Discharge procedure

grossbeak

Hello all.

I'm enquiring on behalf of a friend who was forced into bankruptcy by a large company in 1993. He has lost all faith in the 'system' as he strongly felt he was not at fault (the company had supplied incorrect parts that led to multiple failures of installed equipment, the cost to him to repair the damage was far more than he owed the company. He went to court to claim for damages and refused to pay the owed amount - only a couple of thousand pounds, but the company rolled out the big guns and flattened him). He has kept his head below the tax threshold since and feels that his business and livelihood were destroyed by a system that caved in to the big expensive barristers. He was never instructed to pay anything to anyone after the bankruptcy and hasn't heard anything since.

My question is: is he discharged? Is this an automatic process or should he have applied at some point? I doubt the courts know his present address and he would rather pull his own head off than contact anyone to find out. He really doesn't trust anyone any more. He is operating normally with a bank account and credit cards (credit rating is fine), he told the bank about his bankruptcy but they seemed completely disinterested.

nervousmother

I would say yes he is discharged although he can check the insolvency website.

grossbeak

Thanks for replying. He has checked the insolvency website and he's not there, but surely there's more to it than that. Shouldn't there be some documented evidence?

nervousmother

If he is not on the site he is no longer bankrupt. He will be found forever on the london gazzett website though, but nope no longer BR.

grossbeak

Yup, I've found him in the London Gazette. But I'd still like to know if the discharge procedure is automatic or has to be applied for, and whether there is any supporting documentation.

nervousmother

The discharge is automatic, he would have been under the old rules and im not 100% up on those, but even now if you get automatic discharge and not a early discharge you dont know anything about it. You can apply to the court to get a notice of discharge at a cost of £60 but there is no point to it really as he is getting on with his life.

grossbeak

Great, thanks for that. It seems a rather haphazard way of concluding what must be an awful experience for most people, particularly if it came about through no fault of their own.

debtinfo

Hi grossbeak, under the old system he would have been bankrupt for either 2 or 3 years depending on how much he owed, The discharge would have been automatic and he would not have needed to apply. He can get a certificate from the court if needs to. The only way he wold not be discharged is if the OR had asked the court to suspend the discharge. this happens when the bankrupt does not comply with the OR and efectivly means that you stay bankrupt until you comply. If this had happened he would be on the online insolvency register and since he is not, that means that he was discharged. If he wants to be 1000000000000000000% sure or wants to know the date he will need to contact the court for a certificate

Jessica23_2

Im about to be discharged after going BR last year, Ive been told I dont have to do anything and it will just happen. If your friends br was in 1993 then I think you are more than safe to say he has been discharged, Im told the longest BR on record was 12 years so id say he's fine. The BR normally stays on your credit file for upto 6 years after your discharge date, this would explain why his credit rating is now fine as it would have rebuilt over the years. Unless he specifically needs the discharge certificate he may as well carry on doing what he is doing and keeping off the radar so to speak.

grossbeak

Thanks to all for taking the time to reply.