is being bankrupt worse than being in debt?

When you have the courts on your side against unscrupulous, heavy handed interest merchants, bankruptcy is more appealing but having a lower credit score isn't.

To quote the Jewish angle on this "Two bankruptcies and a fire, and you are sorted"!

I think it depends very much on your mindset.

A business contact who I met in 1995 was bankrupt, but had re-grouped, and set up another company.

He couldn't sign a cheque so his ex wife, but still business partner, couldn't write a cheque as she is dyslexic,
so I would write it and she would sign it.

Twenty years on and he is mega rich, with a zillion pound business, and a manor house with stabling for twenty plus race horses,
and a trainer and all the rest.
In fact he had achieved this in just fifteen years, so the moral is..."Never Give Up"!

I guess it is easier to admit to bankruptcy when it is business caused, rather than just from personal misfortune, or poor money management.

Perhaps the worst thing is knowing that there are notices in the press, for all to see!

Hard question as written
- it's easier to answer the corollary question - getting out of debts is a much better experience as anyone who has cleared a mortgage or repaid a business loan will attest. Not having to pay the interest is great. And the banks shower you with offers to lend up to 100* what you previously borrowed.

Just means you can't get your self into any more debt. no more credit. I keep thinking i'm a mug. Get a large loan and go bankrupt? Free money. My relative borrowed for years and lived high on the hog. Went bankrupt and cleared the debts. worked out ok.
I think people have a prince/princess expectation on life. they see celebrity lifestyles and believe it's their right to live that lifestyle. the little princes/princesses have to have the big ass tv,the iphone and the holidays and big house without creating wealth to pay for it.

The bankruptcy game is a real eye opener.
I managed a SME through a liquidation process after the owner was declared bankrupt after a particularly nasty and costly divorce several years ago. The organization appointed to execute the court papers really wanted the path of least resistance for everyone. They had a sealed envelope bid for the building (told me what the best offer was in case I wanted to bid 1k more and get myself a 590k business premise for 240k) - and in effect they priced all the assets to ensure that there was enough money to pay them and the debtors with nothing left over.
The result was a total carve up.
My slippery ex boss was running another company (in a friend's name) within 2 weeks, driving a top of the range Mercedes, although at least everyone was owed received the money they did - me included. Bankruptcy can be the easy way out for some.

A friend of mine has just started up a new business.
The previous tenant left loads of bills and demands in the desk.
The guy moved three times and managed to rack up around 40 grand debt each time.
Never paid any of it back.
Worst that happened was one car repossessed.

Depends on the amount. Sometimes there is no alternative but nowadays people are using it immorally just to dodge debts
which could and should be repaid.

That's what this bloke did.
Never paid for anything.
He knew how to play the system.

I've seen celebrities do it then they have the front to go on TV plugging the book talking about how they had it all and lost it all, doubt any of the profit when to those that were owed.