Quick question?????

sherbet_lemon_3

At what point are bank accounts frozen? Can it happen befoe OR interview? Been ill and have not had chance to get to bank to take myself off joint bank account (which is empty :rolleyes: ) so going today. OR interview is next Wednesday. Is it possible that it could have been frozen? Sorry, bit confused about order of events.


Husband has gone BR and want to simplify things by cutting financial ties.

fermi

If the bank discovers or is informed of the bankruptcy it is possible that it would be frozen before the interview.

For a bank to allow you continued access to an account, they need the OR to write or Fax them stating that the OR has no interest in the account. For basic bank accounts many OR's do this automatically, but for other accounts you may need to request this. Once the OR has expressed no interest in the account it is up to the banks discretion as to whether they freeze/unfreeze it or even close it.

So exactly what happens to an account is never certain, since it depends on the discretion of both the OR and the bank who each work to their own timescales.

sherbet_lemon_3

Thanks Fermi. It's all a bit of a lottery isn't it? No OR's seem to do the same thing as far as I can tell from reading on here and elsewhere.

How on earth does the OR know which bank accounts he holds before he has told him? How would the bank know about bankruptcy? Or am I being naiive?

fermi

Oops. I forgot that your OH was made bankrupt instead of doing it himself.:o

There are several ways the bank may find out apart from via the OR.

* The bankruptcy appearing on your Credit Reference Files. The agencies are informed by the OR very quickly.
* The bank noticing your details appearing in the London Gazette (not all routinely check/subscribe very often, and can take a week or so to appear).
* Details of the BR appearing on the Insolvency Register (normally added as soon as the OR gets details of your case).

The time period for the bankruptcy appearing on these official records is a bit variable as you can see, but if the bank sees the bankruptcy appear on one of these they may act on the account immediately.

EDIT: And yes it is a lottery.

The OR themselves will have to wait until they receive your statement of affairs before they can start writing to creditors.

sherbet_lemon_3

Well I'll go up to town and see. Sounds stupid but I'm really embarrassed about going in, in case they know. I know it is nothing to be ashamed of but it is there in the pit of my stomache.

Thanks for your help. I'll be back with more questions soon I'm sure!!!

savagevixen

In our case, we ha benefits paid into the account, that showed on the Saturday. We went BR on the Friday. Thus I was quite concerned (£270), all other things had been tranferred. I asked the OR on the day of BR and they said they would fax the bank (natwest-main creditor) immediately, requesting I be allowed to withdraw the funds the following day. I was far to embarrassed to go into the branch, so on The Saturday, I nervously used my card (expecting it to be immediately eaten!!!) It was fine. Withdrew the money. I did not cancel any payemnts OUT of the account. I assumed it would be frozen immediately, the people i paid money to would write to me and I could set up new DD's. WRONG!!! 2 weeks later, tried my internet banking, still live and still paying DD's....
When I had my OR interview, 3 weeks post BR, I explained my oversight, this was fine and not a problem. Despite me 'using' my account for 2 weeks post BR there was not a problem and BR was very straightforward.
I am however to scared to ever put my Co-op electron card into a Natwest machine as I am sure it will no it's me and eat my card for the h3ll of it!!!

sherbet_lemon_3

Well I went in and there were no big fingers pointing at me.

Account was still operating so I withdrew child benefit, which I have now arranged to have paid into my own bank account in the future, and took myself off the account.

This is a nightmare. Hope it will get better/ clearer after his interview with OR!

rog2

sherbet_lemon wrote: »

This is a nightmare. Hope it will get better/ clearer after his interview with OR!

It IS a nightmare, sl, but it WILL be clearer after the OR interview.:beer: