Bank accounts for Bankrupts - Discussion Thread

fiveyearplan

Open your bank account ASAP before BR and have all your benefits transferred. I opened my bank account several months before my BR.

rog2

kerrypn wrote: »

You could open up a barclays or co op account before the bankruptcy and have all you rbenefits paid into it, so by the time the BR comes around it will already be set up.

There are, not surprisingly, several schools of thought as to whether it is better to set up a basic bank account before or after declaring bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy is, in fact, based on a 'snapshot' situation at the moment of your bankruptcy declaration. This means that all accounts that you have, on the day of your bankruptcy, must be declared to the OR. This includes any basic account that you may have opened.
It is, of course, the decision of the OR as to whether or not he/she will have an interest in that account, but even a basic bank account can be frozen, pending completion of the OR investigation. The final decision as to whether or not the bankrupt is allowed to 'keep' the account, even after an OR has declared no interest in it, will usually be taken by the Bank.
That said, the majority of posters have encountered no problems in keeping basic accounts that they have opened just prior to declaring themselves bankrupt.
Personally, I would prefer to err on the side of caution and would advise those currently contemplating bankruptcy to make temporary arrangements to have wages/benefits etc paid into the account of a partner, or paid on to a pre-pay credit card, until after their bankruptcy hearing.
This would avoid any, however remote, chance of accounts being 'frozen' and access to money for living expenses denied.
Of course the bankrupt, if he/she needs one, should open a basic bank account with the minimum of delay after bankruptcy.

kerrypn

I understand, I was just going off what I did. Barclays said that a marker would be placed on my account but it would definitely not be frozen. The OR on the day of the BR said the same as it was where my CTC is paid.

SuSu1871

rog2 wrote: »

Personally, I would prefer to err on the side of caution and would advise those currently contemplating bankruptcy to make temporary arrangements to have wages/benefits etc paid into the account of a partner..., until after their bankruptcy hearing.

Hi Rog

Thanks for posting this advice. Can I just check, though, that this is legal? I don't want to doubt you, but I don't want to get my partner or me in trouble either.

He's going to go bankrupt and I've suggested he has his money paid into my bank account for a while before opening a new basic account. Is that allowed?

Mayday

rog2 wrote: »

Personally, I would prefer to err on the side of caution and would advise those currently contemplating bankruptcy to make temporary arrangements to have wages/benefits etc paid into the account of a partner, or paid on to a pre-pay credit card, until after their bankruptcy hearing.
This would avoid any, however remote, chance of accounts being 'frozen' and access to money for living expenses denied.
Of course the bankrupt, if he/she needs one, should open a basic bank account with the minimum of delay after bankruptcy.

This is exactly what my OH & I did when we knew his business was going under. Everything was transferred into my name and to my bank accounts - and that is how it has remained since his BR in 2007, apart from him opening a Barclays CardCash a/c for his wages to be paid into.

HTH

jonathon01

Rog2, That was my thinking, too. I thought it better to err on the side of caution and open an account immediately after BR. After all, there aren't many banks who will offer accounts to BRs so I wouldn't want to take a chance that a bank won't allow me to open another cash account, if I had opened a similar one just weeks before.

Mayday

SuSu1871 wrote: »

He's going to go bankrupt and I've suggested he has his money paid into my bank account for a while before opening a new basic account. Is that allowed?

That's what we did, and it wasn't questioned. Just make sure it's all in place before his BR hearing.

rog2

SuSu1871 wrote: »

Thanks for posting this advice. Can I just check, though, that this is legal? I don't want to doubt you, but I don't want to get my partner or me in trouble either.

He's going to go bankrupt and I've suggested he has his money paid into my bank account for a while before opening a new basic account. Is that allowed?

Totally legal, SuSu - in fact this is what CAB recommended to me.

philnicandamy

Yep I agree with rog....did the same myself a few years ago then sorted a co-op account after bankruptcy

hughie278

I was discharged a few weeks ago, and tonight tried to apply for a nationwide current account, as im not a fan of barclays, and co-op is to far from me to pay my wage into every week.

I done it online, and they offered me a cash card account instead. Its basic, but just what i need. I got this message from them...
FlexAccount FACILITIES OFFERED
We will contact you within the next five working days to get identification and a signature. Once we have received satisfactory evidence of your identity or signature (which may include checking your previous address), and as long as your personal details have not changed, you should receive your Cash Card within a further 7-10 working days.

....Will i need to go into the branch, and is this pretty sure im getting this card with them? Anyone else had this card after BR?