Over 13,000 consumer bankruptcies was announced last year. This is 2/3 more than the year before. This increase is on the one hand the effect of the regulations that entered into force in March 2020, and on the other hand – the pandemic crisis. Although the amended law ensures that every bankruptcy petition will be accepted, there are pitfalls in them, through which an indebted consumer, deciding to take such a step, may cause himself more harm than gain.

“Certainly this year and the next will be very important when it comes to consumer bankruptcy. Many people will be forced to go for this form of debt relief due to the pandemic. On the other hand, however, I warn you against entering the bankruptcy process too easily. Consumer bankruptcy has not only its advantages but also many disadvantages,” Krzysztof Oppenheim from Kancelaria Doradztwa Finansowego. Debt relief, Consumer bankruptcy. 

A petition for consumer bankruptcy may be filed by people who have not been able to pay their liabilities for at least three months. The main purpose of bankruptcy proceedings is debt relief, consisting of satisfying creditors, e.g. from the debtor's assets, or canceling part or all of the debts. According to the analyzes of the Central Economic Information Center, in 2020 consumer bankruptcy was announced in relation to 13,084 people. It's about 64.5 percent more than in 2019 and a third of all bankruptcies registered within six years. 

Consumers may declare bankruptcy since January 2015. For five years about half of the applications were rejected. However, almost simultaneously with the introduction of the first lockdown in March 2020, changes in the law to facilitate consumer bankruptcy entered into force.

(Newseria)