Bankruptcy sequence of events

zorba11

I'm trying to understand the sequence of events in a bankruptcy.

On the day I'm declared bankrupt, will my accounts get frozen, or does this only happen *after* the interview with the Official Receiver. Does the OR try and freeze bank accounts.

What will happen with my business accounts. Will they be frozen too?

Flyright

The OR does not freeze bank accounts, but they will write to all banks that you have accounts with, which can result in the banks freezing the accounts, including business accounts.

What type of business are you in? I only ask as if you are trading at the date of your bankruptcy there will be an effect on any business(es) you may have.

Mollie_Guinness15

I already had a Barclays basic account, and noticed no drop in service to this at all. It was not frozen.
I suspect if you have a large balance it may be frozen.

Lostmyway

I had a personal account and a business account with Natwest which have both been left running as normal. I asked the OR and he said its down to the individual bank but because I didn't owe them anything they would probably leave them alone.

National_Debtline

Hi

If you're self-employed and applying for bankruptcy I recommend contacting Business Debtline for advice. There may be things to consider regarding your business.

www.businessdebtline.org

James
@natdebtline

zorba11

How does the OR find out about business accounts? through the interview?

If I don't do the interview then surely he's left guessing, but he might stumble across them anyhow - depends if theres some sort of a lookup you can do based on directors / shareholders names etc.

luvchocolate

All the bank account details are on the initial S.O.A. done on the B.R forms.

Flyright

The OR has a range of investigative tools that will allow him/her to find all accounts in which you have an interest. In any case you are required by law to disclose all your accounts in the Statement of Affairs.

You seem to suggest that you would potentially seek to not only fail to disclose all your bank accounts but also that you would try to avoid the OR interview. This is a very unwise course of action and will lead to either an indefinite suspension of discharge or a BRO.

You also suggest that you have an interest in a limited company. This must also be disclosed to the OR (any shares you hold will be assets in your bankruptcy) but the OR can easily find this out anyway.

Non-cooperation and non-disclosure are serious matters. Nobody on this forum is going to encourage you to break the law.

NotEvanAPot

zorba11 wrote: »

How does the OR find out about business accounts? through the interview?

If I don't do the interview then surely he's left guessing, but he might stumble across them anyhow - depends if theres some sort of a lookup you can do based on directors / shareholders names etc.

Declare the business bank account - to not do so is fraudulent when applying to make yourself bankrupt.
Declare your directorship of limited company - to not do so, and continue to hold a directorship, is a criminal offence and the OR will seek to have you banned as a director for a period of up to 15 years.
Complete the interview with the OR following bankruptcy order, normally within a couple of weeks. If you fail to cooperate, the OR will seek the permission of the court to suspend your automatic discharge or potentially begin the legal process of having your brought before a court for public examination.

Basically, don't run away from the responsibilities bankruptcy involves. It is a massive step to even enter bankruptcy voluntarily, why you would then want to run and hide, expecting it all to go away in your absence, is beyond me.

TheGardener

Do not underestimate the OR's powers. Finding bank accounts is pretty simple for them. However, avoiding any disclosure or trying to be 'economical' with any truth could lead to a fraud marker on your records which will make even getting a basic account tricky and make you a pariah for many years in the world of credit, finance and business.
Honesty really is the best policy with the OR - many a businessman/woman has been BR (see the Famous BR's post) and emerged to a bright future - but not with BRO's or fraud markers

Mollie_Guinness15

Couldn't agree with The Gardener more. The OR is not their to judge you or chastise you, but to pick over the bones of your estate and salvage what is there to share amongst your creditors. You have nothing to fear by telling them everything, even if you've been foolish and gambled, or done something fraudulent, it is better to come clean now then let them find out, which they will. They need to believe they can trust what you say.