Post Bankruptcy Bank Account

theskewbald

Sorry if this has been asked before, have searched but if anyone has a link ...
I have just had my bankruptcy removed from my credit record after 6 long years. (they do pass - it just feels like they won't )
Anyway, I now want to apply for a business bank account - I'm pretty sure the form asks 'have you ever been bankrupt' - how do I answer this? You can't lie, but if you say 'yes' you won't get the account?
Surely, if there's a 'statute of limitations' on it, they shouldn't be allowed to ask you?

Also, I have one WRONG defaulted credit card on my Equifax record, which I am trying to get removed as it was after the date of the bankruptcy - should I wait until I've got it gone before I apply for an new account?

Thanks folks.

iquit

This is just my opinion - all banking queries of have you ever been bankrupt can only be answered with a "yes", apparently even though 6 years may have passed we hold a lifetime membership to the br club/ society. You don't want to answer no, get an account, then bank finds out about br and closes account while you're trying to run your business. I think sorting out the error on your credit report will be to your benefit. Good luck and congratulations on your 6 years.

dojoman

Sorry but there is no time limit on the question "have you ever been bankrupt" it is with you till the day you die.

WLITC

Okay, I'm totally going to get slated for this, but after 6 years, if you credit file is clean and you know that you are handling your finances fine and your not trying to do anything dodgy (i.e get a loan that you can't afford by saying your earning twice as much as you actually are, etc) and this is something you need to proceed with something in life (i.e a business account to run your own business) then I might be inclined to conveniently forget to tick the yes or no box at all, in the hopes that who ever is processing the paper work misses that you haven't ticked one or the other.

Now I don't know the in's and out's of all of this, but if your BR no longer shows on a credit search (if it did they wouldn't need to ask) I can't see how, unless they just randomly search the London Gazette (highly unlikely given the miliions of credit searches happening daily) they would find out. You would of course be breaking the law .. but many people break laws they see as unfair on a daily basis. In the states, after 10 years I believe you don't have to declare you've ever been bankrupt. It would seem fair that we should have a similar clean slate period.

dojoman

I would not encourage anyone to do what you are saying. The plain and simple fact is that if you are asked have you ever been BR then you have to answer YES. It is not hard for anyone to find out if you have been BR. Unfortunately we do not live in the states (wish I did)

battyboimatt

I belive it is how the question is asked ie on the coop website for current accounts it states:

I have not been declared bankrupt in the last 6 years. Yes / No

To this you could answer no as its been longer than 6 years, however if the question was.

Have you ever been declared bankrupt

You would have to answer yes.

I hope that makes sence

WLITC

Well if that's correct about the Coop account then that's quite positive and perhaps other companies might follow suit in how they phrase the question.

WLITC

Very interesting .. just looked at Coop online application and it does indeed ask you to tick yes or no to whether "I have not been declared bankrupt in the last 6 years." Also, having a quick look at other banks, Barclays along with the usual, are you over 18, etc, it asks you to confirm that you are "You're not bankrupt", no mention of previusly being bankrupt. Over at Lloyds the intial screens taking you through the application don't ask the question, so I clicked the option to download and post it application instead and scannng through that it doesn't appear to ask the question at all and finally over at HSBC, in the eligibility criteria only thng I can see is "Are you happy for us to undertake a credit register search and credit scoring".

Interesting, I assumed that all the banks asked it as a straight forward "Have you ever been declared bankrup" and that appears to not be the case, which is quite positive.