Bankruptcy and Money Advice Project

IMPORTANT NEWS: The Insolvency Service has announced changes to the amount that you will have to pay on presenting a petition for bankruptcy, effective from 6th April 2010. For more information on these changes please visit the following link: Fee Changes 2010

Following consistent increases in the numbers of people facing personal insolvency, the Bureau initiated a specialist Bankruptcy Advice service, with a dedicated Adviser providing advice and support with casework on more complex matters to clients from across Greater London.

This service is available at our Bankruptcy Court Desk sessions, held on Monday to Friday from 10.00am to 1.00pm in the Thomas More building at the Royal Courts of Justice, and also with casework on more complex matters.

Advice is available for clients wishing to petition for bankruptcy, those being petitioned for bankruptcy by creditors, and for people who have already been made bankrupt. Against a national backdrop of personal insolvency rising by 42% compared to 2004/05, the service provided by our Bankruptcy Adviser is a vital support for clients facing significant distress and often a devastating impact on their lives.

Following on from the success of this initiative, we then became part of the Capitalise Project, a London-wide partnership which aims to reduce debt and financial exclusion by improving people’s capacity to manage their debts, help people to take control of their finances and make informed choices in the future. We now have an additional six advisers providing debt and money advice to financially excluded members of the public experiencing debt and other financial problems.

If you are experiencing financial problems check out our range of advice leaflets:

Capitalise’s key objectives are:-

To provide locally-based, accessible and free face-to-face debt advice in priority London boroughs
To join up debt provision across a range of providers in London to provide synergy, and value for money
To share good practice and build enduring networks for future delivery of services
To increase the number and quality of debt advisers in London
To enable over 10,000 people to manage their debt and support them to manage their finances in the future
To access clients at the earliest possible stage in the development of their problem and to deal promptly and appropriately when clients present at points of crisis