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Original poster

Uni vs Debt

16 replies

idontevengohere · 12/04/2018 19:04

I have 8k debt, that I'm paying on a debt management plan. The debts are in my name and I have no assets, we currently rent our 2 bed. At the rate I'm repaying it, it will take 11 years to pay off. I've already been paying it for 3 years and have paid off 3.5k so far. I've been advised to go bankrupt. However, currently I have 3 monthly outgoings that by the end of the year should stop which total £130 so I could greatly increase my monthly payments.

I have a place at uni in 2019. Bankruptcy wouldn't affect this as far as I can tell. However, I have three young children who I will need to pay childcare for at uni out of my student loan and any childcare grant should I even qualify (married and DH is on 20k). For the first uni year it would cost about 12k in childcare, so I can only go that year if I get the childcare which I won't actually know until I apply next year. 2020 will be better childcare wise because I will then have 3 children at school so it will just be wrap-around care.

I am currently a SAHM but have been applying for jobs for between now and uni. I can't decide if I should go bankrupt and go to uni, or go back to work and work on the debt, then go to uni. It's a 3 year course and I should be Band 4 when I qualify I think. I've been a SAHM for a while so I'm not looking at a great wage going back to work now, I work in personal injury claims and it's hard to find jobs there part-time.

I've been trying to work out what to do for ages and I just can't work out my best option. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

OP posts:

Original poster

idontevengohere · 12/04/2018 19:04

I should add that I don't qualify for a DRO and the debt is in my name only.

OP posts:

Original poster

idontevengohere · 13/04/2018 16:44

Anyone? :-)

OP posts:

FridgeCut · 13/04/2018 16:48

I'd pay off the debt and then go, depending on your age. Uni would be nice, but it sounds like you need to find a job maybe in the evenings and weekends and just pay it off and get your house in order first. I'd expect a three year NHS course to lead to band 5? What course is it?

Original poster

idontevengohere · 13/04/2018 18:10

Speech & Language Therapy so yes Band 5 is possible.

The problem is, Im not willing to work ft whilst DCs are small and Im studying atm too, but part-time wage is awful for what I work in and there are very few in my sector. Im looking at 8/9k a year.

OP posts:

Zioanna · 13/04/2018 22:56

Who has advised you to go bankrupt? If it’s a reputable organisation like stepchange, I’d take their advice - go bankrupt and have a fresh start, provided it wouldn’t affect your tenancy?

What are the three things you’re paying £130pcm for? Do you know if you would be allowed to continue these payments in bankruptcy?

Do you know why you don’t qualify for the DRO? Is it due to the £130pcm payment? If so, could you end it now or look to apply for the DRO when it’s finished?

bippityboppityboop · 13/04/2018 23:10

The three things are a phone contract which ends July, my access course which I'm not sure when it will end as its when I finish it- maybe October, and a DFS sofa that is in my husband's name but I pay it which ends in December.

I don't qualify for the DRO because I have more than 50pcm disposable income.

I don't think it would affect the tenancy, I don't see how they'd find out as we're not in any rent arrears they shouldn't be informed.

It would affect us should we want to move though of course, we are in a 2 bed currently with 3 children.

bippityboppityboop · 13/04/2018 23:25

Woops sorry I NC, I am the OP.

RedHelenB · 14/04/2018 12:28

Are you sure that you can go bankrupt if you can't get a dro?

TalkFastThinkSlow · 14/04/2018 12:32

Once the course is completed, is your earning power going to be massively higher, compared to your previous salary? Sorry, I don't know anything about bands.

FridgeCut · 14/04/2018 12:35

Are three kids in a two bed house going to be sustainable over the longer term?

