Rush of low income insolvencies feared
26 Mar 08
The Accountant in Bankruptcy insists it is ready for a potential deluge of work
by Victoria Masterson
The Accountant in Bankruptcy insists it is ready for a potential deluge of work after legislation took effect on 1 April giving “low income, low asset” (LILA) debtors on the national minimum wage with assets of less than £10,000 access to bankruptcy.
Citizens Advice and Money Advice have predicted 5,000 applicants in year one.
“We think there’s going to be an awful lot more than that,” said Anne Bryce, director of insolvency at ICAS.
David Hunter at Campbell Dallas said the LILA scheme was good in principle but predicted huge pent-up demand. “A lot of the public debt organisations and charities have been storing up the debts of these people for years. There are thousands of files which will hit the AiB immediately after the new act comes into force.”
Gillian Thompson, chief executive of the Accountant in Bankruptcy (above), insisted the agency was prepared. “Staff who will handle LILA applications have been trained and procedures are in place. We are ready,” she said.