because the rewards were worth more than a few lines in the press.

Original poster
dingdong05 · 08/09/2009 23:05

thanks bellared- i'm probably going to do a low income low asset sequestration which costs £100, and my name will appear on the edinburgh gazette, they don't do it in the local paper in scotland.

apparently it's the best option, given my circs. that is according to CAS, national debtline and an independant debt management company. if i knew for a fact I'd have a ft job (any job!) by christmas i'd hunker down and tough it out. problem is i've been toughing it out in the hope that things'll change for a while now (i'm well known in the local charity shops and at the reduced shelf in tescos so hoping just isn't good enough.

thanks for the link ninks, it looks like a mine of info!

OP posts:
Ninks · 08/09/2009 23:11

LILA is very straight-forward in that way. Harsh, but a fresh start. Good luck

BethNoire · 08/09/2009 23:26

Bloody hell, OP posted very quickly in that she wasn't actually going to do it- pile in season is it?

She ahs a point; it IS easy,I worked for a (dogy) credit company and it would happen all the time.

Very wrong indeed.

groundhogs · 09/09/2009 01:04

YAB Ridiculously U! You aren't flaming working????.... you can wash the bloody dishes your-shagging-self!

Instead of sitting there thinking of ways to spend more money that's not yours, you haven't got the means nor even desire to pay back, on STUFF you honestly don't need, why don't you spend your time looking for a job to pay back the people you are shafting?? One of those small company's you were talking about... & Dig yourself out of the hole you created...

Perhaps you ought to be looking for a bloody job in a kitchen AS a DISHWASHER..... not think about buying yourself one.... Outrageous!

Hang your head in SHAME!

skihorse · 09/09/2009 09:42

At this stage it would be fraud, not "unreasonable".

A dishwasher is not a necessity - I'd say to hell with it if you were asking for a duvet for the kids!

Alambil · 09/09/2009 10:01

marigolds are cheaper, you fool.

dilemma456 · 09/09/2009 10:26

Message withdrawn

Ninks · 09/09/2009 10:33

My mate worked for the type who would pressure old ladies on a pension into getting credit. Massively insured. No losers in the whole game, except the worried old lady terrified of getting her name in the paper for going BR.

hifi · 09/09/2009 10:39

what else have you got to do all day? get your dishes washed.

Ninks · 09/09/2009 10:40

Except BR is never an option considered by that generation. They don't understand that post-BR you are expected to have a reasonable standard of living so they go without food and heat in order to pay the debts off. Disgraceful.

curiositykilled · 09/09/2009 10:43

Can see why it is tempting but it is not really a good attitude to have. Why anyone would contemplate buying a dishwasher when they were in £12000 debt I don't know... You don't really need a dishwasher and you'd be using debt to pay off debt.

onetiredmummy · 09/09/2009 10:46

U know full well YABU, but sorry to hear about your situation. Hope it gets sorted for you.