SALT jobs can be quite hard to come by, is there a specific reason you have chosen that over nursing or another caring / allied health course?

user1493413286 · 14/04/2018 12:42

Unless you really trust the person or organisation advising you I’d be incredibly careful about going for bankruptcy especially for what is a relatively small amount in the grand scheme of things.
My DP had an IVA for tens of thousands of pounds of debt and it had so many implications for our lives for years - he couldn’t get a phone contract, we couldn’t have a joint account as it’d effect our credit rating, he couldn’t be named on our tenancy agreement, a mortgage is out of the question for a long time, he was very limited with bank accounts. He wishes he’d just paid it off now.

Becca19962014 · 14/04/2018 13:28

I was told to go bankrupt by a psychiatric nurse years ago who made it sound like just filling in a bit of paper and starting again with zero effects.

But when I spoke to a debt advisor (wasn't stepchange but similar) I was told it would very likely mean my tenancy wouldn't be renewed, and I'd likely struggle to get another, as it would appear on credit checks which are routinely done as part of every renewal. There was a time when it appeared in papers as well, I don't know if that still happens, but you really can't rely on just hoping your landlord wont find out, neither can you can't rely they'll allow you to renew until it disappears from your credit record.

I can't remember other issues as there was no way I was going to risk being homeless again so I've struggled with debt my whole life. I've no one to go guarantor and it was horrendous finding somewhere to take me without one even before this was suggested and I was in work (I'd stopped work when I was seeing the cpn).

Please get some proper advice about how this will effect you. It really isn't as simple as some people make it sound unless it's massively changed of course either way get advice. If you don't qualify for a DRO you may not qualify to go bankrupt either.

Also look at how many posts are being advertised for what you want to do and where they are.

Becca19962014 · 14/04/2018 13:35

Sorry some bits got deleted!

Before the bit about tenancy and my experience, there was a bit about if you had a joint tenancy and if so you'll find it will effect your tenancy and getting another. Routinely landlords now check all adults renting a property, it's not like it has been before where you can ask they only look at DH for example, they'll look at you both just in case something like bankruptcy has happened.

I'm sure some won't but most will.

fridaybloodyfriday · 14/04/2018 13:48

Becca, very sensible post. As usual.

crunchymunch · 14/04/2018 15:19

I was fortunate not to have any of the above issues when I went bankrupt a few years ago, but I have a council tenancy and they don't run credit checks here. I'd be more wary if I was in a private rental. I was able to keep my phone contract throughout, and I have a few basic bank accounts with almost all the functionality of a full account. I'm allowed to have joint accounts but it makes more sense not to, so it doesn't affect DH's credit rating. But overall it's not too restrictive, and I've been able to start rebuilding credit using a couple of credit cards which get paid off in full. So in my case it pretty much has been like filling out the forms and having a fresh start.

In a way going bankrupt when you're a student or on a low wage is the best time to do it, because you usually still have to make repayments towards the debts for about 3 years after going bankrupt. If you're on student finance/benefits/low wage though, then they usually won't ask for repayments. I was a student and didn't have to make any repayments at all. But if you end up having to go bankrupt once you've qualified, they'll end up taking a chunk of your salary for a few years.

It does seem quite a low amount of debt to require bankruptcy, and I can't see how it can make sense if you're not managing to qualify for a DRO. I got advice from Stepchange and I'd recommend them for assessing your situation - usually it's pretty spot on.

If you're not keen on ft work when the dc are small, I'd consider the demands of the NHS course carefully, as it can be just as demanding as ft work, with studying, placements and maybe shifts as well. It might be better to put it off until the dc are at school regardless of the finances.

Zioanna · 14/04/2018 19:01

If you go back to uni and have to pay for expensive childcare, will you have more than £50pcm left over then? If not, would you qualify for the DRO at that point?

Some things to consider re bankruptcy: 1. The OR would not allow you to repay a debt in someone else’s name (the sofa)

Bankruptcy is no longer recorded in your local newspaper, but would be on the Insolvency Register which is available to anyone who wants to check it, including your landlord
Bankruptcy is actually very expensive. Could you afford the £680 fee?

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