I have recently been made bankrupt and have my OR interview coming up at the end of the week.
I have a relatively healthy income but also have some large outgoings (I am the sole bread winner and have 4 children).
I have already lost my home and am living in rented accommodation but have concerns over whether the OR will hit me with an IPO or whether will make me rent somewhere less expensive.
Is there some magic formula that the OR uses in assessing what reasonable outgoings are?
Provided you don't rent a place that is massively expensive then the OR won't be able to tell you to move. Let's say the 'average' 4 bed house to rent in your area is £800 and you spend £900 there won't be a problem but if you spend £1200 on rent then it may be questioned.
Don't forget that everything with the OR is agreed. Even if you spend a lot more on rent that is normal for your property in your area you can make a case that you need to live in that property as it is close to schools, close to work, etc.
I had my interview on Monday the OR was really nice and didn't question my outgoings at all really. Be truthful with him/her and everything will be fine. Julie
Thanks for your replies and the spreadsheet is really useful. However, it does mention a technical manual for a number of items and I wondered whether this was publicly available?
The main issue I have is that I live in a rural community and rental properties are few and far between. Also in considering all the credit checks letting agents now insist on and that we have pets it has been almost impossible to find a landlord to take us on. Consequently our rent is possibly 25% more than you would expect for the area... I guess I will have to present this case as I really could not put the kids through moving school.
The are some other slight issues around that we only get TV reception via Sky and that I need broadband for work.
I also noticed on the spreadsheet that there is an allowance for holidays - do you know how much this is?
If you need broadband for your work then you should be allowed this. Sky is another matter but most companies do everything in packages so if you just put your telephone/Internet as one item on the I&E then you can put whatever you pay Sky for the complete package. If you have the expensive packages (i.e. sports, movies, etc.) then it may be questioned.
For holidays it is normally around £80 for a family of four or about £30 for a single person.
I have recently been made bankrupt
Posted - 21 July 2009 : 19:26:59
