Andy has a positive attitude

Bristol-based Andy Banwell, 44, is a repossession survivor. His family home was repossessed on 31 July 2006 – a traumatic experience for him, his wife and two teenage daughters.

Andy used to work as a contractor for a satellite installation company which went bankrupt. As a result, the company was unable to pay his wages and left Andy with debts of £12,000. As he was unable to pay off his debt, Andy declared bankruptcy in 1990. He had thought that the bankruptcy would clear his debts, but did not realise that he was still bound over to pay them – plus interest.

“About 15 years later, at Christmas 2005, I got a letter saying that my debt had increased to £78,000, including the accumulated interest charges which were fixed at 14% APR,” says Andy. “At this point, I was up to date with my mortgage repayments and only six years away to finishing up my mortgage.

“I was shocked and frustrated when I received the court order. I was not told the whole story at that time. I was naïve. The official receiver should have been more forthcoming.” In fact, the judge was also surprised at the lack of information Andy had about his situation and decided to suspend judgement for a month. Andy was referred to a bankruptcy specialist but it was too late to do anything at that point. “All the official receiver left me with at the end was – ‘have a good life’.”

The value of his family home had risen from £46,000 to £170,000 in 20 years. However, after clearing all his debts, Andy had no money left. The case was closed. “To me it was just a property, ‘bricks and mortar’, but my wife was devastated. We had been living in that property for 20 years. My kids were born and brought up there.”

The next step for Andy was to look for a new place and he found this process a tough mission. “The council was not very helpful. They don’t take action until you are actually homeless and may not even take up action if they deem that you made yourself homeless. To them bankruptcy is making yourself homeless. It was also difficult to rent privately with a guaranteed rental scheme as they are not willing to rent if you have a bad credit history. We were close to ending up on the street. 

“So with no help from council or private owners and no money, I found a landlord with much difficulty. There was no choice. Even he was asking for £6,000 upfront and I had to borrow from family,” says Andy.

The repossession ordeal was compounded by other tragic events in his family, like serious illnesses and death. Both Andy and his wife were struck down with different forms of cancer but Andy’s positive and strong personality stopped him going under. “People who are weak lose sight of important values like the wife and family," he says. "I have heard loads of stories of people who have committed suicide because of bankruptcy and repossession. I think both onward and upward. I don’t look at the past.” 

He learnt a lot after repossession and is eager to “bottle up his experiences and share it” as he puts it. He goes on to advise people in the same situation to “take legal help as soon as possible and not to bury their heads in the sand”.

Andy found the best source of advice was the internet. He recommends the Consumer Action Group where lawyers and people who have been through similar forms of experiences offer invaluable advice.  He strongly counsels against even speaking to the companies who do "sell and rent back" schemes (as we do in this article), as they are profit-driven: “They are not charity and they don’t love you. They just want your money."

Currently in remission, both Andy and his wife are much healthier than they were but are living on benefits. They support each other and are saving hard to make a fresh start in the future. They intend to set up a small business and a comfortable way of life, in a sunny and quiet place, perhaps abroad, with cautious investment and without the once eager dream of becoming a millionaire overnight.