Insolvency telephone interview tomorrow

Woodsy60

my wife and i declared ourselves bankrupt in court on Monday and tomorrow we have our separate telephone interviews.

We are both long term disabled and in receipt of only state benefits, including both receiving highest rate care & mobility DLA. We live in council accommodation that has been adapted for our growing needs and have the use of a mobility car. We have no savings. Charis Grants arranged payment of our respective £525 bankruptcy fees.

My wife is getting herself in a right state worrying about the telephone interview, wondering what to expect. Has anyone got any idea of what is likely to happen during the interview?

National_Debtline

Hi Woodsy


The interview is a very routine exercise. Everyone who goes bankrupt will go through such an interview, so it shouldn't be seen as an indicator that you have done something wrong or that you will get a grilling.


If anything, I would expect it to be shorter than average as it appears that:


(a) you have no assets - i.e. nothing to sell - i.e. nothing for the Official Receiver (OR) to bother themselves with; and


(b) as your household income consist purely of state benefits, you will not be expected to make any monthly contributions.


So, this is likely to be as routine a bankruptcy as the OR will ever handle. They're busy people and will not spend any more time or energy than is absolutely necessary handling a case where no assets or payments can be claimed.


Good luck with the interview(s) - I'm sure they will go very smoothly and I would suggest that you unwind this evening rather than dwelling on them.


Dennis
@natdebtline

Cobalt77

Woodsy60,

Having been through the experience a few months ago, you'll soon find out it is a HUGE anti-climax and NOTHING at all to worry about.

All the "OR" (or more correctly speaking, an "Examiner" who is a low-ish grade Civil Servant on a similar level to job centre and tax office staff) will be doing is going through that b1oody long financial questionnaire you took to Court - so be sure to have your copy to hand during your phone "interview".

You are on benefits and have no assets. So, as Dennis has said, the OR doesn't really give a flying fig about you because you have nothing worth going after.

So, all the "Civil Servant" will be doing is just confirming your figures are correct. That's all. They aren't judgemental, and won't be trying to trap you. In fact, in the nicest possible way, you are a complete waste of their time - as I probably was too

Just be polite. If they ask you a question, answer it as quickly and concisely as you can. Don't be tempted to waffle on - that's usually called "digging a hole for yourself" in the trade (I personally save all my waffling for this forum instead )

Like you, I expected to be personally called by the OR herself, and given a grilling worthy of a Guantanamo detainee. Instead, I was called by a glorified Librarian (no disrespect to Librarians, lol) and it was all over in less time than it takes an average ice cream to melt. To say I was disappointed is a bit of an understatement

You'll be amazed how easy and painless the whole "interview" is.

HTH

owlet

Please don't worry. With your circumstances, it should be a very quick chat. My circumstances were very basic too - income was benefits, no assets, no cash, no house - just a ten year old ford fiesta!
The OR phoned (I got the real one, not the librarian lol) & I presumed he wss going to arrange a date for the interview but he just had a very quick chat about how I got to being in debt (left my job to care for my parents) and that was it. I wasn't on the phone for ten minutes even.

Those with a more complex situation will have a longer interview but at the end of the day, the OR just needs to confirm what you have put on your forms - and if it's that basic then there's not much for him to say.

Most ORs seem to be straightforward (from what people on here have said) . He won't be your best friend but at the same time he shouldn't be judgemental.

Let us know how it goes, I'm sure you will be fine!

Cobalt77

owlet wrote: »

The OR phoned (I got the real one, not the librarian lol)

Gee, thanks for that owlet

So it now appears I'm not even a decent enough BR to warrant speaking to the OR in person????

I now feel even more cheated - especially since I had to cough up the same £525 fee as everyone else - yet you got personal attention from the "Head Honcho" while I was allocated to the Insolvency Service's equivalent of a traffic warden!!! Talk about being treated as a second-class citizen!

I'm sure this is discrimination, and it's almost certainly against my Human Rights. Time to write to Watchdog. And Points of View. Oh, and my MP.

Anyone know a good "no win, no fee" lawyer............

elljay

Cobalt77 wrote: »

Gee, thanks for that owlet

So it now appears I'm not even a decent enough BR to warrant speaking to the OR in person????

I now feel even more cheated - especially since I had to cough up the same £525 fee as everyone else - yet you got personal attention from the "Head Honcho" while I was allocated to the Insolvency Service's equivalent of a traffic warden!!! Talk about being treated as a second-class citizen!

I'm sure this is discrimination, and it's almost certainly against my Human Rights. Time to write to Watchdog. And Points of View. Oh, and my MP.

Anyone know a good "no win, no fee" lawyer............

....while you're at it, can I sue for defamation of character please. As a lifelong career qualified and chartered information professional (aka a librarian) I object to being compared with a middle level civil servant!! (And if any examiners read this, they probably do too!)

But to the OP, yours will probably be the shortest interview ever. Mine was about an hour long and only because I had a business but still straightforward and even friendly. Make sure you have your forms in front of you as she would say 'now turn to page 7' and so on. Also have a pen, switch other phones off and make sure the cat isn't having a battle with the cat flap as mine was. Examiner was highly amused as I had to go and sort that out half the way through the interview.

If you have any questions, it's a good opportunity to ask them. Mine was very much a two-way thing and flowed easily. They definitely don't want to trap you, catch you out or any of those things, just confirm the facts on your form. And it's taken me longer to type this than your interview will take I reckon!!

Let us know how it goes.

EJ

Woodsy60

Just got off the phone.

My wife's interview was 30 minutes but that was because somehow her name was associated with an address in Aberdeen - which is about 450 miles from us. Simply a case of having to send in proof of where she has been residing in the past 15 years though.

My interview was ver short - about 15 minutes because a lot of the details had been covered in my wife's interview. However, strangely my name came up at an address in Leicestershire where I hve never even heard of. Again, juist need to prove it is not me.

Thank you all for your advice. It was spot on.