This is a classic case of a good person who did the absolute wrong thing when faced with financial problems.

The record indicates that Timothy Hardman had contacted Debt Matters for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in an attempt to deal with his money troubles. While Mr. Hardman had been advised that an IVA was possible at that time, a solution that would have allowed him to keep control of his assets and avoid bankruptcy, life dealt him a cruel blow.

Apparently before the IVA was put in place his wife suffered a back injury and was unable to work and thus unable to contribute funds towards the household and IVA payments. These kinds of things happen some times. It’s just the way life works. One thing Mr. Hardman had failed to mention was almost £12,000 of cash he was due from an insurance policy and a personal injury claim.

Well, it seems that Mr. Hardman, who had not been fully honest with either Debt Matters or his Insolvency Practitioner, decided to go ahead with bankruptcy instead and went before the Blackpool magistrate to petition for his bankruptcy and when he did the hidden assets were discovered.  

The Insolvency Service didn’t find the deception funny and Hardman was hauled before the court and given a suspended three-month prison sentence and ordered to do 180 hours of community work.