Bankruptcy advice please!!!

BJ65

A few questions regarding going bankrupt. Does the Official Receiver actually inspect my bank account or do they have access to my bank account after going bankrupt?
Also, is it best to open a basic bank account before or after I go bankrupt? I'm assuming that all my accounts will be frozen after declaring bankruptcy, so how long would my new basic account be frozen for if I open it before I go bankrupt? And if it's frozen, will it still be able to pay any direct debits or standing orders?

bvizion

BJ65 said:

 I'm assuming that all my accounts will be frozen after declaring bankruptcy, so how long would my new basic account be frozen for if I open it before I go bankrupt? And if it's frozen, will it still be able to pay any direct debits or standing orders?

Mine didn't. It was Netwest bank. I had no dept with the bank. All they did is remove the overdraft option. 

sourcrates

BJ65, You need to be on top of this before you push the send button.

If you have debt with your current bank, then a new basic bank account, with a bank with whom you have no debt is essential with Bankruptcy.

All accounts may be frozen for a short period of time, so to counteract that, if your old account has debt, consider it lost, cancel all DD`s etc, withdraw cash prior to this happening, pay bills at the post office, use cash for essentials, use your common sense.

Only once the OR either includes your old bank account in your bankruptcy, and says they have no interest in your new account, should you use your new account as per normal.

So many folk don`t think things through properly, the OR freezes the bank account, and they have no access to any money.

Remember the 6 P`s, pre preparation prevents pi** poor performance.

BJ65

Thanks for that Sourcrates, much appreciated.

In that case though, do you have any tips as to how to get round things like my gas/electricity supplier where I'm tied in to a direct debit arrangement? I don't think I'd be able to pay that at the Post Office but I'm all ears if you have any advice?

That was a really good tip about not using my new account before the OR has no interest in it, and on that note, do you have any other advice I should know before pressing the button?

And also, back to my original query, I had been under the impression from other threads here that the OR wouldn't look directly at my bank account activity prior to going bankrupt, or after either, but I saw a Stepchange article last night which gave the impression that the OR would scrutinise my account before and after I've gone bankrupt on a regular basis. What do you reckon please?

luvchocolate

Hi at my interview with the OR he wanted 2 years of bank statements and 1 years credit card statements 

Mine was face to face which doesn't happen often now. He told me he was looking for anything that jumped out 
They can go back as far as they need to 

BJ65

Thanks for that although that wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I don't think I'd have an issues on that basis