Declaring old BR?

Shawnus

Hi
I am looking at renting a place and have been sent my background / reference check forms. On there it asks have I ever been bankrupt. I was about 10 years ago so that has gone from my record now - now I have a fair credit rating, credit cards etc.

I checked the gov insolvency site and I'm not on that. So should I just say no or is that an unnecessary risk and I should say yes? I really don't want this property to get away from us...but at the same time I don't want to volunteer info that will have a negative impact.

alastairq

The clue is in the actual question?

Ever?

Or 'are you?'

Shawnus

ever unfortunately.

shortcrust

Out of curiosity, is there a chance the OP would get found out if they answered 'no'? If so, how?

tigerfeet2006

The London Gazette holds records on all BR, ancient and modern, and anyone can search it.

alastairq

I am surprised that question can still be asked.

No-one seems to ask 'have you EVER had a CCJ?'......or, 'have you ever exceeded the speed limit?'

Or indeed, 'have you ever committed a criminal offence?'....especially when undergoing a simple credit check?

betterdaysahead

I'm not sure how someone can be 'found out' as such through the London Gazette. The information held is minimal - name, address at the time, occupation. No DOB or other identifiable information as far as I can see.

Xbigman

The thing to be wary of is National Hunter. They keep a record of previous applications you have made. If you apply for a mortgage or large loan you need to be consistent in your answers. I went BR in 1990 and I still answer yes to that question when sorting out my mortgage. In the OPs case I would answer no. The chance of being caught out is effectively zero after 10 years. This is also true with small loans, credit cards, mobile phone contracts, etc... They don't go to the expense of checking in depth.



Darren

betterdaysahead

Regarding National Hunter, I've done a bit a digging and from looking at a previous post from this forum (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4757841) it looks like any data will only be held for a maximum of 6 years.

Wondering if anyone knows if records of BR are kept anywhere else permanently, apart the minimal details in the London Gazette.

fermi

http://www.nhunter.co.uk/faq/?secton=1